Cavs have an Evan Mobley path to trading for Giannis Antetokounmpo originally appeared on The Sporting News.
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The Cleveland Cavaliers have rallied in their playoff series against the Detroit Pistons, so it may be too early to start considering huge offseason maneuvers.
But no matter how this season ends for the Cavs, there’s at least one name that seems set to captivate the entire NBA with trade potential: Giannis Antetokounmpo.
And Cleveland, in some ways, could be in the running.
It would start with Evan Mobley, whose salary gives the trade a chance and whose ability could be enough to entice the Milwaukee Bucks.
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It wouldn’t be simple, though. The Cavs would have to get under the second apron to give them a chance to combine salaries with Mobley to equal Giannis in a deal.
“The Cavaliers would need to get creative to land Antetokounmpo,” ESPN’s Bobby Marks wrote in a new article on Thursday. “Cleveland will enter the offseason $3.2 million above the second apron and is not allowed to aggregate contracts nor take back more salary in a trade. (For example, swapping Evan Mobley and two first-round picks for Antetokounmpo would not work. To add matching salary, Cleveland would need to shed enough money elsewhere to dip under the second apron after the trade.)”
It is intriguing to consider, though. Is there a way for the Cavs to have a lineup that includes Giannis, Donovan Mitchell and James Harden? That’s a group that feels like it’d be tough for other teams to handle.
“The Cavaliers’ path to landing Giannis would begin with renegotiating James Harden’s salary for next season,” Marks writes. “Harden signed a two-year, $81.5 million contract last offseason with the LA Clippers, which has a player option that allows both sides to negotiate a longer contract at possibly less money if he were to become a free agent. A two-year, $64 million contract that starts at $32 million would get Cleveland under the second apron even after the roster is filled out.”
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Obviously, if Mobley has a big remainder of the postseason and even potentially leads the Cavs to a title, things change with the optics of this.
But if Cleveland has a disappointing exit again, keep an eye on how the Cavs might insert themselves into the Giannis sweepstakes.