To Trade or Not to Trade? That is the Question.

Well, it's that time of year again folks, the trade deadline is now on the horizon. That time of year when you turn on notifications, and anxiously refresh your timelines, as Shams and Woj control your life one tweet at a time. The Cleveland Cavaliers currently sit 5th in the eastern conference in a precarious spot as the Thursday deadline approaches, with both limited resources and less-than-perfect options. Though the Cavs have plenty of ammo to get a trade done, is it actually worth it? That is the question that hangs over Koby Altman and company as they work the phones looking for upgrades across the league. There are both cases to be made for staying pat and making a trade. With both possibilities on the table, I think it's worth weighing both pros and cons since both are very plausible in the 96-ish hours until the trade deadline. The Case for Making a Trade.The Cavs are far from a perfect roster, but it's not in the way you think. They are a team filled with 4 All-Star caliber players which is the good news, the bad news is that the small forward spot is a mystery, even to the Cavs. It has been a season-long issue, as JB Bickerstaff has tried to crack the code swapping through internal options of who fits best with the core four. Even Though the Issac Okoros, Lamar Stevens, and Caris LeVerts of the world provide solid to great defense, the problem lies in the fact that most of the wings on the roster aren’t amazing 3-point shooters. Of the wings that started more than 10 games, they are shooting 35.7% from 3-point range, which is slightly below league average. At first glance, it doesn’t look like a big issue, but a lot of their looks are coming from the corners in which they are shooting a measly 35.6% from corner 3s (the average is 38.8%.) With the Cavs already playing with 2 non-shooters in Mobley and Allen, on top of the lack of true spacing, not having a threat from the perimeter has been a constant pitfall for the Cavs throughout the season. That is why at the very least the Cavs need to look into another wing that can provide consistent shooting, even if you sacrifice some defense for shooting, with both Mobley and Allen you should be able to keep your defensive integrity. The Cavs are tied for 1st in Defensive rating as a team with the twin towers leading the charge, so any player that is inserted onto the Cavs will always have one of those two behind them to erase would-be scorers.The Case Against a Trade. On the flip side, even with all that said the options out on the market are far from perfect. Especially with Issac Okoro’s development over the past month since being inserted in the starting 5, it has made this a tough conversation. The starting 5 with the Okoro since the start of January have had a positive net rating of 6.8 and this lineup has been destroying starting 5s since January 4th. This also not to say Okoro is just going along for the ride, his improvement has been stark. https://twitter.com/ItsCavalier_Pod/status/1622579944663425024?s=20&t=dYJXEgr0s_zooEKpo3FCrgOkoro might not be the knockdown shooter on high volume that people are looking for but he’s knocking down his 3s as of late. He has been the perfect glue guy, scoring a respectable 8.5 points on 51% from the field, with his trademark lockdown defense shutting his assignments water off in the process. https://twitter.com/MoreForYou_CLE/status/1622490000183943169?s=20&t=dYJXEgr0s_zooEKpo3FCrgThat is what is so difficult about this year's trade deadline, with the way Okoro is playing he’s made the Cavs brash decision on what to do even harder. Even with the linked names of Josh Hart, Doug McDermott, Josh Richarson etc. you might only be marginally improving at the cost of something else. With Okoro only being 22 and still under his rookie deal, it might be more beneficial to let Issac’s development continue at this rate. That is where things stand as we go into week, it could be an eventful week for the Cavs, or pass by without a move being made. Either move seems to be justifiable with where the team is in their contention window. No matter what happens, even if the team does or doesn’t pull the trigger, this team is going to be in a good spot regardless of what happens when 3 o'clock comes around on Thursday.