The Cleveland Cavaliers currently sit at 22-19 at the halfway point of the season. From inconsistent offense to lackluster defense to the myriad of injuries, it feels like everything that could go wrong for the Cavs has gone wrong.
Even with all of that, they will have moments of absolute brilliance. The big-time road win over the San Antonio Spurs. The offensive masterpiece against the Minnesota Timberwolves. The short-handed road win against the Miami Heat earlier in the season. It’s not like it has been all bad for the Wine and Gold.
Cleveland may look like a contender on some nights, but they have nights where they don’t as well. This has caused the roster construction to come into question.
The main thing the NBA world wants to know is whether or not the Cavs would consider breaking up their core four of Donovan Mitchell, Evan Mobley, Darius Garland, and Jarrett Allen.
Cleveland has given no indication that they will break up the core
Garland and Allen have been in trade rumors for the last two years, but the Cavs have rebuffed almost all trade inquiries on them according to Michael Scotto of HoopsHype. Some in the Cleveland organization believe that Allen was the spark to their turnaround a few seasons ago, while Garland is a homegrown prospect and is the longest-tenured Cav on the roster.
Teams even called to shoot their shot on Mitchell, but obviously they were turned down right away.
The Cavaliers have also rebuffed inquiries on De’Andre Hunter and Dean Wade, two wings that have interest from around the league. Cleveland’s tune on Hunter could change though, given that his representation would like to see him elsewhere and Hunter’s well-documented struggles this season.
The front office clearly wants to give this team a chance to get healthy. They are not entirely wrong to do so, given the Cavs’ uptick offensively over the last 12 games.
Cleveland is fourth in the league in offensive rating in that span and prior to their loss to the Utah Jazz on Monday, they had won five of their last seven. They are just coming around slower than expected.
Time is running out for the Cavs to turn their season around, but even with all of their struggles, a big move seems unlikely this season. Maybe if they come up short again in the spring they will consider roster moves, but until then, Cleveland is going to run with what they have.