Two All-Star level players the Cavs should consider targeting

Chicago Bulls

G Zach Lavine, 22-years-old

6-foot-5, 189 pounds

Best season (out of 3): 2016-2017 (18.9 points, 3.4 rebounds, 3.0 assists, 0.9 steals per game. 45.9 percent shooting from the field, 38.7 percent shooting from three-point range, 83.6 percent shooting from free-throw range.)

The Chicago Bulls looking like they’ve hit a few breaks in the offseason.

Second-year pro Kris Dunn, the fifth pick in the 2016 NBA Draft, was acquired in a trade headlined by former Minnesota Timberwolves guard Zach Lavine (the 13th pick in the 2014 NBA Draft). Rookie Lauri Markkanen was selected with the seventh pick in the 2017 NBA Draft.

Both have been better than advertised but the rise of Dunn is what affects Lavine’s future with the team.

After struggling in his rookie season, the lanky and athletic Dunn has come on strong with the Bulls. He averages 13.8 points, 6.2 assists, 4.6 rebounds and 1.9 steals per game while shooting 44.2 percent from the field and 33.7 percent from three-point range. In addition, he’s had at least seven games of 20 or more points, 25 games with five or more assists and 15 games at least three steals. He’s a baller.

With the play of Justin Holiday and the improvements made by second-year pro Denzel Valentine, the Bulls could have one of better backcourt units (both starting and bench). Considering Lavine averaged 18.9 points per game last season, the Bulls would be wise to keep Lavine on the roster.

That is, if they don’t see a player in the top-five they like more than Lavine. With the talent at the top of the 2018 NBA Draft and the hype surrounding certain players, it’s plausible.

The Cavs would simply be jumping the gun on acquiring an All-Star talent.

Lavine, who could excel playing off-ball or as the lead guard should the situation (or free agency) call for it, would be a great fit in the Cavs’ offense.

To start, Lavine converted 42.2 percent of his catch-and-shoot threes (3.2 attempts per game) in the 2016-2017 season.

In addition, he’s electrifying in the open court and in transition. Lavine scored 1.26 points per possession in transition in the 2016-2017 season, converting on 63.9 percent of his attempts (79th percentile). His ability to get to the rim in the halfcourt is due to his explosiveness and a quick crossover dribble that allows him to collapse the paint and kick out to other shooters if he can’t finish. However, with his explosiveness, finishing shouldn’t be too hard for him — hence his career conversion rate of 65.2 percent within three feet of the rim.

On-ball, if he was to improve his midrange efficiency, he’d be better in the pick-and-roll but he’s solid in this area. He has good vision and passing ability and with his ability to hit long threes and explode to the rim, defenses can’t relax off of him which opens up pockets for Lavine to pass through.

His ability to shoot off-the-dribble (he made 46.5 percent of his pull-up attempts in 2016-2017), in addition to his ball-handling and finishing ability, helps Lavine be a threat in isolation.

Defensively, Lavine has all of the physical tools he needs to be an excellent defender. Effort and technique will be Lavine’s best friends on this end but he’s already shown the ability to be solid guarding pick-and-roll ball-handlers, holding them to just 0.74 points per possession in 2016-2017 (77th percentile). The numbers are similarly impressive in isolation as he held opponents to 0.57 points per possession and 20.0 percent shooting from the field (95th percentile) in 2016-2017. His numbers may not jump out in the box score but he’s holding his own.

A player like Iman Shumpert could be the player to go in the trade. Shumpert, a Chicago-native who could bring fans to the arena and could opt out of his contract in the offseason to provide the organization with cap flexibility.