Cavaliers, Bobcats Trade Rumors: Trade No 4 pick, still get Jonas Valanciunas

The Cleveland Cavaliers are rumored to covet get Lithuanian center Jonas Valanciunas as the top big man in the draft besides Arizona's Derrick Williams.

The Cavaliers have the number 1 and 4 overall picks in the draft, with many draft experts and NBA insiders saying that they will draft Duke guard Kyrie Irving with the first overall pick.

Though the Cavaliers would love to get Arizona power forward Derrick Williams, he will likely be gone by the number 4 pick.

Several mock drafts have the Cavaliers taking Enes Kanter with the number 4 pick.

However, sources with Yahoo Sports say that the Cavaliers would like to trade the Number 4 pick and still get Jonas Valanciunas somehow.

Although Valanciunas has all the talent in the world, he has slipped in several mock drafts due to the status of his contract buyout with his team the Lietuvos Rytas. It's possible that Valanciunas will not be able to play next year, dropping him from consideration of several teams who need immediate help.

However, the Cavaliers are not one of those teams and would be willing to wait a year for the center, since Cleveland is still in the process of rebuilding after losing LeBron James last year to free agency.

Yahoo details a complicated trade between the Cavaliers and the Charlotte Bobcats, who own the number 9 and 19 picks and covet Texas freshman Tristan Thompson.

Michael Jordan, the Bobcats owner, believes that Thompson will go to the Detroit Pistons at number 8, so the Bobcats need to trade up to get him.

In the proposed trade, the Cavaliers would draft Thompson at number 4, and the slipping Valanciunas would get drafted by the Bobcats at number 9.

The teams would then trade the two big men with the Cavaliers receiving the Bobcats number 19 pick in return.

Although an intriguing idea, this trade rumor is not likely to pan out. The Cavaliers would not take the risk of a pre-emptive drafting of Thompson at number 4, unless they could get assurance from the other four teams between picks 4 and 9 that they won't draft Valanciunas.

In particular, the Pistons at number 8 also need a big man and may be willing to take the risk of Valanciunas needing one year and draft the center anyways.

Still, this trade rumor is one to watch during tonight's draft.