The Cavs Should Stay Put At The Trade Deadline

The Cleveland Cavaliers are not a piece away from winning an NBA Finals this season. Well, they’re not a tradeable piece away from winning an NBA Finals this season.

Cavs fans have been clamoring for them to make a trade all year. Whether it's Kevin Love, Caris LeVert, Cedi Osman, or even Isaac Okoro, fans want to see some shake-up in this lineup. I don’t think any of these moves change the landscape of this team that drastically. 

Dean Wade Fills Void

With Dean Wade back in the lineup, Kevin Love’s role is nonexistent. You still have to deal with his albatross of a contract, but it expires at the end of the season. Love can’t find a spot in the Cavs rotation, so how do we expect any team to eat the rest of his $30 million dollars? It doesn’t make any sense.

I get trying to move Caris LeVert if there’s a great deal, but are there really any improvements you can find for him off the bench? He goes through really streaky stretches, but he has been shooting 37 percent from three this year, which would be a career-high. To counter this streakiness, the Cavs just need to play the trio of Okoro, Wade, and Osman more. 

The Isaac Okoro Leap

Okoro’s been phenomenal since the new calendar year. He’s knocking down threes at over 50 percent, upped his assist numbers when attacking late closeouts, and has also played elite defense since switching on to smaller players. When he tries to match up with forwards, he’s been average on the defensive end, but when he’s bigger than the guy he’s guarding, he’s been putting his matchup in handcuffs.

Wade has been a perfect swiss army knife since returning from injury. He’s highly switchable on defense and knocks down open threes. He’s a perfect stretch big man who could get huge minutes in the playoffs. 

🏀 Visit betJACK today for your chance at $1,000 in bonus bets! 🏀

Then we have Cedi. He has the same sort of issues as LeVert, except I love how Bickerstaff uses him when the Cavs get out in transition. He runs the floor well and his quick release allows for tough looks to get off; and when he misses, opportunities for offensive rebounds happen for our two big men. More minutes for Cedi could also fix some offensive issues for the Cavs as well.

Injuries can happen at any point, but you shouldn’t base your season on potential injuries. Working a new player into the lineup could mess up the chemistry this unit has built, and the holes in this team can and will be addressed in the offseason. I think the Cavs have enough to be a playoff team right now, and there aren’t any moves to make them anything more than that.