Cavaliers obtain Lauri Markkanen

   The Cleveland Cavaliers used the sign and trade maneuver to land what I consider to be a mild surprise as the Cavaliers added forward Lauri Markkanen from the Chicago Bulls with Cleveland sending popular veteran big man Larry Nance Jr to Portland and a 2023 second-rounder (previously acquired from Denver) to the Bulls as their portion of the three-way deal that included the Portland Trail Blazers.

Markkannen will receive sixty-seven million over the next four years as part of the new contract that he signed with the Bulls on the condition of trading him to Cleveland.

Markkanen was drafted seventh overall by Minnesota in the 2017 draft after Markkanen played one college season at Arizona, but never played for the Timberwolves as he was traded to Chicago as part of a package in a trade for Jimmy Butler.

Markkanen averaged 18.7 points per game in his second season with the Bulls and looked to be developing into a star, but his points and minutes on the floor have decreased in each of the last two seasons.

The 24-year-old Finn did improve his shooting last season to career highs in percentage (.480) and from three-point distance (.402), but his points have fallen from 18 two years ago to 14 and then 13, with his rebounding dropping from 9.0 to 6.3 to last season's 5.3.

Larry Nance Jr's loss may be felt more in the locker room and by the fans than on the court, and Nance at 28 might be more helpful to a contender as a complementary player than for a rebuilding team like Cleveland.

Nance averaged nine points and six boards last season in thirty-five games due to missing time due to injury, but defends the rim well and can extend the floor defensively as well as adding an improved three-point shot last season with a career-high in percentage and attempts.

Now for my take.

I'll miss Larry Nance Jr for his hustle and positive attitude and being a local is always nice to have on your team but even though some fans are screaming "Why not Kevin Love instead", it's easy to say that without considering Love's value (next to none) due to his poor Olympic training camp, his constant injuries and a contract that has proven to be impossible to move.

But at 28 (29 in January), Larry Nance's value is now as he's unlikely to be part of it whenever this team makes their next shot at playoff success, so I can understand why Nance was moved, if disappointed.

Here's the issue- you have just added a seven-footer after drafting Evan Mobley and re-signing Jarrett Allen, who gives you very little outside of his shooting.

Markkanen's rebounding has dropped; he's not very good defensively, and it seems that Cleveland either already is thinking about a future without Jarrett Allen or they are considering playing Markkanen at the three, which seems to be ludicrous to even think about.

Add into this conundrum that Kevin Love makes a ton of money, seems to be without a market for a potential trade, through his agent has refused to entertain thoughts of a buyout, doesn't seem to have a path to playing time, and you have what seems to be a real mess in the Cavaliers organization.

I'm not sure that this doesn't come down to a desperate Koby Altman making one last attempt to avoid another awful season that could cost his job at the end of the year.

Considering Markkanen's flaws against the one thing that he does well with the fact that you won't be able to play Markkanen with Evan Mobley and Jarrett Allen (in my opinion, anyway, they may try it but I don't see how it ends well)  with the fact that they appeared to be bidding against themselves to acquire and what could be an impending disaster with the salary cap soon (check out what could be a thirty win team over the cap at the end of the year with Collin Sexton eligible to be an RFA) to see that this may have not only not solved problems- it may have created more and still didn't address the largest issue- a lack of talent at the wing.

Perhaps Lauri Markkanen will re-establish himself as a coming star and prove to be a bargain for the next four seasons but they are several reasons to think that the Cavaliers may not have improved their team for the price that was paid ( the contract/cap issues more than trading Larry Nance Jr) and that could be bad news for Koby Altman, J.B. Bickerstaff, and a frustrated fan base. 

Cavaliers trade Rodney Hood

The Cleveland Cavaliers last season brought Rodney Hood into town to help for the present and attempt to help win another championship.
This season, the Cavaliers are shipping Rodney Hood out of town to help build for the future as part of a rebuild to eventually hope to win another championship.

Cleveland traded the 6'8 swingman to the Portland Trail Blazers for two players that might just need playing time and two second-round picks as part of the getting something rather than nothing program.

Hood was averaging twelve points a game for the Cavaliers and to a contending team, such as Cleveland thought last season, could be a potential help in the postseason.
Hood wasn't going to be part of the future, at least in what turned out to be the 2018-19 season results and it only made sense to move Hood along.

Hood turned out to be a disappointment in the 17-18 playoffs for Cleveland as he averaged only five points a game and had a few celebrated attitude issues that included refusing to enter a game in the fourth quarter as only the contract status of Hood managed to keep the player and the team together for another season.
Despite decent numbers on a bad Cavalier team this season, Hood wasn't seen as a franchise building block and was likely to walk away at the end of the season.

The return was mainly about the pair of second rounders (Portland's 21 and 23) that are obtained for future assets far more than the two players obtained.
Second rounders rarely provide helpful players, but they often are helpful in trades as filler in larger trades.
As for the players, both were one-time first-round draft picks and both never lived up to that level.
Nik Stauskas was once a lottery pick for the Sacramento Kings (8th overall) in 2014 out of Michigan, where he was the Big 10 player of the year as a sophomore, but the 6'6 shooting guard has never managed to average double figures in seasons with four teams (Sacramento, Philadelphia, Brooklyn, and Portland) and has never shown potential to be any more than a three-point shooter off the bench.
Stauskas does shoot the three well (34 percent) and he might be the type of bargain that could turn out to at least receive minutes on a bad team.
Stauskas will be a free agent at the end of the year, so if the Cavaliers don't care for his game, they could let him walk, but at the same time, he has a chance to impress enough to earn a new contract.

Wade Baldwin is another player that are high reward and low risk and the Cavaliers aren't hurting themselves when they add players like Stauskas and Baldwin.
Baldwin was a first rounder (17th overall) by Memphis in 2016 from Vanderbilt after his sophomore season, but after two and a half years in the league and two teams, Baldwin has only played in 56 games over that period of time.
The 6'2 point guard was playing only six minutes a game when he did play for Portland, but the intriguing things about Baldwin are these-He is still only 22 and when he was sent to the G League, Baldwin has played very well in the minors.
That gives me some hope that Baldwin could turn out to be another player that might thrive playing as a backup to Collin Sexton on a crummy team and could earn himself a contract for 2019-20 with a strong finish,
Baldwin is, like Stauskas, a free agent at the end of the season and if he doesn't play to the Cavaliers liking, could easily be allowed to walk away.

I like this deal.
Second rounders are a more valuable commodity to trade than use and the Cavaliers added two more to a stockpile acquired this season (The Cavaliers have added six second rounders from other teams) with two players that might need time to develop after both spent only two years in college with little investment in either player should they decide to keep or cut bait.
The Cavaliers likely aren't finished before tomorrow's trade deadline, so I'll be back when more deals warrant.