The Cavaliers have given their fans some thrills the past two nights, upsetting the Hawks on Alonzo Gee's game-winner on Friday and losing a heart-breaker Saturday in double overtime to the Blazers. The excitement in Cleveland is more often coming in the form of close games than in victories, as the absence of Kyrie Irving has prompted the Cavs to fall into a tie with the Raptors for the league's second-worst record. As Cleveland tries to tread water amid Irving's absence, there's more on the second-year point guard, and we've got that along with other news on the team right here:

• Bob Finnan of The News-Herald looks ahead to Irving's next contract, and interprets recent comments from Cavs owner Dan Gilbert to indicate the team would trade Irving if he's unwilling to sign an extension when he's eligible in the summer of 2014.
• One agent called the Cavs' qualifying offer this summer to Luke Harangody "a $1MM gift," and the Cavs are now on the hook for that deal, actually worth a little more than $1.054MM, even though the team waived Harangody this week to make room for Kevin Jones, as Finnan documents. The Cavs wanted to snatch up before other NBA clubs got a chance, Finnan also notes.
• It's easy to tell the Cavs aren't thinking about the playoffs this year judging by the free agents they signed this summer, Finnan opines, observing that coach Byron Scott misses Antawn Jamison and Anthony Parker.
• Teams that would covet Anderson Varejao in a trade with the Cavaliers are top-tier clubs with late first-round draft picks, making them unlikely partners in a deal, notes Terry Pluto of the Plain Dealer.
• Omri Casspi is disheartened by his lack of playing time for the Cavs, after having spent the summer working on his game as prescribed by Scott, and the Israeli small forward is looking forward to free agency next summer, as HoopsWorld's Lang Greene details.
• Greene also checks in with DeSagana Diop, the eighth overall pick by the Cavs in the 2001 draft. Diop, now with the Bobcats, is also set to hit free agency in the offseason, but the 30-year-old center wants to stay in Charlotte until he retires, which he figures will happen in a couple of years. "I like Charlotte a lot," Diop said. "I get along with the coach (Mike Dunlap), the general manager (Rich Cho) and the good people of Charlotte. I’m just going one day at a time this season and see what happens this summer."

5:11pm: It appears that Cleveland's main intention was to secure rights over Jones, as Sam Amico of FOX Sports Ohio tweets that the team has sent Jones back to Canton after calling him up. 

4:56pm: Gary Washburn of the Boston Globe tweets that the Cavaliers have waived Luke Harangody and signed 6'8 forward Kevin Jones. Although Harangody had earned a roster spot over Jones before the start of the regular season, the former Celtic had not appeared in an NBA game this year. His contract for this season was fully guaranteed and worth $1.05MM.

Jones has been on a tear in the D-League recently, averaging 27.0 PPG, 13.7 RPG,  54.0% shooting from the field, and a 92.3% clip from the charity stripe in 41.3 MPG through the first three games for the Canton Charge. 

Darnell Mayberry of NewsOK lists Daniel Orton, DeAndre Liggins, Andy Rautins, and Hollis Thompson as the four Thunder hopefuls looking to earn the team's final roster spot. While he believes that Liggins has the best chance considering the bulk of minutes he's played during the pre-season, Mayberry also considers Orton as a strong candidate because of his potential. He adds that a popular idea would be for Oklahoma City to waive or trade a guaranteed contract in order to keep both Liggins and Orton, although such a possibility seems unlikely at this point. With that aside, you can find more of tonight's miscellaneous links below: 

• Former Memphis Tiger Wesley Witherspoon believes that being around the veteran leadership in San Antonio would be a great place to start his career if he makes the team (Jason Smith of The Memphis Edge reports). On another note, Mike Monroe of Spurs Nation writes that Spurs forward Kawhi Leonard isn't worried about his pre-season shooting slump affecting his shot once the regular season starts. 
• Fran Blinebury of NBA.com explains why it would be prudent for Oklahoma City to wait on a possible extension for James Harden, most notably to see if he can remain healthy this season and maintain a high level of play. 
• Sam Amico of FOX Sports Ohio says that the Cavaliers are expected to send recently-signed D'Aundray Brown to the D-League, even though he would still take up a spot on the team's official season roster. He also speculates that three roster cuts are likely to be decided from a group that includes Jeremy Pargo, Kevin Jones, Luke Harangody, and Micheal Eric.
• Although Luol Deng dealt with a torn ligament in his left wrist last season and ultimately decided against surgery during the summer, the Bulls forward now feels confident enough to play at a high level and said that he hasn't been feeling any pain (Nick Friedell of ESPN Chicago reports).  
• Sean Deveney of the Sporting News explains some of the biggest responsibilities that current deputy commissioner Adam Silver will have once he is set to replace David Stern, including television contract negotiations, collective bargaining, European expansion, and development of the D-League.
• Chris Vivlamore of the Atlanta Journal-Constitution engaged in a Q&A with Hawks forward Josh Smith about his expectations this season and the challenges he anticipates for the team. In a separate article, Daniel Christian of Sheridan Hoops discusses five reasons to be optimistic about Atlanta this year.
• Jim Eichenhofer of Hornets.com talks briefly about New Orleans' confidence in the versatility and scoring ability of Hornets rookie Austin Rivers.

• Jodie Valade of The Plain Dealer takes a closer look at the decision the Cavaliers have to make on Sloan and Pargo and lists the pros and cons of keeping both. She also notes that Byron Scott believes one of them currently has an edge over the other, but the coach would not elaborate beyond that. 
• Joseph Goodman of The Miami Herald took to Twitter to speculate on what he calls the Heat's "no-doubt-about-it cut list," listing Rodney Carney, Jarvis Varnado, Mickell Gladness, and Robert Dozier. He mentions that the last two spots could come down to a competition among Josh Harrellson, Garrett Temple, and Terrel Harris, adding that he would keep the latter two (Twitter link). 
• Interestingly enough, although Juwan Howard is not part of Miami's training camp roster, Goodman points out that the former Heat player still has a locker. 
• Ben Golliver of the Blazers Edge shared a transcript of Trail Blazers GM Neil Olshey's in-game interview with CSNNW on Friday. Some notable comments include Olshey's thoughts on Will Barton's potential, Nicolas Batum and the team moving forward after his contract extension, and landing J.J. Hickson.
• In response to a report that Stephen Curry will sit out the rest of pre-season, Tim Kawakami of the Mercury News tweets that Curry's long-term extension talks with the Warriors are on hold. 

As we heard earlier today, the NCAA is investigating agent Rich Paul and Myck Kabongo regarding a trip the Texas guard took to Cleveland this summer. Cavaliers big man Tristan Thompson, who is represented by Paul, was involved in Kabongo's trip, but doesn't think any NCAA rules were violated, as Jason Lloyd of the Akron Beacon Journal writes (on Sulia).

"I had to pay for it, but then his brother reimbursed me, which is totally fine with the NCAA," Thompson said. "I think everything will work out. I don't see no eligibility issues, but that's for the NCAA to figure out."

Here are a few more Thursday notes related to the Cavs:

• Jon Leuer doesn't appear to be in jeopardy of not making Cleveland's regular season roster, though he may face an uphill battle for minutes, says Bob Finnan of the News Herald.
• Leuer was traded by the Bucks this summer, waived by the Rockets, and eventually claimed by the Cavs on waivers, and says he was caught off guard by all the movement: "I didn't see that coming at all. Milwaukee needed a center and Houston had a million things going on. It was a pretty crazy offseason, kind of a welcome to the free-agency frenzy for a young player."
• The Cavs have 18 players on their roster and will need to cut three more before the season begins. Finnan expects the team to cut one of Donald Sloan or Jeremy Pargo, and one of Luke Harangody, Luke Walton, and Kevin Jones. It's unclear who the last cut could be -- perhaps Kelenna Azubuike or Micheal Eric. Finnan suggests that Cleveland may also be willing to move Daniel Gibson for a second-round pick.
• As our list of non-guaranteed deals shows, Sloan, who appears to have a leg up on Pargo, is the only Cav under contract without any sort of guarantee. So Cleveland may end up releasing three players who are all owed guaranteed money.

JULY 11, 4:56pm: The Cavs and Harangody have made the signing official, according to Jason Lloyd of the Akron Beacon Journal (Twitter link).

JULY 3, 9:29pm: Cavaliers forward Luke Harangody signed his $1.1MM qualifying offer to stay with the team, tweets Yahoo! Sports columnist Adrian Wojnarowski. In 21 games last season, the 24-year-old averaged 2.9PPG and 2.5RPG. Harangody was acquired by the Cavaliers in a trade from Boston at last year's trade deadline. 

With the NBA's 2012 free agent period just two days away, teams continue to extend qualifying offers to free agents in order to make them restricted. If a qualifying offer is not tendered to a player eligible for restricted free agency, he becomes an unrestricted free agent.

Players who are tendered qualifying offers have the option to accept the one-year contract and hit unrestricted free agency a year from now, but the primary purpose of the offers are to ensure that the player's team can match any offers for him this summer. We'll track today's qualifying offer updates right here, with the latest added to the top of the page....

• The Cavs have made a qualifying offer to Luke Harangody, according to the joint Twitter account of Plain Dealer writers Mary Schmitt Boyer and Jodie Valade. The tender is expected to be around $1.05MM.

Earlier updates:

• The Jazz have tendered Jeremy Evans a qualifying offer, tweets Brian T. Smith of The Salt Lake Tribune. The offer should be about $1.05MM.
• The Bobcats have extended qualifying offers to D.J. Augustin and Derrick Brown, the team announced. Augustin's should be for $4,385,416, with Brown's valued at $1,085,120.
• The Cavs extended a qualifying offer to Alonzo Gee, writes Jason Lloyd of the Akron Beacon Journal. The tender is thought to be $3,342,175.
• The Celtics have extended a qualifying offer to Greg Stiemsma, tweets Chris Forsberg of ESPNBoston.com (Twitter link). It should be worth $1,054,389.
• The Lakers have extended qualifying offers to both Devin Ebanks and Darius Morris, according to Mike Trudell of Lakers.com (via Twitter). 
• Sonny Weems, who spent the season overseas, has received a qualifying offer from the Raptors, tweets Ryan Wolstat of the Toronto Sun. It should be worth about $1.09MM.
• The Grizzlies have extended qualifying offers to Darrell Arthur ($3MM) and Marreese Speights ($4.39MM), tweets Ronald Tillery of the Memphis Commercial Appeal. O.J. Mayo and Lester Hudson did not receive qualifying offers from Memphis.
• The Raptors have tendered Jerryd Bayless a qualifying offer, says SI.com's Zach Lowe. Bayless failed to meet the starter criteria, so he should receive a QO of about $4MM.
• The Pacers have extended qualifying offers to Roy Hibbert, George Hill, and A.J. Price, according to RealGM's transactions log. Hibbert's offer will be for about $4.39MM, Hill's for $2.27MM, and Price's for $1.09MM.
• The Bulls have officially extended Omer Asik a qualifying offer, according to RealGM. It's worth about $2.32MM.
• Courtney Lee has received a qualifying offer from the Rockets, according to RealGM. Since he met the CBA's starter criteria, it should be worth about $4.39MM.
• The Sixers have tendered a qualifying offer to Lavoy Allen, according to RealGM. The 23-year-old should receive an offer worth about $962K.

We'll track the latest notable international and D-League-related transactions right here:

• Luke Harangody has been recalled from the D-League's Canton Charge, the Cavaliers announced today. Harangody was assigned to Canton on the weekend and helped lead the team to its first-ever playoff series victory. However, with the Cavs in need of healthy bodies, Harangody won't be on hand to help the Charge continue their postseason run. Having been assigned to the D-League the maximum three times already this season, the 24-year-old can't be sent down again.
• According to RealGM's transactions log, Jerome Jordan has also been recalled from the D-League, by the Knicks. New York's affiliate, the Erie BayHawks, were eliminated from the D-League playoffs on Monday, in spite of Jordan's 26 points.

Let's catch up on the latest news and happenings from around the league as Sunday's afternoon action gets underway...

• Mark Berman of FOX 26 Sports reports the Rockets have signed Earl Boykins for the remainder of the season.
• The Sixers have reached the do-or-die moment of the season where they are fighting for their playoff lives, writes John Mitchell of the Philadelphia Inquirer.
• Vince Ellis of the Detroit Free Press says Pistons head coach Lawrence Frank is excited for his young players to have the opportunity to further their leadership skills during the NBA Summer League.
• Changes may be coming for the Heat depending on how the team does during the playoffs, suggests Ira Winderman of the South Florida Sun Sentinel.
• According to an official press release from the Cavs, the team has assigned Luke Harangody to the Canton Charge of the D-League after appearing in Saturday night's victory over the Wizards.
• There was no way NBA commissioner David Stern was going to let the city of New Orleans lose another professional basketball team, writes Jimmy Smith of The Times-Picayune.
• Frank DiGiacomo of the New York Daily News says Nets owner Mikhail Prokhorov fully supports forward Kris Humphries as the Russian billionaire ripped rapper Kanye West for stating in a song that he could get Nets minority owner Jay-Z to cut Humphries from the team.

With six more games yet to be played this Saturday evening, let's take a look at the latest news and happenings from around the league before tonight's action gets underway.

• Comcast SportsNet NW's Chris Haynes tweets the Blazers have not yet interviewed the team's acting general manager Chad Buchanan for an opportunity to secure the position for next season and beyond.
• While the Pacers are on track to secure the third seed in the Eastern Conference, the team hasn't enjoyed the same kind of success with selling tickets to home games this season, writes Benjamin Hoffman of The New York Times. Hoffman points to the fact that the Pacers lack a superstar talent like a LeBron James or a Kobe Bryant that helps drive ticket sales. The team's lack of popularity also exists on the road where fans are more likely to be wearing a Reggie Miller jersey than one featuring Danny Granger's name on the back.
• Ira Winderman of the South Florida Sun Sentinel, writing in his mailbag column, believes this offseason will be critical to the Heat's development of Dexter Pittman, Norris Cole and Terrel Harris. The trio will be able to play in the Las Vegas summer league unlike last summer in which the lockout kept basketball from being played in Sin City. Only Cole, as a first-round pick from last year, has a guaranteed contract for next season. 
• The Cavs will send Luke Harangody back to the D-League after tonight's game against the Wizards, reports Mary Schmitt Boyer of The Plain Dealer via Twitter.