The Cleveland Cavaliers are fortunate to employ some of the better players in the league today, such as Donovan Mitchell, Darius Garland and Evan Mobley. But if it weren’t for contributions from players up and down their roster, the Cavaliers maybe wouldn’t be sitting pretty atop the Eastern Conference standings right now.
Cleveland’s bench has been one of the best in the league in terms of scoring the ball. The Cavaliers’ average of 38.8 bench points per contest ranks sixth among all 30 teams, and Cleveland’s reserves also rank second in made 3s per game.
But once wing Max Strus returns to the lineup from an ankle injury and fellow wing Isaac Okoro recuperates from a sprained AC joint in his right shoulder, the Cavaliers will have an overabundance of players who are worthy of rotation minutes. That’s part of the reason why some NBA executives think the team is in position to make a trade that sends out two players and brings in one.
“The Cavaliers’ depth has been a staple of this league-best 23-4 start,” Cleveland.com’s Chris Fedor wrote. “It’s made it easy to navigate various injuries throughout the first quarter of the season.
“But it’s about to be become a problem — if that term even qualifies. At the very least, a complicated situation, without an easy solution for [Kenny] Atkinson. It’s part of the reason why opposing executives who have spoken with Cleveland.com recently believe the Cavs are primed to make a 2-for-1 deal ahead of the deadline, clearing up the roster logjam and possibly helping them get back below the luxury tax threshold.”
Strus could make his season debut as soon as Friday, when the Cavaliers are slated to take on Giannis Antetokounmpo and the Milwaukee Bucks. The 28-year-old is listed as questionable to play for Cleveland.
Perhaps the Cavaliers will end up trading for a wing prior to February’s trade deadline. According to a report from NBA insiders Marc Stein and Jake Fischer earlier in the month, Cleveland is likely to look for help at the position as the season progresses.
Players like Okoro and Strus are both proven and productive players at the wing, but considering that the two of them have been bitten by the injury bug this season, perhaps the Cavs should indeed look for some help in that area. The report from Stein and Fischer indicated that the team knows it will need a lot of perimeter defense to deal with some of the top teams in the Eastern Conference this season.
Cavaliers fans should be looking forward to finding out what moves the team will make between now and the Feb. 6 deadline. If Cleveland does make a trade, it will be interesting to see if the team tries to avoid making its rotation even fuller.
