Could the Cavs be the middleman in yet another trade with the Nets?

Following the news that All-Star starter Kyrie Irving has requested a trade, NBA Twitter has gone wild with speculation and proposed trades. While I’m not here to suggest that the Cleveland Cavaliers should make a move for their former point guard, I am here to say they can pull off another heist from the Brooklyn Nets.

The last time the Cavs made a trade featuring a disgruntled star and the Brooklyn Nets, they played the middleman and absorbed cap to make the salaries work for everybody else. They offered up Donte Exum and some insignificant draft capital in exchange for a much larger contract in Jarrett Allen. Safe to say they won that trade.

It’s not like the Cavs have a severe lack of players who can be involved in such a trade either. They have Raul Neto, Isaac Okoro, and Dylan Windler, all of which are on small contracts and when paired with a second-round pick, could give the Cavs some room to bring in a quality player.

Now it’s not likely that they’ll be able to pull off a move like that again. It would be awesome to see though. What is more likely is they’ll take a decent-sized contract, preferably one that expires by the 2025 free agency period so they can extend Evan Mobley.

Who could the Cleveland Cavaliers land in a Kyrie Irving trade?

The current frontrunners in the Kyrie Irving sweepstakes are the Los Angeles Lakers, Dallas Mavericks, and Phoenix Suns. All of which have intriguing players for the Cavs roster given their lack of starting-caliber small forwards.

The Lakers have newly acquired Rui Hachimura, a combo forward out of Gonzaga who is a high-quality shooter with shades of Danny Granger. He is also on an incredibly team-friendly deal. He can light it up from three and he can take the ball of the dribble. The only issues are a lack of consistency on both ends of the basketball and a bit of an injury history.

His abilities would be welcomed on the Cavs as most of his inconsistencies are inside the three-point arc and a coach like JB Bickerstaff could really help his defense. Overall, he would be a solid fit on the Cavs should they get involved in a trade with the Lakers attempt to nab Kyrie Irving. He is going to be a restricted free agent this offseason and could fetch a decent contract due to his upside.

The Mavericks’ interesting forward is Tim Hardaway Jr, a player who is more consistent and has a better handle but isn’t quite as good of a shooter. He doesn’t really have a huge issue involving fit on the Cavaliers. His contract even works with the Mobley extension. Although, due to the size of his deal, they may require a higher-paid player like Caris LeVert to make a trade work.

The Phoenix Suns have probably the best option for the Cavs in Jae Crowder, a player with plenty of experience, consistency, and a team-friendly contract that expires after this season. He seems like the best choice should Irving be traded to the Suns.

All three of these options are great choices for the Cavaliers but there is still one more quality option that would require a slightly bigger deal. This player is Joe Harris.

Harris is a three-point sniper for the Brooklyn Nets who shoots 43% from beyond the arc for his career. He is on a much larger deal than many of the other options, but it ends in 2024. He could be a high-quality bail-out option for the Cavs should a play go south and they need a good look.

Since his contract is much higher, they would likely need to involve a higher-contract player like Caris LeVert to make it happen. Although, his shooting ability is worth the high asking price.

If the Cleveland Cavaliers are able to sneak into a Kyrie Irving trade involving any team to grab an upgrade at the three, they should count it as a win. That is the only problem spot on the roster and fixing it could make them a much scarier threat to win it all.