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Cleveland Cavaliers: Why the Cavs should trade the Brooklyn pick

By Zachary Tenner

INDEPENDENCE, OH - SEPTEMBER 25: LeBron James #23 of the Cleveland Cavaliers talks to the media during Media Day at Cleveland Clinic Courts on September 25, 2017 in Independence, Ohio. NOTE TO USER: User expressly acknowledges and agrees that, by downloading and/or using this photograph, user is consenting to the terms and conditions of the Getty Images License Agreement. (Photo by Jason Miller/Getty Images)
INDEPENDENCE, OH - SEPTEMBER 25: LeBron James #23 of the Cleveland Cavaliers talks to the media during Media Day at Cleveland Clinic Courts on September 25, 2017 in Independence, Ohio. NOTE TO USER: User expressly acknowledges and agrees that, by downloading and/or using this photograph, user is consenting to the terms and conditions of the Getty Images License Agreement. (Photo by Jason Miller/Getty Images) /
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The Cleveland Cavaliers should do whatever they can to keep LeBron James, and that could mean trading the coveted Brooklyn Nets first-round draft pick

The Cleveland Cavaliers franchise feels grim when it shouldn’t. The team has been at the top of the Eastern Conference for three years, soon to be four, but LeBron James’ looming free agency has the organization claustrophobic. Cleveland was an NBA bottom feeder before James – only three 50-win seasons in 35 years – and he’s the marrow of the team’s current success. Keeping him ought to be the Cavaliers’ only priority.

LeBron recently remarked that he wants to finish his career in Cleveland, but there’s an overwhelming sentiment that he’ll leave for Los Angeles. Winning a championship is the surest way for Cleveland to re-sign James. The second surest is surrounding him with the league’s best supporting cast outside of San Francisco.

Unfortunately for Cleveland, despite glitzy acquisitions this summer – Derrick Rose, Dwyane Wade, Isaiah Thomas – it’s not a sure thing that the team has improved its title chances. Rose and Wade are not only past their primes but redundant – minus defenders who don’t shoot well from three and are at their best when handling the ball. Their skillsets clash, not cooperate, and defenders will sag off of them to cramp any possible driving lanes for LeBron.

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The team can resolve the spacing issues. J.R. Smith and Kyle Korver will play plenty on the wings, and the team is eyeing a Kevin Love and Jae Crowder pairing in the frontcourt. What can’t be solved is the defense – the roster is replete with defensive liabilities. The team will leak points with Love at center and Rose at point guard, and Thomas’ return will exacerbate the problem. Korver can’t play defense, and Dwyane Wade usually chooses not to. Deeper on the bench, things don’t get any better.

Playing in the Eastern Conference, Cleveland’s offense will be dynamic enough to overcome its defensive frailty. Thomas is a dynamite offensive fit with LeBron – he moves off-ball better than Kyrie Irving did – and Love has become underrated. Impact statistics love Jae Crowder, a switchy role player who fits wonderfully in almost any lineup. And, even though Wade and Rose are more flash than substance at this point, they’ll each contribute something if not asked to do too much. Smith, Korver, and Tristan Thompson round out the Cavaliers’ playoff rotation.

But to keep LeBron the team must close the gap on Golden State, and that hasn’t happened. In a head-to-head matchup with the Warriors, the loss of Irving strings. The Golden State defense was inviolable against most of the league, but Irving was a perpetual spoilsport against it, launching and making shots that had no business falling. LeBron was the other part of the equation, but it was Cleveland’s absurd spacing that frequently opened creases for him to get to the rim.

Irving is gone, and Cleveland’s spacing won’t be so lethal. Barring injury, Golden State would still be the evident favorite in a fourth finals matchup.

But Cleveland has the option to upgrade its roster substantially. Control of the Brooklyn Nets’ first-round selection empowers the Cavaliers to select between two paths – trade the pick to win now, or keep it as insurance and rely on the draft.

It shouldn’t be a dilemma. It would be bewildering for the Cavaliers to do anything other than commit to the 2017-2018 season. Once an NBA afterthought, the Cleveland franchise now has the Eastern Conference as its playground. This magnitude of success is a one-time shot for the Cavaliers – they’re historically shoddy drafters and a second homegrown prodigy isn’t on the way. Attempting to retain LeBron should be the goal, and that means trading the pick and maximizing the roster.

That, though, isn’t the Cavaliers’ perception. The rosiness of recent success has given the franchise the hubris to consider keeping the pick and rebuilding. But rebuilding to what? The next Washington Wizards? That’s no shot at the Wizards – annually making the playoffs is an accomplishment. But it’s tough to get to the top in the NBA, and Cleveland is already on the cusp.

No matter what the Cavaliers do, there’s a chance that James will hightail it out of Ohio. It’s unfortunate this is even an issue. Cleveland has the most to offer with both the hometown advantage and the highest paying contract. The team would like to keep the pick and retain LeBron, of course. But that seems doubtful. LeBron’s relationship with Dan Gilbert has been tumultuous, and Los Angeles is appealing.

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    • A trade of the Nets’ pick this season would bring the Cavaliers an all-star in return. Exactly who is uncertain, but DeMarcus Cousins and Marc Gasol could be options if their teams start the season disappointingly. Center is Cleveland’s weakest position – Love can’t protect the rim and Thompson was a non-factor in the finals – and both Cousins and Gasol are versatile enough to fit into any lineup.

    With a trade, Cleveland would supply LeBron with a roster difficult to find elsewhere in the league, and increase its odds of winning a championship this season. Even post-trade, Cleveland beating Golden State wouldn’t be likely. But a puncher’s chance is valuable – stuff happens – and a second championship secures at least another year of LeBron.

    But the franchise is wary. When LeBron left in 2010, the team had no assets and floundered to a 97-215 record over the subsequent four seasons. That, however, should comfort the Cavaliers. LeBron didn’t give the team notice before he left, and despite that Cleveland tanked brilliantly. Being a bad basketball team is easy – teams do it on accident every year. Being good is the hard part.

    The alternative that comes with keeping the pick is appalling – the team forfeits winning this season, donates LeBron to Los Angeles, and relies on the draft to rebuild. In 47-years, the Cavaliers have selected ten players in the top five of the draft. Only LeBron, who was unscrewupable even for Cleveland, has made an All-NBA first or second team.

    The draft has its uses: organizations that nonchalantly trade away picks don’t tend to do well. But Cleveland shouldn’t forsake a winning roster voluntarily. Teams that deliberately tank often loiter in obscurity, as draft picks we initially hail as liberators later reveal themselves to be imposters. Much-maligned Sacramento won 52-games on average from 2000 to 2006. Since then the team has only exceeded 33-wins once. Climbing out of obscurity is tough, something Cleveland should know.

    Even if Cleveland drafts an MVP caliber player, there’s still a trek ahead to get back to this level. Look at Houston. With James Harden and Chris Paul, the Rockets are still not favored to make it to even the Western Conference Finals.

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    Unfortunately, the draft is the only way to rebuild for an NBA city that doesn’t attract free agents, and Cleveland would need supreme luck to return to the Rockets’ level. The solution? Stave off the rebuild. Seize the moment and trade the pick. Cleveland’s goal has always been to arrive at this point, and a rebuild would aspire to get back. The Cavaliers are in a beautiful place as is, which is terra incognita for a long-downtrodden franchise. There’s no sense in leaving without a fight.

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