Around the NBA in 15 trades: Day 1, Cavaliers and Mavericks
In the lead up to the Feb. 8 trade deadline, we’re taking all 30 teams and finding mutually beneficial partners. Every day will offer up a new deal with two new consorts. It’s kinda like the 12 days of Christmas, but instead of hens-a-laying and pear trees and useless nonsense from your true love, you’re getting fake trades from me for a much higher holy day: the NBA trade deadline. Strap in tight, it’s trading season!
The first pretend proposal takes teams on divergent ends of the spectrum. Cleveland is gunning for its fourth-straight Finals appearance behind the league’s best player (ever?), while Dallas is flopping around like a fish out of water in the bottom third of the Western Conference.
Despite a solid record, the Cavaliers are 29th in defensive rating, ahead of only the Kings (THE KINGS). Sure, you can blame it on being in cruise control for the slog of the regular season, but that won’t magically jump to a top-ten rating come playoff time. Of course, if you’re trotting out a crunch-time lineup with Kevin Love and Isaiah Thomas, the other three players need to be plus defenders.
Unless they go for a grand overhaul (or float the Brooklyn pick), Cleveland doesn’t have much in the way of assets. For one of the league’s handful of serious title contenders, it’s hard seeing them do something drastic and really rocking the boat at this juncture.
The trade:
Why the Cavaliers do it:
This is a low cost/potentially-high reward for Cleveland. They wouldn’t give up any of their core while addressing their biggest weaknesses.
Aren’t these two players — a rim protector and a tough-as-nails 3-and-D aficionado — exactly what the Cavaliers need? In LeBron’s long and illustrious career, he’s never played alongside a rim runner. During his first term in Cleveland, he had the ground-bound duo of Anderson Varejao and Zyndrunas Ilgauskas. In Miami, he had a perimeter-oriented Chris Bosh and Joel Anthony, who I’m pretty sure didn’t have functioning hands. Putting Noel as a pick-and-roll partner for James with three shooters surrounding them would open a new aspect of the offense.
Noel would also give LeBron something he desperately needs: a true shot blocker. Through their first 43 games this season, James leads the Cavaliers with 49 blocks. Dwyane Wade is second on the team with 27. That’s, um, not good.
While Wes Matthews resides on the wrong side of 30, he’s still a rugged defender. His defensive plus-minus numbers are down this season, but getting jettisoned from a bottom-feeder to a contender would probably inject life in those stats. And even if it didn’t, he’s shooting over 38 percent from beyond the arc. Matthews would give them a two-way wing for a spot Cleveland has struggled with inconsistency all year.
Why the Mavericks do it:
They might as well get something for Noel before his contract ends. Dallas needs to gear towards the future and neither Noel or Matthews are part of it. Grabbing a pick in the mid-20’s would be a nice bonus along with Tristan Thompson and Cedi Osman, who are useful players in the hypothetical.
At this point, Rick Carlisle would pay for Noel’s plane ticket out of town. In theory, Noel should have been the perfect frontcourt sidekick for Dirk Nowitzki — an athletic counterpart to cover up the inefficiencies of the Tin Man-jointed, geriatric German.
But, for reasons still unexplained, Noel didn’t fit in with the Mavericks and was buried in the rotation even before tearing a ligament in his thumb. Maybe it’s deeper seeded, like Noel doesn’t like Game of Thrones and Carlisle is a huge Thrones-head or something.
Next: 13 reactions to the Cavaliers brutal meltdown in Toronto
Noel bet on himself this past offseason, signing a one-year qualifier and turning down a 4-year, $70 million deal. That looks like an eight-figure mistake at the moment, but I’m still a believer in his pedigree. Even though it feels like he’s been around forever, Noel doesn’t turn 24 until April. I’d take a chance on his upside in the right situation. Going to a championship contender to emphasize his best skills would definitely qualify.