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Cavs Trade Rumors: Carmelo Anthony Not Happening, Depth Needed

By Stephen Forsha
Published on: 02:28 PST, Feb 17, 2017

Trade rumors for the Cleveland Cavaliers won’t go away until the trade line comes and goes, and for any Cavs trade to happen, it will most likely be for depth and not star power.

The Cavs are in a bit of a bind right now without the services of center/forward Kevin Love for the next six weeks, and now any Cavs trade that is made should be used to add to the bench and provide quality minutes to make sure the rest of the Cavs roster is rested and healthy in a push toward the NBA playoffs.

It is mostly a given in any Cavs trade they can’t give up Love now as he’s injured. That means any idea or notion that New York Knicks superstar Carmelo Anthony joining the Cavs via trade will not be happening, though it would have been fun to see LeBron James, Kyrie Irving and Anthony on the same roster during the NBA playoffs.

Even Anthony believes he won’t be involved in a Cavs trade or any other trade this season, plus remember, he can veto any trade involving him with his full no trade clause. Anthony was quoted in an ESPN.com article by Ian Begley about staying with the Knicks and not being in any trade.

“Like I told you all before, nothing came to me, nothing came to my table for me to look at,” he said. “Until that time comes, then they don’t need for me to even talk about the trade clause.”

Though at one time, a Cavs trade for Anthony was quite intriguing, just a few short weeks later it seems like the Cavs are better off waiting for Love to get healthy, adding depth to their roster and going into the playoffs with their “Big Three” of LeBron James, Love and Kyrie Irving, but with an improved overall depth with additions through a trade or two.

HoopsHype.com gave an interesting player for a possible Cavs trade with writer Alex Kennedy suggesting a possible Cavs trade of Shelvin Mack who plays for the Utah Jazz.

Mack is listed this season as a point guard, but can also play shooting guard. He’s averaging 7.3 points per game, plus 2.8 assists per game and 2.1 rebounds per game in 46 games played this season. Mack hasn’t had any playing time the past two games, and there might be a trade reason, according to the RotoWire Staff on CBS Sports.

“The Jazz might be trying to preserve him as they search for a trade suitor.”

Putting Mack on the bench for a few games does make some sense for a Jazz team that is looking to part ways with him, and maybe a Cavs trade is what they need to work out, because if the Cavs can add point guard depth to provide more rest for Irving for the remainder of the season, that Cavs trade would make a lot of sense.

With the conversation being adding depth to the Cavs before the trade deadline, a possible addition of Mack could work out perfectly. Mack is playing above his career numbers this season, and now with it being an unknown when he’ll play a regular amount of time in a game, the Cavs should really look into making a trade for the fifth-year player and former second-round draft pick.

All in all, it is evident that there will be no Cavs trade for Anthony, but the franchise does need to make an addition to the roster via trade for depth. A trade by the Cavs for depth is a must, and if it doesn’t happen, the NBA Playoffs will be tougher than needed, and a repeat as NBA champions will be an even tougher task than winning last season.

[Featured Image by Elsa/Getty Images]

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