Cleveland Cavaliers: Most Likely Trade Targets For David Griffin

The Cleveland Cavaliers aren’t done wheeling and dealing just yet. There are more trades on the horizon for the defending champions.

Who could Cleveland Cavaliers general manager David Griffin be targeting as the team’s backup point guard?

As trade season heats up, the Cleveland Cavaliers completed the first big deal of the season as they acquired shooting guard Kyle Korver from the Atlanta Hawks. Korver, a marksman from deep who’s shooting 40.9 percent from three-point range this season, is expected to play a big part in the Cleveland Cavaliers offense as it comes to replacing the three-point shooting vacated with the injury of J.R. Smith and executing on offense.

Nonetheless, the Cavs need another point guard because as LeBron James rightly pointed out, they only have two. He also provided an interesting comparison to what the Cavs would look like without Irving for an extended period of time, comparing the impact of Irving being injured to that of Derek Carr, a quarterback for the NFL’s Oakland Raiders. The Raiders quarterback is out for the playoffs with a broken leg. The Raiders, who were a very vibrant team, are now dejected because there isn’t a quarterback on the roster that can replace Carr.

There isn’t a point guard on the roster that can replace Kyrie Irving either.

Yet, should the Cavs play their cards right, they can end up with that player who allows Irving to rest and can be the primary ball-handler, facilitator and playmaker for the second unit. With general manager David Griffin’s history of completing trades that look like highway robbery on paper, there are a few interesting players he could target.

Brandon Knight

Kyrie Irving needs a backup that can let him rest and the Cavs should look no further than Brandon Knight, a point guard who scores like he’s on hyperdrive while still displaying a solid all around game.

He sounds too good to be true but he’s apparently so unhappy with his role in Phoenix that it’s effecting his play on the court. The reason his role changed, from that of a starter to a sixth man, is because of the play of Devin Booker. Booker, a young player who has shown an advanced understanding of the game at just 21-years-old, is one of the cornerstones for the Phoenix Suns along with Eric Bledsoe, T.J. Warren and Marquese Chriss.

As a sixth man, Knight is in a unique position. With the isolation ability of Bledsoe, Booker, Warren and the need for the team to see what it has in a young frontcourt that features Chriss, Dragan Bender and Alex Len, Knight isn’t truly a sixth man because he’s not needed to score.

While playing a career-low 22.7 minutes per game (averages 31.9 minutes per game for his career), Knight is averaging a career-low in field attempts per game (10.8), three-point attempts per game (2.8), two-point field goal percent (41.2), assists per game (2.6) and, of course, points per game (12.6).

What’s interesting is that considering he’s still shooting 36.4 percent from three-point range, a better figure than the 34.2 percent he was shooting last year, his shot isn’t broken. He’s being underutilized.

What fans should understand is that Knight played for a small Christian school in high school that made him it’s do-it-all player. He went to and started at a powerhouse program, declaring for the draft after he led the team in points per game (17.3) in his freshman year. He’s been a starter in every season except this season, his sixth in the NBA though he’s only 25 years old.

This role doesn’t suit him. The Suns trying to accommodate Knight at the expense at one of their other young, talented players doesn’t either. It makes sense then, that the Suns are open to trading Knight.

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