Cleveland Cavaliers Turned Away In Pursuit Of Philadelphia 76ers' T.J. McConnell
The Cleveland Cavaliers tried to fill their backup point guard spot by trading for T.J. McConnell, but the Philadelphia 76ers turned them down.
The Cleveland Cavaliers struggled through the month of January. They went 7-8, the first time that LeBron James has suffered a losing month since February 2006; his third season in the NBA. That has James upset and he is looking for changes.
The first change came early in January. With J.R. Smith facing a lengthy absence because of knee surgery, the Cavaliers needed help on the wing. They would acquire Kyle Korver from the Atlanta Hawks in exchange for Mike Dunleavy and Mo Williams.
The move has not panned out thus far as Korver adjusts to his new teammates.
The move has also not resulted in as many wins as the Cavaliers had hoped. They had a three-game losing streak in January that was punctuated by an overtime loss to the Sacramento Kings.
It was the sixth loss in eight games for the Cavaliers and James unleashed a postgame rant in which he called out the Cavaliers to add a playmaker to the roster.
The Cavaliers are way into the luxury tax, but an area of concern coming into the season was the backup point guard spot. It is a spot that the team had hoped Williams would fill, but he never reported. As a result, the Cavaliers have gone on without a backup point guard option.
With an open roster spot thanks to the Korver trade and some freed-up money and trade exceptions, the Cavaliers can add a point guard to the roster and that is what they tried to dod.
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According to Keith Pompey of The Philadelphia Inquirer, the Cavaliers attempted to trade for Philadelphia 76ers point guard T.J. McConnell. According to sources, the approached the 76ers about a trade but they were declined.
The Cavaliers had hoped to acquire McConnell for a package built around Jordan McRae. McRae was originally selected by the 76ers in the second round of the 2014 NBA Draft.
The team shipped him to Australia to play for Melbourne United that season, but he was waived prior to the 2015-16 season.
Not surprisingly, the 76ers declined the offer built around McRae. McRae is not in the Cavaliers’ rotation and would not help the 76ers much. McConnell, on the other hand, has been an excellent player for the 76ers this season and is a big reason for their success.
Philadelphia head coach Brett Brown is hoping McConnell is not moved this season.
“Of course we want to keep him,” Brown said. “He’s been as big a part of the reason for our recent success as anybody. You can’t deny that.”
McConnell has modest stats this season, averaging 5.7 points, 2.8 rebounds, 6.2 assists and 1.4 steals in 23.9 minutes per game. But he brings a lot to the court that a team would like that won’t show up in a box score.
The 76ers have also seen plenty of success with McConnell in the starting lineup.
The 76ers are 11-5 when McConnell starts this season, a very impressive mark given their 18-29 overall record. While a lot of the attention has been on Joel Embiid, and rightfully so, McConnell has also been an important piece to the 76ers playing better.
McConnell was undrafted out of Arizona in 2015 but looks to have found a home in Philadelphia. It should be no surprise that he is a player the Cavaliers want. He has played well for the 76ers and would bring some stability to a second unit that is feeling the loss of Matthew Dellavedova.
McConnell is not going to let the trade rumors bother him, as he is going to remain focused on his play on the court.
“The best thing for me is to just not pay any attention to it,” McConnell said. “If you go looking for it, you are going to find it. And if you don’t, it won’t find you.”
On a minimum contract, McConnell would have been a great addition for the Cavaliers. But, it will cost more than a package built around a bench player to acquire him. With McConnell probably out of the picture, the Cavaliers will have to look elsewhere.
Two veterans to keep an eye on in the trade market are Jameer Nelson and Shelvin Mack. The Cavaliers could sign former James teammates Mario Chalmers or Norris Cole, who are free agents.
Jarrett Jack is also available and could be another veteran the Cavaliers look to bring in if he is recovered from his knee injury.
