The Cleveland Cavaliers have been more engaged in trade talks that perhaps any other team in the league, leading us to believe that the Cavs could pull off a flurry of moves before the Feb. 8 deadline. They're looking to improve their roster to keep pace and hopefully put themselves ahead of the other title contenders, so what deal are they looking to complete? We know they're interested in both DeAndre Jordan and Lou Williams, but to this point, the Los Angeles Clippers have remained adamant about keeping both. With that in mind, here are the latest Cavs trade rumors you need to know:
Cavs willing to trade Isaiah Thomas for Kemba Walker?
Cleveland has struggled since point guard Isaiah Thomas returned from a hip injury that kept him out for half the season, going 3-5 while struggling mightily on the defensive end. Because of that, ESPN's Brian Windhorst believes they could try to trade Thomas for another star point guard available in Kemba Walker.
“The question is… would they consider making Isaiah Thomas available?” Windhorst said. “I can tell you this: It’s going very poorly with Isaiah and the Cavs right now. There is a lot of frustration with the team because he’s a guy who shoots the ball a lot. He holds the ball a lot. And when he’s averaging 30 points and shooting 45 percent from the field as he did last year for the (Boston) Celtics… things went well. Right now, there’s a lot of frustration with the way Isaiah’s playing on the team. And I wonder, even though it’s so early in terms of his return from injury… I wonder if the Cavs would consider moving Isaiah and would they put in a call to the Hornets to see if they could figure out if they could get Kemba Walker.”
The Charlotte Hornets have placed Walker on the trade block, though owner Michael Jordan said he won't trade Walker for "anything but an All-Star," which is a requirement Thomas fulfills.
Thomas is averaging 16.1 points and 3.6 assists per game while Walker is averaging 21.8 points and 5.9 assists per game.
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Cleveland also interested in Kent Bazemore
Along with Walker, Cleveland has expressed interest in acquiring Atlanta Hawks wing Kent Bazemore, according to TNT's David Aldridge.
The Cavs have also asked about Atlanta’s Kent Bazemore, according to league sources. Bazemore is no lockdown wing, but he does give effort, and he is shooting a career-best 37.6 percent this season on 3-pointers. Bazemore has more than $37 million coming to him through 2020 on his current deal, though.
Bazemore is averaging 12.6 points, 4.2 rebounds, and 3.6 assists per game this season.
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Cavs unlikely to part with Nets first-round pick
Despite their interest in acquiring a quality player that can help them win now, the Cavs have no intention to part with one of their most valuable assets in the Brooklyn Nets' first-round pick, according to Aldridge.
The Cavaliers have made it clear all year that they don’t want to and don’t intend to the trade the Brooklyn pick (they do have their own 2018 first-round pick they could include in a deal), in part because they have no idea whether James -- who can opt out of his deal and enter free agency this summer -- will return next season. James hasn’t given them any indication of what he’s going to do, and it’s possible he may not know yet. But Cleveland can’t leave itself with nothing.
Brooklyn has been much better than expected with an 18-29 record this season, and as such, the pick is currently projected to be in the back half of the top 10.
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