Cavs trade target No. 1 – Jae Crowder, Phoenix Suns
The Phoenix Suns’ success over the past two seasons was hardly driven by Jae Crowder, but his floor-spacing at power forward helped open up space for this midrange-heavy team to operate on offense. Defensively, his strength and savvy made him the perfect choice to defend larger combo and power forwards.
This season Crowder has been sitting home waiting for a change of scenery, and it’s widely expected that the Suns will move him by the Trade Deadline. Could that make him a fit on the Cavs?
The idea has been suggested before, and we broke it down from multiple angles previously on the website. To sum up the pros for making the deal, the Cavs would improve their forward depth with a real 3-and-D option. Crowder’s shooting accuracy may run hot and cold, but his willingness to get up attempts has gravity itself, and he won’t hurt the Cavs defensively like giving more minutes to Kevin Love would. He’s also on a reasonable contract at $10.2 million.
The cons are there too; he will almost certainly cost the Cavs a rotation player and a draft asset in trade, and the Cavs certainly aren’t hurting for options at power forward between Love, Evan Mobley, Dean Wade and Lamar Stevens. Crowder is probably an upgrade on Dean Wade, but how much of one? Crowder’s first stint in Cleveland certainly did not go well.
The cost is probably the big factor here, but if the Cavs can flip Cedi Osman and a second-round pick Crowder would almost certainly help them.
Verdict: Pursue