No deal for Cavs as trade deadline passes

Mo Speights survived the trade deadline and is expected to spend the rest of this season with the Cavaliers. (AP Photo/Mark Duncan)

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INDEPENDENCE: The Cavs remained silent as the NBA's 3 p.m. trade deadline passed quietly on Thursday. It was one of the rare years when the Cavs failed to complete a deal at the trade deadline.

It's the first time the Cavs haven't made a trade at the deadline since 2009.

"Not much for Cavs to do but not mess up space," a rival front office executive said in the hours leading up to the deadline. 

Indeed, the Cavs made their big move last month when they acquired Mo Speights, Wayne Ellington, Josh Selby and a future first-round pick from the Memphis Grizzlies in exchange for Jon Leuer.

They still aggressively approached this trade deadline searching for one more first-round pick, but lacked the assets to pull off a deal. Their most valuable players comprise the young core around which this team is rebuilding. The available veterans, such as Luke Walton, Daniel Gibson and Omri Casspi, were more attractive because of their expiring contracts than their on-court ability. 

The Cavs tried earlier this week to swing a deal with the Sacramento Kings that would've removed some of the lottery protections from their previous trade involving Casspi and J.J. Hickson, but the parameters of that deal crumbled Wednesday night when the Kings and Houston Rockets completed a six-player trade headlined by fifth overall pick Thomas Robinson.

While Mo Speights could opt out of his contract at the end of the season, he wasn't the only available big on the market. The Portland Trail Blazers were reportedly shopping Hickson for a first-round pick, and Hickson is likely more attractive than Speights, but the Blazers couldn't pull off a deal, either.

It was a relatively quiet deadline day, with the Atlanta Hawks opting not to trade Josh Smith after taking trade negotiations all the way up to the deadline. That left J.J. Redick as the biggest name traded when the Orlando Magic moved him to the Milwaukee Bucks.

With the trade deadline passed, the focus now shifts to free agent center Greg Oden. The Cavs are expected to offer Oden a two-year contract with a team option for the 2014-15 season even though Oden won't play this season.

There are conflicting reports whether Oden will sign this season or wait until the summer to sign. If he chooses to sign now, the Cavs are considered a frontrunner to sign him -- although the Miami Heat freed  up a roster spot by trading Dexter Pittman on Thursday. The Heat are also in the running to sign Oden.

The Cavs will enter the summer with a pair of first-round picks and only seven players under contract for next season that total about $33 million.