CLEVELAND, Ohio -- Whether the Cavaliers make a trade Thursday or they don't, they're going to look different the next time they play.

The first sign of that came in Wednesday's 140-138 overtime win over Minnesota. Rookie Cedi Osman played 21 minutes, scoring nine points with four rebounds. He hadn't logged more than seven minutes in any game since Jan. 12.

While a case could be made that there was room in coach Tyronn Lue's rotation to play Osman Wednesday because Dwyane Wade was resting on the second night of back-to-back games, Lue wants to play Osman.

He's young and athletic and can defend. And it appears Lue will have him out there again when the Cavs play the Atlanta Hawks on Friday.

"I gotta keep playing him," Lue said. "I mean, he brings a lot. He can guard 1s, 2s and 3s. He knows the coverages, he's in the right spot defensively all the time and offensively he can make plays. He can run the floor and can catch and go. For a rookie he really understands how to play the game and we have to find minutes for him."

What other changes Lue makes -- and who they impact -- won't be known until the trade deadline passes Thursday. But he's been given room to give more minutes to certain players post deadline, according to multiple sources.

How that affects players like Isaiah Thomas, who's been the team's starting point guard but as struggled for most of the 15 games he's played, Wade, Derrick Rose and others remains to be seen.

Lue's rotation has been too big and most lineups with Thomas included have struggled.

The Cavs lost their previous two games by 50 points before beating Minnesota, were 1-8 against the top six teams in the NBA, and are 29th in defense. They are closer to missing the playoffs (four games ahead of ninth-place Detroit) than they are first-place Boston (seven games).

In the meantime, there's Osman, the Cavs' resident jack rabbit who fell out of the rotation once Thomas and Rose joined it. Osman bothered Jimmy Butler before LeBron James came over to block Butler's shot with one second left in overtime.

Lue has wanted to give Osman more minutes but felt he couldn't because of the veterans in front of him, but has also been in his ear keeping him ready for another opportunity.

"Coach has been talking all the time to me and I'm always ready," Osman said. "Seriously today when I get in the game I was so thirsty, I was just going out and bringing energy to the team. I'm so happy I was a part of the win tonight."

Late in the fourth quarter and overtime, Lue used Osman as a sub for Thomas during stoppages to set up the Cavs' defense. Osman is 22 and is averaging 2.2 points per game. He came over to the Cavs from Turkey, where he was playing professionally.

"What do they say, we're the oldest team in the league?" Thomas said. "We don't play with that much energy. So to have something, somebody like that, that rubs off on everybody. Even with the times we do practice, he's the most energized guy, so he deserves it.

"I'm glad he got his time today and he helped us out. I know he can help in the future, so we'll see what coach does."

James said Osman is so young, he doesn't know any better but to go out and play hard -- in any situation.

"He's going to make mistakes, which is OK, but his purity of the game is infectious to our team," James said. "He hasn't been in many situations, so he's not even going to trip about what's going on. He's going to play his game. And he's been in professional basketball since he was 14 years old, so he plays the game the right way. It's great to have him."