Cleveland Cavaliers are having an interesting offseason, even though things haven't gone well for them so far. After Dan Gilbert let David Griffin go, the Cavaliers players weren't happy, and LeBron James was disappointed. Griffin was a great general manager for the Cavaliers, but his time in Cleveland is over and it will be interesting to see how the team will do in the offseason without him.
According to recent reports, the 2016 NBA champions are interested in Lamarcus Aldridge. Aldridge is supposedly not happy in San Antonio and he wants to be traded.
There is no doubt that he would improve the Cavaliers, but it may not be worth it if his price is too high.
LaMarcus Aldridge to Cleveland
It all started with the report of the Cleveland Cavaliers being interested in Danny Green. While Green is a great player and an exceptional shooter, it is unlikely that he could be a difference maker for the Cavaliers. However, the possible trade then included LaMarcus Aldridge, as reported by Sam Amico, but nothing has been confirmed yet.
#Cavs and #Spurs talks, previously centered on Danny Green, now also include LaMarcus Aldridge, league sources tell AmicoHoops.
— Sam Amico (@AmicoHoops) June 22, 2017
Aldridge has two more years left on his contract with the San Antonio Spurs and he has a player option on the final year.
Next season, the 31-year old power forward will be paid $21.4 million, which will increase to $22.3 million if he decides to exercise the player option.
Considering that he only averaged 17.3 points and 7.3 rebounds last season, LaMarcus Aldridge's contract is relatively big, and trading for him might be a bad move for the Cavaliers, who are already struggling with salary cap.
Possible trades to bring Aldridge to Cleveland
If the Cavaliers are looking to trade for Aldridge and Green, then the best option would be sending Kevin Love and Iman Shumpert or Channing Frye to the San Antonio Spurs. If they trade Love and Shumpert, they would save approximately $1.5 million in cap space, but that move could be costly in the long run.
Danny Green is a great player and could be a starter for the Cavaliers as he would most likely replace J.R. Smith in the rotation. However, Green is four years older than Shumpert and Kevin Love is three years younger than the Spurs' power forward.
By doing this trade, the Cavaliers would lose some of their key pieces and they would trade for two players who will be able to opt out of their contracts next summer. Furthermore, it is questionable how good Aldridge and Green would fit in Cleveland and whether they'd improve the team or make it worse.
