NBA Trade Rumors 2014: After Kevin Love Deal, Cavaliers Looking at Roy Hibbert, Larry Sanders, and Emeka Okafor
The Cleveland Cavaliers recently acquired All-Star power forward Kevin Love, but the team is reportedly not yet done making roster moves this offseason.
Reports indicated that the Cavaliers are looking for another center to shore up their frontline currently composed of Love, Anderson Varejao, Tristan Thompson and Brendan Haywood.
Jason Lloyd of Ohio.com reported that the Cavaliers, who are expected to become one of the strong title favorites next season, could make a run at acquiring Roy Hibbert or Larry Sanders.
Hibbert, who has been mentioned in several trade talks after struggling to find his rhythm last season, could become a free agent if he decides not to take his $15.5 million player option for the 2015-16 NBA season, which could force the Pacers to move the All-Star center.
Acquiring Hibbert will be easier said than done for the Cavaliers, though, knowing that the Indiana Pacers would ask for a lot of assets in return in a trade, especially in a deal with an Eastern Conference rival.
Any trade between the Cavaliers and the Pacers will likely involve young assets from the Cavaliers like Tristan Thompson or Dion Waiters. According to Lloyd, the Cavaliers could also package Haywood's nonguaranteed $10.5 million contract to make the deal work in terms of the league's salary rules on trades.
Sanders is also an intriguing option for the Cavaliers, who are in dire need for a rim protector. The 25-year-old center averaged 2.8 blocks during the 2012-13 NBA season, but only played in 23 games for the Milwaukee Bucks last season due to a thumb injury.
If Sanders faisl to live up to his billing next season, the Bucks might consider moving him, considering the fact that the new team owners were not involved during the negotiations for the four-year, $44 million contract that Sanders signed last summer.
"If he struggles to live up to the contract, how will a new ownership group in Milwaukee -- which wasn't around when the deal was agreed upon -- feel about paying him that much money on a rebuilding team?" Lloyd wrote.
Aside from Hibbert and Sanders, the Cavaliers could also make a run at signing Emeka Okafor, who is still available on the free agent market nearly two months before the new season starts.
Marc Stein of ESPN reported that the Cavaliers have expressed interest in acquiring Okafor, but the Miami Heat are also determined to acquire the 31-year-old, who did not play last season due to a herniated disk.
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