In the trade that sent Kyrie Irving to Boston, the Cleveland Cavaliers acquired the Brooklyn Nets 2018 first round draft pick.
The blockbuster trade between the Cleveland Cavaliers and the Boston Celtics is now three days old, and yet the “mega-deal” is still the center of attention in the basketball world.
It seems as if Cleveland won the trade solely based on the players they acquired; Isaiah Thomas, Jae Crowder, and Ante Zizic. In addition to those three players, Cleveland also managed to haul back a potential Top-5 pick in next year’s draft.
The pick belongs to none other than the 20-62 Brooklyn Nets.
Due to this pick practically being a lock to end up in the lottery considering the Nets’ roster, plenty of teams will communicate with Cleveland attempting to pry the draft pick away. According to Amico Hoops, multiple teams have already contacted the Cavaliers interested in trading for the pick.
The Cavaliers roster currently stands at 17 players. The maximum amount of players a team can hold is 15. So Cleveland could put together a package that includes some contracts they want to get rid of, possibly Iman Shumpert and Channing Frye, along with the draft pick to potentially bring back another star player.
In an article Dave McMenamin recently published, he proposed possibilities of acquiring Demarcus Cousins or Marc Gasol via trade.
Cousins last year finished the season averaging 27.0 points and 11.0 rebounds.
Fox Sports analyst, Nick Wright proposed this trade involving Cousins via his twitter.
At the deadline, Cavs could trade BK pick + Shump & Frye for Boogie. Starters: IT4, JR, LBJ, Love, Boogie. Bench: TT, Crowder, Korver, Rose pic.twitter.com/i4GDSS7dNz
— nick wright (@getnickwright) August 23, 2017
The New Orleans Pelicans could want to start all over if the pairing between Cousins and Anthony Davis doesn’t work out, hence a possible trade.
Gasol finished last season with the Memphis Grizzlies averaging 19.5 points and 6.3 rebounds.
While both of those players would be drastic improvements over Tristan Thompson, obtaining either of those players would be tough without surrendering a quality return. However, the draft pick would certainly enhance the package regardless whoever might be included. As a result, Cleveland holds a lot of power with their newly acquired draft pick. They can choose whether to save it or keep it.
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It’s totally up to them, and that’s the beauty of it.