Can the Cleveland Cavaliers and Charlotte Hornets help each other out?
Two of the NBA’s current underachievers, the Cleveland Cavaliers and Charlotte Hornets, have been in contact ahead of Thursday’s trade deadline.
Per ESPN’s Zach Lowe:
"You can build Charlotte-Cleveland deals in which the Cavs get Kemba Walker and Nicolas Batum for Isaiah Thomas, the Brooklyn pick and about $25 million more in outgoing salary. The two sides have talked at least vaguely, league sources say."
While no details have been officially reported, the primary player that the Cleveland Cavaliers would be targeting in a trade is point guard Kemba Walker.
Walker, who is rumored to be on the trading block as the Hornets try to shed salary from their roster, is a dynamic point guard who could do much better filling in the void left by Kyrie Irving than Isaiah Thomas.
He’s also the only player from the Charlotte Hornets that really moves the needle for the Cleveland Cavaliers.
Nicolas Batum and Dwight Howard, two other names that have floated around the trade mill, could find themselves attached to the deal — though it’s highly unlikely both would.
Of the two, it’s actually Batum who would be more appealing to the Cleveland Cavaliers.
Though Howard is on a shorter deal and has been more productive, he doesn’t have the best reputation throughout the NBA and it’s possible he’d only further damage the Cavs’ fractured locker room.
Speaking of bad chemistry, Thomas is averaging 15.2 points per game on just 36.4 percent shooting from the field and 23.7 percent from three-point range. He hasn’t been a fit on the court or a hit off-the-court.
With Kevin Love, the team’s second-leading scorer, out for two months, Thomas becomes the second-in-command by default. Recent history indicates that will be a problem.
Thomas is only about “80 percent” healthy. The reason his field goal percentage is so low is because he’s not healthy; he can’t finish inside the paint (48.6 percent shooting 0-3 feet away from the rim) nor can he finish outside of it. Both of these issues seem to stem from a lack of power in his legs.
However, Thomas possesses a volume scorer’s mentality and seems determined to shoot his way out of his early season rust. Unfortunately, his shots early in the shot clock and one-on-one play has resulted in the Cleveland Cavaliers offensive unit playing without flow.
Some numbers for you:
With Thomas on the floor, the Cavs have an offensive rating of 103.4. With Thomas off the floor, the Cavs have an offensive rating of 112.6. That difference of -9.2 points per 100 possessions is the worst in the team’s rotation.
It would be one thing if he made those shots, even though Irving himself was subject to criticism for his lack of ball-movement. That’s despite making a handful of baskets every game that left spectators in wonder and disbelief.
Defensively, while Thomas was never all-world, he was at least a player who gave effort. Now, Thomas seems wholly incapable of beating the offensive player to his spot on defense. His lack of lateral burst led him to draw Houston Rockets small forward Luc Mbah a Moute, an unheralded scorer or shooter, as his primary defensive assignment in the Cleveland Cavaliers last matchup.
Again, that’s a problem the Cleveland Cavaliers even had with Irving. Early last season, they even relied on DeAndre Liggins and Iman Shumpert to guard opposing point guards while Irving guarded the two.
The biggest difference between Thomas and Irving when it comes to such schematic decisions though? Size. Thomas, at 5-foot-9, would be nearly eight inches shorter than most shooting guards. Irving was 6-foot-3.
Here are some more numbers for you:
When Thomas is on the floor, opponents have an offensive rating of 118.9. When he’s off the floor, that number drops to 110.5. That additional 8.4 points per possession that are given up when Thomas is on the court? The second-worst on the team, behind LeBron James. While James has had questionable effort on defense throughout the season, here’s where he exonerated himself:
Opponents score 113.7 points per possession when he’s on the court, the second-lowest offensive rating in the current starting lineup. At 118.9, opponents score more when Thomas is on the court than anybody else.
Walker, a 6-foot-1 point guard volume scorer averaging 22.7 points per game on 42.3 percent shooting from the field and 36.5 percent from three-point range, currently has an offensive rating of 114 and a defensive rating of 109. It’s a really simplistic means of comparison but for comparison, Thomas has an offensive rating of 96 and a defensive rating of 115.
Just looking at numbers, Walker should be a complete upgrade over Thomas though he won’t be efficient on offense as Irving was. Then again, with the attention James draws, he just might increase his efficiency thanks to easier looks.
In trading for Batum, the Cavs get a three-and-D wing who has admittedly been lacking in both areas since his days with Damian Lillard, LaMarcus Aldridge and the Portland Trail Blazers. An intelligent player also able to run the pick-and-roll and attack the rim on occasion, Batum is a lanky player (6-foot-8 with a 7-foot-4 wingspan) who would be a lot like the player Jae Crowder is now.
Just getting paid more than three times his salary through the 2020-2021 season because he has a track record of being a high-level impact performer. It seems like he’s gotten bored fighting for scraps at the bottom of the East after years of being a Western Conference Finals contender with the Blazers, affecting his defensive technique. It’s possible that the Cavs can invigorate his performances with their championship-contender status.
Additionally, de facto shooting coach Kyle Korver might have some pointers for fixing his once smooth jumper.
If the luxury tax is a concern for the Cleveland Cavaliers, this is the trade that cures all: Isaiah Thomas, Jae Crowder, J.R. Smith, Iman Shumpert and the Brooklyn Nets’ pick for Kemba Walker and Nicolas Batum.
This trade resets the culture, gets two bad contracts off the Cavs’ book in exchange for one and leaves two roster spots open for the team to save for buyout season.
Related Story: Is Aaron Gordon worth trading the Brooklyn Nets' pick?
*All stats gathered from www.basketball-reference.com