Analyzing A Trade Between The Cleveland Cavaliers And Sacramento Kings. No, Not That One.
Sacramento Kings center Willie Cauley-Stein is one player that’s available and would greatly help the Cleveland Cavaliers.
Willie Cauley-Stein is almost completely out of the running for a spot in the rotation for Joerger as the Kings look to play small. The Cleveland Cavaliers, who have had trouble making an impact in the paint offensively or defensively, needs too inquire about Cauley-Stein whether they believe it or not.
For one, the asking price won’t be too high. The Cavs, who may be unwilling to trade the suddenly super-effective Iman Shumpert, likely only have the package of guards Mo Williams, Mike Dunleavy Jr. and Jordan McRae to offer for Cauley-Stein. However, they also have a first round pick.
Besides that, the Sacramento Kings simply may not need him.
In a trade scenario between the Thunder and the Kings, Enes Kanter would likely be the main piece of a trade for Rudy Gay.
Not only would the Kings be acquiring a player in Kanter who could help fill the scoring void left by Gay, he would give Dave Joerger a ‘Marc Gasol–Zach Randolph‘-like scoring duo in the frontcourt. In the event that Cousins leaves, the Kings would have a dominant scorer at center for another year. Still, that’s two years from now. Until that point, Cauley-Stein will be behind Cousins, Kanter and possibly even Kosta Koufos on the depth chart as the Kings look to play small.
He can still be valuable for the Kings if Cousins leaves in the summer of 2018 but by then, Cauley-Stein would have one year left on his contract and three straight years without a big role in Sacramento under his belt. That’s probably not how the sixth overall pick in the 2015 NBA draft saw his career starting.
Cauley-Stein has the potential to be a dominant rebounder and defender and with his athleticism, he bears interesting similarities to DeAndre Jordan. The problem with Cauley-Stein isn’t just that he’s not much more than a complimentary player on offense, it’s that he doesn’t have a role to grow into with the Kings this year as they have Cousins and Koufos ahead of him on the depth chart. 19-year-old center Georgios “Big George” Papagiannis is also in the Kings plans.
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At 7-feet tall, with a 9-foot-3 standing reach, 37-inch vertical leap and weighing a solid 240 pounds, Cauley-Stein is the type of player the Cavs could use inside. While Thompson has improved, the value of a true 7-footer at center can’t be underestimated. Especially when that center can protect the rim, step out and defend on the perimeter and has the strength and hands to make plays for the defense from the post.
Offensively, Cauley-Stein will likely rely on being set-up in pick-and-rolls much like Thompson but is more willing to attempt to score from the post or pick-and-pops than Thompson. He also, simply, puts the ball up quicker. He won’t be efficient early and his free-throw shooting is a skill he’ll have to work on, which is a problem from a struggling team time to make an impression on its star players like the Kings. For the Cavs though and their newfound fondness for player development, Cauley-Stein is a perfect prospect at center.
What the Cavs receive in Cauley-Stein is a player who could bolster the bench or be a starter.
It will be more beneficial to the team to keep Shumpert. The only way the Kings might accept the trade without Shumpert is if they receive Kanter, other perimeter players that allow them to transform into a small ball team and a first round pick at the same time. They’d simply sending out a player that will end up very dissatisfied with his role in Cauley-Stein and Gay, who already said he’ll opt-out of his contract next summer, in exchange.
It’s worth a shot. The Cavs need a boost.
Basically, the three-man unit of Kyrie Irving, J.R. Smith and Thompson work as a defensive glove in the starting unit. Smith should be able to compensate for Irving’s lack of athleticism but he hasn’t been a great defender this year by any means. Thompson is supposed to be a presence near the rim as a shot-blocker in the case that Irving allows penetration. He has been this season but there are nights when he is simply physically outmatched because he’s not a true center but more of a bigger Dennis Rodman-type frontcourt player.
He can play center but he’s almost an enigma, position-wise. He doesn’t have the prototypical center height or girth but he’s strong, smart and has shown improved timing and position as a rim-protector this year. He’s able to step out on the perimeter and guard players. However, he’s unable to shoot.
Thompson and LeBron James are supposed to work together to stop the bleeding defensively, staying closer to the rim in case Kevin Love gets beat in the post or he or Irving get blown by on the perimeter but too often James is allowing players to slash to the rim himself.
The problem is only compounded if Love has to be hidden on the slower player, who is usually a bigger and stronger center, because the power forward he’s guarding is able to beat him off-the-dribble consistently.
Replacing Smith in the starting lineup with Shumpert would likely be the first option for the team in terms of a change in the starting lineup. The confidence Smith has as a shooter and the reputation he has a three-point specialist allow the team to space the floor with ease. Nonetheless, he’s not shooting or defending well right now.
Shumpert would be able to guard either backcourt player and would benefit from the attention James and Irving draw inside. Lately, he’s been taking contested threes because nobody in the second unit drives to the paint or finds him in a particular good area to shoot.
Still, the Cavs need size in the starting lineup as well. Cauley-Stein provides that as well as the speed and nimble movements to guard on the perimeter. Offensively, he can develop into a decent offensive option between his pick-and-roll game, finishing around the rim and a developing short jumper. Thompson, who will help the team in more ways than one, becomes Love’s backup and ready to lock down opposing power forwards in crunch time if needed.
Moves to the second unit shouldn’t be seen as slights or demotions for Smith or Thompson. Two emotional leaders. For one, the Cleveland Cavaliers bench has been anemic this year outside of Frye. Frankly, a second unit that consists of Smith, Jefferson, Thompson and Frye will be taken more seriously than one of Shumpert, Jefferson and Frye. Secondly, players like the Miami Heat’s Udonis Haslem and the San Antonio Spurs’ Manu Ginobli accepted roles from the bench and are well-respected leaders for their teams.
It should be noted that in this trade there would be two open roster spots. Norris Cole, Mario Chalmers, Dahntay Jones and Eric Moreland are four candidates for those openings if they become available.
Do you think the Cleveland Cavaliers need to make a trade? Is Willie Cauley-Stein a player the Cavs should look to acquire? Let us know in the comments section or Twitter @KJG_NBA.
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