Evan Fournier would be intriguing Cavs trade target, but there’s a lot to it

The Cleveland Cavaliers have found ways to win this season, and in this past month of January, they had an 11-4 record, which was the best record for a month’s span they’ve had since LeBron James’ second stint.

The Wine and Gold have often gotten balanced efforts from the team, and they have the league’s third-ranked defense this season, largely thanks to Evan Mobley and Jarrett Allen. Others such as Isaac Okoro, Lauri Markkanen, to some degree in the team sense, Ricky Rubio-pre-injury, Lamar Stevens and Dean Wade, have helped the squad on that end of the floor, too.

Offensively, Darius Garland has hit a new level this season for the Cavaliers as well, and while Cleveland not having Collin Sexton for most of the year has played some into statistical upticks for him, and for the past month-plus, Rubio out, Garland has been fantastic. His Year 3 leap has been real, and he, along with Jarrett Allen, could be named All-Stars for the first time, in which they’d be repping the hometown Cavs in Cleveland in a couple of weeks.

Nonetheless, with the trade deadline in a week on Feb. 10, and with Cleveland’s injuries, it’s understandable that the team has been reportedly seeking perimeter/wing help. They lost to the Detroit Pistons on Sunday, and Houston Rockets on Wednesday (sans Garland), two of the league’s worst teams, which was somewhat disheartening.

The Cavaliers were recently granted an $8.9 million Disabled Player Exception for Rubio, which could potentially lead to a meaningful contributor acquired via trade, such as Dennis Schroder or Delon Wright, as some have suggested. And the Cavs were reportedly granted a $3.1 million DPE, per a report from Kelsey Russo of The Athletic on Wednesday; that DPE is a bit less than where Cleveland is from luxury tax territory, as a side note.

I wouldn’t likely expect the Cavs to utilize the first DPE, though, where perhaps the second could come into play as an alternative. Rubio’s contract and draft capital, which has been a reported framework of a package the Cavs are shopping, should help the Cavs net a meaningful contributor, anyway.

As far as some rumored candidates for the Cavaliers, otherwise, Caris LeVert, Eric Gordon, Terrence Ross, Kyle Anderson, to some extent, Buddy Hield and Harrison Barnes have been linked as potential trade targets. Robert Covington has been a player linked to the Cavaliers as well, for what it’s worth.

And, per a recent report from Jake Fischer of Bleacher Report, the Cavs have “placed calls on wing reinforcements” such as Gordon and LeVert, but Fischer expressed how Cleveland is showing preference of dealing two second-round picks with Rubio for those two players. The Rockets believe Gordon is worth a first-rounder, conversely, and Indiana is seeking “more than” a first-rounder for LeVert, and have been rumored to want two firsts for him in potential deals.

An interesting tidbit from Fischer’s report from there, though, was how the New York Knicks have made Nerlens Noel, Kemba Walker, Evan Fournier and Alec Burks all available via trade.

Among those names, Fournier is the one that jumps out, realistically, from a Cavs standpoint, in my opinion. He’s been decent for New York this season after signing there this past offseason, but hasn’t been necessarily a piece to really solidify them as a postseason club, let alone a possible contender.

For the Cavs, I could foresee him being a player they consider still, as he is an impact shooter, and can score in on and off-ball ways, and the team could use more help for Garland.

So should the Cavaliers maybe weigh doing a trade for Fournier?

We’ll get into that more here, but there’s a lot to that hypothetical for the Cavs to consider.

First, we’ll examine what a potential deal centered on Fournier could look like between the Cavs and Knicks.