Cleveland Cavaliers trade value rankings: Is the Core 4 untouchable & which role guys have value?
It was a wild weekend of trades in the NBA, with Luka Doncic, Anthony Davis & De’Aaron Fox all swapping teams, but does that mean the Cleveland Cavaliers have to make a move like that to contend?
Bill Simmons released his annual NBA Trade Value column last week, but do the local Cavs guys agree with his rankings for the Cleveland players?
McNuggets & Jason make their own Cavs’ trade value list — is the Core 4 untouchable? Does Jaylon Tyson have more value right now than Max Strus?
Plus, the Cavs host Boston Tuesday night for the third game of their season series. So far it’s tied 1-1…who wins game 3?
The NBA world received a major shockwave Saturday night when it was announced the Lakers were trading Anthony Davis to the Mavericks for Luka Doncic.
But how does that move impact what Koby Altman & the Cleveland Cavaliers will do at the deadline?
Every once in a while, the NBA landscape shifts in a way that leaves fans, analysts and even players in complete disbelief. Saturday night’s blockbuster deal sending Luka Doncic from Dallas to the Los Angeles Lakers in exchange for Anthony Davis is one of those moments.
Not only is it one of the most shocking trades in NBA history, the deal dramatically reshapes both franchises and leaves lingering questions — as Kevin Pelton pointed out while grading the trade — about how each team will adjust in the short and long term.
The Lakers now boast a duo of two of the most skilled offensive players in NBA history, while the Mavericks pivot toward a more defense-focused approach by pairing Davis with Kyrie Irving. Given the fit concerns, lingering injuries and looming NBA trade deadline on Feb. 6, this move might not be the last for either team.
For fantasy basketball managers, this trade forces a reevaluation of player values. And betting markets have already reacted, shifting the Lakers’ odds significantly to win the title.
Pairing Luka with LeBron on the Lakers
On one hand, the Lakers got the best player in the deal. Luka, who turns 26 on Feb. 28, is still approaching his peak years and is already a perennial top-5 finisher in the MVP vote who seems destined to earn the honor at least once before his career wraps up. On the other hand, the fit between Luka and LeBron James isn’t as obvious on-paper as the one between LeBron and Davis.
Luka and LeBron have a lot of stylistic similarities, as mega-elite high-usage on-ball offense creators. Both are essentially point guards in power forward bodies with otherworldly court vision, the ability to use their size to get to the rim and finish against almost any opponent, and the ability to create their own streaky but highly effective looks from long range off the dribble. Both have played with All-NBA level guards and been able to coexist — and thrive — but neither have ever played with a player so similar to… themselves.
Luka is currently sidelined, having missed the last 20 games since suffering a strained calf on Christmas Day. But he is expected to return relatively soon, and when he does, he is likely to be able to do what Davis was never quite able to do — take over as the full No. 1 offensive option for the Lakers, moving LeBron to more of an off-ball/secondary creator mode. The closest historic analogy is when LeBron moved more off-ball in Miami to maximize the fit between he and Dwyane Wade.
