Getty Head coach JB Bickerstaff talks with Isaac Okoro #35 of the Cleveland Cavaliers.
The Cleveland Cavaliers have their sights set on upgrading one position ahead of the trade deadline: wing. But the cost to land their dream trade target is a steep one, according to one Eastern Conference GM.
“For them to get someone who is going to help them, they’d have to give up Isaac Okoro, most likely,” the GM told Heavy Sports’ Sean Deveney. “[T]hey don’t have the picks so if they want someone who is going to help, it probably will cost them Okoro and that might be too high of a price. He was the No. 5 pick (in 2020) and he’s 21 years old, it is a steep price to get a win-now guy.”
Among wing upgrades, the Cavaliers have registered interest in Bojan Bogdanovic of the Detroit Pistons. Though Detroit’s asking price for Bogdanovic is reportedly an unprotected first-round pick “at minimum” per James L. Edwards III of The Athletic.
After the Donovan Mitchell trade, the Cavs are light on future draft picks. But could a former top-five pick change Detroit’s mind, especially given that the team is clearly eyeing the future? Okoro hasn’t quite lived up to the hype of a three-and-D wing (career 31% from deep), but he likely fits Detroit’s timeline better than Cleveland’s win-now window.
Cavaliers Eyeing Three-Team Blockbuster?
According to NBA reporter Marc Stein, the Cavaliers might be engineering a three-team blockbuster to land a wing upgrade.
Stein explained out that the move would send Atlanta Hawks forward John Collins to Utah and Beasley to Cleveland. The compensation from the Cavs is a bit of an unknown but Stein mentions Caris LeVert as the team’s best trade chip.
“As part of the Cavaliers’ ongoing search for wing upgrades, league sources say, they have weighed pursuing a three-way trade scenario that would land Atlanta’s John Collins with the Jazz and bring Utah’s Malik Beasley to Cleveland,” he wrote. “The Jazz have well-chronicled interest in Collins but, to this point, have given the Hawks pause by seeking additional draft compensation for taking on Collins, who still has three seasons left on his five-year, $125 million contract after this one.”
The Raptors, Lakers, Pelicans, Bucks, Cavaliers and Mavericks are among the teams registering interest in Bojan Bogdanovic, sources tell @ShamsCharania.
Beasley would be an intriguing fit for the Cavaliers. Though shooting just 35.5% from three this season, his career 38% suggests his scoring could improve in the right environment.
Cavaliers in on Hardaway, Jr.?
Bogdanovic and Beasley aren’t the only wing upgrades on Cleveland’s wishlist. According to Chris Fedor of cleveland.com, Tim Hardaway, Jr. is one to keep an eye out for as we get closer to the trade deadline.
“The name that I would watch is Tim Hardaway, Jr. of the Dallas Mavericks,” Fedor noted on the Wine and Gold podcast. “Elite, elite outside shooter that can play the two and the three. Defends well enough and Dallas is a team that, even though they’re in the playoff mix right now and top six in the Western Conference, Hardaway, Jr.’s salary structure is one that is problematic for Dallas moving forward and I think they would be willing to move off of his salary and get somebody who brings…a different element to Dallas.”
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The Cavaliers might also be priced out of the Hardaway, Jr. sweepstakes. As it stands, the Mavericks are in a very similar position to the Cavs: sitting around fifth in their conferences and on the hunt for upgrades. Thus, Hardaway likely won’t come for cheap, if the Cavaliers want to pursue a deal.