Cavs Made Push for Nets’ Royce O’Neale, Before Opting to Charge On As Is

Cavaliers president of basketball operations Koby Altman generally can pull off a deal if he really wants it.

Altman has shown that over time — with the trade for star guard Donovan Mitchell serving as the latest example. But that’s the latest example because Altman opted to stand pat at the trade deadline, and not force anything.

The deals, it seems, just weren’t there to be had. And let’s face it, with the Nets trading Kevin Durant to the Suns, everyone in the Eastern Conference improved their own chances. Any in-season deal that might be considered earth-shattering this season happened out West.

Speaking of the Nets, they appear to be the team that Altman focused on most after the Durant trade. Targets included forwards Royce O’Neale, Joe Harris and Cam Johnson, acquired from the Suns. But the Cavs were particularly active when it came to O’Neale, per Chris Fedor of Cleveland.com.

But one thing the Cavs did not want to do is shake up their entire roster to land O’Neale, a close friend of Mitchell. Things have been going well in Cleveland, and while O’Neale might be a fit, he’s not the type of player who warrants major changes.

Still, per Fedor, Altman looked into trying to find a third team to help facilitate an O’Neale trade to the Cavs. A third team could’ve perhaps given the Nets the assets they sought in return.

It was not to be, and Altman hung up the phone and the Cavs got back to their regularly scheduled business. Their massive trade came before the season, after all.

“I think there’s value in continuity,” Altman said, via Fedor. “I think there’s value in giving this group a runway. Sometimes you just say to yourself, ‘Don’t mess this up.’ I think that was a big key for us this deadline.

“It was not easy for me. We’re the fifth-best team in the NBA right now — 35 wins, which is the fourth-most in the NBA — and some really good numbers to back up what I think you guys see on the court every day. I didn’t see anything that was going to put us over the top.”

When that’s the case, you don’t make a trade just for the sake of making one. Instead, you do exactly what Altman did, and don’t make one at all. 

Bottom line: Better to make no trade than a bad one.