Cleveland Cavaliers: Will David Griffin make another move?

Cleveland Cavaliers general manager David Griffin has become one of the best executives in the NBA, seemingly always able to be in the right place at the right time.

On Thursday night, Griffin concocted a few trades that set the Cleveland Cavaliers to be the most prolific 3-point shooting teams in the NBA.

Adrian Wojnarowrski of Yahoo’s “The Vertical” first broke the news of the trade that will bring Kyle Korver to Cleveland from an Atlanta Hawks team that has a number of expiring contracts and wants to get younger.

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In a separate trade, the Cavaliers sent the Portland Trailblazers their 2017 first round pick for their own 2018 first round pick (the same pick that they traded to the Blazers last season to facilitate the Varejao trade). There’s no news yet if there is any additional compensation for this trade but the Blazers are now capable of getting an asset this year for an asset that is a year away, so it’s likely this was a trade that was mutually beneficial.

By doing this, Griffin managed to work the loophole for not trading first-round picks in consecutive years ( a CBA no-no known as the “Stepien rule“).

The deal that has been reported has the Cavaliers sending a protected 2019 first round pick, forward Mike Dunleavey Jr. and the dead contract of point guard Mo Williams (who has not stepped into the Cavs facility this season after having offseason knee surgery).

As of now the trade has not been finalized but that’s merely a formality; both sides are attempting to find a third team that could take on Dunleavy. It was also reported that if they could not find a trade partner, Atlanta would keep Dunleavy.

What’s on the horizon for the Cavs?

While David Griffin and his marquee superstar LeBron James are happy to have another sharp-

“We gotta get a point guard, It’s my last time saying it.”

shooting guard to knock down those open three’s, James has made it clear that the team is not done yet. According to ESPN’s Dave McMenamin, while discussing the Cavs acquisition of Korver, James said “We gotta get a point guard, It’s my last time saying it.”

With that one statement, James made it known that the Cavaliers will have a third point guard on the roster sometime soon.

But when that happens is still up in the air. Griffin knows the team needs that “safety net” player in case Kyrie Irving goes down or needs rest. But the magician that he is has him waiting for just the right moment to pounce, TPE’s (traded player exceptions) and draft-and-stash players in his hand, ready to make deal.

We’ve all heard the available free-agent names – Mario Chalmers, Jarrett Jack, Norris Cole – but what we don’t know is if there is a team that needs to get a contract/player off its books to create space. And while not a point guard many see a “fit” for this team, there is a point guard named Rajon Rondo that has fallen out of the rotation in Chicago.

When will this trade/acquisition take place? If I had to do a crystal ball prediction, I would say after the team return from its 11-day, six-game road trip to the East and West coasts. So look for the trade mid-January (sound familiar?).

After the last two-years of pulling rabbits out of the hat, general David Griffin has been very successful in upgrading the team. I am one who believes in him and can’t wait to see what next in his bag of tricks.

Who do you think David Griffin will bring to the Cavaliers in their quest to repeat? Let us know in the comments section or Twitter @KJG_NBA.