While Cleveland Cavaliers fans wait for LeBron James to finish waiting for the team to re-sign Tristan Thompson, it’s easy to forget there is still a huge asset remaining on the roster. This would be the now-famous contract of Brendan Haywood.

As soon as the Cavs signed Haywood last offseason, the only thing you heard about was his contract and how big a trading chip it could be. His deal is nonguaranteed this upcoming season, so if a team were to acquire and waive him before August 1, said franchise would clear $10.5 million off their books.

There are plenty of cap-strapped teams in the NBA who could definitely find something like this appealing. And, according to the latest news, the Cavs might be setting up a possible deal to finally make this move.

In a report by ESPN’s Brian Windhorst, Cleveland is reportedly discussing a Haywood trade with the Brooklyn Nets. In exchange for Haywood, the Nets would send back sharpshooter Joe Johnson.

However, while the deal may have plenty of intrigue surrounding it, this hardly means the Cavs should pull the trigger. As it stands, there plenty of risks the team needs to consider before moving forward with acquiring Johnson.

Let’s take a look at the positives first, as there are certainly plenty when it comes to Johnson. For one, Cleveland’s roster is shallow when it comes to perimeter shooters. Though they could likely take the easy route and try re-signing J.R. Smith, word is they aren’t willing to offer him the long-term deal he’s seeking.

In Johnson, the Cavs could definitely replace Smith seamlessly. Though a little older than Smith, Johnson would bring a steadier shooting hand, as his shooting percentage has drifted around the mid-to-high 40% range for much of his career. His PPG has been slowly declining year-over-year, but he would likely not be asked to provide as significant an offensive contribution with Cleveland as he was with the Nets.

While that’s all well and good, this wouldn’t be a perfect trade for the Cavs. The biggest issue is the fact the team has already broken the bank for Kevin Love and Iman Shumpert, and still has yet to re-sign Thompson or James. When you consider this, then realize Johnson will be the second-highest paid player in the NBA next year, it makes this trade a little more difficult to comprehend.

Contracted to make $24.8 million next season, Johnson doesn’t exactly have the kind of deal a team like Cleveland should be going after right now. If they did choose to try and make a move with Brooklyn, they’d need to include an additional piece to provide slight relief.

This is where things get even trickier, as Windhorst claims said piece could be forward Anderson Varejao.

Say what you will about Varejao, as he’s hardly someone any team in the NBA would see as untouchable. His injury history seems to add a new chapter every season, and the Cavs were questioned around the league when they re-signed him last October just a little before a ruptured Achilles ended his year.

At the same time, not only is Varejao a big-time fan favorite in Cleveland – where he’s spent his entire eleven-year career – he’s also incredibly close friends with James. You may scoff at this being a reason why the Cavs shouldn’t consider trading him, but don’t forget it’s James’ current refusal to talk to the front office that’s likely pushing the team to get Thompson back in the fold as soon as possible. His power in swaying how the team handles free agency is legitimate, and the idea of trading one of his closest pals likely isn’t something he’d be thrilled about.

Again, almost every other team in the league would likely try to include an oft-injured, relatively expensive player in order to make room for Johnson. However, the Cavs are in a very unique situation in that such a move would likely upset their most important player.

We’ll have to wait and see how this all plays out, as it could certainly become very intriguing very quickly. That said, if Cleveland is truly interested in moving the Haywood contract for Johnson, they better have a solid plan of attack. $24.8 million is already tough to swallow, but moving Varejao might make it even tougher.

Casey Drottar is the Cleveland Beat Writer for www.Rantsports.com. Follow him on Twitter or “Like” him on Facebook