The Cleveland Cavaliers will do whatever it takes to ensure that LeBron James will stay in Northeast Ohio. One of those is making sure their roster is much improved this season than last when they came up short in the NBA Finals. The Cavs have already dished out a large sum of money to Iman Shumpert, and Kevin Love, to long term contracts. LeBron has already told the Cavs front office that he will not hesitate to abandon ship once again if they fail to make significant strides in the development of their roster.
A report came out yesterday that Cleveland was looking to acquire guard Joe Johnson from the Brooklyn Nets which suggested that James had asked for another scorer to take the load off of him. With the potential departure of J.R. Smith, the move would make sense. After the trade talks slowed down today, it was reported by ESPN’s Marc Stein that the Cavs set their sights on another guard, Jamal Crawford of the Los Angeles Clippers:
ESPN sources say that Cavs, in addition to Joe Johnson trade, are also exploring a Jamal Crawford-for-Brendan Haywood trade with Clippers
— Marc Stein (@ESPNSteinLine) July 6, 2015
Crawford is arguably the purest scorer off the bench in the entire NBA and has enjoyed an extremely illustrious 14 year career, even holding the all time record for most FOUR point plays. He is one of the most exciting players in the league and has been since he got drafted in 2000 by ironically, the Cleveland Cavaliers. JCross could be exactly what the doc ordered if Smith eventually leaves. Acquiring Crawford could be the last domino to fall that convinces LeBron to stay in Cleveland.
Obviously this would be a damaging loss in clipperland as he is a fan favorite in tinseltown. He provides a spark off the bench that not many other teams have the luxury of having. After losing DeAndre Jordan, the Clippers are already in trouble. Now if Crawford heads to Cleveland, it could be a death blow for the clips, especially in the brutal western conference.
