From the Cavaliers perspective, they think Monday’s trade was a big win. They have up a guy in Dion Waiters that did not fit what they do and did not mesh with the games of LeBron James and Kyrie Irving. They got back a guy who should help their wing defense in Iman Shumpert (once he gets healthy), and they got a guy in J.R. Smith who (at least when engaged) should provide a better sixth man presence. They hope this (and getting some guys healthy) will spark a lagging offense.
But their work is far from done.
From the moment LeBron James decided to return to Cleveland the Cavaliers went into “win now” mode (no matter how the GM wants to spin the process). This roster is still not there, specifically the Cavaliers need size in the paint. The Cavs need a shot blocker. They are working on that but not getting far, tweets Adrian Wojnarowski of Yahoo Sports.
Cleveland remaining in pursuit of center Timofy Mozgov, but Denver still reluctant to deal him, league sources tell Yahoo.
— Adrian Wojnarowski (@wojespn) January 6, 2015
Mozgov is struggling in Denver yet, for all his flaws, he would be an upgrade for the Cavaliers.
The Cavaliers have called pretty much everyone who might have a big man they would trade (the Clippers and DeAndre Jordan, the Celtics with Brandan Wright, and so on). So far, no one is interested.
But what exactly do the Cavaliers have on their roster to trade? Waiters was their big chip and it’s going to take something of quality to get a big man. It’s a supply and demand thing: Every team wants more size in the paint, so the teams willing to move a guy have options and can start a little bidding war.
The Cavaliers made a nice little move on Monday, but if they are going to live up to the “win now” mode there is a lot more work to do.