Cavaliers Notes: Williams, Love, Wiggins
Mo Williams‘ salary makes him a possible trade target for Cleveland, speculates Jason Lloyd of The Akron Beacon-Journal. The Wolves are reportedly willing to move the veteran in exchange for a draft pick, and the Cavaliers’ need for a backup point guard makes a return to Cleveland conceivable. Lloyd writes that the Cavs are focused on acquiring players making no more than $4MM, and Williams’ current salary is $3.75MM with a contract that expires in July. However, he cautions that the Cavaliers are low on draft picks until 2018 and that a reunion of Williams and LeBron James could be dicey.
There’s much more from Cleveland:
- Kevin Love may have struggled during his first half-season in Cleveland, but the Cavs made the right decision to deal for him, Lloyd contends in a separate article. Love has become the third option in the Cavaliers’ offense. His scoring is down nearly nine points per game from last season and he rarely touches the ball in the fourth quarter. But Lloyd argues that Love’s rebounding and floor spacing are valuable assets and that the only way the trade could be considered disastrous is if Love leaves Cleveland as a free agent in July.
- Andrew Wiggins, the centerpiece in the deal that brought Love to Cleveland, told Sam Amico of Fox Sports Ohio that things are working out well for him in Minnesota. Wiggins was the first pick in the 2014 NBA draft and expected to remain in Cleveland until Love became available late in the summer. “God does things, works in mysterious ways and I feel like this is the best spot for me,” Wiggins said. “I feel like I’ve grown a lot more here than I would’ve there.”
- Love got a much warmer welcome than he expected in his first game back at Minnesota Saturday night, reports Chris Haynes of the Northeast Ohio Media Group. Love, who spent six years with the Wolves before an offseason trade to Cleveland, had 14 points and 17 rebounds in the Cavaliers’ victory. “Truth be told, I thought it was a pretty good reception,” said Love, who had made it clear before the trade that he was unlikely to re-sign with the Wolves.
Eastern Notes: Pistons, Young, Celtics, Heat
The Pistons are still searching for a third point guard after the season ending injury to Brandon Jennings, but with about two and a half weeks until the trade deadline, the team wants to remain as flexible as possible just in case it can find a trade partner, writes David Mayo of Mlive.com. “We could do two 10-days, and then if nothing materializes, we’ve got a guy who’s been with us for three weeks,” team president Stan Van Gundy said. “And if something does, then we make a move. That’s part of the timing issue.” Mayo identifies Norris Cole of the Heat as a potential trade target that makes sense. The Pistons were one of the teams interested in Cole, and our own Chuck Myron examined the point guard as a trade candidate earlier in the week.
Here’s more from the Eastern Conference:
- The Celtics on Saturday assigned James Young to their D-League affiliate, the Maine Red Claws, according to the team’s twitter feed. Young has already appeared in eight games for the Red Claws, averaging 22.4 points per game while shooting 47.9% from three point range.
- Going into the season, the Celtics didn’t expect to contend for a playoff berth, but president of basketball operations Danny Ainge would love to make the playoffs as long as the team keeps improving, writes Kevin O’Connor of SB Nation. “I would love to see our team in the playoffs, but I don’t want to see us back into the playoffs with a really bad record and not even have a fighting chance. If our team can keep getting better by developing, if we can make some deals at the trade deadline that put us in position to actually get into the playoffs and have a chance to win a playoff series, I think that would be a lot of fun,” Ainge said. Boston is unlikely to make any moves that sacrifice the future in order to climb up the standings this season.
- The Heat, with a record of 20-26, remain a good bet to make the playoffs thanks to the improved play of Hassan Whiteside, writes Ira Winderman of the Sun Sentinel. Winderman argues that Whiteside has nearly become irreplaceable for Miami and with Dwyane Wade‘s recent injury, the center may take on an even bigger role. The 25-year-old has 15.3 points, 17.7 rebounds and 4.3 blocks in just 29.8 minutes per game over his last three contests.