The Cleveland Cavaliers‘ starting lineup hasn’t quite lived up to its expectation so far this season.
The starters have been worse than their opponents quite considerably when looking at the net rating of James Harden, Donovan Mitchell, Peyton Watson, Evan Mobley and Jarrett Allen on the floor together.
That has already started to raise discussions of potential coaching or roster changes.
There’s at least one name out there who has burst into trade rumors and could be intriguing if the right deal lined up: Naz Reid.
Reid is power forward for the Charlotte Hornets. He went there in the LaMelo Ball trade with the Minnesota Timberwolves. And there are already rumblings that he’s not happy.
If Reid is available, maybe the Cavs should make a play for him.
Naz Reid Trade Rumor: Cleveland Cavaliers
Reid was floated as a potential Cavs target in a new article on Thursday by CBS Sports writer Sam Quinn.
Quinn notes the same problem with the starters that was mentioned above.
“The Cavaliers are getting crushed with their five starters on the floor, and the Jarrett Allen-Evan Mobley duo, a frequent target of the rumor mill, is losing its minutes together by over five points per 100 possessions,” Quinn writes. “That duo has never generated the elite rebounding that double-big lineups are supposed to create, and while they do a good job of defending shots at the rim, they give up so many of them that they net out as a fairly underwhelming rim defense. Peyton Watson is struggling to fit in as a small forward, but lineups featuring him and just one of Mobley or Allen are faring far better.”
Quinn suggests that maybe the best idea is to add Reid’s shooting to the lineup for one of the more defense-oriented bigs.
“Swapping one of the bigs out for Reid, essentially trading defense for shooting, recalibrates the team in ways that theoretically create a friendlier environment for Watson,” Quinn writes. “The Hornets, still presumably looking for a long-term starter at center, would likely have some degree of interest in either Mobley or Allen. The question is which makes more sense in a trade like this. The answer is probably Allen. He’s older. He’s worse. He’s more traditionally a center than Mobley, whom Cleveland has historically been reluctant to move up from power forward. But the on-off data is pretty clear this season: Cleveland is playing better with Allen on the floor than it is with Mobley. If the Cavaliers are going to go with a single big, it might behoove them to stick with the one they know can be a center. Mobley’s 30% max contract is going to prove limiting down the line, especially with Donovan Mitchell starting a 35% supermax deal next season. Mobley would almost certainly net more in a trade than Allen would, and Charlotte has the pick surplus to make a pretty compelling offer if it wants to.”
Mobley for Reid and picks? It’d be a bold move for the Cavs.
A Naz Reid Outcome to Avoid
Quinn also floats the Detroit Pistons as a landing spot for Reid.
And while the Cavs don’t necessarily need Reid, they’d likely prefer to avoid seeing him on one of their top Eastern Conference rivals.
Reid would add a dimension to the Pistons — frontcourt shooting — that they also lack.
One way or the other, a Reid trade could shift things in the East.
Naz Reid Trade Rumors Involve Cleveland Cavaliers