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Build the Trade: Cavs target pedigreed shooter from the Mavs

By Josh Cornelissen

NEW YORK, NEW YORK - OCTOBER 27: Tim Hardaway Jr. #11 celebrates with Luka Doncic #77 of the Dallas Mavericks during overtime against the Brooklyn Nets at Barclays Center on October 27, 2022 in the Brooklyn borough of New York City. The Mavericks won 129-125. NOTE TO USER: User expressly acknowledges and agrees that, by downloading and or using this photograph, User is consenting to the terms and conditions of the Getty Images License Agreement. (Photo by Sarah Stier/Getty Images)
NEW YORK, NEW YORK - OCTOBER 27: Tim Hardaway Jr. #11 celebrates with Luka Doncic #77 of the Dallas Mavericks during overtime against the Brooklyn Nets at Barclays Center on October 27, 2022 in the Brooklyn borough of New York City. The Mavericks won 129-125. NOTE TO USER: User expressly acknowledges and agrees that, by downloading and or using this photograph, User is consenting to the terms and conditions of the Getty Images License Agreement. (Photo by Sarah Stier/Getty Images) /
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Cleveland Cavaliers
Caris LeVert and Cedi Osman, Cleveland Cavaliers. Photo by Tim Nwachukwu/Getty Images /

Building the trade for Cavs target Tim Hardaway Jr.

There is a group of players on the roster who are the realistic options for any trade. The core four stars aren’t going anywhere, Kevin Love and Ricky Rubio are key veterans for the bench, and Dean Wade and Lamar Stevens are inexpensive rotation players. That group of eight is very unlikely to be involved in a trade.

That means to build a deal for another player there are two main routes. The first is to use Caris LeVert’s large expiring contract ($18.8 million this season) and the second is to build a deal with the contracts of Isaac Okoro, Cedi Osman and Dylan Windler.

In a potential trade with the Dallas Mavericks for Tim Hardaway Jr., the Mavs will almost certainly demand LeVert as a secondary ball-handler to meet their team’s biggest need. Here’s what that trade could look like:

The Mavericks are currently fourth in the Western Conference, just as the Cavs are in the East, but it’s not directly comparable. The Mavs are three games worse than the Cavs, have a significantly worse point differential and are only 4.5 games out of 13th. They could stand to make a change themselves.

After letting Jalen Brunson go in the offseason for nothing, the Mavericks are dangerously thin at ball-handler, with Luka Doncic, Spencer Dinwiddie and…well, that’s about it after cutting Kemba Walker. Adding Caris LeVert would give them a third option and shore up that weakness, and the Mavs have an interest as they have tried to acquire LeVert previously. They would probably accept this trade, putting the ball in Cleveland’s court.