Cleveland Cavaliers: Is Kawhi Leonard worth the Brooklyn Nets pick?
In order to beat the Golden State Warriors, the Cleveland Cavaliers are in need of a second true superstar. Is Kawhi Leonard their man?
There’s a couple hurdles to jump over before even considering a trade involving Kawhi Leonard and the Cleveland Cavaliers.
The first is if the Spurs would even consider trading Leonard. Leonard is a superstar, but as we’ve seen, the Spurs are capable of being a top-three team in the West even without their best player. All they need to succeed is their system and Gregg Poppovich.
The second hurdle is how the Cavs would arrange to trade the Brooklyn Nets pick and how high they value it. Obviously, they value the pick over the likes of DeAndre Jordan, who they sought before the trade deadline but were required to involve the Nets pick.
However, by the time that the Cavs trade the pick, they might be able to gauge their luck with the ping pong balls. If the pick isn’t top 5 does that make it worth significantly less in their eyes?
As of now, it seems the Cavs wouldn’t even consider trading the Nets pick. According to nbadraft.net, the Cavs are projected to get Trae Young from the University of Oklahoma with the seventh pick in this upcoming NBA draft.
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LeBron James, who is a big fan of Young, might be pulling to draft the young Steph Curry-like point guard; however, with LeBron potentially catching up on him in the next few seasons, if he stays in Cleveland, he’ll need all the help he can get.
Who better to get than the 2x Defensive Player of the Year and 2014 Finals MVP?
Another of Leonard’s imperative characteristics is his stellar effective field goal percentage. Leonard has had over a 50% effective field goal percentage in every season he’s been in the league, a feat LeBron James can’t even say is true about himself.
If the Cavs were to trade away the Nets’ pick in exchange for Leonard, they’d be forced to get back a 2018 or 2019 first round pick, which would possibly be a late first-round pick from San Antonio.
When talking about a trade involving Leonard, there are possible disadvantages. Leonard, while a proven superstar, might have seen his numbers and play inflated because of the system he is in. The world-renown Spurs play one of the most unselfish styles of basketball in the NBA, and often times, it helped Kawhi get to his spots and ultimately put up 25 per night just two seasons ago.
Another reason for concern is Leonard’s nagging quad injury. Could that continue to linger even with several months off?
Leonard is nothing like Isaiah Thomas, so while James has had his fair share of trouble with other superstars in the past, this should be nothing like that. James and Leonard should be able to mesh without much effort.
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Overall, Koby Altmas earned his role this past trade deadline, and he’s certainly in for a couple interesting dilemmas before and after the NBA trade, taking place on June 21 at the Barclays Center.