Cleveland Cavaliers Trade Rumors: Deal Expected As LeBron James, Team Fall In Standings

The Cleveland Cavaliers probably can’t win the 2018 NBA Finals with the way their roster is currently constructed. The team seems to know it, and a few anonymous players expressed those feelings to multiple media outlets after Monday’s loss to the Golden State Warriors.

Cleveland seems to go through something like this each year. The team struggles at some point during the season, and then they make a trade. With less than a month before the Feb. 8 trade deadline, there are rumors that the Cavs are certain to make a deal within the next few weeks.

In LeBron James’ first season back with the Cavaliers, the team acquired J.R. Smith, Iman Shumpert and Timofey Mozgov in two deals that were critical in helping Cleveland win the Eastern Conference. Two years ago when the Cavs went on to beat the Golden State Warriors for their first-ever championship, they acquired Channing Frye in February. Kyle Korver was last year’s mid-season addition.

A similar trade this season likely won’t help Cleveland get past Golden State. Not only do the Warriors look to be as unstoppable as ever with the league’s best record, but the Cavaliers are playing their worst basketball since James returned in 2014.

After losing 118-108 at home against the Warriors, the Cavs have dropped nine of their last 12 games, including four in a row. They are seven games behind the Boston Celtics for the best record in the Eastern Conference and 3.5 games behind the Toronto Raptors for the No.2 seed. Cleveland is closer to the No.10 seed New York Knicks than they are to Boston in the standings.

The absence of Kyrie Irving has been evident, and Isaiah Thomas is only now starting to play regular minutes after recovering from a hip injury. Cleveland’s point guard has stated that it could take him a month before finally playing at the level that he’s capable of reaching.

If the Cavaliers want to make a splash before the trade deadline, they’ve got what it takes to do so. When the team swapped Irving for Thomas and Jae Crowder in the offseason, they also acquired the Brooklyn Nets’ first-round pick in the 2018 NBA Draft. That pick will likely end up in the top 10, and Brooklyn is only 3.5 games ahead of the Orlando Magic for the NBA's worst record.

It’s unknown what impact players might be available within the next few weeks. It’s been speculated that maybe Paul George or DeMarcus Cousins could be had at the right price because of their impending free agency, but it’s hard to believe the Oklahoma City Thunder or New Orleans Pelicans would make such a trade with both teams in the thick of the playoff race.

Even if a player of that caliber does become an option for Cleveland, the Cavs would reportedly be reluctant to trade the draft pick. James has not committed to re-signing with the team this summer, and the front office wants to hold onto the pick in case the three-time champion goes elsewhere, yet again.

James is expected to become a free agent in the offseason, and the odds of him leaving Cleveland seem to be higher than ever.