5 Cavaliers who won't last the entire season in Cleveland

No. 2: Caris LeVert

The Cleveland Cavaliers love Caris LeVert. He is a great culture guy, he has built a rapport with the coaches, he plays hard on both ends of the court and he has filled the role asked of him, not only coming off of the bench but buying in on defense to ensure he's an asset to the team instead of a liability.

With that being said, it will always be the case that LeVert is best as an on-ball player, and there are teams in the association that genuinely need that ability more than the Cavaliers do. When healthy, they have Donovan Mitchell and Darius Garland leading the way, with Evan Mobley needing more touches as he develops. LeVert's role is helpful, certainly with the current injuries to Garland and Mobley, but he is somewhat dupicative and certainly not essential.

The Cavaliers want to keep LeVert, but if they are trying to bring in a player making substantial money, including LeVert's contract seems like the best way to get there. LeVert and Ricky Rubio, for example, puts them above $20 million in matching salary. LeVert is also one of their few non-core players who holds enough value to entice other teams, rather than simply being filler salary alongside draft picks.

If the Cavaliers don't trade one of their five starters, LeVert is their best path to making a real upgrade. He is good enough that not a lot of trades will actually improve the team much, and he is vitally important during this stretch without LeVert and Mobley. In the end, however, LeVert's value to other teams and contract make him a prime candidate to be involved in a trade.