Should Cavs be interested in reported trade for Mike Conley?
Rumored Cavs trade for Mike Conley: Other targets on the Jazz?
The obvious trade target on the Utah Jazz is Donovan Mitchell, and reports are that the Jazz are now open to discussing packages for Mitchell. That being said, the cost to acquire him will be sky-high, and while he is a much more valuable player than Conley he introduces some of the same defensive issues. Such a deal makes less sense for Cleveland than it does for other franchises more motivated to throw the kitchen sink at Utah.
Who else could be a target for the Cavs? A couple of role players could step into the Cavs’ rotation. Jarred Vanderbilt is a rebounding machine and solid defender who could give the Cavs another defensive big to rotate with Kevin Love and Lauri Markkanen, although his complete lack of a shot would complicate pairings. Malik Beasley is intriguing as a small forward who can absolutely shoot the basketball, but the Cavs hopefully got their version of Beasley in the draft with Ochai Agbaji.
The most intriguing option is Bojan Bogdanovic. The Bosnian forward is an incredibly talented offensive option at the 3 or 4, a career 39.2 percent 3-point shooter who can create his own shot and loves to bully smaller players in the post. He is 33 years old, so he likely doesn’t have a place in the Jazz’ future, but he could fill a veteran role with the Cavs.
Bogdanovic is a better shooter, a better scorer and a better defender than Lauri Markkanen. Would the Jazz be interested in, effectively, a swap of the two players? The Jazz ger the younger building block under contract for multiple years, and the Cavs get a better fit at the 3 who is more two-way versatile. It’s at least worth asking about.
Next. 4 important things to know before Cavs trade for Donovan Mitchell. dark
The Cavs don’t get much better by trading for Mike Conley, and whether Collin Sexton returns or is traded for a different package, the Cavs can get better production from a different option. Perhaps that other option is trading for a different Jazz player during the fire sale, but it’s not by trading for Conley.