Cleveland Cavaliers reserve guard Iman Shumpert had an offseason filled with ups and downs. After winning the NBA championship with the Cleveland Cavaliers he celebrated alongside his brothers and found time to release some new music and appear in a Kanye West music video. Unfortunately, he also was charged with DWI for being under the influence of marijuana.
Shump’s tenure with the Cavs since being trade from the New York Knicks almost two years ago has been a relative success to this point but it might be close to the end for him in Cleveland. He signed an extension last year to remain with the team but with a lack of point guard depth and some additional help on the wing, the team might be looking to get some of his money off the books.
Following from ESPN’s Zach Lowe.
Still: Keep an eye on Iman Shumpert. Several teams, including Minnesota, have inquired about his availability in the past few weeks and gotten the impression Cleveland is ready to talk, according to several league sources. The Cavs won’t salary-dump Shump for nothing, but given their tax situation, cutting payroll by a few million promises exponential savings.
The Cavs need Shumpert, or at least the fully realized version of a player like him, to scamper and switch with Golden State’s small lineups. Without him, they risk overtaxing Dunleavy, Richard Jefferson, and their extra bigs.
As noted by Lowe, if Shumpert indeed does get moved by the Cavs, then they would definitely get some value back in return. Mike Dunleavy won’t cut it as a reserve rotation wingman that would scare teams on a consistent basis. He’s just simply older, slower and less athletic than Iman.
With the Wolves also being probed by teams about a possible Ricky Rubio deal, this could cook up the potential of a three-team swap. One scenario could definitely be similar to what the Cavs have done in the past. The three-team trade that isn’t actually a three-team trade but involves using some of their many trade exceptions. In some way, the deal would involve the Cavs, T-Wolves and Sacramento Kings. Send Iman Shumpert to the Wolves, Ricky Rubio to the Kings and Ben McLemore and Darren Collison to the Cavs. Could be a nice way to fill all the needs of all three teams.
