East Rumors: Cavs, Jarrett Allen, Bulls, Jevon Carter, Wizards

Cavaliers

The Cavs are climbing the ranks defensively and are in the top 10 in the NBA in that category once again. But offensively, well, not so much.

So that may lead them to explore some trades, per Michael Scotto and Yossi Gozlan of HoopsHype, with wing Caris LeVert and center Jarrett Allen being the names seemingly mentioned most.

“They started the season with several injuries to a lot of players and got off to a 4-6 start, and they’re 9-4 since. They’re still a Top 10 defense like last year, but they’ve been struggling on offense,” Gozlan said on the HoopsHype Podcast. “They’re 24th… Their bench is one of the worst scoring benches at 24th in points per game, have a minus-2.6 net rating, and are last in offensive rating. I suppose that’s one of their bigger indicators of what’s going on with their offensive struggles.”

He went on to say that the Cavs’ starting five seems “pretty well set,” and sources have indicated to Hoops Wire earlier this season that it’s highly doubtful they would move Allen, a favorite of both the organization and its fans.

But the NBA silly season is almost upon us, and we all know what that means. Basically, everyone outside of maybe 10 guys in the entire league stands a chance to hear their names in trade rumors.

“I would say that if the Cavaliers do something, it’s probably more smaller scale moves to try to reshuffle their bench and get pieces that can improve on offense,” Gozlan said.

• It’s too soon to worry about what will become of star guard Donovan Mitchell, Scotto added. “Obviously, this year, they’re going to try to be as competitive as they can be with this core and the continuity that they have and go from there down the line,” he said. “You could always wait until the trade deadline of his expiring contract season, if you want. There’s always going to be a team interested, especially when you can acquire Bird Rights, given teams that don’t have cap space, but obviously at that stage, the return would be less.”
• In case you missed it, we have more on the chatter surrounding LeVert here.

Bulls

Guards Zach LaVine and Alex Caruso, and small forward DeMar DeRozan, are the names being mentioned most when it comes to the Bulls and trade rumors.

But others could be in the mix as well, per Scotto.

“It’s unclear at this time, but you talk about guys that could hold value for playoff contenders that could fortify any bench on a playoff team,” he said. “I wondered about Jevon Carter and Torrey Craig on the Bulls because I do think those guys would have value. I remember in the offseason, Minnesota was also looking at Carter, in addition to Chicago. Craig had a number of teams as well because he’s a good role player.”

• Gozlan added: “If the Bulls end up trading a lot of their best players, their starters, LaVine, DeRozan, and Caruso, then eventually, that’ll probably also extend to some of their bench players. With Carter, there are just so many guards on the Bulls right now. He’s been in the rotation, but he definitely feels like he can have a bigger role elsewhere if given the opportunity.”

Wizards

• Given their awful start, the Wizards are expected to be one of the more active teams between now and the trade deadline, several sources indicated to Hoops Wire.
• New head of basketball operations Michael Winger is seeking picks and young players, aiming to build the team in the same model as the Thunder. So that would mean lots of picks. Just about everyone on the roster is expected to be made available. Though Washington is likely to want to keep rookie guard/forward Bilal Coulibaly and small forward Deni Avdija.
• The job of Wizards coach Wes Unseld Jr. remains safe despite the team’s early struggles, sources said.