The Cleveland Cavaliers are still trying to add to their roster after a successful summer that netted them LeBron James, Kevin Love, Shawn Marion, and Mike Miller. As they try to round their squad into title contention, they know they're still missing a defensive piece that can hopefully bring the league's 24th best defense. When a defensive spark plug in small forward Corey Brewer was on the trade market recently, the Cavaliers had a chance to get involved with their $5.3 million trade exception.
Cavs general manager David Griffin considered trading for Brewer, likely needing to take on the expiring contract of Ronny Turiaf (who has undergone season-ending hip surgery) in the process while giving up a second round pick or two. That's what the Rockets ended up negotiating in a three-team deal with the Minnesota Timberwolves and the Philadelphia 76ers. Instead, Griffin opted to wait on a defensive big man. From Cleveland.com:
Cavs General Manager David Griffin did consider trading for Corey Brewer, but decided that he wanted to hang on to his $5.3 million trade exception.
Griffin has decided to wait, his goal being to add another big man -- one who can block some shots and rebound. The trading deadline is February 19, and there may be some big men available close to the deadline.
If Griffin had made a strong bid for Brewer, that would have been the Cavs main in-season move. The salary cap would have prevented most other deals. The trade option is the key because it allows a team to get rid of a contract (as Minnesota did with Brewer), but not take back much money.
As of right now, it's hard to figure which defensive big men could be available when the trade deadline starts looming. Emeka Okafor and Jermaine O'Neal are out on the free agent market, but Okafor is coming off of neck surgery and O'Neal has a lot of mileage on his odometer. The Celtics could think about flipping Brandan Wright, whom they just acquired in the Rajon Rondo trade. The Nuggets have Timofey Mozgov to dangle out there if they're so inclined. The Thunder could theoretically make Kendrick Perkins available.
We're really scraping the bottom of the barrel here with defensive big men though. The Cavs being patient is the smart move. They don't have much flexibility with the salary cap and roster slots right now, but that trade exception does give them a bit of wiggle room if they're in a position to use it.
