LeBron James left Cleveland this offseason for the bright lights of Los Angeles, but the Cavaliers find themselves in a much better position than the first time James bolted back in 2010.
The Cavs selected Collin Sexton with the No. 8 overall pick in the 2018 NBA Draft, locked up Kevin Love with a four-year extension and recently agreed to a deal with former Bulls guard David Nwaba. Cleveland is preparing to fight for a playoff spot in the East rather than tearing it all down as part of a rebuild — and the front office might not be done making moves just yet.
TRADE RUMORS: Cavs close to acquiring Sam Dekker from Clippers
Shooting guards JR Smith and Kyle Korver remain on the trade block, according to Cleveland.com's Joe Vardon, who discussed the how the Cavs are approaching trade talks with each player.
From the "Wine and Gold Talk Podcast":
"[The Cavs] will trade [Korver] so long as they get a first-round pick that they do not currently have back. The Sixers wanted to trade Jerryd Bayless straight up for Korver, which just makes absolutely no sense for the Cavs to do that right now."
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"The Cavs, of course, would be open to trading [Smith] if they could. They have not been able to so far. It'll be interesting to see what role he has coming into camp."
Korver offers consistent value as a 3-point threat (43.6 percent from beyond the arc on 5.2 attempts per game in 2017-18), though is limited defensively, especially against the league's most elite offenses. Smith was a key contributor during the Cavs' 2016 championship run, but he has struggled the past two seasons on both ends of the floor. He quickly went from one of Cleveland's best on-ball defenders to a huge liability.
With guards like Sexton, Nwaba, George Hill, Jordan Clarkson and Rodney Hood (assuming he re-signs) on the roster, there are only so many backcourt minutes to go around. If the Cavs are determined to give the youngsters more experience on the floor, Korver and Smith could be heading to different cities before next season's trade deadline.
