The Cleveland Cavaliers are currently trying to figure out how to retool their roster this summer after their early playoff exit vs the Indiana Pacers in the second round. The Cavs put together one of their best regular seasons in franchise history, but a combination of injuries and roster imbalance ultimately caught up with them in their series vs Indiana.
While the Cavs aren’t expected to make any drastic moves this offseason, there could be room for some tweaks along the margins of their roster, and recently, ESPN NBA insider Brian Windhorst stopped by ESPN Cleveland radio to speak on two players who the Cavs could entertain trading this summer.
“Do I talk to people who say that they may trade (Isaac) Okoro or they may trade (Dean) Wade? Yes. That is definitely something I’ve heard, the Cavs have investigated that,” said Windhorst. “But you’ve got to really look at this team, they believe that this team can win the whole thing. That’s the point, so if you believe that, then you should operate that way.”
At this point, it’s unclear what kind of market would exist for either Okoro or Wade, who didn’t play huge roles for the Cavs this season.
Where do the Cavs go from here?
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It’s not often that a team comes off of a season in which they won 64 games and still has a prevailing since of disappointment in the ensuing summer, but that’s exactly where the Cavs find themselves at the current juncture.
It remains to be seen how much of the Cavs’ playoff shortcomings the team’s front office will chalk up to untimely injuries and how much will be attributed to poor roster construction. The Cavs could certainly use some additional help in the wing department, as the trade deadline acquisition of De’Andre Hunter didn’t prove to be enough to supplement Cleveland in that area, which has been a team weakness ever since LeBron James left town.
In any case, the Cavs will have some important decisions to make over the coming weeks.
