3 Trades for the Cavaliers to do the unthinkable and trade Evan Mobley

Trade No. 2: Mobley to the Knicks

While moving Evan Mobley for another prospect on a path to stardom is appealing, it also ignores the fact that the Cavlaiers are in win-now mode right now. Another way to use Evan Mobley in a trade is to build a package around him to go after a veteran forward who can shoot and score. One such option would be getting up shots in the Big Apple.

Julius Randle has blossomed into an All-NBA player in New York but the team has always seemed to be open to including him in a trade for a star. Perhaps instead of using him as matching salary to go after someone like Joel Embiid, instead they use some of their draft picks and Randle to get a budding star and a defensive difference-maker.

The Knicks rebuild their rotation, adding a defensive maestro at the point of attack in Isaac Okoro, a dynamic wing scorer in Caris LeVert and of course the rim-sealing Evan Mobley. Tom Thibodeau loves his traditional centers, and he can either play Mobley at the 4 (a la his current role with the Cavs) or move him to center and trust his backline impact.

The Cavaliers get a lot of assets here, from three first-round picks to a young 3-and-D wing in Quentin Grimes and a prospect center in Jericho Sims. Yet none of it brings much upside; Grimes and Sims have plateaued this year, Randle is not a ceiling-elevating player, and the picks are highly unlikely to land anywhere near the top of the draft. This one is a harder sell.