The Cleveland Cavaliers are not as good as everyone hoped they would be. Through nearly 50 games, the team seems to be taking two steps forward and one step back every few games. Thus, a trade feels likely before February 5th — whether a medium-sized deal or a blockbuster remains to be seen.
There is a potentially obvious deal that would land Cleveland help at power forward while letting Jaylon Tyson fully take over the small forward spot... It would just require calling up the Milwaukee Bucks about Bobby Portis. In return, the Cavs would send De'Andre Hunter to Milwaukee, who is desperate for any NBA-caliber players right now, according to Jake Fischer of The Stein Line:
"Brooklyn's Porter, Sacramento's Zach LaVine, Cleveland's De'Andre Hunter, Portland's Jerami Grant and Charlotte's Miles Bridges have all been mentioned as potential targets, but the Bucks' lack of available draft capital to sweeten trade offers has clearly complicated the search for reinforcements."
All of those guys do feel like realistic options for the Bucks — but Hunter might be the most feasible out of the group, because no draft picks would have to be involved on either side of the deal.
De'Andre Hunter for Bobby Portis could help the Bucks and Cavaliers
It would just require both teams to swallow their pride for a bit and make a trade with their division rival. Portis plus Gary Harris (who would function as salary filler here) for Hunter does work financially.
The logic is pretty clear on both sides, here. Portis would be the only "true" power forward on the Cavs roster, and he's also the NBA's 3-point percentage leader right now. Plus, Jaylon Tyson has outplayed Hunter all season — Portis's skillset would be much more valuable to the Cavs right now.
For Milwaukee, this would be beneficial because everything is on fire and they have to make any move before the best player in franchise history requests a trade and sets the franchise back a decade.
And because they do need wing depth in general. Gary Harris, Gary Trent Jr. and Amir Coffey isn't anywhere close to a competitive wing rotation, even in the weak Eastern Conference. Having two guys named Gary at the same position is also just not a recipe for success.
The Cavs and Bucks are both desperate to make win-now moves. It's not often that a trade can fit that description for both teams involved, but wing depth for the Bucks and power forward depth for the Cavs does sound like a win-win. Make it happen!