NBA Trade Rumors: 4 targets to help improve the Cleveland Cavaliers’ bench unit

NBA Trade Rumors: Exploring four trade targets that would drastically improve the Cleveland Cavaliers’ struggling bench unit.

After acquiring Donovan Mitchell during the offseason, the Cleveland Cavaliers quickly emerged as a dark horse favorite to emerge as a contender in the Eastern Conference. However, there is one variable that could prevent the Cavs from reaching those heights this season.

Their struggling bench unit.

While on one hand, you can say that the integration of Mitchell has been pretty seamless, the evolution and progression of the bench unit have left much to be desired. The Cavs are 15-9 and just 2.5 games back of the second-seeded Milwaukee Bucks but have some pretty big holes to fill when it comes to its depth.

The Cleveland Cavaliers’ underwhelming bench numbers

Through the first 24 games of the season, there are only four bench units that have produced less than the Cavs. In other words, the Cavs have the fifth-worse bench unit in the league (when it comes to the numbers). Cleveland’s bench only averages 29 points per game.

To put that number in perspective, the Cavs average 111 points per game as a team. That means the bench only accounts for 26 percent of the team’s overall scoring. Compare that to the LA Clippers, which has the highest-scoring bench unit in the league, in which their second unit accounts for 40 percent of the team’s scoring.

The Cavs will be able to win many games but if they want to make a deep run in the postseason, they’re going to need a stronger bench unit. In an attempt to help the Cavs work through that hole on the roster, we explore four trade targets that could help spark this team’s second unit.