The Brooklyn Nets and Cleveland Cavaliers did business in the James Harden trade and they may be indulging in trade talks again. According to Sam Amico of FortyEightMinutes, the Nets are engaged in trade talks to acquire JaVale McGee from the Cavaliers.
Nets and Cavs meeting for second time tonight, and sources tell @FortyEightMins to expect Nets to make a run at acquiring Cavs backup center JaVale McGee soon. Brooklyn has 2 available roster spots and looking for another veteran presence in the middle.
— Sam Amico (@AmicoHoops) January 23, 2021
In the Harden trade, the Cavaliers landed Jarrett Allen and Taurean Prince from the Nets while Cleveland sent Dante Exum and a draft pick to the Houston Rockets. On the other hand, Brooklyn lost a ton of depth while acquiring Harden, which has left their bench a bit thin.
On Friday, the Nets were rewarded a $5.7 million trade exception due to the season-ending injury to Spencer Dinwiddie. It's apparent that Brooklyn plans on using that expectation to sure up their frontcourt that has been lacking since Allen was traded.
During Friday's double-digit loss to the Cavaliers, the Nets were outrebounded 50-29, and Cleveland was able to score in the paint with ease. Despite the Cavaliers having one of the worst scoring offenses in the NBA, the Nets allowed them to combine for 272 points in their two losses to Cleveland.
As of this moment, Brooklyn is allowing the third-most points in the paint per game in the league, only behind the Minnesota Timberwolves and the Sacramento Kings. Given that, they believe McGee can solve some of their interior issues on defense.
McGee has seen his role with the Cavaliers take a massive hit with Allen's arrival. Before Allen showed up, McGee was averaging eight points, 6.2 rebounds, and 1.1 blocks per game for Cleveland.
Outside of DeAndre Jordan, the Nets don't have much rim protection on their roster. Nevertheless, Brooklyn is primed to make a trade for McGee if Cleveland is interested in doing business with them again.
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