Following the departure of Lebron James in 2018, the Cleveland Cavaliers have seen nothing but failure and defeat.
Their young pieces (Colin Sexton and Darius Garland) have yet to impress, Kevin Love has been practically begging to be traded, and the jury is still out on whether or not the Andre Drummond trade was a success.
Still, the Cavs are going to do whatever it takes to improve their standing. And, one way or another, we can expect them to be very active this offseason.
Bleacher Report’s Grant Huges talked a bit about the plan for Cleveland in the months to come and even detailed a scenario in which they would get Chris Paul from the OKC Thunder.
Cleveland Cavaliers Get:Chris Paul
Oklahoma City Thunder Get: Collin Sexton, Darius Garland, Dante Exum, Kevin Porter Jr., Larry Nance Jr.
Chris Paul, Kevin Love and Andre Drummond isn’t exactly the same as Chris Paul, Blake Griffin and DeAndre Jordan…but it’s fairly close. In the East next year, it should be enough to get the Cavs into the top eight.
For the Thunder, they get some good young pieces in exchange for an aging CP3.
The Thunder haul in no fewer than three young guards and wings on rookie-scale deals, and Sexton and Porter profile as solid off-ball options with Shai Gilgeous-Alexander stepping into the primary playmaker role. Exum is a flier on an expiring deal, and Nance is a rotation-level big at a roughly market rate ($11.7 million in 2020-21, with a declining salary through 2022-23).
The Thunder may think they can do better than this for Paul, and you could argue he becomes easier to move as the remaining years on his deal decrease. Except…he’s only getting older and more likely to suffer decline or injury. It’s hard to be sure which direction Paul’s value is heading as time passes.
Granted, a trio of Paul, Love, and Drummond has its flaws, but it should be enough to put Cleveland in a position to compete, which is more than can be said for them now.
For the Thunder, they get the better end of the bargain, getting a lineup youngsters to replace the past-his-prime (and also uber-expensive) Paul is the smart move, even after CP’s inspiring performance this season.
Needless to say, this is a move that can benefit both sides and for the Cavs especially, it will help inspire a culture of winning. It will be interesting to see what transpires this offseason for Cleveland, considering all the variables at play.
