Trading for Chris Paul and Carmelo Anthony could prevent LeBron James from leaving the Cleveland Cavaliers. After all, he would only leave because he wants play with them one day.
Paul George is bound to images of playing for the Los Angeles Lakers. Jimmy Butler prefers to stay in Chicago (where he cam increase his career earnings by with the Designated Veteran’s Exception). With the Lakers making moves to clear cap space for LeBron James to sign next summer by trading D’Angelo Russell for the expiring contract of Brook Lopez. Knowing that Kyrie Irving could push for a trade if James leaves, the Cleveland Cavaliers find themselves on the precipice of cataclysmic change. They now either have to try to stick out the season with the team they have and win a championship, a feat that could keep the team together for as long as they’re defending champions, or trade Love for New York Knicks forward Carmelo Anthony and Irving for Los Angeles Clippers point guard Chris Paul.
Keeping the gang together would only keep James in Cleveland if they win it all.
A trade would give the Cavs a Big 3 with fourteen years of NBA experience and a special bond. Winning it all with that trio would be one step away from the ultimate accomplishment for that brotherhood. The only thing better for the group would be if Dwyane Wade joined the team after a buyout.
Still, while acquiring Anthony would be relatively simple, it’s trading for Paul that will be complex. For one, the Cavs would be wise to trade for Anthony before Paul officially became a free agent in order to give Paul to analyze the situation in Cleveland and decide if he would make himself available to the Cavs via sign-and-trade.
Depending on the length of Paul’s deal in Cleveland, James could stay in the Land for three to four more years. Paul could get up to a four-year, $88 million contract in Cleveland while he, Anthony and James all make more than $20 million annually.
According to NBA’s Collective Bargaining Agreement, teams can’t complete a sign-and-trade if they’re more than $4 million above the luxury tax “apron”. As a result, before attempting a sign-and-trade with Paul, the Cavs would need to shave about $2 million worth of contracts from their salary if they traded for Anthony after acquiring Paul and $8 million if they trade for Anthony. This can be done with a trade of Iman Shumpert and renouncing their rights to low salary player (Deron Williams) or waiving a player with a non-guaranteed contract (Edy Tavares).
Anthony’s trade would be simple and a straight-up player-for-player deal in which the New York Knicks acquire Love.
While the idea of trading Irving and Love may draw the ire of fans, neither player is likely to stay anyways so the Cavs may be best suited bringing L.A. to Cleveland so to speak. In addition, while they love Irving’s scoring ability and ability to get anywhere on the court with his ball-handling, they’ll grow to appreciate Paul’s defense, playmaking and shot selection.
They’ll learn to love iso-Melo, who made 44.2 percent of his isolation attempts last season. James made 43.5 percent of his isolation attempts, though James’ effective field goal percentage was higher due to his success with the three-ball (49.5 percent compared to 46.8 percent for Anthony).
Anthony was in the 78th percentile as a scorer in isolation. James was in the 76th percentile. Paul was in the 93rd percentile.
Fans will also learn how to trust Anthony off-the-ball, he made 45.5 percent of his spot-up opportunities with an effective field goal percentage of 62.0 thanks to the fact Anthony made 41.8 percent of his catch-and-shoot threes. 15.2 percent of his offense came as a spot-up shooter and he was in the 93rd percentile in those situations.
The Cavs will have an experienced team that, with Paul and James, has two of the best facilitators and highest IQ players in the league. Ball-movement and execution will become hallmarks of the Cavs, which are the two of the biggest factors in beating (or losing to) the Warriors. From there, the Cavs just need to focus on improving the athleticism and defensive ability of their bench; what they would have needed to do regardless.
This is a Big 3 that will require Popovichian rest throughout the regular season with each player in their early 30s. That makes it particularly important for the club to bring in a capable spot-starter at point guard and both forward positions.
Adding small forward Luc Mbah a Moute would be a fair start, while Richard Jefferson and Channing Frye could remain for their experience, perimeter skills in the frontcourt and intangibles. All that would be left for Cavs is deciding whether they’ll re-sign Kyle Korver; who they could bring in as a scorer off the bench; and who will be their backup point guard.
The team can be better than before. The Cavs could rest easy knowing that even if they lost in the Finals again, they’re less likely to be left by James. James will be playing with two of his best friends (a top-3 point guard and top-8 small forward) in the state he genuinely loves and for a fan base that truly reveres him. He’d be a virtual lock to stay in the Land through the decade.