NBA Trade News: Cavaliers trying to acquire Jose Calderon, Andrew Bogut

The Cleveland Cavaliers (33-15), the reigning NBA champions, are trying to acquire Jose Calderon and Andrew Bogut ahead of the Feb. 23 trade deadline, per reports. Both veterans are on the final year of their contracts.

The Lakers acquired Calderon prior to the start of the 2016-17 season in exchange for two future second-round draft picks from the Chicago Bulls. The Bulls had to dump some salary off their books to sign Dwyane Wade, who emphatically walked away from Miami Heat due to a contract dispute with Pat Riley. Andrew Bogut, the Australian centre, was shipped from the Golden State Warriors to the Dallas Mavericks after superstar forward Kevin Durant agreed to take his talents to Oakland during the offseason.

With the Lakers and Mavericks set to return to the lottery, neither veteran has seen much playing time this season as the development of the youngsters has taken precedence for the Western Conference teams. While Calderon has averaged just 12.4 minutes from 23 games, Bogut has averaged 22.6 minutes from 25 games. The Spaniard was inserted into the Lakers' starting unit when D'Angelo Russell recovered from several injuries but lost favour with coach Luke Walton after the sophomore guard returned to action.

NBA Trade News: Cleveland Cavaliers face salary-cap challenges

According to ESPN's Mark Stein reported Saturday that the Cavs, after auditioning a number of free agents over the last few weeks, have narrowed their search to a few players. "Los Angeles Lakers guard Jose Calderon and Dallas Mavericks centre Andrew Bogut, league sources tell ESPN.com, have emerged as two players who greatly interest the Cavs in their search for bench help," wrote Stein.

It's no secret that the Cavs are desperate to add a point guard to the second unit, who can ease some of the pressure off primary ball-handlers such as Kyrie Irving and LeBron James. Deron Williams, a former All-Star, has also caught the attention of the NBA champions. The Mavs guard was enjoying his best season since 2012-13 with the Brooklyn Nets (13.5 points, 7.1 assists) until a toe injury has ruled him out of the last five games. "The NBA's reigning champions, who come face-to-face with ‎(Carmelo) Anthony in Saturday night's ABC showcase game at Madison Square Garden, are also closely monitoring Bogut's teammate Deron Williams."

While the Cavaliers could struggle to acquire Bogut, Williams or Calderon due to their salary-cap limitations, they do have a few trade exceptions that could be put to good use ahead of the trade deadline. Mark Stein noted that "the best they (Cavs front office) can realistically hope for is that one or more of those three gets bought out after the trade deadline and eventually hits the free-agent market." The Cleveland Cavaliers and Golden State Warriors are expected to renew their Finals rivalry in Round 3 later this June. Stay tuned for the latest Cavs trade news.