Could blockbuster trade for Zach LaVine raise Cavs’ ceiling?

The Cleveland Cavaliers have a bright future. They have a young core that already consists of two All-Stars plus a generational defensive star in Evan Mobley. Their team last season made a huge leap up the standings and seems to have a positive culture in place. No one would blame the Cavs for standing pat and keeping the current group together.

Yet complacency is how good teams fail to become great, and the Cavs have an opportunity this summer to add to this core. Darius Garland will almost certainly sign a maximum rookie extension this offseason that will kick in next summer. The time is now to make a move to raise this team’s ceiling even further.

The Cleveland Cavaliers should be open to every move to make their core better. Could a blockbuster sign-and-trade for Zach LaVine raise the Cavs’ ceiling?

The Cavs could look to trade for a player under contract, but a greater opportunity is to recruit a player heading into free agency. Cleveland won’t have the cap space to sign a player outright, but they could execute a sign-and-trade and send back value to the team in question to make it worth their while.

One player to target is Chicago Bulls guard Zach LaVine. The two-time All-Star had an excellent season as part of a Bulls team that finished sixth in the Eastern Conference and will now hit unrestricted free agency. While many assumed he would return to the Bulls, and he certainly still could, LaVine has made it clear he intends to test the waters of free agency and could certainly land with a new team for next season and beyond.

Is Zack LaVine the kind of player the Cavs should pursue? How might the team bring him aboard if he does want to play with Darius Garland and the rest of Cleveland’s core? Let’s break down this potential blockbuster move for the Cavaliers this summer.