Cleveland Cavaliers Pursuing David West Doesn't Make Sense

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Brian Spurlock-USA TODAY Sports
Brian Spurlock-USA TODAY Sports

There are two big names the Cleveland Cavaliers are currently rumored to be after right now as we navigate through NBA free agency. One, as discussed yesterday, is Brooklyn Nets guard Joe Johnson. Word is those trade talks with the Nets may have hit a snag though, which is no surprise considering Cleveland is already facing a tough cap situation and would have to acquire Johnson’s $24.8 million salary in the deal.

The other Cavs target at the moment is forward David West. The former Indiana Pacer turned down his player option with the team, making him an unrestricted free agent. At age 34 (turning 35 in August), West seems less interested in money and more with contending for a championship.

Clearly he could do such a thing with Cleveland, who is rumored to have “huge interest” in acquiring him. Despite this, there seem to be a few red flags surrounding the Cavs and their pursuit of West which make this all a little odd.

For one, West moving from Indy to Cleveland would require him to accept the fact he won’t be anywhere close to starting next year. After starting all 66 games he played in last season, West would be joining a team which already has two (assuming one gets paid soon) power forwards in Kevin Love and Tristan Thompson, both of whom would be higher on the depth chart.

Trying to find where West fits in there causes quite a bit of head-scratching. Behind Love and Thompson, the Cavs also still have Anderson Varejao and rookie Rakeem Christmas as options. Even if the team moves Varejao and sends Christmas to the D-League, you still run into trouble getting West significant minutes.

Sure, West could be utilized in small-ball lineups with Thompson or Love at center. At the same time, the Cavs clearly won’t work with such lineups incredibly often.

There’s no way around the fact West coming to Cleveland will result in a pretty significant reduction of his minutes. Is this something he’d be OK with? Is his desire to get a title strong enough to get him on board with the idea of not playing as often?

The thing making this pursuit a little stranger is the fact the team is significantly shallower in the backcourt than they are up front. Beyond Kyrie Irving and Matthew Dellavedova, Cleveland is low on point guards. It’s an issue which led many to believe upgrading this position was highest on the team’s summer agenda.

Why, then, is Cleveland so hot after yet another forward in West despite the fact point guard hasn’t even been addressed yet?

Look, I like West. I think he’s a great leader, and someone who could be a true benefit to the Cavs if he was in their locker room. If Love or Thompson get hurt – hardly unlikely, especially with the former – West could be a more than capable backup.

That said, there’s a lot of moving parts which come with Cleveland pursuing West. Will they have room on the depth chart to get him on the court? Will he be OK with the fact he won’t be nearly as significant a player with the Cavs as he was with Indiana?

It all combines to make the Cavs’ reported interest in West somewhat out of place. Would he be a valuable addition to the team? Sure, but it would still all depend on how comfortable he is with seeing his minutes decline.

If this is indeed a sticking point for West, it’d be best for both he and Cleveland to start looking elsewhere.

Casey Drottar is the Cleveland Beat Writer for www.Rantsports.com. Follow him on Twitter or “Like” him on Facebook

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