King James Gospel
Fansided

Cleveland Cavaliers: 5 Trades The Team Can Make Before The NBA Trade Deadline

By Quenton S. Albertie

Dec 5, 2015; Philadelphia, PA, USA; Denver Nuggets forward Will Barton (5) celebrates Denver Nuggets guard Jameer Nelson's (1) game tying shot during the fourth quarter of the game at the Wells Fargo Center. The Nuggets won 108-105. Mandatory Credit: John Geliebter-USA TODAY Sports
Dec 5, 2015; Philadelphia, PA, USA; Denver Nuggets forward Will Barton (5) celebrates Denver Nuggets guard Jameer Nelson's (1) game tying shot during the fourth quarter of the game at the Wells Fargo Center. The Nuggets won 108-105. Mandatory Credit: John Geliebter-USA TODAY Sports /
facebooktwitterreddit
Prev
4 of 6
Next
NBA: Miami Heat at Sacramento Kings
NBA: Miami Heat at Sacramento Kings /

Sacramento Kings

The Cavs get Darren Collison and Ben McLemore as the Kings get a player that they can either build with or use as a trade chip to build themselves up, as Shumpert has a decent reputation in his league on and off-the-court. Of course, this trade is better if the Kings use Shumpert as their Klay Thompson,. Beside Buddy Hield, Shumpert is able to both be a catch-and-shoot outlet for Hield’s drives and play defense on the more explosive guard at the same time.

In this trade, Collison will be the player guaranteed to have a spot in the Cleveland Cavaliers rotation as he’s a floor general currently averaging 4.2 assists per game. Collison, who is a crafty ball-handler that likes to get to the rim and one of the better three-point shooters in the league, is a perfect compliment to the Cavs second unit. Defensively, Collison is only 6-foot-0 but he’s been playing beside Ty Lawson in the starting lineup for most of the season and could play beside Kyrie Irving at times as well.

That’s an option for the Cavs to keep in mind without the Shumpert on roster. Shumpert will essentially be replaced by McLemore, who after a rough rookie season has strung together three straight seasons shooting 35.0 percent or better from three-point range. This season, McLemore is shooting 37.0 percent from three-point range. McLemore hasn’t been a great defensive player in his career but after spending his first four seasons playing for the Sacramento Kings, it’s hard to hold that against him as the Kings team defense has been subpar for years. McLemore is a silky smooth athlete that could improve in that area with defensive study under Tyronn Lue and player development under the James Posey and Phil Handy.