Analyst Identifies Two Pressing Trade Needs For Cavaliers
The Cleveland Cavaliers have gotten off to a historic start to the NBA season, but just because the Cavaliers look dominant does not mean they are bereft of holes.
Cleveland does have a couple of areas of need, and Bleacher Report’s Zach Buckley identified them this week: frontcourt depth and wing depth.
“Cleveland’s backup options at center are limited at best and might be unusable in the playoffs. It’s also possible the Cavaliers will find out they still need to upgrade on the wing,” Buckley wrote. “Credit them for making it work so far, but this position looked like it might be a problem before Caris LeVert (45.0 three-point percentage) and Isaac Okoro (48.5) got off to such fiery, assuredly unstainable starts. There’s a reason this front office was on the three-and-D search as recently as this summer.”
Cavs fans were clamoring for the team to land a larger wing and another big man over the summer, but the Cavaliers were unable to do so.
Cleveland did apparently explore trades, with Brooklyn Nets forwards Cam Johnson and Dorian Finney-Smith being named as possibilities during the offseason.
But ultimately, the Cavs stood pat and entered the year with essentially the same roster as last season.
The continuity has certainly paid off for the Cavaliers thus far, but you do have to wonder if these holes will prove to be significant in the playoffs.
Winning a championship is not easy, and Cleveland should not get complacent between now and the trade deadline when it comes to addressing any issues.