Making a trade to improve the roster and push the Cleveland Cavaliers closer to a championship will be no small feat for Koby Altman and the front office. That is, unless the New Orleans Pelicans are willing to give the Cavaliers a much-needed out to their brutal circumstances with Herbert Jones.
Bleacher Report's Dan Favale thought the Pelicans wing would be a 'dream addition' when in search of three trade targets for every NBA team in 2026. It's hard to disagree. The financials for a potential deal involving Jones work favorably for Cleveland, in terms of making the money work.
The Cavaliers would need to move now, before the NBA trade deadline, to match up Jarrett Allen's salary to Jones' price tag (plus filler) in that deal. A defensive presence down low is something the Pelicans would need too. They would just have to finally budge on the idea of selling Herb.
Marc Stein wrote in a recent rumor mill round-up: "New Orleans [is] still resistant to trade interest in both Herb Jones and Trey Murphy III."
Cavaliers would get the perfect out via a Herbert Jones trade with Pelicans
For what it is worth, Stein's comments were general, but made in a tie-in to the Los Angeles Lakers and their hunt of a 3-and-D wing. Perhaps the Lakers would not have enough in the tank for a Jones trade, but the Cavaliers are better-equipped.
That would be the case if Allen still holds the perceived value that Cleveland would hope for in trade negotiations. The Cavaliers could even flirt with the idea of trying to get Jose Alvarado in the deal too. The $20 million owed to the Cavs center lines up perfectly in a two-for-one deal for both players.
Granted, the Cavaliers would need to sweeten the pot. Jones may be a touch inconsistent on offense, but the defensive star more than makes up for it with his upside on the other end.
The former Defensive Player of the Year candidate is exactly the type of switchable player the Cavaliers would need at his positions to support lineups that feature Evan Mobley at the center. His addition should also better allow for masking the problems of their backcourt on that end.
Jones will still be on the books for a mere $13.9 million this season before going up to $14.9 million in the next. Even when his three-year, $67.6 million deal kicks in for 2027-28, his contract is still largely team-friendly.
If the Cavaliers want to entertain the idea a bold makeover before the NBA trade deadline, Jones is their guy. Unfortunately for them, not only do the Pelicans like what they have in the defensive stopper, but other teams would kill for the chance to add him too. Cleveland would be in a bidding war.