What TRADE should the CAVS make?! | Locked On Cavs Podcast

What TRADE should the CAVS make?! | Locked On Cavs Podcast

on today’s show the Cavs didn’t get miles Bridges where should they turn their attention next as this offseason rolls on plus the coaching staff starting to come together for KY Atkinson that’s all ahead right here on lockon Cavs you are locked on Cavs your daily Cleveland Cavaliers podcast part of the locked on podcast Network your team every day thank you for making locked on Cavs your first listen every day you can find the show wherever you get your podcast Apple Spotify anywhere else give us a five-star review say some nice things as well you can also check us out on YouTube search locked on Cavs on YouTube if you’re watching this video give it a thumbs up make sure you’re subscrib to the channel hit that notification Bell so you know when things go up if you’re not watching this video well watch this video and go do all those things part of the locked on podcast Network your team every day today’s episode is brought to you by FanDuel make every moment more is the playoffs are over in both basketball and hockey there’s still so much to be so much action to be had with FanDuel this summer FanDuel is hooking up all customers with a boost or a bonus daily that’s right something for everyone every day all summer long visit fanduel.com to to get started I’m Danny Cunningham you might know me from my time covering the Cleveland Cavaliers at places like 923 The Fan Cleveland magazine and a couple of other ones along the way on today’s show talking about the Cavs not getting miles Bridges as he is returning to Charlotte on a three-year deal worth $75 million also going to spend some time talking about what should be next for the Cavs should they be making a big trade a small trade try and focus on improving around the margins in free agency or just running it back and then also I do want to touch upon Isaac aoro whether or not he could be part of a sign in trade somewhere else and Kenny ainson putting together his coaching staff is now uh we have at least three assistants that have been reported to be on the staff I think that the higher so far have been great but I want to start with the miles Bridges situation um I made my thoughts known on Friday’s episode right here locked on Cavs I think Miles Bridges is a good basketball player I don’t know that Miles Bridges would have been a great fit in Cleveland um I think that there are some basketball things that make this so it wasn’t some Flawless just plug-and-play fit with him being the number three guy in Cleveland and also the off the court things with Miles Bridges I think would have been really difficult for a lot of Cavs fans to get past and I very much understand that and that is something that was the biggest reason for me why I was I was against the miles Bridges signing but he’s back in Charlotte on a three year $75 million deal to return to the Hornets so now the Cavs have to move on to their next option um I don’t think that they ever expected to land miles Bridges I do think that there was some interest I don’t know exactly how serious it was but I don’t think that this ever got to a point in Cleveland where they thought miles Bridges was going to be a member of the Caps I don’t think it ever got there but now they have to move on and there are a number of different things that you know this offseason so far has obviously been very quiet the only real news we’ve gotten with the Cavs has been the Donovan Mitchell contract extension which was formally announced on Sunday that that is signed sealed and delivered he’s signed that three-year extension worth 150 million doll so that’s obviously the best news that you could have asked for in terms of the player Personnel side of things this off season that’s been done that’s taken care of but there hasn’t been anything else now the rumored interest in miles Bridges I thought was a good sign just in terms of the Cavs wanting to improve this roster and realizing that things aren’t good enough as they are they do have to get better in certain areas I think that this roster still is a pretty good one and I don’t think that it necessarily gets the credit it deserves because of how beat up and injured this team was last year where you know they still won 48 games despite their four best players only playing I believe it was 28 games together it wasn’t like those guys were in the lineup every night so that is in some senses a success but I still don’t view this team right now as a top tier team in the East and I think that is something that are there moves out there that put them in that top tier in the East I’m not so sure about that I don’t know if there are like if you swap out Jared Allen and Caris LeVert for Brandon Ingram which is something that we’re going to talk about quite a bit this week on the show if you make swap does that put the Cavs in the same tier as Boston New York and Philly I’m not so sure I think they’re closer to it but I’m not so sure that it puts them in that Championship contention tier I don’t know that it does but I do think that they’re right now they’re in my opinion the Cavs in Milwaukee are sort of at the top of that second tier where I don’t view them as Championship contenders but I think if they get get the right matchup in the playoffs there’s not a series they can’t win maybe Boston but if things break their way they can beat anybody but I don’t know that I view them as a championship Contender right now so with not getting miles Bridges I think the question becomes okay is it worth revisiting the trade for Brandon Ingram is that something that is worth thinking about again um not that the Cavs ever stopped thinking about it but I think that our attention uh was diverted away from that as the miles Bridges news came up at the end of last week is that something that’s worth revisiting if the Cavs are going to make a big move this off season and by Big Move I mean acquiring a potential Allstar if they’re going to make a big move this off season it’s difficult for me to see a big move other than that one like that is the one that I see and this isn’t to say that this front office cannot get creative they absolutely can um if you would have talked to me on July 88th of 2022 I would have said yeah I’m I’m not sure I see a big move in this team’s future this off season and they went out and traded for Donovan Mitchell a couple months later so just because I don’t see it right now doesn’t mean it doesn’t exist but I think that is the one that is the most likely to happen if they are going to make a big move I think Brandon Ingram still does make a lot of sense in Cleveland I think that he does if they want to make not as big of a move if they want to make a move around the margins in the trade market which I’ve always thought the Cavs were going to be a bigger player in the trade market than they would be in the free agent Market but if they are going to make a mediumsized move I guess we’ll say where it’s not a move that’s going to bump them up tier but it could make them better as a basketball team I think that move is probably one for someone like cam Johnson or Dorian finny Smith of the Brooklyn Nets and it’s a move that probably involves olves Isaac aoro as a sign in tradeit I know there’s been a lot of noise surrounding that um at the end of last week and a little bit over this weekend that Isaac aoro could be somebody that is on his way out because the Cavs might not might not want to pay him what he could command from another team if he can find a big deal from another team that has to be something where okay you know great for him let’s let’s make a sign and trade work because I do not think that he’s going to end up on any of the teams that still have cap space I think he’s probably you know there’s been a lot of noise a lot of noise with him potentially potentially ending up in Brooklyn with the Nets as part of a sign in trade and that is something that I do think makes sense and depending on what the Cavs could get back I think is something that Cavs fans should be pretty interested in I think that these two teams the Cavs and the Nets I think they are trade Partners like a match made in heaven right now because the Nets want to rebuild the Cavs have a couple of young pieces that very well could be one Young Piece for sure in Isaac aoro plus an expiring contract in Caris LT that I think could make a lot of sense for Brooklyn so that is something that I absolutely think is worth watching as we get deeper into this off season but I think ultimately that this is going to be something that you know we keep circling back to Jared Allen and Carris Levert for Brandon Ingram the trade works if they could convince Brandon Ingram on a contract extension that is not the maximum dollars like paying Brandon Ingram $50 million a year is not something that sounds super palatable I guess is the best way I could put it if Brandon Ingram is on a $35 million a year contract or even a $40 million a year contract instead of a 50 plus million do a year I think it’d be 52 as his max that changes things I think you feel much better about that because if the Cavs make that trade and they’re trading for Brandon Ingram and they’ve got they’ve got to pay him $52 million a year plus Donovan Mitchell’s contract plus Darius Garland is still on the books Evan Mobley I believe going to get a Max extension this summer that’ll be on the books that team is going to be a tax Team without question and potentially approaching the second apron which I think if we’ve learned anything this off season so far it’s that teams are willing to do basically anything to stay out of that second apron because of just how penal it is so those are those are questions that you have to answer as you think about well what’s next for the Cavs now that they missed out on really probably the guy the best free agent available to them maybe not the best overall free agent but the best free agent they would have had a realistic crack at now that they’ve missed out of on him circling back to the Brandon an trade how does that affect things down the line now the Cavs could just run this back I don’t necessarily think that’s the best idea and I’ll explain why next right here on lockon Cavs Today’s Show is brought to you by FanDuel we all love sports if you’re watching this and listening to this you love sports you Sports is everything to you and FanDuel has everything you need to make your summer great because just because the playoffs are over in hockey in the NBA doesn’t mean that the sports go away there’s still plenty going on I know the All-Star break is approaching in Major League Baseball but the WNBA is still going on you’ve got lron C that you can bet on and FanDuel is the place to go all you have to do is open up the app and dream up bets anytime that you’re in the mood plus this summer FanDuel hooking up all customers with a boost or bonus daily that’s right there’s something for everyone every day all summer long one of the things that I really like and the Cleveland Guardians have been playing you know maybe not their best baseball lately I will say they had five guys named to the All-Star team over the weekend that was a really cool thing really cool to to see them get the recognition that they deserve they’re odds and I’ve been talking about this to win the World Series I was talking about them at plus 2200 a couple weeks ago right here now they’re down to plus 1,800 so FanDuel starting to believe a little bit in the Cleveland Guardians maybe you should too so head on over to fanduel.com and start making the most out of your summer FanDuel the official sports betting partner of Major League Baseball so one of the options that the Cavs have is running it back where they could just essentially keep the same core that they have which they’ve been they’ve talked about that uh and Kobe Alman at his end of season availability talked about how he doesn’t see why they need to separate the guards he doesn’t see why they need to separate the bigs and it’s been reported certainly that the Cavs don’t want to move on from any of the core four and Jared Allen Evan Moy Donovan Mitchell who obviously not going anywhere and Darius Garland so what if they don’t add on the outskirts of this roster they haven’t lost anybody as of right now Isaac aoro is the guy that could potentially be gone as part of a sign and trade elsewhere or you know they do have matching rights like if he signs an offer sheet with another team he could end up back in Cleveland like that is not something that is out of the question or the Cavs could just come to terms with him like they could come to an agreement that is certainly something that’s possible as well so those are the things to think about but if they don’t add to this team if they don’t add anything I think that fans should be disappointed in that not because this team isn’t good but because you always need to be getting better in the NBA and I do think that there’s internal development to be had like I think Evan MO is going to be better under Kenny ainson I think Donovan Mitchell going to keep getting better I think Darius Garland is going to be much better this upcoming season than he was last year but that doesn’t mean everything around them is good enough now will Kenny Atkinson Elevate some of the other guys sure you know I think Sam Mill could have the season of his career maybe and we’ll find out more about this as we get into summer league later on this week maybe ammani Bates is a guy that’s part of the rotation and that is something that is just some builtin added extra depth or built-in Improvement maybe all those things come true but I still think that there are guys available either in the free agent Market you know I look at someone like a Gary Trent Jr and maybe makes sense in Cleveland or the trade market I think that running it back the core for fine I I’ve made my thoughts known that I think making a trade trading away Jared Allen could be a way to improve this team but if the Cavs don’t want to do that there are still other ways to improve and I think that Improvement is needed because right now as I mentioned earlier this isn’t a team that I view as a championship Contender and I don’t know how many moves if any there are that put them in that CL class but I know that there are moves out there that get them closer to it I know that there are moves that they can make big and small that would make me feel as if this team is better suited for playoff basketball than it was this past April and May and that’s what this off season should all be about because I truly do believe as this team is constructed right now they’ve got a lot of talent they’re hard to prepare for they’re a really good regular season team I get that the East has gotten better and it has New York is better Philly is better um Milwaukee is not better Indiana I don’t buy Orlando is better but I still think they’re fifth or sixth I still think the Cavs are going to be a 50 win team just because of how good they are in the regular season that is not something I’m concerned about despite the East getting better despite some of those teams behind the Cavs maybe catching up a little bit or maybe Philly jumping the caves New York jumping the Cavs despite all that I think the Cavs are going to be a homecourt Advantage team I absolutely think that they’re going to be a team that wins 50 plus games that has homecourt advantage in the first round but the playoff success now is the thing that should start to matter more you know the first year they lost in five games to the Knicks they won 51 games they could still tout That season as a success because that regular season was awesome this year they could tout as a success because they won a playoff series in the first round the regular season wasn’t as good but no one cares about that because the postseason success was there the regular season should and I believe will be a success for the Cavs this year but unless they make upgrades on the margins of this roster really on the margins of this rotation not the margins of the roster I’m not talking about um finding an improvement over Tristan Thompson as the 12th or 13th guy that’s not what I’m doing here I’m talking about finding who’s a better seventh guy than Caris LT or sixth guy than car even if it’s not better who’s a better fit who’s Maybe um maybe a better shooter Off the Bench that can come in maybe who’s a better fifth starter so you can push Max stru to the bench and he plays that six-man role better than anyone else could those are the types of moves that I think could be something that helped to Vault this Cavs team a little bit closer to that Championship Contender type of tier that I just don’t think that they’re in and maybe Isaac aoro in a signning trade is a key to that because and here’s why why I think teams specifically the Nets should have interest in aoro he’s only 23 I think he’s a much better basketball player than he was able to show in Cleveland I don’t think that he has had the role that he would ideally like to have where he’s been a three Indie guy but he’s also been somebody that has been hesitant at times to take those shots from outside I think that giving aoro a little bit of a bigger offensive role on a team that isn’t planning to be good could be a really good thing for his career because you know defensively he’s going to be good and he’s been good in def on defense his entire time in the NBA but I think the way for him to really spread his wings and develop next could be taking on a higher usage type of role that just isn’t going to be available for him in Cleveland certainly making more money than the Cavs could be willing to pay someone that is a very low usage player despite being a good Defender so that is why I think a sign in trade could make sense and then what the Cavs could get back depending on what else they can attach to aoro in that sign in trade with the Nets if they could get Cam Johnson back for Isaac aoro and maybe some other stuff I think that this offseason automatically becomes I I already think this offseason’s a win because the biggest thing to do with sign Donovan Mitchell to an extension and that’s done and over with now but adding someone like cam Johnson to this team I think makes it an even bigger win than it already is I really do I really think that that is something that should make you feel really good if that happens now Dorian finny Smith I’m not as high on and I understand that there are people that are certainly lower on Dorian fin Smith than I am but he is someone that I think you kind of have to look past his numbers with the Brooklyn Nets over the past couple of years I don’t think that reading too much into what he’s been in Brooklyn makes a ton of sense so he was traded from Dallas to Brooklyn this was back in 20 2223 he was traded there and with Brooklyn he has shot 33% on threes when he was in Dallas he shot 36% on threes that’s a pretty sizable difference now I ask you is his shooting in Brooklyn worse because he’s a worse shooter or is it because the caliber of looks that he’s gotten with the Nets has changed drastically so he was part of the Kyrie Irving trade Kyrie went to Dallas Dorian fny Smith went to Brooklyn who’s been creating shots for DFS in Brooklyn that I think is a pretty key part of this is the caliber of shot the caliber of open looks that he got with the Nets going to be the same that it would be with the Cavs I don’t think so I think he would get better looks in Cleveland playing with guys like Darius Garland with Donovan Mitchell with Evan Mobley even if that spacing isn’t perfect having having Dynamic on ball creators the way the Cavs do could be something that brings dorany Smith back from someone that shot 33% in Brooklyn to the guy that shot 39% his last full season in Dallas 39% from three his last full season in Dallas really his last two full years in Dallas he was a a 39% three-point shooter playing alongside who Luca donic the Cavs don’t have Luca donic but they’ve got better creators than what Brooklyn has had while DFS has been there so I do think that as you think about that as a potential possibility as a potential addition I think that is something that you do need to think about is that the type of shots he was getting with the Nets not going to be the same type of shots that I think he’ll be getting with the Cavs and what he does with those shots well that’s very important obviously he’s got to make those shots but I think those shots are going to be a little bit easier to make if he’s getting a higher caliber of look in Cleveland than he was in Brooklyn the Cavs coaching staff I don’t know that it’s fully set but we’ve got some names I want to talk about them want to dive into a little bit of Summer League stuff too as we wrap up today’s edition of lockdown Cavs Today’s Show is brought to you by better help it is helpful to learn positive coping skills and how to set boundaries it empowers you to be the best version of yourself and it’s not just for those who have experienced major trauma so let me talk to you about this comparison at times can certainly be the thief of Joy right like we’ve all heard that phrases that phrase before and it’s so easy to Envy other people’s lives you see what other people have going on and it might look like they’ve got it all together on whatever social media app you’re on but in reality they probably don’t and if you want to be able to focus on what you want therapy can help you do that instead of focusing on what others have so you can start to live your best life if you’re thinking of starting therapy give better help a try it is entirely online designed to be convenient flexible and suited to your schedule all three of those things are very important just fill out a brief questionnaire and you get matched 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that team I like his hire he was someone whose name came up with the Charlotte Hornets when they had an opening earlier this offseason it feels like forever ago that Charles Lee was hired as the Hornets head coach but Jordan a was a name that came up for that I think at that it’s a really good thing when the Cavs are hiring guys that their names have popped up for openings even if the opening isn’t the same caliber that the Cavs opening has been or was um because obviously those are two franchises that are going in very different directions right now so they were not looking for the same kind of head coach but that doesn’t mean Jordan a won’t be a great assistant coach um deari Carroll another guy who has been hired on the Cavs staff Carol you might know the name was a member of that Atlanta Hawks team in 2015 that the Cavs swept the Hawks won 60 games Cav swept him in the Conference Finals he has been on the Lakers staff the last couple of years I like this because I think it’s a good thing when you can have a coach that has played against some of these guys in the NBA I I do think it’s a good thing having someone that is not that far removed from being an NBA player himself so I do like that addition to the staff and then lastly the coaching Edition that I don’t know that everyone expected but I know everyone is excited about um certainly the coach that the most people are excited about adding to the staff in Cleveland is Johnny Bryant so Bryant comes over from the New York Knicks he was the associate head coach to Tom fiido in New York now he will be the associate head coach to Kenny ainson in Cleveland Bryant before spending time with the Knicks in New York was in Utah with who Donovan Mitchell so Bryant and Mitchell are very very close um Donovan has talked at times about how much Johnny Bryant has meant to him personally and professionally so obviously that is uh some easy dots to connect Bryan also did um his name popped up as a candidate the Cavs were interested in when they were selecting Kenny ainson to be the head coach so there was some relationship there between Bryant and the organization and I’ve talked to people about Bryant people that know him that the reason for his candidacy if you will in the Cav’s job wasn’t just because of his relationship with Donovan Mitchell the people I’ve talked to about Johnny Bryant have raved about him have said that you know he’s going to be a head coach in this league sooner than later um he is someone that I I spoke with people that said you know at least one person told me he’s ready to be a head coach right now he’s had a great learning experience in New York coaching under Tom Fido he has learned so much in the NBA and he is his own coach he’s got his own personality he’s not he’s not tibs 2.0 um but he’s someone that has learned a lot that is ready and I think that this step in Cleveland you know truthfully if all goes well I wouldn’t expect Johnny Bryant to be in Cleveland for more than two years because he’s very capable of being a head coach and leading his own team in that time so I think all three of these hires are really really awesome hires um other than the Donovan Mitchell extension I think the thing that Cavs fans should be most excited about this off season probably what this coaching staff looks like um I don’t know that it could have gone much better I like Kenny ainson a lot I like the staff that he is assembling here in Cleveland a lot I think Cavs fans should be very very happy with what this coaching staff looks like um I want to talk a little bit about summer league too before we get out of here a couple of things I mentioned Jordan a the head coach of the Cav summer league team a couple of things two quick things that are worth watching as the Cavs get ready to play Summer League I believe they have an availability today so I’ll have more to talk about on tomorrow’s episode with this but how does Craig Porter Jr look remember that ankle injury a few months back um real nasty final game of the regular season that is something that is worth monitoring not because he’s not back to normal but you know the first time you’re back in a competitive situation after an injury like that where it was really nasty I mean he would have been out for a couple of months truthfully how you look in back in your first competitive action is something that I think is very important and then what does ammani Bates look like he’s listed at 190 pounds on the roster um he put on Twitter that he actually weighs 196 which is up quite a bit from a year ago when he was drafted if ammani Bates looks like he’s just better than everybody else at Summer League because this is his second go around in Vegas with the Cavs that would be a great sign for his future as a potential um role player rotation player on the Cavs like that would be really the best case scenario so those are just two quick things to look for as summer league starts to approach but I’ll have more on that as the week goes along we will be talking about the Summer League games once they begin so there’s so much so much more for you this week right here on lock on Cavs thank you again for making lock on Cavs your first listen every day you can find the show wherever you get your podcast Apple Spotify anywhere else leave us a festar review help us grow the show you guys have been great it’s been great getting to do this show and if you find us on YouTube too make sure you give this video a thumbs up if you haven’t make sure you’re subscribed to the locked on Cavs podcast Channel on YouTube um also hit that notification Bell you want to know right away when something post on our YouTube so check that out I will be back tomorrow again thank you for making lock on Cavs your first listen every day

Where do the Cavaliers go from here now that Miles Bridges went back to Charlotte?

On Monday’s episode of Locked On Cavs, Danny Cunningham (@RealDCunningham) of Cleveland Magazine and 92.3 The Fan talks about where the Cavs go from here now that they missed out on Miles Bridges. Plus, thoughts on the coaching staff Kenny Atkinson has assembled and a potential Isaac Okoro sign and trade.

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