Could New York Knicks guard Iman Shumpert finally be traded? Grantland's Zach Lowe named the swingman as one of the Cleveland Cavaliers' possible trade targets.
Shumpert, a regular subject of trade rumors, might have caught the attention of the Cavaliers.
"The Cavs have a $5.3 million trade exception courtesy of the Keith Bogans Memorial Contract, and they'll likely kick the tires on a number of workable wing defenders who fit into that salary - Corey Brewer, Iman Shumpert, Jared Dudley, Kyle Singler, Kentavious Caldwell-Pope, Wesley Johnson, Reggie Bullock, an excess Memphis wing, and others," Lowe wrote Oct. 7.
On Tuesday, Lowe reaffirmed his belief Cleveland would look to make another trade - likely before the February deadline.
"They might not do it until next summer, but they'll do it, and they'd be better making a move this season to bolster their 2014-15 title chances," he wrote. "They'll look at any number of the wings (aforementioned), and they'll keep calling Denver about Timofey Mozgov."
Chuck Myron of HoopsRumors reported in August the idea of Shumpert going to Cleveland, if Knicks president Phil Jackson didn't ask for too high of a price.
"As for Shumpert, that's a viable idea, although the Knicks would probably ask for assets that Cleveland would be unwilling to surrender," Chuck Myron of HoopsRumors wrote Aug. 4.
Cleveland's most pressing need is somebody who can block shots and protect the rim. Finding a rim-protector, though, will take more than just the Cavaliers' trade exception. Finding a wing for the $5.3 million exception is more feasible.
There're questions about Shumpert, namely whether he can become a consistent scorer. Still, he's a lockdown perimeter defender who would give the Cavaliers an upgrade in that area. As Myron pointed out, it would really depend on the Knicks' asking price. Cleveland does have two first-round picks - theirs and Memphis' - in next year's draft, though it's a matter of if Cleveland thinks Shumpert is worth giving up a late first-rounder.
