The Cleveland Cavaliers are rumored to be in a number of different trade talks but coach Tyronn Lue is doing everything he can to fix his team with the players he has before any sort of trade goes through. On Thursday, Lue announced that he was changing his Starting Lineup. The Cavaliers don't play again until Friday night when they host the Indiana Pacers, but Lue wants to get his new starters ready to play, and this includes adding a player to the starting lineup that Cleveland will surely trade before the deadline and moving one of their biggest stars to his more natural position.

Cavaliers starting lineup changes

Possibly the strangest move was the Cleveland Cavaliers replacing Jae Crowder in the starting lineup with Tristan Thompson. The Cleveland center returned to the lineup from injury on Dec. 12 and learned he would remain in the reserve role, backing up Kevin Love at center. While Thompson was out of action, the Cavs went on a tear, winning 14 out of 15 games to close in on the Celtics.

Since returning to the court, the Cavaliers have gone 7-11, falling behind the Toronto Raptors with the Miami Heat coming up from behind. With Thompson in the lineup this season, Cleveland has a record of 9-16. During Thompson's injury, Cleveland was 18-3. However, despite this, Lue believes that the Cavaliers are better with Tristan Thompson starting.

Tristan Thompson is averaging 5.3 points and 5.7 rebounds a game this season. Jae Crowder, who has started at power forward, is averaging 8.7 points and 3,3 rebounds. However, what will make this move possibly work is the fact that Thompson will start at center and Kevin Love is moving back to the power forward position, his more natural spot on the court.

Kevin Love is averaging 18.4 points and 9.4 rebounds a game this season, his first in the center role for the Cleveland Cavaliers. The hope is moving him back to the forward position will help the Cavaliers play more like they did the last three seasons, rather than how they have played this year.

What could this mean for the future of the Cavs?

The Cleveland Cavaliers made some major lineup changes this season, which is strange since they made the NBA Finals three years running. The most confusing move was moving Kevin Love, one of the best players in the NBA, to a new position and starting Jae Crowder in his old spot. With this move, Love is back to where he plays best.

However, these Cavaliers starting lineup changes might have a deeper meaning. The Cavs have not hidden the fact that they want DeAndre Jordan. If they plan on keeping Kevin Love, and they are willing to trade Tristan Thompson and their first-round draft pick for Jordan, making this move now sets the team up for his arrival with only room for improvement.
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