The Cleveland Cavaliers have won a league-best 37 games this season.
They’ve been the best team in the Eastern Conference by a sizeable margin, and their success against Western Conference foes is also quite promising.
Nonetheless, this is still a business, and as such, the financial side of the game can often disrupt what’s happening on the court.
That’s why Eric Pincus of Bleacher Report believes the team could take a risky approach to the trade deadline: “Weighing Tax.”
“The Cavaliers can save a ton of money by getting under the luxury tax. From a personnel standpoint, the Cavaliers are one of the best teams in the league. Outside of the recent mini-slump, Cleveland may not want to disturb hard-earned chemistry by trying to move end-of-bench players like Craig Porter Jr. and Tristan Thompson to get under the tax. Still, it has to be tempting financially,” Pincus said.
Of course, the luxury tax is brutal, and the Cavs could try to keep their winning core and still get under it.
Nevertheless, you never want to disrupt what’s working.
While Tristan Thompson has barely played this season, he’s a team veteran and a strong leader in the locker room, and those are the kinds of glue guys you often need to get to the next level.
He also has valuable championship experience and could maybe give coach Kenny Atkinson some strong minutes in key stretches.
The Cavs seem to be having fun on and off the court, and messing with team chemistry is dangerous.
Likewise, the team has to be very careful about the players they might choose to bring in if they decide to take a different approach and double down on this core of players.
The front office said that they wouldn’t look to shed salary or make any move that could alter the team, but the financial incentives are just too big to ignore.
NEXT: Cavs Extended Notable Win Streak Against Pistons On Monday
