Could Cavs trade Caris LeVert to Heat for an elite shooter?

The Cleveland Cavaliers have something of a conundrum on their hands. They have spent four seasons developing Collin Sexton, a heady scorer who boasts a lot of offensive upside and plenty of defensive concerns. They also traded significant draft capital for Caris LeVert, a bigger version of Sexton with a worse outside shot and better passing chops. Can they afford to lock both up long-term?

The answer is probably not, especially with the newly-drafted Ochai Agbaji looking like a much better fit long-term. The future of the Cavs’ offense will be built around Darius Garland and Evan Mobley, with Jarrett Allen rolling to the rim and slamming home putbacks. What the Cavs need are players who can affect the defense without the ball, not more players who will demand the ball into their hands and out of Garland’s.

The Cleveland Cavaliers have to consider trading Caris LeVert. This potential trade with the Miami Heat would bring back an elite shooter.

Sexton could theoretically be that player if he works on his off-ball movement, as he is an accurate catch-and-shoot player, but expecting that change to occur overnight or even at all is perhaps a fool’s errand. What the Cavs need, especially as Agbaji develops, is a knockdown shooter whose off-ball movement can warp defenses.

Lauri Markkanen provides something of that effect, but he shot just 35.8 percent last season and in fact is just a 36.4 percent shooter for his career from 3-point range. Cedi Osman is comfortable shooting off movement but is likewise not super accurate, hitting only 35.7 percent of his shots last year. In fact, of players on the roster who played last year, only Kevin Love and Darius Garland hit more than 36 percent of their 3-pointers last season.

How could the Cavs address this issue? One option is to play Ricky Rubio more once he is healthy; with Rubio handling the ball Garland is freed up to move off-ball and knock down shots, bending the defense towards his perimeter gravity. Another way? Add an elite shooter, a player whose very presence on the court causes defenses to scramble to ensure that player doesn’t get an open look.

Acquiring such a player isn’t necessarily easy, and the Cavs hope they may be developing one in Agbaji. Yet now we come full circle, as the answer to not paying both LeVert and Sexton is perhaps the same as acquiring that shooter: trade Caris LeVert to the Miami Heat for Duncan Robinson.

Let’s break down why this trade might work for both sides, and then decide whether it should happen or not.