Report: Cavs interested in prying away Dillon Brooks or Kyle Anderson from Grizzlies

By Jason Simpson
Updated: August 25, 2021

According to a report, the Cleveland Cavaliers are interested in striking a deal with the Memphis Grizzlies for either Dillon Brooks or Kyle Anderson.

Based on the report, it looks like a combination of Larry Nance Jr. and a future draft pick could be enough to get the Grizzlies to bite.

“That means Cleveland could swoop in with an offer to help out Memphis and their rotational issues,” wrote Evan Dammarell. “According to sources, the Cavaliers are already interested in trying to acquire either Dillon Brooks or Kyle Anderson from Memphis to address their issues on the perimeter. Would a trade involving Nance be enough to entice the Grizzlies? Per sources, if Cleveland were to include next year’s first with light protections as well it just might be. If the Cavaliers wanted to go all-in with their assets with the Grizzlies, if they included the Houston pick as well there could be a way to pry both Steven Adams, Evan Mobley’s mentor, as well. According to sources, things remain fluid in trade discussions but the situation between Cleveland and Memphis is one worth monitoring going forward.”

Brooks is a 25-year-old swingman with four years of NBA experience. He is a major contributor for Memphis. In the 2020-21 season, he averaged 17.2 points, 2.9 rebounds and 2.3 assists per game.

He would be a nice scoring addition for a Cavs team that had one of the worst offenses in the NBA last year. Cleveland certainly needs some help in that regard.

Anderson, meanwhile, had a breakout season in the 2020-21 campaign. He averaged 12.4 points, 5.7 rebounds and 3.6 assists per game. He made 46.8 percent of his shots from the floor and 36.0 percent of his shots from deep.

He has experience at both the small forward and power forward positions and could fit in as a nice piece for Cleveland in either of those capacities.

Time will tell if the Cavs end up trading for either player.