Cleveland Cavaliers rumors: Cavs need a rim protector

It has been quite the offseason for the Cleveland Cavaliers and things are about to get even better.

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The Cavaliers, of course, convinced the game’s best player, forward LeBron James, to return to Cleveland and have since gotten swingmen Mike Miller and James Jones to follow him. They are trying to convince another shooter, the game’s best all-time shooter, Ray Allen, to sign with the Cavaliers as well. The Cavaliers will almost certainly deal for Minnesota Timberwolves’ power forward Kevin Love, parting ways with the last two number one overall picks, forward Anthony Bennett (2013) and swingman Andrew Wiggins (2014). They also appear to be the front runners to land Dallas Mavericks’ free agent forward Shawn Marion.

Nate Duncan of Basketball Insiders believes even after getting Love and Marion, the Cavaliers still need a rim protector.

"I think once they get Love, it will depend on who else they can pick up to help the defense. Shawn Marion, reportedly now interested at the minimum, would make a huge difference. The Cavs’ weakness will be defense, and while Marion won’t necessarily help protecting the rim, he can help prevent guys from getting there to begin with. With LeBron, Varejao, and Marion on the floor, the Cavs could conceivably field a very good D at times. With Irving, LeBron, and Love, it seems impossible they won’t have a top-3 offense."

The Cavaliers could try to get something out of Brendan Haywood and have been tied to several free agent big men including Miami Heat center Greg Oden, Phoenix Suns’ veteran Emeka Okafor and Milwaukee Bucks’s big man Ekpe Udoh as players who could fill that role.

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