Jameer Nelson (Photo : Doug Pensinger/Getty Images)
The Cleveland Cavaliers need a back-up point guard and that places them deep within the NBA trade rumors.
The Cavaliers top player (and alleged de facto GM) actually used a different term to express their roster needs but it cannot be written here.
There are point guards allegedly on the trade market (simply because no GM has openly declared that they are trading their point guard) that the Cavs can pursue. The way LeBron phrased it, he's not looking for a placeholder, he really wants a "f**king playmaker." There is one big name that would look good for the Cavs and that's Ricky Rubio.
Would that be overkill? James wouldn't think so and he has reiterated his message on ESPN along with a call for urgency.
"I don't got no time to waste. I'll be 33 in the winter, and I ain't got time to waste," said James. "I just hope that we're not satisfied as an organization."
Can the Cavs actually get Rubio? James has bragged about how GM David Griffin always delivers, and Michael Rand of the Minnesota Star Tribune gave a suggestion.
"That said, it's hard to imagine Cleveland having anything of value to offer in return. All of their high-salary players are key members of their rotation, and draft picks they could deal would be late in the first round. But if there is a three-way trade to be made involving another team just looking to clear some cap space, Cleveland could be an intriguing dark horse."
The Cavaliers reduced their trade exception with the Kyle Korver trade. It's down to $ 4.4 million, way below Rubio's price range.
A possible move could involve the Denver Nuggets. They want Rubio and they have cap space, not to mention tradable players. Rand said a trade involving Jusuf Nurkic would work for the Timberwolves. The Nuggets could throw in Jameer Nelson but he could be shipped to the Cavs.
The exact parameters of the trade have to be figured out, but that could be the building block. Perhaps the Cavs would need to throw in a piece back, like Iman Shumpert (and give more minutes to Kyle Korver). In any case, it is now a possibility.
