The Cleveland Cavaliers have yet to make a trade this NBA offseason in spite of their fans clamoring for the team to make a move.
Fortunately, there is still some time left for the Cavaliers to tweak their roster, and Caleb Crowley of King James Gospel is suggesting that they make what he calls a “no-brainer” trade before the start of the 2024-25 campaign.
That move is trading for Brooklyn Nets forward Dorian Finney-Smith.
Cleveland has been linked to Finney-Smith numerous times this summer, with the veteran being considered a natural trade fit for Cavs wing Isaac Okoro.
Okoro is a restricted free agent, but there has been incessant buzz that the Cavaliers could look to move him in a sign-and-trade.
An Okoro-for-Finney-Smith swap would make sense for both sides, as it would provide Cleveland with the big, rangy defender that it sorely needs while supplying the Nets with a young player who has some room for improvement.
The Cavs are in dire need of a player who can adequately defend bigger wings, and Finney-Smith absolutely fits that bill.
Finney-Smith played in 68 games for Brooklyn last season, averaging 8.5 points and 4.7 rebounds over 28.4 minutes a night on 42.1/34.8/71.7 shooting splits.
The 31-year-old is not flashy by any means, as evidenced by his lifetime average of 8.3 points and 4.6 boards per game. He also owns a rather pedestrian career three-point percentage of 35.5 percent.
However, the Cavaliers wouldn’t be asking Finney-Smith to post big numbers. They would merely be asking him to play some defense and help spread the floor, which he can do.
Baxter Holmes, ESPN Senior WriterNov 13, 2024, 10:39 PM ETCloseBaxter Holmes (@Baxter) is a senior writer for ESPN Digital and Print, focusing on the NBA. He ha
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