Cleveland Cavaliers Place Iman Shumpert on the Trading Block
The Cleveland Cavaliers are digging deep into their roster and now another player is reportedly up for trade.
With the Kevin Love trade rumor still up in the air, another Cavalier could be leaving soon. Even Iman Shumpert is also available to teams who may be interested in him, ESPN reports.
That makes three identified players who the Cavs are reportedly planning to move, the third being Russian center Timofey Mozgov. However, among the three, it looks like Shumpert and Mozgov are the ones the Cavaliers plan to move first.
Shumpert has not exactly put up the same performance last year though he is coming off multiple injuries . ESPN reported that he sustained a wrist injury in the offseason as well as a groin injury just this December, per Cleveland.com.
With due consideration to those factors, it doesn’t seem surprising that the swingman has been struggling to try and recall his old form. But then again, the Cavs have their eyes on a couple of players, and Shumpert could be one of the players that they may need to move in order to snag them.
According to ESPN, these players are Kyle Korver of the Atlanta Hawks and Ben McLemore of the Sacramento Kings. Both are additional offensive weapons that the Cavs could use, but to do that, some players may be dealt.
Mozgov alone will not do it, so adding a sweetener in Shumpert could do the trick. There is, however, one problem for the Cavs if that is indeed what they are planning. This has something to do with the fact that the team had recently signed Shumpert to a four-year $40 million deal in the offseason, which could make it hard for any team to take him in since that salary will play a factor.
The sudden rise of Shumpert’s name on trade talks does come a bit of a surprise. His struggles are only to be expected with him being on and off the roster. Given time, he could still get back into game shape, but the Cavs seem to be more bent on starting their run by Thursday when the regular season resumes.
However, the news outlet says that if the Cavs push through with a Shumpert trade, they need to consider consequences. That includes risking team chemistry with a new player over someone who knows his role.
With a couple of days to go, it should be interesting to see if the Cavs do pull the trigger on any potential trade.
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