Sitting atop of the Eastern Conference with a sparkling 27-10 record, there is no need for the Cleveland Cavaliers to panic and blow up the roster like they did last season, when it was needed.
Despite two marquee losses to the Golden State Warriors and San Antonio Spurs, the two teams that many pundits expect the Cavaliers to possibly meet in the NBA Finals, the Cavs still have plenty of reasons to believe that they’re the best team in the league.
They have all the pieces to win a championship, from the all-around greatness of LeBron James, the offense of Kyrie Irving and Kevin Love, the rebounding of Tristan Thompson and the X-Factors such as J.R. Smith and Iman Shumpert, Cleveland has all the pieces.
Although, a report from Chris Haynes of cleveland.com indicates that GM David Griffin and the Cavs are still on the search for any possible improvements to the roster they can make.
"Influential figures within the Cavaliers’ locker room are open to the notion of trading for disgruntled Phoenix Suns power forward Markieff Morris, cleveland.com has learned. They believe the Cavs can get the most potential out of him in the role he’d be assigned. They’re intrigued with the possibility of adding another stretch-four to back up Kevin Love. Also, Morris would serve as an insurance policy for an injury. However, league sources with knowledge of the Cavaliers’ thinking insist there’s no connection right now between Morris and the defending Eastern Conference champions. I’m told the organization isn’t too keen with the idea, fearing the team chemistry would be ruined."
Morris has been a man that many Cavalier fans have talked about and discussed. Us here at King James Gospel have definitely looked at the potential pros and cons of trading for Morris, so for the sake of this piece, Morris will be left out.
Instead, lets focus on this section of Haynes’ report.
"Instead, the Cavs on the lookout for another defensive-minded wing with a long distance spot-up stroke, cleveland.com was informed — someone who can back up Shumpert, whose frantic style of play tends to lead to injuries."
The want for back up with a play style similar to Shumpert’s makes sense, as 3-and-D players are one of the most important in today’s NBA.
So, who could Cleveland possibly target in the trade market? Here are 12 potential names.
Editors Note: These names are simply players who would fit the Cavs need and would be fun to have on the roster. None of these players are linked or rumored to be traded to Cleveland, nor as salary cap limitations been taken into consideration. It is just a list of potential players that would fit the bill for the Cavaliers.