NBA Trade Rumors: Cleveland Cavaliers Not Trading Brooklyn First-Round Pick
NBA trade rumors about the Cleveland Cavaliers and the former first-round draft pick of the Brooklyn Nets continue to float around the league. The Cavs could trade that pick to acquire additional talent for another title run, but the alternative scenario is that the franchise may want to hold on to it in case LeBron James leaves in free agency (again). James could leave the Cavs during this next NBA offseason, possibly leaving the team scrambling to figure out a new direction to go for the 2018-19 NBA season.
A report by NBA analyst Sean Deveney at the Sporting News states that no Cleveland Cavaliers trade will include that much-wanted Brooklyn Nets draft pick. The Cavs acquired the 2018 first-round draft pick of the Nets through an offseason trade with the Boston Celtics. As part of the package for All-Star point guard Kyrie Irving, the Cavs received that future pick. It was a huge asset to take on and was seen as being more important than the acquisition of Isaiah Thomas in the deal.
Deveney just spoke with a rival general manager about the situation, who weighed in on the latest NBA trade rumors.
“They would be open to a deal by all indications. But they’re not talking about that pick. That’s the Plan B for the LeBron stuff and from what I know, they don’t want to budge on it.”
Don’t be surprised if the #Cavs refuse to trade away the precious #Nets pick. @SeanDeveney with the scoop on Cleveland’s thinking: https://t.co/kumuybUVxW pic.twitter.com/az61vg7RX6
— Sporting News (@sportingnews) December 15, 2017
Losing LeBron James to free agency would be a huge deal for the Cleveland Cavaliers, but retaining what could be a top 10 selection in the 2018 NBA Draft is seen as a good strategy. The Cavs would still have Kevin Love and Isaiah Thomas in that situation, with the potential of adding a really good rookie, should James decide to go play for the Los Angeles Lakers. James has given no official indication that he is ready to leave Cleveland (again), but the fact that he owns several houses in the Los Angeles area has certainly sparked many NBA trade rumors.
In the updated NBA standings, the Cleveland Cavaliers have a 22-8 record, putting them just two games behind the Boston Celtics (25-7) for the best record in the Eastern Conference. It shows that the Cavs may already have a roster good enough to make it back to the NBA Finals, giving the front office even fewer reasons to get desperate before the NBA trade deadline. While there are certainly going to be a lot of NBA trade rumors that link the Cavs to players like DeAndre Jordan of the Los Angeles Clippers, the team may not be in the market for a blockbuster deal.
