Grade the Trade: Cavs add not one but two forwards in trade idea

Grading the Cavs’ trade for two forwards

Now we land on the Cleveland Cavaliers. Would they do this trade? It’s a bit more complicated than some of the other constructions we have looked at, but in the end it’s fairly simple. Two rotation players and two second-round picks for Bojan Bogdanovic and Jae Crowder.

The two players are variations on a theme, both combo forwards best deployed at power forward but with the floor-spacing to survive at small forward, where the Cavs would certainly start one or the other. Bogdanovic can replace LeVert’s on-ball scoring while offering a lot more off-ball value due to his shooting (42.2 percent from deep this season) and Crowder is a high-volume floor-spacer as a 3-and-D combo forward.

The Cavs love LeVert, and he seems to love being in Cleveland. The reality, however, is that his skillset is redundant given the presence of Darius Garland and Donovan Mitchell, and when Ricky Rubio returns he won’t be a critical injury replacement. Crowder and Bogdanovic fill important roles, and having both gives the Cavs a lot of rotational versatility.

This deal probably wouldn’t actually happen, as both the Suns and Pistons hope to get more for their players than the Cavs can offer. Yet if this was on the table for the Cavs to accept or deny, you have to think Cleveland would say yes and head into the postseason an even more dangerous team than they already are.

Grade: A