The Cleveland Cavaliers seem to be notably active on the trade market with two of their key rotational pieces.
According to ESPN insider Brian Windhorst, the Cavaliers have “definitely” investigated the idea of trading both Dean Wade and Isaac Okoro this summer, though they could have some trouble shipping out Okoro’s larger contract.
“Do I talk to people who say that they may trade Okoro or they may trade Wade? Yes, that is definitely something that I have heard, that the Cavs have investigated that. But, you’ve got to really look at this team– they believe that this team can win the whole thing… I would be surprised they would be able to offload Okoro, especially without incentivizing… if you’re not sending anything back, if you’re just straight absorbing the contract, I’m not sure a team would do that. I think you could do that with Wade, because he makes considerably less.”
As the Cavaliers are now set to enter the second apron of the heavily restrictive new CBA, along with being set to have Ty Jerome and Sam Merrill hit free agency, Cleveland will likely be looking to cut costs in whatever ways they can this summer, leading to the idea of either Okoro and/or Wade to be shipped out to be well within play.
Okoro, who’s set to make over $11 million annually across the next two seasons, could be a bit more troublesome for an opposing team to take on, forcing the Cavs to potentially attach extra assets on top of a deal for their wing if they decided to make a trade involving his services. As for Wade, who’s on an expiring contract just under $7 million, that seems it’ll a bit easier to offload.
Keep an eye on both Wade and Okoro’s names in trade talks for the Cavaliers, especially leading up to the draft next week when league chatter and rumors continue to ramp up for what could be a wild offseason ahead.
