Tue, Jan 22, 2013 at 12:57pm

SPEIGHTS, SELBY, & ELLINGTON TO CAVS FOR LEUER

The Cleveland Cavaliers acquired power forward/center Marreese Speights, point guard Josh Selby, shooting guard Wayne Ellington, and a protected 2015 first-round draft pick from the Memphis Grizzlies for forward Jon Leuer and a $6.4 million Trade Exception.

What does it give the Cleveland Cavaliers
This deal gives Cleveland a lot more youthful depth. The season-ending injury suffered by star Cavs pivot {P Anderson Varejao} leaves Cleveland with a big hole in the middle. While rookie center {P Tyler Zeller} has been solid filling in, Speights can step in right away and add a lot of muscle and some experience in the post. Selby broke out during Summer League play and has starter-level tools, while Ellington is a quality rotational shooting guard. The future 1st-rounder is a great bonus, as the Cavs take full advantage here of Memphis' need to shed salary.

What does it give the Memphis Grizzlies
Leuer may be roughly as promising as each of the three players leaving the Grizzlies here, but for Memphis this swap is mostly about dropping payroll. They were facing the prospect of paying the NBA's luxury tax, so moving three non-core players (and about $6 million in salary) makes sense. Giving up the 1st-round pick has to hurt a bit, but at least the selection is protected and Leuer is an intriguing talent who may still pan out in the NBA. The Grizz also get a Trade Exception which lets them add $6.4 million extra in salary in a future deal or signing over the next year, if they so desire.

Fantasy impact
Speights has a good chance to take over as Cleveland's starting center for the rest of this season, so he's a fantasy must-add right now. He can be erratic at times, but his abilities--scoring and piling up rebounds--make him a worthwhile fantasy gamble. Meanwhile Leuer may get a chance to step up and be more of a regular in Memphis than he was in Cleveland, and he has solid untapped potential. Selby and Ellington are both talented but young and fairly unproven, so are more deep sleepers as a result of this deal.