It’s been nearly three weeks since Kyrie Irving requested a trade from the Cavaliers. Many possible scenarios have been proposed, some realistic, others not so much. One prospective trade partner that has received little talk is the Charlotte Hornets. In any Kyrie Irving trade, the Cavaliers are almost guaranteed to downgrade at point guard. That’s a testament to how good of a player Irving is. The Cavs need to attempt to mitigate the damage and downgrade as little as possible, while acquiring at least one other player that can contribute immediately at a high level. The Hornets could be the perfect team to get both of these.
Kemba Walker, 27, made his first All-Star game appearance in 2016-2017 after averaging 23.2 points, 5.5 assists, 3.9 rebounds, and 1.1 steals, in 34.7 minutes per game. He shot 44% from the field and hit 40% of his 3 pointers. Very solid numbers that are quite comparable to Kyrie Irving’s. Walker is not the elite iso threat that Irving is, but he is still a solid scorer, a better defender, and arguably a better passer and distributor. Walker would undoubtedly improve if given the chance to play with LeBron James and the Cavs’ plethora of perimeter shooters. His defensive and passing advantage over Irving would be extremely helpful to the team, and while there is an offensive downgrade, the Cavs have the personnel to cover for it, namely Kevin Love would take on a larger role. Walker’s contract will pay him $12 million each of the next two seasons, as compared to Irving’s nearly $19 million salary. This difference would allow the Cavs to acquire another good player along with Walker in order to improve the team.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PrUgCp6y02Y
The Hornets have three main players that the Cavaliers should wbe interested in acquiring along with Walker.
The first is SG/SF Nicolas Batum. Batum is a solid scorer, who averaged 15 points per game last year, shooting 33% from deep. Batum would be a legitimate backup to LeBron James, capable of leading the bench unit and preventing the Cavs’ patented meltdowns without LeBron. Batum is making more than $22 million per year, so he may not be the most attractive player to the Cavs.
The second player is SF/PF Marvin Williams. The Cavs have been linked to Williams before, and for good reason. He’s a solid bench scorer, averaging 11.2 points per game while shooting 35% from 3. The year before he shot 40% from beyond the arc, so he is a very good and consistent 3pt shooter. He’s also been a respectable defender for the last few seasons, which would be very useful in Cleveland. Williams has a decent contract, at a bit over $13 million per year over the next 2 seasons with a player option for a third.
The player the Cavs should be most interested in is wing Michael Kidd-Gilchrist. Kidd-Gilchrist is a decent scorer on the drive, but is an atrocious shooter, as evidenced by his 11% 3pt shooting last season. Spacing would be greatly affected with him on the court, so he is an offensive negative. However, Kidd-Gilchrist is something the Cavaliers lack and desperately need; an elite wing defender. There are few in the league that are better defensively than he is. At 6’7” with a wingspan over 7 feet, he has the size and length to defend pretty much anyone, including Kevin Durant. Durant was impossible to slow down in the NBA Finals, with even LeBron James, far and away the Cavaliers’ best wing defender, struggling. Kidd-Gilchrist would give the Cavs the luxury of putting him on an island with Durant and feeling good about it, and would allow James to defend other players, which wouldn’t tire him out as much. His contract is very similar to Williams’, which should interest the Cavs.
Any trade would have to include Iman Shumpert or Channing Frye in order to match salary, but any of the aforementioned players would be significant upgrades over either player.
It’s difficult to see Charlotte agreeing to a deal however, as Walker is crucial to how their team works, and Batum, Williams, and Kidd-Gilchrist all log around 30 minutes per game. But the Cavs should at least inquire, because a trade with Charlotte could possibly be the best-case scenario for the team.