The Cleveland Cavaliers are seemingly doing everything possible to entice LeBron James to return to the team for yet another run. That includes picking up the 2018-19 option on the seldom-used Kendrick Perkins to help use his contract as a way to add more talent for King James.
One possible avenue that has been discussed over the past couple weeks is the potential acquisition of two-time All-Star point guard Kemba Walker from the Charlotte Hornets.
It now seems like this potential trade is all but dead.
@WindhorstESPN on Cavs acquiring Kemba Walker: "I think that door has closed"
— ESPN Cleveland (@ESPNCleveland) June 28, 2018
Given that Cleveland isn’t looking to move All-Star Kevin Love and has expressed no interest in trading rookie lottery pick Collin Sexton, it was always a long shot to acquire a player of Walker’s ilk.
What exactly does this mean moving forward? It’s pretty darn complicated. The Cavaliers brass’ doesn’t seem entirely too confident in its ability to retain LeBron James. That has not stopped the team from looking to acquire Kawhi Leonard in a trade that would increase the likelihood of James returning to Cleveland.
In no way does this mean Cleveland has anywhere near enough assets to land Leonard in a trade. That’s the difficult situation the Cavaliers find themselves in. James isn’t returning without an improved supporting cast. And Cleveland doesn’t have a lot to work with when it comes to improving said supporting cast.