Report: Promising young forward named as 'ambitious' trade target for Cavaliers

With the Cleveland Cavaliers falling to the Boston Celtics in the Eastern Conference Semifinals, Koby Altman and his staff will start to look to retool and come back to the 2024-25 season even stronger. That's why the Cavs started by firing coach J.B. Bickerstaff.

Looking at the Cavs' roster, there is still one spot that the Cavs need to work on. Even though Max Strus was a phenomenal addition last summer, that spot could still be upgraded. Strus only shot 41.8 percent from the floor and 35.1 percent from distance last year for the Cavs, and his inefficiency sometimes hindered the Cavs in games.

Looking over the bottom of the Eastern Conference, the Washington Wizards are a prime target for a trade candidate. In Bleacher Report's recent article, it highlighted an idea where the Cavs should target Washington's forward Deni Avdija.

How could the Cavaliers structure a Deni Avdija trade?

First off, what would that trade even look like? Considering the Washington Wizards are in the midst of a lengthy rebuild, they're looking to get as much draft capital as they possibly can. Here's an idea of what that hypothetical trade could look like.

Let's go over why the Washington Wizards would do this trade. Moving up six spots in the draft could be the difference between getting a diamond in the rough versus getting a bench warmer. Having a veteran presence like LeVert would be a great add, as well. On an expiring deal, moving him at the trade deadline would be easy. The second round picks are just sweeteners to the deal.

Also, considering the Wizards will most likely take French wing Zaccharie Risacher, who gives more minutes to him, Bilal Coulibaly, and Corey Kispert, all young wings on the roster if Risacher is drafted second overall.

Why would the Cleveland Cavaliers do this deal? Assuming they would also trade Jarrett Allen in another trade, this allows the Cavs to put Evan Mobley in the full-time center position and have a great versatile defender at the power forward spot in Deni Avdija. Max Strus and Caris LeVert are similar in skill sets, so losing LeVert is not the end of the world.

Not to mention, the Cleveland Cavaliers were a team that was interested in Avdija during the 2020 NBA Draft, but ultimately took Isaac Okoro instead of Avdija.

Now, would the Wizards actually be wanting to shop Avdija? He's their best defender and still has a lot to grow, considering he is only 23 years old. Hard to say, but to clear up the logjam in their wing position, it may be their best bet as well as adding more draft capital to their stock.