The Cleveland Cavaliers have hit another midseason slump but they may find it difficult to dig themselves out of the latest hole they find themselves in.

On Friday night, they blew a 22-point lead to lose 97-95 to the Indiana Pacers on the road - which was their third straight defeat.

After back-to-back blowouts suffered at the hands of the Minnesota Timberwolves and Toronto Raptors, the Cavs came out with a sense of urgency and took a huge first quarter lead and dominated throughout the entire first half.

But once again, their porous defence proved to be their downfall as the Pacers mounted a comeback in the second period and eventually won the game late as they scored eight unanswered points to close it out.

The Cavaliers have the second-worst defence in the league and have a very slim chance of winning the championship with a leaky rearguard.

Their current roster severely lacks a specialist rim protector and a defensive organiser.

So it's the responsibility of the front office to make the necessary reinforcements to help them plug their glaring weakness.

ESPN's Adrian Wojnarowski has already reported that Cleveland is looking to be active before next month's trade deadline and are looking at potential targets.

According to Shams Charania of The Vertical, the franchise is open to the possibility of including Tristan Thompson in any potential deal.

"Multiple NBA teams have cited Tristan Thompson as an asset Cleveland is willing to move in the right deal, such as one for the Los Angeles Clippers’ DeAndre Jordan," he said.

Jordan has been one name constantly rumoured to be on their radar and Terry Pluto of the Cleveland Plain Dealer reported that the Clippers would be interested in a trade package involving Thompson and the Brooklyn Nets' first-round pick they acquired from the Boston Celtics in the Kyrie Irving trade.

But the Cavs are reportedly only willing to part with that pick if a star player became available on the market.

The team's willingness to part with Thompson shows just how much he's declined over the last year after he signed a huge contract with the organisation.

The 26-year-old played a major role in helping the Cavaliers secure its first championship in 2016 and he was rewarded with a five-year, $82 million deal.

Normally the energy guy on the team and a tenacious rebounder, his performance levels dropped last year and he's been given a reduced role by head coach Tyronn Lue in this campaign as he lost his starting position.

The Wine and Gold now clearly see him as a player it can offload and use to bring in the correct defensive personnel to help shore up their horrendous defence and challenge for the title.

With the trade deadline just less than four weeks away, it could be an interesting and defining period in The Land.