4 drastic moves that could save the Cavaliers from wasting another season

The Cleveland Cavaliers put a 24-point beatdown on the Philadelphia 76ers in their NBA Cup matchup over the weekend. They also blew a 29-point lead to those same Sixers in their season opener. Cleveland is 5-6 on the whole, with impressive victories undercut by sobering losses. A 124-112 defeat in Charlotte on Monday, against a scuttling Hornets squad, raised a few alarm bells.

Cleveland currently ranks 15th in the NBA in net rating (+1.4), with increasingly worrisome trends on both ends of the floor. James Harden has never looked this stodgy and ineffective. The early returns on the Peyton Watson trade are decidedly negative. Their defense, despite the uber-talented frontcourt of Jarrett Allen and Evan Mobley, is poked full of holes. Cleveland has a conference finals appearance to avenge. Right now, it's unclear if the Cavs even belong in that conversation. It's time to consider a few bold changes.

Cavaliers should fire Kenny Atkinson

It's probably unfair to pin the blame entirely on Kenny Atkinson, but the Cavaliers are stuck in mud. There are troubling signs, like Harden and Atkinson sharing a heated exchange mid-game. There is also Cleveland's fickle nature; they have a maddening tendency to crater under pressure and lose all sense of fight.

Really, it felt like the end was nigh for Atkinson as soon as he said the Cavaliers "won two of three games analytically" against the Knicks in the Eastern Conference Finals. That was an all-time bad quote; it read as the excuse to end all excuses. For a team where second half slumps and poor clutch-time execution are epidemic, it rarely feels like Atkinson can press the right buttons.

It's totally fair to shift that blame to the stars. Harden in particular has a complicated relationship with effort and engagement, especially in his post-prime years. At the end of the day, however, sometimes even the best coaches lose their sway in a locker room. Atkinson should get another job somewhere else. He's a good coach with a well-deserved reputation in this league. He's drawing a blank in Cleveland, though, and the Cavs need to send a message to their players. A new voice, a new perspective, can spark meaningful change.

Cavs associate head coach Johnnie Bryant interviewed for head coaching jobs last summer. That seems like an easy switch to flip. Now, let's open the trade machine...

This Cavaliers-Hornets trade offloads James Harden

The Charlotte Hornets created a $40 million traded player exception with the LaMelo Ball deal. Should Charlotte turn around a burn it on James Harden in year one of a three-year contract, when he's clearly on the decline? A fair answer would be "no." Then again, the Hornets aren't completely dead at 4-7, despite troubling numbers under the hood. This offense desperately needs a better playmaking mechanism, which Harden can provide.

This would need to function as a salary dump for Cleveland, made tougher by their lack of assets. Sam Merrill and Tyrese Proctor are cheap, effective bench guards who can play off of Harden. Charlotte gets off of Naz Reid, who has struggled to acclimate to a new environment with the Hornets. Grayson Allen is so much better than folks realize. Cleveland squeezing him into this deal could be far-fetched, but he's an awesome backcourt complement to Donovan Mitchell, at least on paper. Reid returns to sixth man duties with the Cavs, offering a stretchy, skilled complement to either Jarrett Allen or Evan Mobley, depending on the matchup.

None of this can happen until Dec. 15, when Harden becomes trade eligible. Obviously, it's early in the season. We shall see if Harden and/or Reid can course correct in the meantime. If both players are slogging through it come next month, however, there could be logic behind a move like this. Tanking is no longer good for business and Harden can improve the situation for Brandon Miller, Kon Knueppel and Charlotte's younger building blocks.

This Cavaliers-Jazz trade reshapes the frontcourt

The idea of breaking up the Jarrett Allen-Evan Mobley frontcourt is not exactly a new idea. If Cleveland's struggles persist, however, the stars may finally align for such a blockbuster. Evan Mobley has never really made the leap we all anticipated, but he still feels most likely to survive a major shake-up. Jarrett Allen would command significant interest, despite his more streamlined skill set.

Methinks the Utah Jazz regret their decision to move on from Walker Kessler, even if it was an objectively great return package in the moment. Flipping two of those Lakers first-round picks — plus the very manageable contracts of Jusuf Nurkic and Josh Green — could get the job done. Cleveland inherits financial flexibility, along with a perfectly competent starting center in lieu of Allen.

Nurkic is currently on the mend from a foot injury, so Cleveland would either need to survive a few weeks shorthanded or simply wait out the injury before placing a phone call. Either way, Nurkic's floor-spacing, screen-setting and connective passing would provide a fun new wrinkle to the Cavs frontcourt.

This Cavaliers-Pelicans trade reshapes Cleveland's wing depth

If the Cavs want to take a purely additive approach, and sacrifice more of their sparse draft assets in the process, it'd be smart to call up the New Orleans Pelicans. If any team can be swindled into a lopsided trade, it's New Orleans. Moreover, Herb Jones has seen his minutes plummet this season. That could knock his trade value low enough for Cleveland to strike.

Despite whatever is going on with the Pelicans, Jones is still an elite wing defender, whose versatility and anticipation skills — empowered by Cleveland's strong rim protection — could radically transform the Cavaliers' outlook on that end of the floor. Saddiq Bey, meanwhile, is a smooth bucket-getter on the wing. His peripheral numbers aren't ideal, but Bey's slashing and shot-making can boost a middling Cavs bench unit.

Getting off of Peyton Watson's contract may be an incentive, too. It's way too early to draw definitive conclusions about the Watson sign-and-trade, which was roundly celebrated at the time (at least in the sense that Denver's return package underwhelmed). That said, Watson has looked quite erratic on both ends. The Cavs took a leap of faith on a young player with a very limited track record of winning impact. If Watson continues to struggle, replacing him with Jones and Bey is probably worth the risk associated with trading a 2033 first-round pick, even if it leaves Cleveland hamstrung on the asset front.

If this current era of Cavs basketball ultimately implodes, Cleveland can always restock its picks with a Jarrett Allen trade (see above), or even Evan Mobley and Donovan Mitchell, when the time comes.

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