The Cleveland Cavaliers are officially sprinting to complete their offseason checklist now that LeBron James is off the board. A few things on their to-do list include signing Mario Hezonja, restructuring James Harden’s deal, and trading for Jonathan Kuminga.
The latter will require multiple moves to make possible.
Cleveland isn’t in a position to add Kuminga in a vacuum. They’re strapped for cash and would have to complete a sign-and-trade to acquire him from the Atlanta Hawks — who, according to Marc Stein, are showing interest in Jarrett Allen.
The Cavs, to this point, have refused to play ball in that regard.
“Sources say that the Hawks have indeed made their interest in Jarrett Allen known to Cleveland for some time, but I’m told that Cleveland still has not entertained moving its starting center,” said Stein on his Substack.
It’s unlikely the Cavs would deal Allen in exchange for Kuminga. This doesn’t align with how they’ve valued Allen, whose performances in consecutive Game 7s helped them reach the Eastern Conference Finals last season. The Cavs aren’t moving him for a player who hasn’t proven he can play winning basketball at the NBA level.
Kuminga has promise. His raw potential as an athletic, bruising forward is what is drawing interest from Cleveland. But there’s a reason why the market for Kuminga isn’t scorching hot. The Cavs have enough leverage here to keep Allen out of negotiations.
Instead, the Cavs are looking to trade Max Strus or Dennis Schroder. Either in a deal with Atlanta, or to another team in a salary dump that would clear enough space for them to sign Kuminga themselves. Both Schroder and Strus are helpful rotational players — but Cleveland has needed to tweak the roster and consolidate some of their talent in the backcourt for years. This could be their best chance to do so without a major shakeup of the roster.
Most fans would prefer to move Schroder over Strus. Though it’s unclear if either player will garner enough interest to make this possible. Cleveland does not have draft capital to use as a sweetener. Whoever takes the salary dump will have to like their coffee bitter.
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