December 15th is not the most well-known date on the NBA calendar; it’s not Opening Night, or the Trade Deadline, or the Draft Lottery. Yet it is a vitally important one, as this Thursday all of the 74 players who signed with their teams this past offseason become eligible to be traded, including a number of players the Cleveland Cavaliers should be keeping an eye on.
We broke down three such players this morning on KJG, highlighting what each of the three would bring to the Cavs. The list includes one scrappy forward who could come available if his team gives up on contending at some point and decides to let go of the rope this season.
Those three are only a small part of the many coming available, and Dec 15 signals the unofficial start of trade deadline season. Rumors could start to become reality in the coming weeks.
More Cavs news
On Sunday it was announced that Paul Silas, a longtime NBA coach and three-time champion as a player, had passed away at the age of 79. Silas was an elite defender who won two titles with the Boston Celtics and one with the Seattle SuperSonics back in the 70s. His path crossed with the Cavaliers in 2003 when he was hired as head coach, becoming LeBron James’ first NBA coach.
#Cavs release a statement on the passing of Paul Silas. pic.twitter.com/v00j2FM8ml
— Spencer Davies (@SpinDavies) December 11, 2022
Most sites put out weekly or biweekly NBA Power Rankings, so it’s impossible to keep up to date with all of them, but it’s nice to check in every so often. Despite their many injuries and some discouraging losses, the Cavs checked in at fourth in Bleacher Report’s latest Power Rankings. It’s important to remember that the positives are vastly outweighing the negatives for the Cavaliers this season.
NBA news
The New Orleans Pelicans are atop the Western Conference standings and Zion Williamson is on an absolute tear, a welcome sight for all basketball fans after he missed last season. Zion dropped 35 points in a convincing win over the Phoenix Suns on Friday night, and then Sunday afternoon came back with another 35 in an overtime victory. New Orleans has now won seven straight.
Also on a winning streak? The Orlando Magic, who crushed the Toronto Raptors for their third-straight win on Sunday night. Franz Wagner scored 34 points on Friday and then another 23 on Sunday in the Magic’s two-game sweep of Toronto.
Oh, and Joel Embiid dropped another 50-spot, obliterating the Charlotte Hornets. Unreal.
Coming Up: The Cavs landed in San Antonio yesterday and will take on the league’s worst team tonight. Kevin Love and Donovan Mitchell are both questionable to play.