Chapter 275: The 2015 NBA Trade Deadline.
When Han Sen returned from his vacation, David Griffin quickly paid him a visit.
During their initial discussions, Han had emphasized one thing: draft picks.
Given how difficult it was to attract top-tier free agents to Cleveland, their best hope for building a contender was nailing their draft selections. Especially now, since three of their next five first-round picks were shipped to Memphis in the deal to acquire Han, those remaining picks were even more precious.
Griffin's visit had a clear purpose — he wanted Han's input on trade options.
The Cavaliers' trade assets were limited, and without touching their draft capital, the available upgrades weren't exactly impressive.
Han knew that. But even with those constraints, when Griffin laid out the list of potential trade targets, one name left Han a little stunned.
JaVale McGee.
Yep, the same JaVale McGee that Han remembered as "Shaqtin' a Fool's" most frequent guest.
McGee had been a starter early in his career with the Wizards but had since slid to a bench role in Denver, where injuries significantly reduced his playing time over the past two seasons.
Denver had signed him to a 4-year, $44 million deal in 2012, and he still had about a season and a half left on that contract.
The trade was simple — Andrea Bargnani for McGee. Salary-matching was perfect, and Cleveland could even snag a protected first-round pick from Denver in the deal.