What the Cavs should do if they lose their future draft picks
By Marcus Grey
#3: A unique way to rebuild
Like I said before, there might be some guys in restricted free agency who can become valuable commodities. But I look at the way the New York Yankees rebuilt their team as an interesting way to rebuild the Cavs.
In 2014, Derek Jeter retired and their roster was filled with aging players with monster contracts. They were on their way toward a long rebuild. Over the next couple of years, they weren’t a contender but they were a competitive team and they signed all of these relief pitchers that were valuable to contenders.
At the 2016 MLB trade deadline, they traded all of their valuable players to contending teams for prospects (the baseball equivalent of draft picks). They also traded for young players with depreciated trade values. Right now, the Yankees are one of the top three teams in baseball.
I think the Cavs can mimic something similar. For example, it would make sense for the Knicks to want to get Tim Hardaway Jr. off their books. If the Cavs could make a deal for him and hold onto him, a fringe playoff team like the Utah Jazz or Dallas Mavericks might be willing to offer a first-round pick for him.
Look at the Justin Holiday deal for example.
The Chicago Bulls reportedly got two future second-round picks for him from the Memphis Grizzlies, along with Wayne Selden and MarShon Brooks (per ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski).
That’s not great, but it’s something, especially for a team that is nowhere close to championship contention. There’s something to be had for helpful rotation players in the league. A lot of postseason teams lacking depth need rotation players like that.
The Cavs should also try to get deals for young players like Markelle Fultz or maybe Josh Jackson. In fact, they should probably trade for both of them in this scenario. Right now, their trade values are so depreciated that you won’t have to give up much for them. If they start playing well, the Cleveland Cavaliers would look very savvy.
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The main features of this rebuilding strategy are to trade for young and talented players who have lost a lot of trade value and to acquire really good rotation players that can be traded to contenders for future draft picks. By doing this, you don’t have to tank in order to rebuild a team. This is a good way to work around the draft if the Cavs lose future first-round picks.