{"id":175244,"date":"2026-01-31T11:28:08","date_gmt":"2026-01-31T16:28:08","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/?p=175244"},"modified":"2026-01-31T11:28:08","modified_gmt":"2026-01-31T16:28:08","slug":"cavaliers-jump-in-on-trade-talks-for-defensive-specialist-plus-other-cavs-rumors-including-one-with-the-lakers","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/2026\/01\/31\/cavaliers-jump-in-on-trade-talks-for-defensive-specialist-plus-other-cavs-rumors-including-one-with-the-lakers\/","title":{"rendered":"Cavaliers Jump In On Trade Talks For Defensive Specialist, Plus Other Cavs Rumors Including One With the Lakers"},"content":{"rendered":"

Have the Cleveland Cavaliers<\/a> finally turned the corner on their season?<\/p>\n

Cleveland<\/a> entered the season as one of the favorites in the Eastern Conference<\/a> after posting the Conference’s best record a season ago. But the Cavaliers<\/a> got off to a surprisingly slow start as they dealt with several injuries.<\/p>\n

Cavaliers Jump In On Trade Talks For Defensive Specialist, Plus Other Cavs Rumors Including One With the Lakers<\/h2>\n

While Cleveland has yet to have a healthy full squad, the Cavaliers have played much better over the last month. Following their 126-113 loss to Phoenix last night, the Cavaliers own the fourth-best record at 12-7 with a +3.2 scoring margin. The Cavaliers have the eighth-best offense and 13th-best defense during this stretch.<\/p>\n

Unsurprisingly, Donovan Mitchell<\/a> and Evan Mobley<\/a> have been excellent over this 18-game contest.\u00a0 Jaylon Tyson<\/a> has really stepped up his production, while Jarrett Allen<\/a>, Sam Merrill<\/a>, and Dean Wade<\/a> have been very good as well during this stretch.<\/p>\n

The Cavaliers are dealing with several injuries. <\/a>Darius Garland<\/a> (toe) missed his eighth straight game tonight against Phoenix, and there are questions about whether he will be available during the Cavs current five-game road trip. Mobley (calf) will miss his second straight contest and is slated to be out until February 11. Meanwhile, Max Strus<\/a> (foot) could potentially make his season debut at the end of February.<\/p>\n

Cleveland sits in fifth place in the Eastern Conference at 29-21. The Cavaliers, who are 7-3 in their last 10, are in position to earn a top-2 seed, as the conference is pretty jumbled. They are 2.5 games clear of seventh-place Orlando.<\/p>\n

There have been trade rumors swirling around Cleveland lately. Before examining the rumors individually, here is a look at what the Cavaliers need and what they can do. The Cavs are well over the second apron and have limited draft capital.<\/p>\n

\u00a9 Mark J. Rebilas, Imagn Images<\/p>\n

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What Do The Cavaliers Need?<\/h3>\n

While Strus’ return will be beneficial for the Cavaliers, their top priority over the next few days is to acquire a two-way wing. Specifically, the Cavs need a big player who can defend elite wings, hit open threes, and be a connector on offense. The Cavs could also use another physical frontcourt piece who rebounds.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Two questions as the NBA deadline approaches: who can help the Cavs defeat Detroit\/New York\/ Boston? And who can they acquire to close out games without being a defensive liability?<\/p>\n

A Couple of Potential Trades<\/h3>\n

Yesterday, Chris Fedor of Cleveland.com<\/a> reported that the Cavaliers and Los Angeles Laker<\/a>s have discussed a trade involving De’Andre Hunter<\/a>, Rui Hachimura<\/a>, and Dalton Knecht<\/a>. Since the Cavs and Lakers both have constraints in any trade, they will need to bring in a third team.<\/p>\n

“We all know the complications for the\u00a0<\/span>Cavs<\/a> when it comes to trades,” Fedor said on the Hey Chris Podcast. “They can’t aggregate salaries. They only have really one first-round draft pick they can trade, and they have to be right on the number in terms of salary matching. But <\/span>my sources tell me that the Cavs and the Lakers have discussed a general framework surrounding De’Andre Hunter, Rui Hachimura, and Dalton Knecht, and then bringing in a third team.”<\/p>\n

“Now look, there are there are third teams that could be helpful. Brooklyn<\/a> has the lowest salary number of any team in the NBA,” Fedor continued. “They might be a destination that is willing to take some salary. Um, the\u00a0<\/a><\/span>Utah Jazz, they are 29th in salary in the NBA.”<\/span><\/p>\n

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Does A Hunter For Hachimura\/Knecht Trade Make Sense?<\/h4>\n

Since this trade is quite complicated, it is a long shot. The bigger question is, should the Cavaliers do such a deal?<\/p>\n

Hunter has struggled this year, posting a 49.9% effective field goal percentage, which is the lowest since his rookie campaign. He has also struggled on the defensive end, particularly at the 3-point line where opponents are shootign 45% from there against him. Granted, he is tasked with guarding the opponent’s top non-big offensive players.<\/p>\n

Hachimura is a solid second- or third-option scorer who is an elite-level shooter. The 27-year-old, who has compiled a nearly 60% effective field goal percentage in his four seasons with the Lakers, is a capable rebounder, though he has struggled in that area this year. He is also not great defensively.<\/p>\n

Knecht has struggled to stay in the Lakers’ rotation this year, in part because of his defensive shortcomings. Known as a knockdown shooter, the 24-year-old is shooting less than 32% from deep this season.<\/p>\n

This trade is way too complicated, with the bottom line being that the Cavs should say no. The lone exception is if the Cavs would like to reduce their salary cap for next season. In that case, it may be worth it for the Cavs who could theoretically acquire Hachimure along with either Kevin Love<\/a> (via Utah) or Day’Ron Sharpe<\/a> (via Brooklyn) as Knecht would be headed to Brooklyn or Utah.<\/p>\n

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What About Keon Ellis?<\/h3>\n

Cleveleand has joined 13 other teams in their pursuit of Sacramento Kings<\/a> guard Keon Ellis,<\/a> per NBA Insider Marc Stein.<\/a><\/p>\n

“Sacramento’s conversations on a Keon Ellis trade<\/a> have only intensified, sources tell Jake Fischer <\/span>and me, with Cleveland joining the large group of teams vying for the in-demand swingman,” Stein said.<\/p>\n

Ellis has struggled to secure consistent minutes this year with the Kings. Eliis, who produced a career season last year, averages 5.6 points, 1.3 rebounds, and 1.1 steals in 18 minutes. He is making 1.2 threes while shooting 39.2% from the field and 36.8% from deep. Additionally, he has scored in double figures nine times, including two 20-point efforts.<\/p>\n

Ellis makes a lot of sense, as he is a defensive playmaker who fits the Cavaliers’ defensive identity well, which is built on containment and rim protection, with Mobley and Allen anchoring the unit. Ellis excels at the point of attack, navigating screens, and as a disruptor who funnels drivers for help.<\/p>\n

Plus, with the Cavs backcourt being more offensive-minded, Ellis can defend opposing point guards when Mitchell and Garland are targeted. Offensively, Ellis is a low-usage player who is a solid shooter off the catch and works well off the ball — cutting and relocating. However, Ellis is not a star shutdown-type defender and can be exposed by bigger wings.<\/p>\n

The problem is that there is no clean way for the Cavs to acquire Ellis that makes sense. Perhaps the teams could reach a deal involving Ellis and Dario Saric<\/a> for Lonzo Ball<\/a>, along with the Cavaliers’ 2030 first-rounder.<\/p>\n

Perhaps, the Kings would be willing to take Hunter and the Cavs 2030 first-rounder for Ellis and Malik Monk.<\/a><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Have the Cleveland Cavaliers finally turned the corner on their season? Cleveland entered the season as one of the favorites in the Eastern Conference after posting the Conference’s best record a season ago. But the Cavaliers got off to a surprisingly slow start as they dealt with several injuries. Cavaliers Jump In On Trade Talks […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3146,"featured_media":175331,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_lmt_disableupdate":"no","_lmt_disable":"","sfio_featured_image":false,"sfio_embed_code":"","_ef_editorial_meta_date_first-draft-date":"","_ef_editorial_meta_paragraph_assignment":"","_ef_editorial_meta_checkbox_needs-photo":"","_ef_editorial_meta_number_word-count":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[1608,9,62,3],"tags":[1937,1875,3966,1043,4624,1478],"class_list":["post-175244","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-basketball","category-cavaliers","category-nba","category-news","tag-darius-garland","tag-deandre-hunter","tag-evan-mobley","tag-jarrett-allen","tag-keon-ellis","tag-max-strus"],"modified_by":"Daniel Benjamin","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/175244","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3146"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=175244"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/175244\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":175335,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/175244\/revisions\/175335"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/175331"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=175244"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=175244"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=175244"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}