The Cleveland Cavaliers have trade exceptions to use this year and names like Nick Young, Chris Andersen, Kevin Martin, Channing Frye, Danny Granger, Mario Chalmers, Jamal Crawford, Andrea Bargnani, OJ Mayo and Josh McRoberts could be options for the Cavs if the team trades Anderson Varejao following Brendan Haywood.
The Cavaliers have been very active this offseason, signing back Kevin Love, Iman Shumpert, James Jones, Matthew Dellavedova and LeBron James to deals. The team is expected to re-sign Tristan Thompson and JR Smith next and this comes after the Cavaliers also have brought in Mo Williams and Richard Jefferson as free agents. According to Adrian Wojnarowski at Yahoo Sports, the Cavaliers have two trade exceptions to use at $10.5 million and $2.85 million this year.
The team traded Brendan Haywood and Mike Miller to the Blazers to create the exceptions and the Cavs now have some options for this season. According to Greg Swartz of Bleacher Report, some players that could be in the mix include Nick Young, Channing Frye, Danny Granger and Kevin Martin. The Cavaliers previously targeted players like Joe Johnson and Jamal Crawford this offseason and the team could consider adding a guard or another big man.
According to the Cleveland Plain Dealer, the Cavs have considered bringing over Sasha Kaun from overseas on a deal. The team has the draft rights for Kaun and if the Cavs want some more depth behind Timofey Mozgov and Anderson Varejao, they could add Kaun over a veteran free agent. Terry Pluto writes at the Plain Dealer that Varejao has already been shopped this season and could be a trade option for the Cavaliers after dealing with injuries last season.
Young was shopped by the Lakers this summer after the team signed Lou Williams and traded for Roy Hibbert, but the team could not find a deal. The Cavs could be an option down the line, while other players like OJ Mayo and Chris Andersen also could be targets. Andersen has been shopped along with Mario Chalmers by the Miami Heat this offseason and he could be a fit on an expiring contract. Andersen played with LeBron James in Miami and so did Chalmers when the team was winning championships.
The Cavaliers made moves last season that significantly shaped the team with trades and this year it could happen again. The team added Mozgov, JR Smith and Iman Shumpert and those players all played huge roles for the Cavs in getting to the finals. The Cavaliers have already made numerous moves, but with the trade exceptions and the bench performing the way it did last season in the finals, the team is expected to add some more moving forward. Varejao could be an option to move with his contract, as is not guaranteed in the 2017-18 season.
Check here for more on the Cavaliers targets for their trade exceptions for later this season and more on the Cavs offseason moves.
