Cavaliers Trade Deadline Wishlist: 4 dynamic forwards for Cleveland to target

Dorian Finney-Smith is a no-brainer option for the Cavaliers

The Brooklyn Nets have no shortage of talented wings and forwards, and the NBA has noticed. Brooklyn's veteran Dorian Finney-Smith is the poster boy of defensive forwards with a lethal shot from deep.

In a trade for DFS, the biggest hurdle the Cavs would have to clear is outbidding 28 other teams. Finney-Smith is likely to attract interest from everyone, especially contenders. The Cavaliers have also done business with the Nets in recent years, acquiring Jarrett Allen in the multi-team deal that sent James Harden to Brooklyn.

On the year, Finney-Smith has an astounding 41.1 percent shot from deep on 2.8 attempts per game, including 47 percent on corner threes. He has also grabbed 4.9 rebounds per game and is revered as one of the league's premier defensive forwards.

After starting his career as an undrafted prospect with the Dallas Mavericks, Finney-Smith caught the league's attention as the defensive anchor behind the Luka Doncic Mavericks' constant appearances in the playoffs. The Mavs traded DFS to Brooklyn for Kyrie Irving, and his name has circulated the trade scene every deadline and offseason since as the perfect final puzzle piece for a contender.

If the Cavaliers are serious about making a win-now move this deadline, they would be foolish not to fight to be the team to land DFS. If the goal is to put players around Donovan Mitchell that he likes and respects to convince him to sign an extension, DFS is the ideal target. In the 2022 NBA playoffs, Mitchell named Finney-Smith as the cause of his offensive woes that year. Mitchell knows what Finney-Smith brings to the table, and it is exactly what the Cavs need.

The NBA trade deadline buzzer strikes on February 8, leaving the Cavs just under one full month to make a move. After going silent last trade deadline to test the resolve of their roster, the Cavaliers know they need changes, and they know what those changes need to be. Any of these four players can fulfill a needed role in Cleveland in their own ways, making them worthwhile targets for their reported plans.