Due to recent struggles, the Cleveland Cavaliers have been actively attempting to shore up their roster ahead of the February 8 deadline. They have Brooklyn’s valuable first-round pick, which they are hoping to use to receive an impactful player to help turn their season around.
The Cavaliers are currently seeded third in the Eastern Conference with a record of 27-17, which isn’t too awful but it doesn’t meet their expectations. Cleveland doesn’t seem to have enough to compete with the Golden State Warriors and may not even be able to get past the Boston Celtics during the playoffs.
Change is definitely needed in The Land, and it seems like Cleveland’s new General Manager Koby Altman is wasting no time.
Cleveland attempting to acquire two veterans
According to Marc Stein of The New York Times, the Cavaliers are pursuing two separate deals for Clippers big man DeAndre Jordan and veteran point guard George Hill. They have been pursuing Jordan for quite some time now, but it was reported Friday afternoon that they are also interested in Hill.
It will be extremely tricky for the Cavs to acquire both players. The Sacramento Kings will obviously want young pieces in return for Hill, which the Cavaliers do not possess. Ultimately, the Kings would seek Brooklyn’s first-round pick, which wouldn’t be ideal for Cleveland.
The Cavaliers would need Brooklyn’s pick and possibly Tristan Thompson and other pieces to complete a trade for Jordan, which would leave them with minimal assets to trade with Sacramento.
In any case, the Cavaliers are busy working the phones to re-tool their roster, which saw huge changes this offseason. Of course, trying to fit all the pieces together has been part of the problem for the Cavs, but their defensive lapses have been the major concern.
Jordan and Hill would significantly help them improve their defense, which is currently ranked 28th in the league. For a championship-caliber team, that is an incredibly terrible ranking.
Cavaliers have shown interest in another veteran
In other related news, the Cavaliers have also shown interest in Clippers veteran guard Lou Williams, but talks have stalled between the two teams.
Williams has been on a scoring tear lately, carrying the injury-riddled Clippers team into the playoff picture.
Cavs definitely have asked about @TeamLou23, as @TheSteinLine reported. But told this week that talks so far have stalled on Clips’ request 4 Brooklyn pick.
— David Aldridge (@daldridgetnt) January 20, 2018
However, Williams and the Clippers have held talks about a possible contract extension. It’s believed that Williams would be a more attractive trade asset if his contract extended for multiple years than if he became an unrestricted free agent this summer. Nonetheless, the Cavaliers are pursuing Williams with a package deal that includes Thompson and J.R. Smith. Williams is the ultimate Sixth Man and would provide extreme firepower off the Cavs' bench, but he may not be on the move this season.
