Could Cavs trade up with Kings to No. 4 in the NBA Draft?
Cavs / Kings trade in NBA Draft: Why Cleveland would do it
The Cleveland Cavaliers have an excellent young core, but they still have difficult decisions to make in how best to surround and build off of it. Adding a player at pick No. 14 can absolutely help them towards that goal, but adding a blue-chip talent would be an even greater boon.
Darius Garland, Evan Mobley and Jarrett Allen are all entrenched as starters at the 1, 4. and 5. It’s highly unlikely any of those three would be moved in a trade. Yet everyone else around them on the team seems questionable to be a starter on this team when the Cavs come into their prime, and thus are somewhat expendable in the search for another core piece.
Whether Jaden Ivey, Shaedon Sharpe, Keegan Murray or even Bennedict Mathurin catches Koby Altman’s eye, if he is convinced that player has a high chance of being a long-term starter, the time is now to pull the trigger. Evan Mobley showed last season that the right rookie can start helping a team win now, and this team’s window is still multiple years down the road. Pulling a win-now trade doesn’t make sense; adding an elite prospect to their young core does.
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Obviously, the cost matters, and the Cavs can’t mortgage their roster just to move up 10 slots in what is widely regarded as a weaker draft. Yet if they do add a top prospect and that player explodes, the Cavs will have something truly special on their hands.