NBA Rumors: Cavs Could Get DeAndre Jordan With Brooklyn Pick In ‘Bleacher Report’s Suggested Three-Way Trade

With only a few hours left before the NBA trade deadline, many basketball analysts have been publishing their own eleventh-hour trade ideas for the fans to enjoy and contemplate. One of the latest trade rumors is by Bleacher Report‘s Dan Favale, who suggested a three-team deal that would send Los Angeles Clippers big man DeAndre Jordan to the struggling Cleveland Cavaliers.

According to Favale, the Cavaliers should try to get “some extra frontcourt juice, a rangier point guard, a two-way wing and then another two-way wing without using” the 2018 first-rounder from Brooklyn. However, keeping the said pick would be unrealistic if the Cavs indeed decide to acquire the necessary players to possibly save their season.

Favale then suggested a three-way trade scenario with the Clippers and Orlando Magic that would look something like this: the Cavaliers receive Jordan from the Clippers and Evan Fournier and Jonathon Simmons from the Magic; Los Angeles gets Orlando’s Aaron Gordon and Cleveland’s J.R. Smith; and the Magic acquires Sam Dekker from the Clips and Iman Shumpert, Tristan Thompson, and the Brooklyn pick from the Cavs.

Jordan, 29, has been one of the best defenders in the league. He is a two-time NBA All-Defensive First Team member (2015 and 2016) and also a two-time NBA rebounding leader (2014 and 2015), and he could instantly bring that defensive and rebounding tenacity to Cleveland.

Furthermore, both Fournier and Simmons are known wing defenders and long-range shooters that could also help the Cavaliers improve their game on both ends of the floor.

RealGM reported that Jordan, who has a player option at the end of the season, remains as the Cavaliers’ No. 1 trade target as the deadline approaches.

Citing Yahoo! Sports‘ Shams Charania in a Chris Mannix podcast, the report noted that while Cleveland is also looking at Utah Jazz big man Derrick Favors, the team’s primary goal is to get Jordan. Charania said that the Cavs are looking for a way to “somehow convince” the Clippers to take their own first-round draft pick instead of the Brooklyn pick in a potential deal, “but those scenarios just aren’t in play right now.”

Meanwhile, SB Nation‘s Clips Nation indicated that the Clippers are keen on keeping Jordan if the team does not get an “acceptable return” for the former Texas A&M standout.

The report said that the rumored Cleveland offer of Smith, Thompson, and the Cavs’ own 2018 first-rounder for Jordan is “laughable” in the eyes of the Clippers, which means that Favale’s three-team trade suggestion could be a more realistic way for the Cavaliers to snag Jordan if they really want to.