Trade or Fade with three proposed Cavaliers trade targets

The Cleveland Cavaliers have to make changes this summer. Nothing as drastic as firing the head coach or trading a star, but the rotation they entered the playoffs with will not cut it going into next season. Koby Altman and the front office have to pursue upgrades.

Free agency offers a few targets, but if the Cavs are going to make a big swing they likely need to do so on the trade market. With limited draft assets, however, they will have to pick their spots. Bleacher Report recently published a list of trade targets for the Cavaliers; let’s go through each one and play “Trade or Fade” to see which ones the Cavs should pursue.

No. 3: Buddy Hield, Indiana Pacers

One of the most glaring needs for the Cavaliers this season was shooting from someone not named Donovan or Darius. Specifically, this team lacked any sort of a movement shooter to bend defenses toward the perimeter while the Cavs ran an on-ball action elsewhere on the court. That is a void Buddy Hield could fill.

Hield hit 288 3-pointers last season, second only to Klay Thompson. He has hit at least 262 3-pointers in each of the last five seasons, and his 1,381 total 3-pointers over that span is first in the league by 120 3-pointers. He’s absolutely an incredible shooter.

The problem is everything else. He’s a porous defender, a poor finisher inside and struggles to move the ball. He’s essentially just a play finisher; that is fine, but the Cavs can’t afford to pay someone $19.27 million next season just to fill that role, nor can they afford the matching salary unless Caris LeVert and the Pacers want a reunion in a sign-and-trade (not happening). This one is intriguing, but it’s not meant to be.

Verdict: Fade