The Cleveland Cavaliers saw an opportunity and pounced. They didn't give the core quartet they entered this season with another playoff run to try to prove themselves. Instead, they traded Darius Garland for James Harden.
Swapping a 26-year-old two-time All-Star for a player who's ten years his senior and has a reputation for being at his worst when the stakes are at their highest could prove regrettable. However, it speaks to the urgency this franchise is operating with as it tries to build a championship club around Donovan Mitchell.
So, if Cleveland comes up short this postseason, especially in its second-round series against the Detroit Pistons, another threat to land Giannis Antetokounmpo, then the core of its roster may be in for another shakeup.
What can the Cavaliers offer for Giannis?
While they'd have to include more to make the math work, Cleveland could offer Evan Mobley as the centerpiece of a deal that also includes a package of draft picks.
Mobley turns 25 next month. Among the offers the Milwaukee Bucks field, he may best meet their desired criteria of acquiring a young, blue-chip talent to part ways with their franchise star.
The fifth-year forward/center from USC didn't build on last season's leap to the extent many were hoping. However, he's yet to reach his prime, and he earned an All-NBA selection and the Defensive Player of the Year Award in the previous campaign.
The Bucks may find the chance to work with him more enticing than bringing Boston Celtics star Jaylen Brown on board a rudderless ship. Ditto for what the former Finals MVP could net them in a multi-team construct.
So, while the possibility of a trade that sends the Marietta, Georgia, native to the Atlanta Hawks, who could help the Celtics complete a deal for Antetokounmpo, could bring the ten-time All-Star to Boston, Milwaukee may still prefer to acquire Mobley.
Is he the best player on a title team? Not without an unforeseen evolution. And the Bucks wouldn't be choosing him with that vision in mind. However, he'd give them a young, franchise-building block to move forward with.
As for the Cavaliers, they'd enter next season with Antetokounmpo, Mitchell, presumably James Harden, who has a player option and is extension eligible this summer, and Jarrett Allen. That reconfigured core four would be the top team in the East in the eyes of many. It's a legitimate championship contender.
One can question Allen's toughness, Mitchell and Harden's ability to win in the playoffs, and Antetokounmpo's durability. However, that group would represent a significant threat to the Celtics' hopes of finishing next season at the NBA's mountaintop.
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