Using unnamed sources in reporting — once a rarity, now as common as walking down the street — is a trade-off. Without fear of retribution or creating specific controversy by having their name attached, sources are often much more willing to share valuable and newsworthy information. The flip side is that a reporter runs the risk of publishing information that lacks as much credibility as it would with named sources — or, even worse, carries out a specific agenda for a source who gets the benefit of getting a message out without having to take the heat. It's much easier to get burned by bad information without a name attached.

One of the trickiest parts, believe it or not, is figuring out how to protect a source or sources. "League source" or "team source" is pretty wide-ranging; "source who declined to be named because he's the starting first baseman for the Twins" is not.

But even something as generic as "multiple sources" can be narrowed down to a small subset of potential sources pretty quickly if the information is specific enough. I'm not saying that is or isn't what happened in the case of the Friday's ESPN report about the Cavaliers' rotation, but it's hard not to have suspicions regarding the sources of information when you try to connect the dots. Per the piece:

There is also a strong feeling within the team, multiple sources said, that coach David Blatt could rely more on the veterans he's been leaving unused on the bench. … With several players, James and Dellavedova especially, looking worn down from the demands in the playoffs, players have begun to privately grumble that Blatt needs to use his whole roster.

With Warriors coach Steve Kerr going to a perimeter-heavy offense with Andre Iguodala in for Andrew Bogut, the feel is Blatt could take another look at (Mike) Miller and perhaps give veteran Shawn Marion, ho has yet to play in the series, a look. With the Warriors' depth on the wing, the Cavs ended up being stretched exceedingly thin. Several sources said Marion, who already has announced he'll retire following the season, is especially itching to get a chance.

The story later quotes LeBron:

When asked about the need to expand the rotation, LeBron James publicly yielded to Blatt after Game 4 but hinted it could help him and others get some more rest. "That's the coach's decision if he decides he wants to go deeper in the bench," James said. "We haven't played many guys throughout this playoff run. I think it would help some of the guys that are playing some high minutes, for sure."

I don't know the "multiple sources" Brian Windhorst used for this story, but if I had to guess I would include James, Miller and Marion. Maybe I'm wrong. Maybe it's assistant coaches, other team employees, executives or other players. But it's also not at all far-fetched to think a story about Cavaliers veterans getting more playing time is being fueled by Cavaliers veterans who want more playing time.