Trades

David Griffin finished second in Executive of the Year voting in 2015.

Cleveland General Manager David Griffin has made some amazing trades over the past couple season landing J.R. Smith, Iman Shumpert, Timofey Mozgov and Channing Frye, all major parts of the Cavs title run. With this new need, I’m sure Griffin has a few more tricks up his sleeve. Griffin’s deals last year landed Cleveland multiple trade exceptions totaling over 12 million dollars, and those will definitely come in handy when trying to make some trades this season.

There have been trade rumors surrounding Koufos for a few years now, and he might be a perfect fit for what the Cavs are looking for. Some reports said that the Cavs were looking at him as a possibility near the trade deadline last year to help make up for Mozgov’s deficiencies. Koufos is a seven-footer manning the paint as Sacramento’s starting center, but the Kings may be willing to part with him to provide more minutes to develop young centers Willie Cauley-Stein and rookie Georgios Papagiannis. I see two possibilities here:

CLE sends: 2020 first round pick, 2019 second round pick, Kay Felder, Jordan McRae, Mike Dunleavy

SAC sends: Kosta Koufos, Ty Lawson

This deal knocks out two birds with one stone for the Cavs. They need a defensive-minded center and could certainly use a competent back up point guard. The Kings may be hesitant to part with both Kufos and Lawson, but that’s why the Cavs are unloading just about every expendable piece they have. Youngsters McRae and Felder have a lot of potential as scoring guards, and Dunleavy is a productive veteran who can still fill it up from behind the three-point line. These are the only draft picks the Cavs have available through 2020, so this would be one last ditch effort to try to ensure another title in the next couple years. This deal is less likely because David Griffin usually likes to keep his options open rather than trade himself into a corner where he has no more pieces left to trade.

CLE sends: 2020 first round pick, Jordan McRae, Mo Williams

SAC sends: Kosta Koufos, 2018 second round pick

This deal doesn’t include Ty Lawson, so the Cavs may still be looking to make another trade this season and make further use of their multiple trade exceptions to try to land a similar point guard. However, this deal would get it done and send Koufos to Cleveland without giving up much on either side. In order to land Koufos in any scenario Cleveland would have to use the majority of its trade exceptions.

CLE sends: 2019 second round pick, Jordan McRae, Chris Andersen

DAL sends: Salah Mejri

Mejri is a 30-year-old center who made his debut in the NBA last year for the Mavericks. He’s a seven footer who’s shown some skill on the defensive side of the ball. The Mavericks have looked pretty terrible this year, and it looks like they’ll need to be in tank mode to build around Harrison Barnes for the next few years. Early reports from Cleveland have stated that the team will be looking to trade Andersen’s contract to a team looking to clear that money off their books. Trading away a 30-year-old sophomore for a draft pick and a promising young scorer as well as the cap room of releasing Andersen’s contract could be pretty alluring for Dallas.

Mejri is the first Tunisian NBA player.

CLE sends: 2019 second round pick, Jordan McRae, Chris Andersen

UTA sends: Jeff Withey

Jeff Withey is a young center who’s shown strong potential defensively but has largely fallen out of Utah’s rotation. As one of six big men on Utah’s roster, he’s seen his minutes go down to under ten a game this season, even with all of the Jazz injuries. Utah would likely part with him for a draft pick and a young player with potential. The seven footer averages almost a block a game, and while he likely wouldn’t see the floor much in Cleveland either, his rim protection might be just what the doctor ordered for certain situations.

CLE sends: 2019 second round pick, Jordan McRae, Mo Williams

MIN sends: Cole Aldrich

Cole Aldrich is a journeyman center with little offensive upside, but a solid defensive presence. The T-Wolves are still a few years away from being serious title contenders, and their hopes for a low playoff seed seem almost extinguished already. Aldrich isn’t going to be a difference maker for Minny when they’re ready to contend so they shouldn’t mind parting with him. They’d be happy to net a draft pick and a young player with the added benefit of cap relief.

The Cavs don’t have a lot of assets to work with, but you can expect them to make a move soon. Having a fourth big-man on the roster not only gives them more defensive versatility, but also is important for making the rotations click and get everyone the rest they need. Birdman will be missed, but you can be sure Griffin will find a replacement in no time.