Four trades the Cavs should make to help LeBron
— -- The Cleveland Cavaliers need to improve their roster before the deadline, but they're working with plenty of constraints.
Which players should they target, what can they move and can they compete now before? LeBron James?becomes a free agent?
Our NBA Insiders give four trades that work.
Memphis Grizzlies
Grizzlies get:?Center Channing Frye, guard Derrick Rose, Cleveland's 2018 first-round pick
Cavaliers get: Guard Tyreke Evans, center Brandan Wright
View this deal in the ESPN Trade Machine
Kevin Pelton:?I think the Cavaliers are on the right track looking for a guard capable of swinging between both backcourt spots and offering more size at the point. Because of his onerous 2018-19 salary, however, George Hill would't be my target. I'd go with Evans, who has played at an All-Star level so far this season filling in for the injured Mike Conley.
Evans has developed into a capable catch-and-shoot threat from 3-point range and is the kind of dynamic playmaker Cleveland hasn't had at point guard this season with Isaiah Thomas at less than 100 percent. Yet he'll almost certainly be available as the Grizzlies look to the future, and the trade market might be cool enough for the Cavaliers to potentially get Evans for their own first-round pick and expiring contracts.
This deal is close to cap neutral (Cleveland adds about $1 million in luxury taxes but adds no salary beyond this season) and nets the Cavaliers Wright to use as a backup center capable of providing shot blocking and above-the-rim finishing -- or, alternatively, as expiring salary in another trade.
Chicago Bulls
Bulls get: Forward-center Kevin Love, guard, Iman Shumpert, Brooklyn's 2018 first-round pick
Cavaliers get: Forward Nikola Mirotic, center Robin Lopez
View this deal in the ESPN Trade Machine
Jeremias Engelmann:?This sounds like a high price for Mirotic and Lopez, but hear me out. With this deal, the Cavs would improve their shooting, their interior defense, and their payroll -- and their chances of making it back to the Finals and upsetting the Warriors.
And while Love is a star, and the Nets' pick has a certain mystique, the actual value of both is less than meets the eye. Love has an expensive contract (he's owed about $50 million the next two seasons), and the Nets' pick is currently projected to be just No. 6. The past seven No. 6 picks have been Jonathan Isaac, Buddy Hield, Willie Cauley-Stein, Marcus Smart, Nerlens Noel, Damian Lillard and Jan Vesely, with only Lillard becoming a star.
As we know, the chemistry hasn't been great in Cleveland, with Love and his teammates not always seeing eye-to-eye.
Enter Mirotic, a suitable replacement for Love -- in some regards a Love clone. Mirotic is not the rebounder that Love is, but he shoots more 3s and makes them more often. In other ways, their stats per 36 minutes are essentially the same.
And while the Cavs have played eight points better per 100 possessions with Love off the floor, the Bulls have played 13 points better with Mirotic on the floor. And the gap in salary, with Mirotic making about $12 million less this season and next season, adds value to the Mirotic side of the ledger.
Lopez would make up for Love's defensive rebounding. While he averages only five rebounds per game, he's tremendous at boxing out the other bigs - the Bulls have a higher defensive rebounding rate with Lopez on the floor, and that's always been the case for Lopez and his teams. Essentially, he makes sure his teammates grab more rebounds, which boosts team chemistry, which is needed in Cleveland. And he's not afraid to do the dirty work, such as contesting dunks, another quality the Cavs lack.
Dealing Shumpert, who has fallen out of the rotation entirely, and his $10M-per-year contract would also allow the Cavs to save luxury tax money.
Detroit Pistons
Pistons get:?Center Channing Frye, forward Jae Crowder, Cleveland's 2018 first-round pick, Miami's 2020 second-round pick, Cleveland's 2023 second-round pick
Cavaliers get:?Guard Avery Bradley and forward Stanley Johnson
View this deal in the ESPN Trade Machine
Bobby Marks:?The challenge of the trade deadline moved up two weeks is finding a team that is in sell mode, especially with 20 out of 30 teams still in playoff contention. That said, one team that is likely to be active by Feb. 8 is the Pistons, loser of eight straight games and now three games out of final playoff spot.
Acquiring Avery Bradley and Stanley Johnson would help the Cavs on both ends of the court and give an aging Cleveland team an infusion of youth (Johnson is 21 and Bradley 27). Bradley will be a free agent in July, and Cleveland would have the ability to exceed the cap based on Bradley's full Bird rights. Johnson is under contract for one more season and will be a restricted free agent in 2019.
The trade would also save the Cavs $8 million in luxury tax costs.
Memphis Grizzlies
Grizzlies get:?Center Tristan Thompson, forward Iman Shumpert, Brooklyn's 2018 first-round pick
Cavaliers get: Center? Marc Gasol
View this deal in the ESPN Trade Machine
Engelmann:?Given the Cavs' immense difficulties -- their scoring margin of 0.5 points per game is the second-worst by any LeBron-led team -- you probably won't find anyone, not even in Cleveland, who believes the current version of the Cavs stands a chance against the Warriors.
The two biggest holes for Cleveland, ranked 28th in defense, are point guard defense and rim protection. To improve the former, they might trade for George Hill, as has been reported. To improve the latter, they should give Memphis a call about former Defensive Player of the Year Marc Gasol.
Gasol has expanded his game the past two seasons by adding a 3-point shot, and he's still a force on defense. His numbers have declined this season, but he's a skilled center who turns only 33 today, and his older brother Pau is still very good -- which suggests that Marc has been a bit less motivated and effective than usual because the Grizzlies are struggling so much, especially with his pick-and-roll partner, Mike Conley, out with a season-ending injury.
The Grizzlies should realize now is the time to move on. They won't give Gasol away, naturally, but the Nets' pick - projected as the No. 6 pick -- is the rare lottery pick on the market. That's especially important for a team that owes a future first to Boston (as soon as 2019). Starting the rebuild with two lottery picks this year would present Memphis a great opportunity.
The Cavs have made three straight NBA Finals, but with LeBron a free agent, they might have to go all-in with the Nets' pick to get back to the Finals and give themselves a chance of upsetting the Warriors again. Replacing Thompson with Gasol might be exactly what they need to get back in the game.
Related Stories
ABC News Live