The Cleveland Cavaliers may very well trade some current players at this year's Trade Deadline.
Rumors are swirling around the Cavs and all 29 other teams in the NBA as the deadline approaches. This player could be on the move, or that draft pick, and these teams want those stars. Name a player, and someone is inquiring about him.
Yet while fans of the Cavaliers absolutely care about what moves their team makes, they also often have fondness for or attachments to former players, those who have already been traded or signed away from the team. Whether they left the team this past summer or a decade ago, once you are a member of the Cavaliers you forge a connection to the town and the fans.
Zooming out, therefore, to canvas the entire league, which former players could be on the move this trade season? Which alumni of Cleveland basketball could find themselves to a new home before the clock strikes midnight on deadline day?
Let's look at 3 players and track why they might leave and where they could be going.
No. 1: Collin Sexton
Once upon a time, Collin Sexton was the face of the next chapter of Cleveland Cavaliers basketball. He was beloved for his competitive fire, his strength, his scoring. Yet he also came with a number of flaws that convinced the front office he couldn't be a cornerstone piece of a future contender and he was sent to Utah in the Donovan Mitchell trade.
Sexton has found his niche with the Jazz, toggling between the bench and the starting lineup and providing scoring and secondary playmaking. He has improved as a shooter, to his credit, and could bring burst scoring to any team in the league.
As the Jazz are clearly trying to maximize their draft position and Sexton is one of a handful of veterans on the team unlikely to be a part of the next great Utah basketball team, he is a prime candidate to be moved to another team. Making $18.3 million this season he is on the top-end of salary most teams trying to win could easily match.
Would the Detroit Pistons bring him in to juice their offense? Could the New York Knicks build a trade around Mitchell Robinson to beef up the bench? Both teams in Los Angeles could benefit from his scoring. And now that Russell Westbrook has moved into the starting lineup, could Sexton be part of a deal with the Denver Nuggets involving Michael Porter Jr.'s contract?
Prediction: Los Angeles Lakers
No. 2: Kevin Love
The Miami Heat are at the very top of trade rumors these days due to the ongoing Jimmy Butler saga, but less discussed is that they will be highly motivated to duck the luxury tax. It seems increasingly likely that Butler will be traded, and as their impetus to maximize winning goes with him, that means they will be intentional to get out of the luxury tax entirely.
That makes Kevin Love a prime trade candidate. The onetime All-Star and champion with the Cavaliers has spent the past few seasons as a stretch big in Miami, but the Heat have minimized his role this year and could look to turn his more expensive minimum contract into a pro-rated minimum if they can attach a small asset to Love and move him.
Are any teams interested in his combination of shooting, rebounding and veteran leadership? Love's per-36 numbers are still incredibly strong, so it's not out of the question a team could look to him as a bench big capable of a small rotation role.
Could that be the Cavaliers? They could use another big man and having a stretch-big in the mix would make a lot of sense. What about the New York Knicks, who could more easily put together matching salary for a player on the minimum like Love? The Los Angeles Lakers have been looking for another big, as have the Indiana Pacers.
It makes a lot of sense, either on the trade market or as a buyout candidate, for Love to end up back in Cleveland.
Prediction: Cleveland Cavaliers
No. 3: Larry Nance Jr.
Another stretch-big that used to call Cleveland home, Larry Nance Jr. has played four corners aroudn the NBA the past few seasons. After the Cavaliers traded him to Portland, he was flipped to New Orleans, and now plays for the Atlanta Hawks.
Atlanta doesn't necessarily need him, as they still have Clint Capela entrenched on the roster, Onyeka Okongwu as the long-term starter at the 5 and even Cody Zeller hanging around. Moving Nance now for value makes a lot of sense for the Hawks to consider ahead of the deadline.
The Cavaliers again come up as an option to trade for Nance, and the New Orleans Pelicans could really use him back. The Sacramento Kings are looking at changes in the frontcourt, and the Phoenix Suns are eyeing low-cost changes if their Jimmy Butler pursuit falls through. Could he be a piece of a Minnesota deal involving Julius Randle?
In the end, however, Nance's injury history and the Hawks desire to push for something this year opens the door for him to stick around.
Prediction: Stay put