The Cleveland Cavaliers are on a mission. Koby Altman and co. are determined to bring this franchise back from the depths of the NBA cellar to NBA title contention. The Cavs are no stranger to trades and will continue to do whatever it takes to achieve that goal. Last year it was Andre Drummond who the Cavs managed to acquire for likes of John Henson and Brandon Knight. This year things could play out much the same. We've already seen a few big trades around the league such as the Portland Trailblazers landing Norman Powell in exchange for Rodney Hood and Gary Trent Jr, and Aaron Gordon moving from the Orlando Magic to the Denver Nuggets for Gary Harris, RJ Hampton and a 2025 first-rounder as well as perhaps the biggest so far in Nikola Vucevic and Al-Farouq Aminu leaving Orlando in exchange for Wendell Carter Jr. Otto Porter Jr. and two firsts. from the Chicago Bulls. And so the Trade-Deadline madness begins.
JaVale McGee to Denver:
Cavaliers receive: Isaiah Hartenstein, 2030 second round pick (protected No. 31-46), 2027 second round pick (unprotected)
Nuggets receive: JaVale McGee
This trade also gives Cleveland a $2.6 million trade exception to use how they see fit. When looking at this trade in comparison to what it cost to get McGee (Alfonzo McKinnie, Jordan Bell) the Cavs clearly ended up with more than they had hoped for by adding draft capital. Now they can focus on moving Drummond.
Update:
The Cavs will work out a buyout with C Andre Drummond.
Now that the dust has settled, a few things are clear. Cedi Osman, Taurean Prince, Kevin Love, and Andre Drummond remain with the teams. What does this mean? Well, it seems that Osman and Prince may yet be a part of Cleveland's long term plans and Andre Drummond will be bought out. No news on what Kevin Love's future with the team holds but with the emergence of younger and cheaper players such as Dean Wade, Lamar Stevens, and Dylan Windler, he may be glued to the bench even when he returns from his latest injury.
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