Jose Alvarado, Kelly Oubre Jr., Duop Reath Named ‘Top Trade Targets’ For Cavs

After the Cleveland Cavaliers lost to the Indiana Pacers in the Eastern Conference Semifinals, Zach Buckley of Bleacher Report identified three players Koby Altman should target this summer. 

Buckley named Jose Alvarado, Kelly Oubre Jr. and Duop Reath as the Cavs’ top trade targets this summer. 

“It’s still uncertain whether this club’s lack of size in the backcourt and lack of spacing up front would be fatal flaws on basketball’s biggest stage or not,” Buckley wrote. “That said, this core showed obvious promise throughout the season, and the front office should continue to find ways of strengthening the roster around it. Targeting the following three players this summer would help accomplish that.”

Alvarado plays for the New Orleans Pelicans, Oubre Jr. plays for the Philadelphia 76ers and Reath plays for the Portland Trail Blazers. 

“The Cavs could try making a push for Alvarado. He’s been a consistent energizer for the Pelicans, but it’s hard to imagine he’s anywhere close to off-limits. He is a plucky player with solid defensive instincts, but he’s also undersized and generally inefficient as a scorer,” Buckley wrote. “He’s still the kind of player who can make an impact on a winning team, and if the Pelicans don’t feel they’ll stay healthy enough to become one, maybe they’d consider him moving him to a team that already is.”

The Cavaliers haven’t advanced past the second round of the playoffs since acquiring Donovan Mitchell from the Utah Jazz. Trades need to be made this summer for the team to take the next step. 

“There is a lot of streakiness in Oubre’s game, but the Cavs might have enough wing depth to work around that,” Buckley wrote. “On his good nights, he’s an asset in transition, an athletic defender and an ignitable scorer. If nothing else, he could provide a different look at a position where Cleveland clearly keeps trying to find the right formula.”

Mitchell and Evan Mobley are untouchable in trade talks. Everyone else on the roster, though, should be deemed tradeable. 

“The Cavaliers need better big-man options off the bench, and they could maybe find a cheap one in Reath. He got squeezed out of Portland’s rotation by that club’s congestion at center, but just last season he impressed as a rotation-regular who added a pick-and-pop element with his outside shot,” Buckley wrote. “He is a limited defender, so expecting him to be anything more than a niche role player might be asking too much. That said, Cleveland doesn’t need to cover a lot of non-Allen, non-Mobley minutes on the interior, and considering its firepower, it would have at least a decent chance to outscore opponents with Reath operating as a floor-spacing 5.”