No matter what, the Cleveland Cavaliers will need to trade for Carmelo Anthony after the NBA Finals
No matter what, the Cleveland Cavaliers will need to trade for Carmelo Anthony in the offseason.
After the NBA Finals are over, the Cleveland Cavaliers need to work the phone lines to make a blockbuster trade in the offseason. Even if they beat the Golden State Warriors in the 2017 NBA Finals, the Cavs need more talent to keep up with the budding Warriors dynasty. Talent that could, and should, come in the form of Carmelo Anthony.
What makes Anthony the perfect acquisition for the Cleveland Cavaliers is his availability and their ability to retain Kevin Love in the trade.
Thanks to Phil Jackson, whose comments about Anthony being “better off” on another team has diminished the latter’s trade value, the 32-year-old gunner with a contract paying him $24 million per year in the twilight of his career doesn’t have great trade value despite once being an elite player. An iso-heavy player who, despite efforts to be more of a facilitator last season, is regarded as one of the more one-dimensional players in the league and a player whose defensive effort leaves a lot to be desired, teams aren’t jumping up-and-down trying to get the auctioneer’s attention.
The Los Angeles Clippers and Cleveland Cavaliers expressed interest in trading for Anthony but not if it required them to give up an All-Star player. At the time, the Cavs were also reluctant to trade players who had a major role in their rotation.
After the 2017 NBA Finals, and what’s a clear need to upgrade their roster, that all may change.
When it comes to auxiliary players who could be packaged in a trade, the Cavs that are mentioned are Tristan Thompson, J.R. Smith, Iman Shumpert, Channing Frye and Richard Jefferson.
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Trading Thompson or Smith isn’t a feasible option for the Cavs. Both are emotional leaders for the Cavs and while Thompson simply wouldn’t be traded because of the on-court value he brings the Cavs, Smith’s reputation around the league is far from stellar.
That would leave Shumpert, Frye and Jefferson (whose combined salaries are enough to facilitate an Anthony deal) as the three players likely to be packaged in a trade.
Shumpert, a lockdown perimeter defender whose three-point shooting was top-notch for the first half of the season, is the most valuable player in the trade because of his skillset and age at 26-years-old. He’s not a skilled offensive player but his gives an all-out effort every time he’s on the court.
Frye, a knockdown shooter who can play both the power forward and center positions, holds value in the league because of the quick offense and veteran leadership he can provide. Frye’s defense leaves a lot to be desired though he’s put together solid stretches of defensive play this season. Frye, whose close to many of the veterans on the team, had both of his parents passed away this season. For that reason, if the Cavs trade him they’ll likely try to make him as comfortable with the move as possible.
They can do that by trading Jefferson wherever Frye goes. The two are almost inseparable on the Cavs and Jefferson, a jack-of-all-trades at small forward whose veteran leadership, locker room presence and heady plays will be missed, would be valuable for any team.
Trading those three players to the Knicks straight up doesn’t seem like it’ll be possible as Shumpert is unlikely to be happy in a return to the Knicks. According to Charley Rosen, the Knicks reportedly traded Shumpert because of the distractions his “loud and big personality” caused.
Although the New York Knicks likely don’t want to trade Anthony straight up for a trade package of Frye, Jefferson and Shumpert. there’s another route to acquiring Anthony.
The Cleveland Cavaliers could try to have a third team facilitate the deal. In this case, the most likely candidates would be the Minnesota Timberwolves and the Portland Trail Blazers.
The Knicks have long held interest in Timberwolves point guard Ricky Rubio, attempting to acquire him before this season’s trade deadline according to ESPN’s Ian Begley. Meanwhile, according to Begley, the Knicks and Blazers have been discussing a draft night trade that would see the Blazers shed a contract for a pick.
Here’s an example of how those two scenarios could play out:
Scenario One
The Cleveland Cavaliers trade Shumpert and Frye to the Minnesota Timberwolves and Jefferson to the New York Knicks.
The New York Knicks trade Anthony to the Cleveland Cavaliers.
The Minnesota Timberwolves trade Rubio to the New York Knicks.
In sum, the Cavs acquire Anthony (giving up Shumpert, Frye and Jefferson); the Knicks acquire Rubio and Jefferson (giving up Anthony); and the Timberwolves acquire Shumpert and Frye (giving up Rubio).
This trade is neat and quick, giving each team a player they’ve coveted.
Scenario Two
The Cleveland Cavaliers trade Shumpert, Frye and Jefferson to the Portland Trail Blazers.
The New York Knicks trade Anthony to the Cleveland Cavaliers and Lance Thomas to the Portland Trail Blazers.
The Portland Trail Blazers trade Allen Crabbe, Moe Harkless, Meyers Leonard and the 15th pick in the 2017 NBA Draft to the New York Knicks.
In sum, the Cavs acquire Anthony (giving up Shumpert, Frye and Jefferson); the Knicks acquire Crabbe, Harkless, Leonard and the 15th pick in the 2017 NBA Draft (giving up Anthony and Thomas); and the Blazers acquire Shumpert, Jefferson, Frye and Thomas (giving up Crabbe, Harkless, Leonard and the 15th pick in the 2017 NBA Draft).
If the Blazers are dangling the first-round pick for Anthony, this trade is unlikely. However, if they simply are trying to give teams extra incentive to take on the unreasonably high-priced contract of Crabbe, this trade will still be possible.
If this trade was to be completed, the Blazers would free up $10 million in cap space, giving them $28 million in cap room and the ability to chase high-scoring small forwards like Gordon Hayward, Danilo Gallinari and Rudy Gay in free agency.
Does Carmelo Anthony really move the needle?
Acquiring Anthony would give the Cavs a starting lineup of Kyrie Irving, LeBron James, Carmelo Anthony, Kevin Love and Tristan Thompson.
Anthony has averaged 24.8 points per game over the course of his 14-year NBA career. Like the Warriors and Durant, the Cavs will be adding a top-notch scorer to their nucleus.
While super-potent offensively, the unit may struggle defensively because of Irving and Anthony’s individual defense. Nonetheless, because of the length of the group, especially with James at shooting guard, the Cavs can get a lot of deflections and thus steals throughout the course of a game.
Anthony isn’t a player that can stop Kevin Durant from scoring. As a result, the Cavs will have to fully commit to playing team defense and using their length and basketball IQs to get stops against any and every player on the other end. That could be a better defensive gameplan than keying in particular players in a rematch.
With this lineup, the Cavs will bring two sharpshooters in J.R. Smith and Kyle Korver off the bench. With those seven player’s the Cavs are already better equipped for the offensive juggernaut of the Golden State Warriors. Because both James and Anthony can play the power forward position when the Cavs downsize or want to give Love a rest, with solid defensive backups at the point guard and center position, they’ll have rebooted their roster.
Trading three players for one will open up two extra roster spots for the Cavs. While one will probably go to 22-year-old small forward Cedi Osman, who’s coming to the NBA after developing his skills in the EuroLeague, the Cavs can take a flyer and add an interesting x-factor player or a dependable veteran with the final roster spot. They’ll still have two allotted two-way contracts that draft picks and NBA G-League players can sign.
2017-2018 Projected Depth Chart: Kyrie Irving, Kay Felder LeBron James, J.R. Smith, Dahntay Jones Carmelo Anthony, Kyle Korver, Cedi Osman Kevin Love, Derrick Williams, James Jones Tristan Thompson, Edy Tavares
If the Cleveland Cavaliers want to trade Love in order to acquire more athleticism, that would be interesting. Personally, I’d only make that trade if it brought Jimmy Butler to the Land.
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Do you think the Cleveland Cavaliers should trade for Carmelo Anthony? Let us know your thoughts in the comments section or Twitter @KJG_NBA.