The Cleveland Cavaliers should’ve traded for a lockdown defender
The Cleveland Cavaliers needed to trade for a lockdown defender this past trade deadline, and without one, they’ve yet to solve the team’s biggest problem.
The day of the trade deadline, the Cleveland Cavaliers made three trades. None of those trades brought in a solution to their biggest issue– defense.
We all know the Cleveland Cavaliers made moves prior to the deadline. They brought in Larry Nance Jr., George Hill, Rodney Hood, and Jordan Clarkson. While all those players all play a significant role on the team, they don’t bring the defensive tenacity the Cavs needed to bring in.
There were a few players that should’ve been on the market Cleveland seemingly didn’t target.
The Cavs hoped to solve all their problems, and while they did get younger and turn away conflict-causing ego, the Cavs, since the trade deadline, are still not a great defensive team, an attribute most championship-caliber teams possess.
Since the all-star break, the Cavs have the 15th best defense rating, allowing 108 points per 100 possessions. However, for the entire season, their 109.5 defensive rating is still in the league’s bottom five.
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Losing six of their last ten, the Cavs have been in another slump because of their lacking defense, dropping to fourth in the Eastern Conference. Coincidently, in six of those games, they gave up over 110 points to their opponent. The Cavs, who certainly don’t lack offensive star power with players like Kevin Love, Kyle Korver, LeBron James, Jordan Clarkson, and Rodney Hood, should’ve made one more trade on February 8.
That trade would’ve brought Tony Allen to Cleveland. Allen is a poor man’s Andre Roberson, and we’ve seen the impact he had on Oklahoma City before going down for the season with a ruptured left patellar tendon.
Allen would’ve brought a grit that Cleveland lacks. Allen was on the Memphis Grizzlies when they were dubbed “Grind City.” Allen has the Pelicans second best defensive rating on the team.
At just 103.7, Allen can still hang with the league’s best. Taking his age, 36, into account, the Pelicans probably wouldn’t have asked for too much for Allen.
The Pelicans are +2.6 with Allen on the court than with him off. On a team that has just a +0.4 spread per game, Allen’s +3.4 per game is a huge reason why he’s still playing 12.1 minutes per game.
However, Allen was a prime example, but he wasn’t the only example. Players like Tyson Chandler and Emeka Okafor could’ve been a couple rim protectors the Cavs could’ve at least attempted to bring in.
This Cavaliers team still lacks a couple essential pieces. Although with a right amount of chemistry and trust, this team should be able to thrive even without a defensive mastermind. A mastermind wasn’t necessary, but it would’ve been nice to see Altman bring in a solution to arguably the Cavs biggest issue.
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Bring in youth and trading Thomas were the two main priorities, and Altman succeeded in taking care of that. Just one more trade would’ve been ideal for the Cavaliers.