Cavs want a more athletic Big Three
The Cleveland Cavaliers want a more athletic Big Three.
According to cleveland.com’s Terry Pluto, the Cleveland Cavaliers sought to trade Kevin Love prior to the 2017 NBA Draft in order to build around LeBron James and Kyrie Irving. Ultimately, the Cavs’ front office wanted the team’s Big Three to be more athletic so that they could better compete with the Golden State Warriors.
"When Griffin — and eventual successor Koby Altman — worked on a three-way deal to land George, it involved Kevin Love and the Denver Nuggets. The Cavs wanted to re-tool their roster with James and Irving as the core, becoming more athletic to compete with the Golden State Warriors."
With that in mind, it makes sense why the Cavs inquired about Klay Thompson’s availability (according to The Undefeated’s Marc J. Spears). While Thompson’s not known for his vertical explosiveness, he’s an athletic wing in terms of his lateral ability. It’s one of the reasons he’s able to be a lockdown defender on the perimeter.
While trading Irving rather than Love comes with the additional issue of trying to find a player who isn’t just athletic but an elite scorer, the Cavs’ defense on the perimeter would receive a similar boost. While Love isn’t a player to be trusted guarding players out in space, Irving would often play matador defense and allow opposing ball-handlers to penetrate the lane with ease.
Increasing the athleticism in the backcourt, namely at the point guard position, is imperative. That’s especially true with Derrick Rose and Jose Calderon, two players lacking in their lateral agility and defensive ability, as the Cavs’ depth at point guard. The Cavs need a player who can play solid defense on one of Stephen Curry or Kevin Durant.
Don’t get me wrong. If the Cavs can trade Love for a more athletic big man, like DeMarcus Cousins, I’m all for it. If they trade Irving though, it will have to be for a player who is more athletic as well.
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Not Russell Westbrook athletic but athletic enough to be able to attack the defense at a quickened pace and defend well, with no small thanks given to his physical tools.
Thompson isn’t an option and for Eric Bledsoe to be in a Cavs uniform the Phoenix Suns, like the Boston Celtics, will have to be willing to sacrifice part of their future. The same is true for a team like the Minnesota Timberwolves, who would likely have to offer Andrew Wiggins and more for Irving, or the New York Knicks, who would have to offer Kristaps Porzingis.
Still, there’s a unique value to Irving that was seen in the Celtics’ offer. Maybe enough to convince other teams to step up their offer for Irving.