B/R proposes 3-team trade involving Cavs that would pair Wemby with Brandon Ingram

Bleacher Report’s Andy Bailey presented an idea for a three-team trade involving the Cleveland Cavaliers, New Orleans Pelicans and San Antonio Spurs that would see plenty of great players changing teams.

Spurs Receive: Brandon Ingram and Dean Wade

Spurs Lose: Keldon Johnson, Zach Collins, Julian Champagnie and a top-five-protected 2029 first-round pick

Pelicans Receive: Jarrett Allen (cannot be traded till January 27, 2025), Caris LeVert, Julian Champagnie and a top-five-protected 2029 first-round pick (from San Antonio)

Pelicans: Lose: Brandon Ingram, Jeremiah Robinson-Earl and a top-five-protected 2029 first-round pick

Cavaliers Receive: Keldon Johnson, Zach Collins, Jeremiah Robinson-Earl and a top-five-protected 2029 first-round pick (from New Orleans)

Cavaliers Lose: Jarrett Allen, Caris LeVert and Dean Wade

Maybe the most intriguing aspect of the hypothetical trade is that the Spurs would be getting a bonafide star in Ingram to pair with Victor Wembanyama.

The Spurs are lacking star power outside of Wembanyama at the moment. Chris Paul is one of the greatest point guards in NBA history, but he’s also in the twilight of his career and will turn 40 years old in May.

Devin Vassell is a quality young player to boot — he averaged 19.5 points per game last season — however it’s arguable as to whether he has solidified himself as a star just yet.

As for the Cavaliers’ perspective of the trade, Johnson stands out as the best player the team would receive. He was perhaps one of the NBA’s more underrated players during the 2023-24 regular season, as he averaged 15.7 points, 5.5 rebounds, 2.8 assists and 0.7 steals per game for the Spurs despite the fact that he started only 27 of the 69 games he appeared in.

Beyond Johnson, Collins is a capable big man who could theoretically give the Cavaliers productive minutes at both the power forward or center spots when bigs like Evan Mobley need a breather. Also, acquiring a future first-round pick makes sense for the team when considering that the Cavaliers could look like a very different squad in 2029, and Cleveland isn’t one of the more heralded destinations for free agents.

While Johnson, Collins and the future first-round pick would seemingly be worthwhile additions for the Cavaliers, it’s debatable whether the juice is worth the squeeze for Cleveland. Both Allen and LeVert were major contributors to last season’s iteration of the Cavaliers, and Wade was a solid rotational piece.

It goes without saying that the landscape of the NBA would be dramatically shifted if the above hypothetical trade among the Cavaliers, Spurs and Hornets were to become a reality.