The Cleveland Cavaliers have been hot heading out of the All-Star break and into the trade deadline the team could look for some depth behind Kyrie Irving, as names like Norris Cole, Jeremy Lin, Jose Calderon, Arron Afflalo, Jameer Nelson and Pablo Prigioni are potential options on the market as the calendar gets to the end of February.
The Cavaliers made a strong push over the past few weeks to get back into the mix at the top of the eastern conference and they could continue that out of the All-Star break. LeBron James will get more rest through the break and that will allow him to get back to full strength after dealing with a couple injuries earlier in the season. According to Cleveland.com, the Cavaliers would like to add some depth behind Irving for the second half of the season and among the 11 names they mentioned were Norris Cole, Jeremy Lin, Jose Calderon, Arron Afflalo and Jameer Nelson.
Mo Williams was considered a target for the team earlier in the season, but he was already traded. The Cavaliers have been active on the trade market this year, acquiring Timofey Mozgov, Iman Shumpert and JR Smith and that coincided with some dramatic improvements. The Cavs were one game under .500 and went on a long winning streak while winning 14 of 16 games and now they are second in the central, right behind the Bulls.
Norris Cole could be a potential target for the Cavaliers, as he has previously played with LeBron James and could be expendable for the Miami Heat. The team has Mario Chalmers and Shabazz Napier getting more minutes over Cole and the Detroit Pistons are also reportedly interested in acquiring him. Cole is averaging six points per game this season and he has been praised in the past by James as an underrated player in the NBA.
Jose Calderon could be a potential target from the Knicks, but his contract makes him not a likely one for the Cavaliers. Calderon is averaging about 10 points per game, but he is still signed for two years and over $10 million and that will probably keep him from Cleveland. Jameer Nelson could be an option from the Nuggets, as he has bounced around a bit already this season and is fairly cheap with a player option for $3.25 million next season. Jeremy Lin is being shopped by the Lakers, but his final year on his expiring contract is a huge amount and likely isn't feasible for the Cavs to acquire at the deadline.
Nelson is averaging eight points and is playing behind Ty Lawson, who is one of the league leaders in assists. The Nuggets have also been getting heavy interest in Arron Afflalo and teams like the LA Clippers, Miami Heat and Bulls could be interested in him. The Cavaliers are ranked in the top 10 in scoring this season and they have continued to improve on defense as the team has gone on. The team is 33-22 and they are just behind the Bulls in the division standings in the central.
