There were no blockbuster trades at the NBA trade deadline and it was very disappointing considering the high level of anticipation, but it was not for lack of trying.
No less than the Cleveland Cavaliers wanted to make the biggest splash, quite literally, in last Thursday's deadline.
According to a podcast from Sam Amico of Amico Hoops, the Cleveland Cavaliers offered a package of Russian center Timofey Mozgov and star forward Kevin Love to the Sacramento Kings in exchange for a DeMarcus Cousins, considered by many as the best big man in basketball today.
Amico also mentioned that the Houston Rockets were offering center Dwight Howard to Cleveland straight up, but the Cavs were not interested, for one thing, Howard is a free agent at the end of the season and the Cavs would risk losing him for nothing as D12 could demand a max salary of up to 30 million based on the new cap. It is not improbable that another team would offer him that.
What's more, the Cavs are way above the salary cap. While they can use the Bird Rights to re-sign Howard, they would have to pay a huge amount in repeater tax. Howard is still a decent rim protector but he is no longer the dominant center who won three Defensive Player of the Year awards.
Trading Love, who just signed a full five-year contract for Howard would be a high-risk move to say the least.
Cousins, on the other hand, is still under contract and is a much better player than Howard as it is now. But the Sacramento Kings also applied the same principle with the Cavs. Mozgov will also be a free agent at the end of the season and he could leave, so basically it's just Kevin Love for Cousins and that would not be an equal value trade.
The Cavaliers are still considered winners at the trade deadline by ESPN Insiders as they managed to trade Anderson Varejao for Channing Frye, someone who could help in their playoff run. While he is far from a game changer, he is still highly favorable. What's more, none of the Cavs' Eastern rivals, specifically the Toronto Raptors, made a move to make themselves stronger and challenge the Cavs.