The Cavs feel like they already have what they need to compete.
Donovan Mitchell was pretty clear when asked whether the Cleveland Cavaliers need an upgrade before the trade deadline on Thursday.
“We’re good, we’re good,” is all Mitchell could say when he was asked after the loss to the Boston Celtics if the team needed an upgrade at the deadline.
This is a natural response. It would’ve been more newsworthy if he said something different, but it does speak to the belief that is in the locker room.
“Absolutely,” was Jarrett Allen’s response to that same question. “Every single night we go out there, even when we’re missing people, I feel like we have enough to win every single night.”
The player’s belief in the team doesn’t necessarily mean that a move won’t be made. Despite their 40-10 record, the Cavs do have holes in the frontcourt. Specifically, with a lack of players who can play both the three and the four.
Dean Wade solves some of those issues, but relying on someone with his injury history means that you’re prone to letdowns in matchups like this when he isn’t available. There’s a reason they’re 30-5 when he plays and 10-5 when he doesn’t.
The Cavs front office seems to know this as well. That’s why they’ve been linked to players like Cam Johnson and De’Andre Hunter who can comfortably shift between playing the three and the four.
“You have to listen to everything out there,” said head coach Atkinson before the game. “You’d be really not smart if you didn’t listen and talk about how you can get better. It’s just the business we’re in.”
Any move, even if it helps on the court, will disrupt the good chemistry the Cavs have developed this season. That’s just the price of doing business.
“If you take away somebody, especially somebody in the locker room, the locker room presence, it’s going to disrupt it,” Allen said. “At the end of the day, we’re all all close to each other. But as you know, that’s how things go.”
We’ll see what moves, if any, the Koby Altman and the rest of the Cavaliers front office can pull off before the trade deadline on Thursday afternoon.