As trade deadline approaches, Bickerstaff happy with Cavaliers' roster
Feb. 6—The NBA trade deadline is 3 p.m. Feb. 9, which means this is the time when the rumor mill gets extremely busy.
Marc Stein, formerly of ESPN whose work now appears on Twitter at @TheSteinLine, suggested the Cavaliers have "a strong interest" in Portland Trail Blazers shooting guard Josh Hart.
"The Cavaliers are among the teams expressing strong trade interest in Portland's Josh Hart, league sources say," Stein wrote recently. "Hart has joined the likes of Denver's Bones Hyland, New York's Cam Reddish, various veterans in Utah and the LA Clippers' John Wall on the Most Likely To Be Traded list at this deadline."
The Cavaliers, fifth in the Eastern Conference, took a 33-22 record into their game with the Wizards in Washington on Feb. 6. They were trying to win three straight for the first time since a stretch in late December and early January when they beat the Bulls twice and Suns once.
Kevin Love and trade rumors go together like peanut butter and jelly. Love is on an expiring contract of $28,942,830. Teams love to acquire expiring contracts, and Love, for now, isn't in the Cavaliers' plans. He was not listed as out with an injury when the Cavs beat the Pacers, 122-103 on Feb. 5, but Coach J.B. Bickerstaff chose not to play him.
Dean Wade has taken over Love's minutes off the bench. So if general manager Koby Altman is going to make a trade without disrupting what the Cavaliers have going for them, Love could be moved.
"When you're giving Dean minutes at the 3-spot, it kind of shrinks that rotation," Bickerstaff said recently. "We're intrigued to see what the Donovan (Mitchell), Darius (Garland), Dean, Evan (Mobley) J.A. (Jarrett Allen) lineup looks like. We're trying to give that enough time to see if that can work.
"It's going to be a night-by-night situation. We tried going with small minutes, but I didn't like the way it looked. Guys couldn't catch a rhythm. It's hard to play everybody."
Bickerstaff said he has spoken to Love about playing time being reduced and that Love, being a team player, took the news like a pro.
On the other hand, Love's experience could be invaluable if the Cavs make the playoffs and get to the second round. Love was part of the Cavs' 2016 NBA championship team.
Bickerstaff would be happy if Altman is quiet at the trade deadline. The Cavs' 2023 first-round pick belongs to the Pacers as partial payment for Caris LeVert at the trade deadline last year. Trading first-round picks in back-to-back years is forbidden. The Cavs' traded their first-round picks in 2025, 2027 and 2029 to Utah as partial payment for Mitchell. Their first available first-round pick as trade fodder is in 2031.
"To be honest with you, I'm happy with the group we have," Bickerstaff said. "I don't feel we're desperate to do something just for the sake of doing something. The guys in that locker room have enough to get it done.
"It just takes time to see how quickly we'll learn lessons and how far we'll go."
The Cavaliers are off on Feb. 7. They host the Pistons on Feb. 8 in their final game before the trade deadline.
