NBA Trade Rumors: Cavs News Today On Signings, Transactions, Future Plans
NBA trade rumors and Cavs news today seems to point to the league champions looking to tweak the team’s roster as it prepares for a down-the-stretch run to defend Cleveland’s NBA title.
The Cavs — who rank first in the Eastern Conference with a 36-16 record — have been mired in controversy lately in the aftermath of rumors that LeBron James would like to see teammate Kevin Love shipped off to the Knicks in exchange for the highly sought-after Carmelo Anthony.
Sir LeBron would later call the rumor, which stemmed from New York Daily News beat writer Frank Isola, as absolute “trash.”
“It’s trash,” commented James to reporters, per United Press International of the much-publicized NBA trade rumors.
Cavs news today, apparently, is that the trade was never really considered viable. At least that is the team’s official stance.
“And the guy who wrote it is trash too, for writing that,” continued James. “That’s just outside noise for us. We got to focus on what needs to be done and that’s to continue to compete for a championship. And we got who we got.”
And what the team has, most analysts believe, is more than enough talent to once again win the NBA title.
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Of course, the Cavs’ cross-country rival Golden State Warriors signing highly sought-after small forward Kevin Durant last July, in response to losing to Cleveland in the NBA finals, does little to reassure the team.
Since that signing, the Warriors have gone 44-8, which is good for first place in the entire NBA and making the team the logical front-runner come playoff time.
This fact seemingly has Cavs’ brass worried.
According to various NBA trade rumors, the team feels the best way it can bolster its own roster is by improving the depth of its bench, presumably by dealing away injured backup center Chris Anderson.
Team officials, Basketball Insiders noted, have expressed optimism that dumping the 38-year-old player would help the team by opening up a bench spot, clearing Anderson’s salary from the Cavs’ coffers, and automatically making the franchise younger in the process.
“The Cavaliers have been aggressively exploring options to offload the contract of Chris Andersen to open a roster spot and clear out his salary,” said Basketball Insiders.
Of the Anderson NBA trade rumors, Cavs news today seems to back up this hearsay. Cleveland, after all, desires to add a good bit of young bench talent before the playoffs.
“The team is not looking for a deal for [Carmelo] Anthony,” continued Basketball Insiders. “They are looking to bolster their bench for a title run this year and have been exploring options to add a big man to their bench and a point guard for depth.”
One option, at least temporarily, that the Cavs have explored is the addition of 25-year-old unrestricted free agent forward Derrick Williams, who was recently released by the Miami Heat.
Williams’ signing to a 10-day contract is expected to give the Cavaliers added temporary depth as they continue to fully explore their options, per Hoops Rumors. At worst, the team can sign Williams to an extended contract as Miami continues to pay him the $4.5+ million he is owed.
Cavs news today, of course, points to the team wanting to do a bit more tweaking as it heads toward the February 23 NBA trade deadline, now less than two weeks away.
In whichever manner the Cavs’ management attempt to bolster the team’s roster, however, one thing that is commonly believed is that LeBron and Co. are anxiously awaiting the NBA buyout market.
This annual tradition, “league sources” told Basketball Insiders, has the NBA champions excited that they might “find the answers to their depth issues.”
At this time, little else seems to be floating out there regarding potential Cavaliers NBA trade rumors.
[Featured Image by Gregory Shamus/Getty Images]
