The Cleveland Cavaliers are off to a disappointing start this season, and the star-studded team could make a roster shakeup before the trade deadline in February to improve their title chances this season.
According to Ethan Skolnick of Bleacher Report, the Cavaliers could make a run at acquiring Norris Cole and Chris Andersen, who both enjoyed close relationship with LeBron James when the superstar was still with the Miami Heat.
Cole, who is averaging 7.4 points to go along with 3.5 assists and 2.1 rebounds per game this season, could be the backup point guard the Cavaliers need at this point, especially after Matthew Dellavedova went down with a knee injury.
On the other hand, Andersen, who is known for his defensive prowess, would give the Cavaliers the rim protector that they have been looking for since the offseason.
According to Sam Richmond of Sports Illustrated's FanSided, both Cole and Andersen will be huge additions to the Cavaliers, who are having major defensive issues this season as they're allowing their opponents to score 102.7 points per game this season -- sixth-worst in the league.
However, it is unclear at this point if the Heat would be willing to make a trade with the Cavaliers, considering the fact that James left them during the summer to return to Cleveland.
But in the event the Heat decides to strike a deal with the Cavaliers, Skolnick said that Cleveland might be forced to part ways with Dion Waiters.
Waiters has been struggling to adjust to his new role in Cleveland after the arrival of James and All-Star power forward Kevin Love.
Waiters was the Cleveland's second-leading scorer last season, but his point production is down to 9.1 points from 15.9 last season, which makes most analysts believe that the Cavaliers will be open to dealing him before the deadline to improve their roster.
Aside from Cole and Andersen, Skolnick also mentioned Arron Afflalo as another potential trade target for the Cavaliers. The 29-year-old shooting guard is averaging 13.4 points and 3.2 rebounds this season.
Marc Stein of ESPN also reported last month that the Cavaliers are interested in acquiring Corey Brewer, but the Houston Rockets are also reportedly in talks with the Minnesota Timberwolves about a potential trade for the 28-year-old shooting guard.
