3 "Damaged Goods" players the Cleveland Cavaliers should target this summer
The Cavaliers should take a look at C.J. McCollum
Columbus native C.J. McCollum might be the most overpaid guard in the NBA currently, as he enters next season with a $33.3 million price tag. The following year, his salary drops to $30.67 million. Currently, the New Orleans Pelicans will operate above the luxury tax line but not above the first tax apron. With rumors surrounding New Orleans' interest in both Garland and Allen, the Cavaliers may very well be in constant negotiations with the Pelicans this summer.
If the Cavs are not swayed to target Pelicans forward Brandon Ingram and offer him a long-term max extension this year, they may instead offer the Pels a way out of McCollum's deal two years early if New Orleans includes some of their best young players. The Pelicans have three of the league's more exciting young talents in Trey Murphy III, Herb Jones and Dyson Daniels. Trading for any of these three would be a tall task, but the Pelicans may be willing to part with one or two if they trade McCollum in the process and receive Allen or Garland in return.
On the Cavs, McCollum would likely serve in a sixth-man role, leading the second unit and giving Cleveland a reliable backup point guard behind Mitchell. While most teams would frown at the thought of paying a maximum salary to a bench player, the Cavs and the fanbase would quickly become enamored with either Murphy or Jones as a starting forward next to Mobley and Max Strus.
Through three seasons with the Pelicans, Murphy as emerged as an ideal two-way wing, scoring 14.8 points on high-volume threes and tenacious defensive efforts. Murphy has displayed the ability to score from the arc and off the drive. While he is not an elite shot creator of his own, he can pick his spots and read plays to make the right cuts without hestiation. As for Jones, his three-point shot can dip at times, but his league-leading defense has earned the third-year player All-Defensive First Team honors and Defensive Player of the Year recognition.
Either Jones or Murphy would outweigh the cost of McCollum's contract with their impressive production. Adding just one of those two and possibly defensive guard Dyson Daniels is already worthwhile return for either Garland or Allen. If McCollum becomes the right leader for the bench unit, the Cavaliers would never reconsider the trade or regret paying "too much" for a sixth man. When a team's winning, the payroll doesn't matter.