The Pros
One positive aspect of trading for Morris is that according to Chris B. Haynes of Northeast Ohio Media Group, there are “influential players” in the locker room who are on board with a move to bring the power forward to Cleveland. Take that for what you will, but there’s only one name who immediately comes to mind when thinking of anything influential that has to do with the Cavs.
So at least from a locker room standpoint, there is reason to believe the team would not mind a bit of a change in chemistry.
The other positive is that the Cavaliers would most likely not have to give up any of their essential players to make the deal. Morris is making $8 million this season, which a year from now is going to look like chump change, and two years from now will look like peanuts, when the salary cap explodes. Unless you feel that Timofey Mozgov is an “essential” piece of the 2015-2016 Cavs, which if you did you might need your head examined, there is a good chance that the Cavaliers will only need to give up their $10.5 million trade exception from the Brendan Haywood contract (best thing he ever did as a Cavalier) and possibly the Russian center who has been MIA in most of the Cavs 39 games this season.
Two other names to throw out there just in case Mozgov and the trade exception are not enough are Jared Cunningham and Sasha Kaun. Don’t rule out the possibility that either of them could be dealt. Cunningham was earning consistent playing time when Mo Williams and Irving were hurt, but now even Williams can’t see the floor. So it wouldn’t be a case of Cunningham not being a solid player, there’s just not enough minutes to go around at the guard position.
As for Kaun, I can’t imagine anyone would have been excited in September if they heard that by January a good percentage of fans would forget he was on the team. Maybe the Suns would take him for salary purposes and release him.
But enough of the crossing the T’s and dotting the I’s for what it would take to acquire Morris, which at the end of the day is relatively little.
Let’s look at what Morris brings that no one on the Cavs roster possesses right now.
The Answer to Draymond Green
Based on the glaring weakness that has been exposed on both courts over an extended period of time dating back to June of 2015, aside from staying healthy, containing Green should be the NUMBER ONE priority the Cavaliers focus on going forward.
Markieff and Draymond have somewhat of a history facing each other, playing the last four seasons in the same division. Green is 25. Morris is 26. They are both athletic power forwards.
The most impressive factor that has led me to the conclusion that trading for Morris could be the answer to stopping Green is looking at their head-to-head matchups.
Green and Morris have faced each other 11 times in their NBA careers. They each played at least 18 minutes in seven of those games. In those seven games, Morris has limited Green to an average of only 11 points, seven rebounds, and most notably only 1.7 assists per game. Green shot just 41 percent from the field in those matchups.
Green is having a much better season than most of the times when the two have faced, so it would be expected for his numbers to be above those averages if the Cavs and Warriors meet in the 2016 NBA Finals, but if Morris could limit him to somewhere close to those ranges, it would be much better than what the Cavs can realistically hope for out of Love.
Even if Morris is only on the floor for 16-24 minutes, if he is there for clutch defensive stops, that is what matters.
The most important factor that I would look for Morris to impact is the number of assists Green creates for Curry, Klay Thompson, and the rest of their sharp-shooting arsenal. That is the most lethal aspect of Green’s game this season.
However, when a team is willing to trade a player, it usually means there are some negative issues to take on. So let’s look at the cons of trading for Morris.
Cavaliers
Bet on continuity paying off for Cavs
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