The Cleveland Cavaliers are the best team in the Eastern Conference, but they have goals of winning the NBA Championship and the Warriors and Spurs seem to be pretty far ahead of them. Because of that, the Cavaliers are looking at potential trades that could make them better and get them ready for the a deep playoff run. One of the players who the Cavaliers are really looking to trade for is Jared Dudley, according to Brian Windhorst of ESPN.
Windhorst's exact quote was that the Cavaliers "would love to get their hands on Jared Dudley." Whether that means there have been substantive talks with the Washington Wizards about a trade is anyone's guess, but Dudley is certainly a trade candidate. Dudley, however, is not the only player the Cavaliers are looking at, as they are among the most active teams in talks right now, according to 1540 KNR2 Cleveland Radio.
As of now, the Wizards are five games under .500, but they are only four games back of the eighth spot in the Eastern Conference. Where they currently are in the standings may keep them in limbo as to whether they want to sell at the trade deadline. The next week or so will be key in determining whether someone like Dudley might be available for teams like the Cavaliers to trade for before the Feb. 18 trade deadline.
Dudley is in the final year of his deal with the Wizards and is set to become an unrestricted free agent this offseason, so if the Wizards decide to sell, he would be a prime candidate. Dudley is 30 years old and is having a very good season in Washington, so the Wizards would probably like a fairly good asset in return. Whether the Cavs would be willing to give them that asset, or whether they have that asset, is the question, but they seem to be pretty high on the 6-foot-7 forward.
As for Dudley's fit with the Cavaliers, it is an interesting one because Cleveland is pretty deep on the wings. This coincides with the Cavaliers' philosophy, though, because they feel they can never have enough shooters to surround LeBron James and Kyrie Irving, and Dudley is a very good shooter. On the season, Dudley is shooting 46 percent from three, which is one of the best marks in the league, so the interest makes sense for the Cavaliers' game plan.
The Cavaliers would love to add Dudley, but now it is a matter of if the Wizards are willing to trade him, and if they are, do the Cavaliers have the right pieces to make a deal work? We will see within the next couple of weeks.
