Report: Cavs to hold onto Nets' pick as backup plan in case LeBron leaves

The Brooklyn Nets may shape the future of the Cleveland Cavaliers.

Thanks to the blockbuster point guard swap in the offseason in which the Cavaliers sent Kyrie Irving to the Boston Celtics in exchange for Isaiah Thomas, Cleveland also came to own the Nets' top pick in the 2018 NBA Draft, one that could boast a premium selection of talent in the lottery.

But with the looming possibility of LeBron James leaving as a free agent in the offseason, one NBA general manager said the Cavaliers are planning to keep Brooklyn's pick as a backup plan in case their worst-case scenario comes to fruition, according to Sean Deveney of Sporting News.

"They would be open to a deal by all indications," the GM said. "But they’re not talking about that pick.

"That's the Plan B for the LeBron stuff and from what I know, they don't want to budge on it."

If the season ended today, the 11-16 Nets would own the NBA's 10th worst record, giving the Cavaliers a meager 1.1-percent chance of landing the top pick. Their chance at landing in the top three wouldn't be much better either, coming in at just four percent, courtesy of Tankathon.