Cavs: 2 key takeaways from JaVale McGee trade with Nuggets

#1: The Cavs get those two future 2s for the expiring McGee, create trade exception

McGee has again played pretty well for the Cavaliers this season in backup 5 run, earlier on for Andre Drummond, and since Drummond has been sitting/Jarrett Allen has been the starting 5, for Allen. McGee’s had 8.0 points, 5.2 rebounds and 1.2 blocks in 15.2 minutes per outing for Cleveland this season, and has been active on both ends on the interior.

There have been instances when McGee has had head-scratching plays, sure, as he’s had a career-high 3.2 turnovers per-36 minutes, but he often provided energy for the Cavs on both ends, and as always, was a legitimate rim protector/shot alterer inside.

McGee, given his $4.2 million team-friendly and expiring deal, seemed to be eventually in-line to be traded, though, and also considering he is 33. Credit goes to JaVale for him being still so engaged in his time with the Cavs, though, and for how he was reportedly a key leadership presence in his tenure.

He’ll help spell Nikola Jokic I would think, and as many know, he is a three-time NBA champ with his share of meaningful playoff experience. He also was with Denver earlier in his career in time in the 2011-12 seasons, through some of the 2014-15 campaign before being dealt to the Philadelphia 76ers then.

For the Cavs here, it was a plus that they were able to land something for McGee, who again has played well, but is not exactly a young center, at 33. As Fedor again reported, the protected 2023 second-rounder is protected to 46, and the 2027 second-rounder is unprotected.

Frankly, while the 2027 second-rounder is so far down the road, and we’ll have to see if that ends up being meaningful, considering all the Cavs originally gave up for McGee was Alfonzo McKinnie and Jordan Bell, that and the 2023 protected 2 wasn’t a bad return. And as a positive, though, the 2027 second could be a very meaningful one, depending on what plays out down the road for Denver.

Obviously, McGee was a valuable player for Cleveland’s rotation, but for the Cavs, even while they could potentially have a shot at the play-in tournament, this club still could use a few more assets. That’s for possibly further trades down the road, even while fans aren’t going to be jumping for joy about this in the near term.

Also, the Cavaliers, per Fedor, reportedly generated a $4.2 million trade exception for McGee, who was, despite rumors of it potentially being the case previously, not a player they had interest in buying out.

So moving on, how about the other aspect to the move?