Bill Simmons proposes Cavaliers trade, and it may be the best yet

Cavaliers trade proposal: Building it out

The trade proposed by Bill Simmons recognized that the Cleveland Cavaliers needed a 3-and-D starter enough to trade Caris LeVert, and that the Dallas Mavericks need more perimeter creation enough to trade a trusted starter. The deal? It centered around the swap of LeVert to the Mavericks and Dorian Finney-Smith to the Cavaliers.

The money for that doesn’t quite work, as LeVert makes more than Finney-Smith, but we can balance things out by including a player on both sides. Here is the final construction:

The Cavaliers get a player in Dorian Finney-Smith who has started the past four years for the Mavericks, shooting 38.3 percent from 3-point range while providing high-level defense. The Mavericks get a wing with size and ball-handling chops, the archetype they need but don’t have.

Finney-Smith has been a crucial part of the Mavericks’ attack for the past four years, and his 3-and-D skillset is a perfect fit around Luka Doncic. Even so, the Mavs have other options behind him (Maxi Kleber, Josh Green, Reggie Bullock) and add a third ball-handler with enough size not to compromise their defensive philosophy. Cleveland tosses in a second-round pick to help get this over the hump, and the Mavericks walk away with a player who can help now and more flexibility this summer.