NBA Trade Rumors: Brandon Knight And Tyson Chandler To Cavs, Tristan Thompson And Iman Shumpert To Suns
NBA trade rumors will continue to follow the Cleveland Cavaliers until they fill their backup point guard spot with a trusted veteran. The team helped themselves by acquiring shooting guard Kyle Korver from Atlanta, but Cavs superstar LeBron James is becoming impatient with the team’s inability to find a deal for a lead guard. The Sporting News describes LeBron James’ insistence that the Cavaliers are not finished wheeling and dealing.
“We still got a couple more things we need to do,” James told reporters last Friday during Cleveland’s morning practice session.
“We got to get a point guard. Yeah, it’s my last time saying it, we need a point guard.”
iSports Times published an article that discusses the possibility of a trade that would bring Phoenix Suns point guard Brandon Knight to Cleveland in a deal that would send Cavs center Tristan Thompson and shooting guard Iman Shumpert to the Suns. According to Yibada, there has been another trade scenario floating around that would also see Tristan Thompson going to Phoenix in a swap with the Cavaliers. Finally, Fox Sports points out that the Cavaliers need a rim protector, and they opine that Suns center Tyson Chandler is the player Cleveland needs to make a deal for in order to improve their interior defense.
Current NBA trade rumors are pointing toward a transaction between the Cleveland Cavaliers and the Phoenix Suns. The deal that is being bandied about online would have the Cavs trading Tristan Thompson and Iman Shumpert to Phoenix, while the Suns would receive Brandon Knight and Tyson Chandler. This hypothetical deal would be a legal trade per the NBA’s Collective Bargaining Agreement (verified by the ESPN NBA Trade Machine).
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If this deal takes place, Brandon Knight would be a very good backup to Kyrie Irving. The Cleveland Cavaliers would be a bit short-handed at shooting guard, but Korver should be eligible to play soon, and J.R. Smith will return later in the season. Jordan McRae might have to play a small part in the team’s rotation in the short-term, but all indications are that he is ready to play spot minutes if needed.
Tyson Chandler would be an adequate replacement for Tristan Thompson since their skill sets are similar. However, Thompson is actually a slightly better shot-blocker and defender than Chandler, and Thompson is nine years younger. This swap would have to be considered a small downgrade for the Cavs, but Knight would more than make up for it with what he would bring to the Cavaliers’ point guard position.
This trade also looks promising for the Phoenix Suns. The team would not only get Tristan Thompson for Tyson Chandler, but they would obtain a strong defensive shooting guard (Iman Shumpert) to back up rising star Devin Booker. The Suns have two starting-quality lead guards in Eric Bledsoe and Brandon Knight, so unloading Knight would solve a problem for Phoenix in terms of having enough playing time for their best players — which is the reason Bledsoe and Knight have allegedly been on the trading block for the past few weeks.
This potential deal between the Cleveland Cavaliers and Phoenix Suns appears to be one of the more sensible and believable NBA trade rumors that have come along recently. Both teams would seem to benefit from this transaction, as the Cavs and the Suns would each solve some key issues they have by agreeing to this rumored proposal.
[Featured Image by Ross D. Franklin/AP Images]
