With the trade deadline looming this Thursday, the Cavaliers are still shopping around for a power forward. They insist that they need a ‘stretch-4,’ a power forward who can hit a long jump shot. The reason for this, at it’s root, is to counter Orlando’s length and range. My biggest complaint is that Orlando is but one of a number of obstacles the Cavs have to overcome to win a championship, and building a team specifically to beat Orlando is a faulty plan. In any case, here are the Cav’s top targets.

• Antawn Jamison
  • The Cavs seemed to be headed down this route for certain earlier in the year. I wasn’t against the trade when it involved just Zydrunas llgauskas, a re-signed Wally Szczerbiak and a draft pick, since it seemed to be a decent pick up – especially if Z was released by Washington and could come back to Cleveland. When J.J. Hickson started getting mixed into the trade rumors, I got worried. I still think this is the Cav’s best option if they need to make a trade. One note here is that he could also wind up in Boston or Miami’s hands, which could be a potential problem.

• Troy Murphy
  • Murphy is another stretch-4, and now seems to be more likely then Jamison, due to the Wizards reluctance to help improve their ‘rivals’ here in Cleveland. I’m not sold on Troy, basically because he reminds me of a younger, shorter Ilgauskas. His three-point marksmanship is better then Jamison’s, and he’s a better rebounder, but Jamison is a better all-around scorer. My best guess is that he would fit best next to Shaq up front since he wouldn’t crowd the paint. My biggest concern? His health. He has a history of injury or illness which could pop up again at any time.
• Amar’e Stoudemire
  • This possibility scares me the most. Phoenix spent 82 games last year proving that Shaq and Stoudemire don’t work together well. Why on earth would Cleveland want to replicate that problem? Amar’e is a good rebounder and can be good for 20 points a game, but if coach Mike Brown had hair, Stoudemire’s defensive effort would make him pull it out. It just doesn’t exist. Plus, he would want to get in the lane, which – what with LeBron and Shaq already tying that area up – would cause a massive log jam. This, plus the loss of J.J., who Phoenix definitely wants back in the trade, could kill the chemistry of this team.

I don’t have a cure-all solution (if I did, I’d sell it to the Cavs for a fortune). Here’s what I suggest, though. The Cavs need to finally decide where to place LeBron. Is he a shooting guard, small forward, or power forward? I think sliding LeBron to the four and getting a solid off-guard or small forward would serve them best. Here’s my ‘dream list,’ which in no way is based on real trade rumors.

• Tayshaun Prince and/or Rip Hamilton
  • This sounds the best to me. The Pistons may be reluctant to move Tayshaun, especially to the Cavs, but they’re desperate to get rid of Rip Hamilton. His oversized contract is a big anchor on any trade, but the Pistons want size. Give ‘em J.J., Darnell Jackson, Z’s expiring contract and maybe a draft pick and we could have a solid two and/or three for the next couple seasons. We would just have to hope that J.J doesn’t become a star forward down the line.
• Kevin Martin
  • If the Kings are willing to move Kevin Martin, this could be a decent pickup. I just don’t know that the Cavs could offer enough to get him out of Sacramento. Martin can score like nobody’s business, but he could be even worse the Stoudemire on defense. The thing that makes him more valuable, to me, then Stoudemire is that he wouldn’t be fighting with Shaq for space down low.

So that’s what I’ve got so far. Hopefully Danny Ferry can pull the right strings and not capsize the team’s success.