Cleveland Cavaliers are favorites to win the East this season and advance to the NBA Finals for the fourth straight year. With weak Eastern Conference, their road to the final stage shouldn't be difficult, but there is no doubt they will face a tough challenge against any team that comes out of the West. It won't be surprising if we see yet another rematch between the Cavaliers and the Golden State Warriors, and right now, the Warriors have a slightly better team.
If Cleveland gets to the final round, they will be underdogs once again. Because of this, the Cavaliers still want to improve their roster and increases their chances of winning another championship.
However, it seems that they are not involved in trade talks with the Phoenix Suns for Eric Bledsoe, despite numerous reports that claim they are.
Eric Bledsoe and the Cavaliers
Eric Bledsoe doesn't want to play for the Suns anymore and the Suns don't want him either. After a lot of drama in the past few days, Bledsoe is on a trading block and Phoenix wants to get rid of him as soon as possible. Considering he is only 27, Bledsoe can be a great player on any NBA team, but it seems that the Cleveland Cavaliers are not interested in his services.
According to Joe Vardon of Cleveland.com, the Cavaliers are not involved in trade talks with the Suns. When he was asked if the team made an offer for Eric Bledsoe, Vardon had a negative answer.
"As of this writing, the Cavs are not in on Bledsoe, according to sources closes to the team and to Bledsoe," wrote Vardon. He also added that trading Cedi Osman, Ante Zizic and a 2021 first-round pick for Bledsoe wouldn't make sense for the Cavaliers. As long as Isaiah Thomas returns healthy and Derrick Rose can play, no trade for the guard would make sense for Cleveland.
Not the right fit
Eric Bledsoe is certainly not a bench player, yet he wouldn't fit in the Cavaliers' starting lineup. While he could replace Rose in the starting five, he would be eventually pushed out of that position by Thomas.
Starting Thomas and Bledsoe together in the backcourt wouldn't make sense as the Cavaliers would be extremely undersized.
While both of them are amazing players, it's hard to see how they could be successful while playing in the same lineup.
After all, Eric Bledsoe is also prone to injuries and the Cavaliers could not rely on him. There is no doubt that Cleveland would benefit from his presence, but it is very unlikely that he would accept a bench role.