The Cleveland Cavaliers aren’t going to knock it all down just yet, but if they choose to go that route, they should wait as long as possible.
By now, if you’ve watched the Cleveland Cavaliers, you’ve probably noticed they are not doing well. That’s been well-documented, and they are 0-5 to begin the season, and have a difficult game against the Indiana Pacers tonight. With the rest of the season in mind, it’s been reported (as we would’ve thought anyhow) that the Cavs could look to move veterans if the ship continues to sink, per Sean Deveney of Sporting News (h/t Bleacher Report’s Adam Wells).
Granted, one executive said to Deveney that it’s going to be a while before something concrete could happen.
"“Don’t hold your breath. If they decide to blow it all up, I don’t expect that decision to be made until we get close to the deadline. They still think they can win.”"
I would’ve thought that Cleveland would have had a win or two by now, with Cedi Osman, Rodney Hood, Collin Sexton and other pieces providing some pop, but the W’s haven’t materialized. The team may keep preaching competing for a postseason birth, but there’s plenty of doubt surrounding that narrative as we all know at this point.
Here’s what Deveney had to say in regards to the Cavaliers’ potential fire sale, naming Tristan Thompson and Kyle Korver as possibly the first two vets out the door, but highlighted Kevin Love as the “centerpiece if a talent dump happens.”
"“Kevin Love is expected to be the centerpiece if a talent dump happens, but his contract is prohibitive. It may be Thompson who is the first to go (or perhaps second after Kyle Korver)."
Now if the Cavs can turn it around, that’d be good for the young players, as getting experience in meaningful games in the back half of the season is a positive development, but it might not be the case. It’d be nice for young players such as Sexton, Jordan Clarkson and Osman to have Love as a safety net for at least a year of their careers, in my opinion, though, and just shipping him off for one pick doesn’t seem to be fantastic of a haul.
With Love signing his four-year contract extension on July 24, he can’t be traded until January 24th (due to a six-month extension rule). He obviously is the key trade chip the Cavs have to offer, and if they move him, keeping other vets doesn’t make sense.
That being said, the Cavs still need to not just jump at the first offer they can get for any of these pieces. We’ll see what happens, and maybe Tyronn Lue and company can right the ship before the deadline.