The Cleveland Cavaliers are encircled by trade rumors. They’ve been linked to the Utah Jazz and the Atlanta Hawks and the Detroit Pistons and the Dallas Mavericks and the San Antonio Spurs — all in just the last week! It’s no secret that the Cavs want to upgrade the small forward position, and there is no shortage of potential options out there on the trade market.
Trading Caris LeVert for that upgrade at small forward is the Cavs’ most obvious choice, as they don’t otherwise have much ammunition. LeVert is a talented and valuable member of the rotation, however, so the Cavaliers aren’t going to trade him for just anything.
The Cleveland Cavaliers are working the trade market in search of an upgrade.
Bill Simmons of The Ringer is well known for his trade ideas; he was one of the first mainstream guys to start tossing them around as a feature, and his “trade value” lists started a trend that is virulent now. For whatever you think of his partisan approach, he has a long track record of building trade ideas, and he might have just landed on one for the Cavaliers that actually works.
On a recent episode of The Bill Simmons Podcast, while discussing Eastern Conference All-Stars with guest Zach Lowe, Simmons paired the Cleveland Cavaliers and the Dallas Mavericks in a trade idea. What’s interesting is that the deal isn’t centered around Tim Hardaway Jr., as has been rumored, but instead around another Mavericks player.
The kicker? Simmons’ trade actually makes a lot of sense, and might just be worth sending Caris LeVert to another team.