After losing center Anderson Varejao to a season-ending injury and now LeBron James for two weeks with a strained back and knee, the Cleveland Cavaliers have found no choice but to roll the dice once again on the trading block.
The need for a legit shot-blocker has become more apparent for the Cavaliers after losing Varejao to an Achilles-tear injury and perhaps their best defensive frontline player, James, in two weeks.
Even before these setbacks, there were concerns about the Cavs' ability to protect the rim. While Kevin Love can constantly provide the team with double-digit numbers in rebounding and scoring department, he isn't known much as a defensive force in the paint. Verajao is also a finesse type of player, while Tristan Thompson is not ready yet to jump into the next level.
After the NBA granted them a $4.9 million injured player exception, the Cavs gained another tool (aside from the $5M trade exception they acquired after trading Keith Bogans to the Philadelphia 76ers & Brandon Haywood's non-guaranteed contract worth $10M for next season) to further bolster their frontline.
According to Marc Stein of ESPN, the Cavs could either spend the $4.9M, which is half of Varejao's salary, to sign a free-agent big man or acquire one via trade as long as the player's salary won't go above the exception.
NBC Pro Basketball Reports indicated several big men that could pique the interest of the Cavs' front office, ranging from the pricey Brooklyn Nets center Brook Lopez to cheap but effective Denver Nuggets stalwart Timofey Mozgov.
Mozgov has been mentioned several times as potential trade target for the Cavs since he provides the size and height the team is desperately looking for. Although the Nuggets have already rejected several trade offers, there's still a possibility they could deal the Russian away with rookie Jusuf Nurkic playing like the best big man out of the 2014 Draft Class.
Jordan Hill of the Los Angeles Lakers, Samuel Dalember of the New York Knicks and Brendan Wright of the Boston Celtics are another potential targets, but regardless of the Cavs will make moves over the next few weeks on the trading front.
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