Cavs land a Southwest Shooter in this trade proposal

Is this deal worth it for the Cavaliers?

Doug McDermott is a much better shooter than Cedi Osman, indeed than most of the Cavaliers’ roster, and would fill a need on this roster. On the other hand, he’s a worse defender and will make building defensively viable lineups a difficult task.

Making this trade means two things. First, it means that the Cavs don’t expect to add a higher-level shooter. If the Cavaliers trade for Bojan Bogdanovic, Malik Beasley or Tim Hardaway Jr. they won’t need to add McDermott.

Secondly, it means the Cavs don’t have cap space plans for this summer. Committing to McDermott’s salary means the Cavs will have negligible cap space. They are most likely to bring back Kevin Love, Caris LeVert or both anyway and stay over the cap, but turning Cedi Osman and Dylan Windler into McDermott means that will be all but certain.

This trade doesn’t look like a game-changer, but it would fill a need. When you factor in McDermott’s defensive shortcomings and his salary for next season, this looks like one trade the Cavs are unlikely to make.