The NBA Draft Lottery took place on Tuesday night and the Cleveland Cavaliers picked up the exact draft spot that most predicted them to receive. The Cavs owned the spot that used to belong to the Brooklyn Nets, whose 28-54 regular season record had them ranked as eighth. That is the exact pick that the Cavs drew in the lottery and that is a huge pick when it comes to possible trade partners. There are some ideas that the Cavaliers could keep the pick and draft someone like Oklahoma Sooners sharpshooting point guard Trae Young, but more likely the Cavs will use that pick to try to bring in a major NBA superstar in a blockbuster trade at the draft.
Here is a look at the trade packages that they could offer to get a major star to help them convince LeBron James to remain in Cleveland.
Kemba Walker
In the postseason this year, the Cleveland Cavaliers are working with George Hill as their starting point guard. His 8.6 points and 2.1 assists a game is far below that of the 25.9 points and 5.3 assists that Kyrie Irving offered the team in the 2016-17 NBA postseason. In the regular season this year, Kemba Walker averaged 22.1 points and 5.6 assists a game and those numbers could make Cleveland elite again if it convinces LeBron James to stay home.
The Cleveland Cavaliers would have to convince Michael Jordan to help LeBron James, but that could bring Kemba Walker to Cleveland in exchange for the first round draft pick and their own point guard George Hill, as well as someone young like center Ante Zizic.
Paul George
When it comes to Paul George, there would need to be help from both George and the Oklahoma City Thunder to get this trade pulled off. George can opt out of his deal in OKC and could sign with the Cleveland Cavaliers with no strings attached. However, there are also rumors that George and LeBron James both want to go to the Los Angeles Lakers.
With that said, no one can pay George more than the Thunder.
OKC could re-sign George for a new four-year, $130 million deal and then trade him to the Cleveland Cavaliers. The needs in OKC are different since they don't need a point guard. They could get the draft pick, shooting guard Kyle Korver and all-purpose guard Jordan Clarkson from the Cavs.
Kawhi Leonard
The biggest name is still Kawhi Leonard, who appears to be on his way out of San Antonio. However, Leonard is also the most talented NBA superstar on this list so the Cavs will need more than just their first-round pick and some role players to land him. The Cavaliers will probably need to trade Kevin Love if they want to bring in Kawhi, which might not help as much as some might think.
However, by getting another team involved, like the Portland Trail Blazers, the Cavs could also land someone like Al-Farouq Aminu while giving up Kyle Korver as well as Love. This would drastically improve the Cleveland Cavaliers defense, which was their Achilles heel this season.