Cavs rumors: Ante Zizic could be a ‘salary filler’ in potential trade

A player on the Cleveland Cavaliers that could emerge as a “salary filler” in a trade seemingly near the upcoming deadline is said to be Ante Zizic. That’s not a name that’s popped up a bunch in Cavs rumors involving trades, really, but it doesn’t seem far-fetched.

By now, us fans of the Cleveland Cavaliers are fully aware that the team is rebuilding, and given Cavs rumors throughout the year, the club is likely going to make trades here soon. The February 6 trade deadline is approaching, and four expiring contract players have been suggested as candidates that could be dealt.

Those names include Tristan Thompson, John Henson, Matthew Dellavedova and Brandon Knight. At this point, Thompson, with the career season he’s having, has to have the most trade value. He’s on track for career-highs in points (12.8), rebounds (10.5), assists (2.2) and is currently tied for a career-best in steals (0.7) per game, as shown by Basketball Reference.

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Though he is expiring, with Thompson being the clear leader of this Cavs team, and with Cleveland knowing what they’re getting virtually every game from TT, I can understand if general manager Koby Altman and the front office retained Thompson through the deadline.

Anyway, according to Cleveland.com’s Chris Fedor in a recent mailbag set of responses, the Cavaliers are looking to receive a first-round pick, seemingly in the “top 20” of this year’s NBA draft, along with having to have salary matching near Thompson’s 2019-20 salary of $18.5 million, of course, in a trade.

Fedor would not that essentially what Cleveland got back for Jordan Clarkson from the Utah Jazz, along the lines of two future second-round picks and a “young player who could possibly be a reclamation project,” in that case being Dante Exum, would likely cause the Cavs to “balk” and keep Thompson.

From there, Fedor would also hit on how it’s seemingly unclear if Thompson would fit into the Cavaliers’ future plans and how him being brought back would be predicated on TT’s contract asking price.

Anyhow, Fedor would touch on how Kevin Love, which is in-line with previous reports/conversation on the matter from this past week, indeed wants to be traded. That’s not shocking with what’s transpired throughout this season, and it would seem that Love is due to be dealt either by the aforementioned deadline or this summer, perhaps near the free agency period.

Lastly, Fedor also expressed how Ante Zizic could be a player that could be a “salary filler” in a potential trade, and I’d imagine possibly a three-team deal, in coming weeks.

For reference, Zizic’s fourth-year option for the 2020-21 season was reportedly not picked up by the Cleveland Cavaliers. That makes him another expiring contract player, and he could emerge in more Cavs rumors regarding trade conversation in days/weeks leading up to the deadline.

In the 2019-20 season, Zizic has only been active in 16 of 41 games for Cleveland head coach John Beilein and company, as indicated by NBA.com. Zizic unfortunately missed all of the preseason with a reported plantar fasciitis problem in his left foot, and he did not appear for the Cavaliers until mid-November. He’s also missed the last two games against the Los Angeles Lakers and LA Clippers since he got an accidental elbow to the head against the Denver Nuggets, and was reportedly out due to illness from that, the team has stated.

To me, though, Zizic has been productive, on most occasions, when he’s been given opportunities as an interior/rolling presence for Cleveland. In 9.9 minutes per game this season, Zizic has averaged 4.3 points on 57.1% shooting (most of his game is predicated near the basket), to go with 3.4 rebounds per outing, as displayed by Basketball Reference.

No, those numbers aren’t breaking any records, and given that Zizic still needs time to develop, that’s why Fedor emphasized that Zizic could be a piece included in a trade just for near-salary matching purposes.

To me, however, while I wouldn’t be incensed if Zizic were moved by the Cavs, with Love, Thompson and/or Henson seemingly having a legitimate chance of being moved soon, I still believe Zizic could be in-line for an expanded role post-deadline.

Zizic has very good footwork in the low post, has nice touch as a finisher, is a quality screener, and in 18.3 minutes per game last season, had a respectable 7.8 points and 5.4 rebounds per game, again, as noted by Basketball Reference.

Seemingly on a contender or perspective postseason team, though, as Fedor assumes, Zizic ,who is due to make near $2.3 million this season, would just be a salary filler.

Moreover, we’ll see if Cavs rumors involving Zizic start to heat up in coming days/weeks.