EVEN with the pending trade for Kyle Korver, the Cleveland Cavaliers are far from done in bolstering their bid for back-to-back titles, at least according to their biggest star LeBron James.
Talking to reporters during shootaround on the morning before Friday’s 116-108 win over Brooklyn (Saturday, Manila time), James reiterated that the work is far from done for the Cavs as he sees a gaping hole in the roster that’s about to get a boost pending the finalization of Korver’s trade.
“We still got a couple more things we need to do. We got to get a point guard,” he said, repeating a call he made after Cleveland’s loss to Chicago on Wednesday.
“Yeah, it’s my last time saying it. We need a point guard,” added James.
The Cavs are finalizing a deal for Korver in exchange for Mike Dunleavy, Jr. and a 2019 first round pick, and need to include Mo Williams in the package to make room for a backup point guard James has been seeking. Cleveland and Portland had already announced a swap of first round selections to pave the way for the Korver trade.
Currently, Kyrie Irving mans the point with only 5-foot-9 rookie Kay Felder as the other legitimate point guard on the bench, although shooting guard Iman Shumpert has taken most of the minutes backing up Irving running the point.
With James taking some playmaking duties as well, the four-time NBA MVP has also been feeling the brunt as he’s averaging 37.1 minutes and leading the team with 8.4 assists this season — the most since he moved back to Cleveland. While he said adding another point guard is not the last move for the Cavs, as he also expressed wanting to add a big man to the lineup, James insisted having another playmaker is the team’s most pressing need.
“It’s the next step. You look at our league, most teams have three point guards. We only have two with Ky and our rook in Kay (Felder). I think just having that security blanket,” said James, who also compared their situation to the NFL’s Oakland Raiders team now facing a tough playoff after a promising start with their star playmaker out.
“Every NFL team has three quarterbacks. Having that secure blanket in case of a (Derek) Carr, (the Raiders quarterback who was injured just before playoff time). We'll see what happens, but, we're happy with our team right now," he added.
ESPN's Marc Stein has named former Cavs guard Jarrett Jack, and ex-Heat playmakers Mario Chalmers and Norris Cole as potential targets.
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