The NBA Trade Deadline is coming up. It's just about a week away. We've heard lots of rumblings about the Cleveland Cavaliers being fairly active as the deadline looms. But what exactly are the Cavs going to do? The most obvious move that the Cavs could make is trading Dion Waiters. There have been plenty of reports about how Waiters and Irving have clashed in the past. But they're two young players and are still learning the NBA game. There's hope that they figure it out and create the dynamic backcourt that Chris Grant envisioned. But Chris Grant isn't in charge anymore. David Griffin is at the helm and will be making trade decisions for the Cavs for at least the rest of this season. Will he trade Waiters?
According to Zach Lowe of Grantland, the Boston Celtics are team that could be interested in trading for Waiters.
"Boston has kicked around almost every intriguing "buy low" piece in the league, especially guys on rookie deals. The Celtics have an appetite for low-cost risk on high-upside talent, even talent with "attitude" issues, but Waiters might be too far down the road for Boston at this point. But if the Cavs can find a decent future first-rounder for Waiters, they have to think about it."
You have to figure that Boston isn't alone in this thinking. Waiters is a young guy with a ton of talent. If you could get that type of player in exchange for a relatively low-level asset, you'd do it too. I know that Chris Grant had been quite hesitant about parting with Waiters for anything less than he thought was good value. He certainly wasn't about to "sell low" on the guy that he drafted #4 overall just last year. David Griffin might feel differently. If he views Waiters as a net-negative, then he'll probably deal him.
Here's a quick look at the Boston Celtics' interest in trading for Waiters from Celtics Blog.
It's worth noting that the past few games, Waiters and Irving have looked a lot better together. This might be a good lesson about not giving up on young players. They both have plenty of room to grow. If Waiters and Irving have worked out their issues and are ready to commit to playing together, then it'd be silly to trade Waiters for a late first round pick or something like that. But we don't have enough information to make that type of determination.
Steve Kyler of Basketball Insiders, the Milwaukee Bucks might also be interested in Waiters.
Don't be surprised if you read a lot more rumors about the Cavs trading Dion Waiters before the deadline next Thursday.