Grade the Trade: Cavs add Croatian scorer in trade proposal

Cavs add scorer in trade proposal: What’s the trade?

The Cleveland Cavaliers are somewhat limited in the assets available to them. They can’t trade an outright first-round pick, and the one swap available to them in 2024 doesn’t offer much value to the Detroit Pistons as they will likely still be in the lottery while the Cavs compete at the top.

What the Cavs can offer are a few second-round picks, and more important a useful veteran in Caris LeVert who (1) matches Bogdanovic’ salary almost perfectly, and (2) fits a big need on the Pistons while being somewhat redundant on the Cavs.

The Detroit Pistons are without Cade Cunningham for the rest of the season, and their other options as ball handlers are either mediocre or downright disastrous (the spectrum between Cory Joseph and Killian Hayes). This is a team that doesn’t want to completely flop the rest of the way, and one that could use Caris LeVert’s on-ball scoring and playmaking this season and potentially beyond.

If the Pistons don’t value LeVert, this deal has to become a three-teamer because all the Cavs have to offer are their seconds. The 2023 pick belongs to Golden State, so it should land closer to the middle of the draft than the Cavs’ selection. This would squeeze out much of the Cavs’ remaining assets so it would be hard for Detroit to ask for more from Cleveland; it would either be this deal or another team.