The Cleveland Cavaliers have a decision to make.
Do they keep this team completely intact, trusting in their success thus far this season, the team culture and familiarity and chemistry to buoy this roster when things get tough? Do they push the chips in to try and improve the team and risk upsetting that perfect formula?
Or, as is increasingly being discussed, do they try and "play the long game" by ducking out of the luxury tax this year, saving the owner money and in the process resetting the clock on the punitive "repeater tax" that this team will be facing as the entire roster gets more expensive in years to come?
We discussed some direct paths to slashing salary by moving off of Caris LeVert for a single, less-expensive player that made the Cavaliers worse this season but accomplished the goal of saving money. Taking that approach one step further, however, could the Cavaliers use Caris LeVert as a way to get both less expensive and deeper?
One trade target that was tossed out for the Cavaliers to consider is actually quite familiar to them, as they were the team to draft him. Ochai Agbaji has taken a major step forward this season, gaining consistency with his 3-point shot and leveling up as a strong, versatile defender. The Toronto Raptors have been beset by injury and inconsistency, but Agbaji has been a bright spot.
Could the Cavaliers target Agbaji as more of a pure "3-and-D" wing to boost their perimeter defense, get less expensive now and invest in a young player for the future? In the process, can they also fill another need? Let's bead to the trade machine and build a deal to check all of the boxes for the Cavaliers.
Building a LeVert for Agbaji trade
On the surface, Caris LeVert and Ochai Agbaji cannot be traded for one another straight-up. LeVert makes $16.6 million this season, while Agbaji makes just $4.3 million in the third season of his rookie contract. More salary will need to be added.
Enter Chris Boucher. The veteran big man has always shown tantalizing potential of combining shot-blocking with 3-point shooting, but he has never been able to scale that up into a larger role; too many fouls, too many injuries, or not enough accuracy.
This year, somewhat inexplicably, Boucher is having his best season in five years despite turning 32 years old earlier this month. He is shooting 35.6 percent from deep on a robust 7.9 attempts per 36-minutes, launching and hitting to stretch out opposing defenses. He is also fouling at a career-low rate, doing a better job of staying home and deterring shots at the basket. He is not a difference-maker on defense, but he has grown in his consistency.
Boucher makes $10.8 million this season, which added to Agbaji's $4.3 million puts this trade into the correct range. Now adding in Tristan Thompson, a native Canadian to send back to Toronto, the Cavaliers can lower their salary by $3.5 million, opening the door to not only duck the luxury tax but sign a player on the buyout market for the stretch run.
Here is the deal in full:
Toronto gets the best player in the deal, someone they can flip to another team (even working it in as a 3-team deal here) or sign-and-trade to another team this summer. LeVert's options to make more than the mid-level exception will be limited unless a team is willing and able to execute a sign-and-trade, and the Raptors will be better able to do that than the Cavaliers would.
LeVert can also help the continually-injured Raptors stay respectable to the point that they would like to. Thompson also comes in as a veteran big to be a solid presence in the locker room, connect with some of his Team Canada brethren and play occasional minutes in what is possibly the last season of his career.
Do the Cavaliers make this trade?
The question for Cleveland is whether this deal is worth the cost. Caris LeVert plays a key role on the team, not only excelling in the rotation as a solid two-way player who can dribble, pass and shoot, but also as a fill-in when either Darius Garland or Donovan Mitchell are out of the lineup. This deal wouldn't replace that.
It would, however, bring the 3-and-D small forward this team has been searching for ever since LeBron James left. Ochai Agbaji is hitting 40 percent of his long-range shots and playing excellent defense; the Cavaliers could without question use a player like that. Agbaji is also better able to scale up to defend larger players than Isaac Okoro, giving the Cavs more options against teams like the Boston Celtics or Oklahoma City Thunder.
Boucher is a stretch big who can play with Evan Mobley or Jarrett Allen and behind them as a low-minute center option, deepening the weakest spot on the roster. He is on an expiring contract, so the Cavs can bring him back at a lower number next year or let him walk.
Agbaji, on the other hand, will be eligible for an extension this summer and can become a long-term piece on the roster, a healthier and more reliable option than Dean Wade -- and when both are available, the kind of connective tissue players that unlock the best lineups.
This deal is intriguing on the surface, and as you peel back the layers it works on all of the levels. It saves money now, it gives the Cavaliers a young player to insert into the core, it keeps them competitive for this season and fills two needs at both wing and backup big. If Toronto is willing to listen, this is a trade to discuss.