If the Cleveland Cavaliers were to pursue a trade this season, guard Dion Waiters reportedly is the most likely player to be dealt. Rob Mahoney of Sports Illustrated broke down Cleveland's current roster and surmised Waiters would be the player to be traded if Cleveland needs an upgrade in the frontcourt.
"...Waiters projects both the highest value external to the Cavs and the most potential for redundancy within," Mahoney wrote Tuesday. "In all likelihood, Waiters will be a useful piece for a very good Cavs team. Yet if Cleveland finds itself wanting in any particular regard as the season goes on, moving a score-first guard who is only his team's fourth-best scorer (perhaps with the aid of Cleveland's recently generated trade exception) would make sense."
Many people believe Cleveland will use their $5.3 million trade exception from the Keith Bogans deal this season. Cleveland doesn't need help in the scoring department, but finding a rim-protector to anchor the paint is a pressing need.
Cleveland has been linked to names such as Indiana Pacers center Roy Hibbert and Denver Nuggets centers Timofey Mozgov and JaVale McGee, but pursuing any of those names would cost the Cavaliers assets. Defense is another question mark with Cleveland - Grantland's Zach Lowe linked Cleveland to a trade involving New York Knicks defensive standout Iman Shumpert.
Waiters - and forward Tristan Thompson - were thought to be safe because of their relationship with LeBron James, who appears to want both players to stay on the roster.
If Cleveland were to move Waiters, they also have two future first-round picks - their own and Memphis' pick - to package with him. Cleveland, as of now, appears unlikely to make a move until after Dec. 15, when the majority of players become eligible to be traded.
That date also gives Cleveland more than a month to see how their roster, as-is, performs.
