The Cleveland Cavaliers were the best team in the Eastern Conference last season, at least record-wise. As such, not making any big moves made sense to a degree, even though most fans agreed that their core was flawed.
Considering that, it wasn't much of a surprise to see the front office make only marginal moves. Trading for Lonzo Ball, however, looked like a potential catalyst to bring some much-needed grit and toughness to this team.
Now, nearly 50 games later, it's become painfully evident that the fans and the front office were wrong. Watching Ball play has been painful at times.
That's why Cavs insider Chris Fedor of Cleveland.com believes he's a no-brainer trade candidate. In his latest article, he floated the idea of sending him to the Dallas Mavericks to land a solid two-way role player like Naji Marshall.
Naji Marshall would help Cavaliers' title push more than Lonzo Ball could at this point
"Versatile swingman Naji Marshall ... is available, with Dallas seeking at least a first-round pick in return," Fedor wrote. "He makes $9 million this year and next year. ... On the surface, Ball-Marshall seems like a logical trade framework,"
Marshall has been a bit of a late bloomer. He's taken a big leap in the past couple of years, and he's averaging a career-high 14.7 points to go along with 4.9 boards, 3.0 assists, 1.1 steals and 0.9 3-pointers a game on 54.5 percent from the floor.
Ball, on the other hand, is averaging under five points and just four assists a game while shooting under 40 percent from the floor and 27.5 percent from downtown. He's not getting it done on the defensive end, either, and that was supposed to be one of his strengths.
The Cavs already have a solid wing-stopper in De'Andre Hunter, and Dean Wade can guard most players at both forward spots. That being said, they're both injury-prone, and Marshall can also play some shooting guard if needed.
Ball was supposed to be an upgrade over Ty Jerome after his breakout season, but he's been a liability on both ends of the court. He'd also gladly take a chance to try to take his career back from the ground by playing for Jason Kidd, the player he was compared to when he first got to the league.
There's still time to turn the season around and help this team get closer to the top seed they secured last year. For that to happen, however, they need to get anything in return for Lonzo Ball and end this experiment right away.