Cleveland Cavaliers center Anderson Varejao will undergo an MRI on his left foot Wednesday that could reveal a potential long-term injury.
[…] If Varejao is out for a significant period, it’s believed the Cavs will intensify their months long efforts to trade for a big man. The team has been seeking additional help for its front line going back to the summer, having specifically Mozgov of the Denver Nuggets and Kosta Koufos of the Memphis Grizzlies.
Sources say the Cavs, in recent days, have been in contact with the Boston Celtics about working as a facilitator in three-team trade scenarios. The Celtics, blessed with frontcourt depth in the wake of their recent acquisition of Brandan Wright in the Rajon Rondo deal, have been aggressive recently in their attempts to acquire future draft picks.
You’ll recall, the Celtics, along with Brooklyn, helped the Cavs clear cap space so they could secure LeBron James’ services this summer. The move got the Celtics Tyler Zeller, who is playing very well and has been able to cope quite nicely without Rajon Rondo feeding him constantly.
So the Celtics got something out of that, even though fans have that distaste in their mouths about helping Cleveland. Now the Celtics could be at it again, with a glut of bigs to offer… or as a team that can help move some pieces around in a multi-team deal.
The key for Boston, obviously, is to receive assets in return. The Celtics already own the Cavs 2016 pick (top 10 protected), so because teams can’t trade consecutive 1st round picks, future picks from the Cavs don’t seem very likely. They have Memphis’ 1st rounder this year to play with, but that’s top-5 and 15-30 protected this season. That’s basically the same protection on the Dallas 1st round pick, so it’s possible Ainge would take that. I’m going to assume we’d probably be looking at a third team’s picks if Ainge is going to get what he wants, which brings us to…
Re Cavs/Celts reported 3-way talks with Grizz & Nuggets: I think both teams could really use Jeff Green. He’d fit perfectly in Memphis.
— Kevin O’Connor (@KevinOConnorNBA) December 24, 2014
A 3-way deal that sends Jeff Green to Memphis? As for players who might come out of Cleveland…
Sources say that the Cavs are well aware landing a quality big man likely depends on selling on potential trade partners to take back polarizing shooting guard Dion Waiters. Cleveland rates Waiters’ talent highly, but sources maintain that the Cavs have let a number of teams know they are prepared to surrender him if they can acquire a difference-making center in return.
Do the Celtics have a “difference-making center?” I don’t think so, but “difference-making” takes on a different meaning now that Varejao could be gone for the season. Is Brandan Wright difference-making enough? Is he even really a center? Wright for Waiters works straight up, but I don’t think that’s the route these teams will go. Waiters is only 23, he’s got talent, and he’s under contract next year for only about $4 million, so it could be worth the look. Maybe under the right guidance, he can fix some of the things that have plagued him so far in his young career.
So with all this in mind, I did the one thing I hate… I went to the trade machine.
The Wright deal would be done separately with a trade exception to make it work since he can’t be traded with another player for 2 months. The Celtics would also get that Memphis 1st rounder. Or you could put Brandon Bass in there instead of Wright.
I’m not sure if that makes sense or not, but that’s the kind of trade we’re looking at if something goes down. Cleveland gets the frontcourt depth it needs, Memphis gets Green, the Celtics get a young asset.. err.. scorer.. and another pick. That would give them their own pick this year, along with the Clippers, Mavericks, and Grizzlies picks (depending on how the protections work out).
No matter how this shakes out, someone is going somewhere. Trader Danny is not done making moves.
