Much has been made of the Cleveland Cavaliers‘ most prized asset as we approach the trade deadline: The Brooklyn Nets‘ unprotected 2018 first round draft pick. It is the front office’s ace in the hole in the event LeBron James decides to leave the team in free agency this summer, but for some within the organization, holding onto the pick shows the Cavaliers aren’t 100 percent committed to winning right now.
It might look like the team is steadfast about keeping the pick in its back pocket, but as it turns out, Cleveland is willing to move the pick. The organization just wants to make sure it is making a smart move in the event a trade goes down. According to Terry Pluto of Cleveland.com, making a smart move means the team doesn’t want to get a rental in return.
Pluto wrote about the pick, which looms large as we race towards Thursday’s trade deadline. After dispelling the notion that Cleveland has zero desire to part with the pick, Pluto did clarify that a “short-term answer such as DeAndre Jordan” isn’t what they want in return.
“The Cavs would trade the pick for a younger player who is under team control for a few years,” Pluto wrote. “But they are willing to deal their own first-round pick in 2018 for the right short-term fix.”
It’s hard to fault Cleveland’s front office for taking this approach. As long as they don’t have a guarantee that James will return, it would be really risky for them to go for broke in the short term without having any sort of an eye on the future.
Of course, a much larger discussion then pops up regarding whether holding onto the pick will cost them James this summer, but the Cavs can cross that bridge when they get to it.
