The Cleveland Cavaliers have struggled mightily over the past month and it looks like they are preparing to make a number of big trades. While there is one mystery trade that might come as soon as today, there are rumors that the Cavs have a number of trade deals they are looking at. One of these includes a conversation with the Charlotte Hornets about their best young star and All-Star talent.
What will it take to trade with the Hornets?
There have been a ton of rumors that the Charlotte Hornets have been interested in shopping around All-Star Kemba Walker. While Michael Jordan has downplayed the rumors in recent interviews, he did admit that the team would listen if anyone came calling. It sounds like one team that has come calling is the Cleveland Cavaliers, a franchise that is on the verge of a fourth NBA Finals but has a lot of work to do with their lineup before the NBA trade deadline comes and goes. ESPN has reported that the Cavaliers have reached out to the Hornets to weigh in on what they want for Walker.
It is interesting to hear that the Cleveland Cavaliers want to trade for Kemba Walker but they will have to give up something huge in order to bring him to Cleveland. ESPN reported today that Michael Jordan said he wasn't interested in trading Walker unless the trade was just right.
According to the Hornets' owner, he has a lot of respect for Walker and he is not actively shopping the point guard. However, he said that if a team inquires about him, that he will consider the options. The problem is that Jordan won't trade Kemba Walker unless it is for an All-Star player. There are only two All-Star players on the Cavaliers team that they could consider trading for someone like Walker.
Who could Cavaliers offer for Walker?
The most obvious trade object could be none other than Kevin Love. The Cavaliers have dangled Love in trade offers for the last couple of years. He is an All-Star, and while he has struggled over the past few games, he is still a monster in the paint and someone who can help any team win. The problem here is that Love is older and trading a young star like Kemba Walker for an older veteran wouldn't help the Charlotte Hornets in the future.
A more interesting object of a trade would be Isaiah Thomas. The Cleveland Cavaliers brought in Thomas in the trade that sent Kyrie Irving to the Boston Celtics. While Thomas is a superstar, he is a defensive liability right now and that is where the Cavaliers need help.
Trading Kemba Walker for Isaiah Thomas would help the Cavs improve and might give Thomas a nice change-of-location deal to kickstart his All-Star career again.
Thomas is a superstar but since he came off the injured list and joined the Cleveland Cavaliers, they have lost more often than not. Kemba Walker is the ball-controlling point guard and Dwyane Wade and Derrick Rose are solid second team players at the position. Bringing in Walker would leave no spot for Thomas, so he might be the key to pulling off this trade.