2017 Offseason Salary Cap Digest: Cleveland Cavaliers
After the NBA salary cap jumped to unprecedented heights in 2016, it became more challenging for teams to spend enough to surpass the tax line, but the Cavaliers did it with ease. By our count, they’ll have a tax bill of nearly $25MM for the 2016/17 season, and they’re projected to be in tax territory again in ’17/18. That will make it difficult to make major upgrades to the roster, though GM David Griffin has been creative in adding pieces in the past.
Here’s where things currently stand for the Cavaliers financially, as we continue our Offseason Salary Cap Digest series for 2017:
Guaranteed Salary
- LeBron James ($33,285,709)
- Kevin Love ($22,642,350)
- Kyrie Irving ($18,868,626)
- Tristan Thompson ($16,400,000)
- J.R. Smith ($13,760,000)
- Iman Shumpert ($10,337,079)
- Channing Frye ($7,420,912)
- Richard Jefferson ($2,500,000)
- Kay Felder ($456,529) — Partial guarantee. Non-guaranteed portion noted below.1
- Total: $125,671,205
Player Options
- None
Team Options
- None
Non-Guaranteed Salary
- Edy Tavares ($1,471,382)
- Kay Felder ($856,082) — Partial guarantee. Guaranteed portion noted above.1
- Total: $2,327,464
Restricted Free Agents
- None
Cap Holds
- Kyle Korver ($9,954,930)
- Dahntay Jones ($1,471,382)
- James Jones ($1,471,382)
- Deron Williams ($1,471,382)
- Derrick Williams ($1,471,382)
- Total: $15,840,458
Trade Exceptions
- Mike Dunleavy TPE ($4,837,500) — Expires 1/17/18
- Mo Williams TPE ($2,194,500) — Expires 1/7/18
- Sasha Kaun TPE ($1,333,420) — Expires 7/15/17
- Chris Andersen TPE ($980,431) — Expires 2/13/18
Projected Salary Cap: $101,000,000
Maximum Cap Room: –$27,933,665
- The Cavaliers’ eight guaranteed contracts, plus four cap charges for empty roster spots, bring the total team salary to $128,933,665. Considering the luxury tax line is currently projected to be around $121MM, the Cavs have virtually no way to get below the cap this summer unless they gut their roster.
Footnotes:
- Felder’s salary won’t become fully guaranteed until January 10.
Salary information from Basketball Insiders and The Vertical was used in the creation of this post.
Mike Brown Not Expected To Have Interest In OSU Job
Creighton head coach Greg McDermott has reportedly turned down an opportunity to become Ohio State’s new coach, which means the Buckeyes are still looking for someone to fill the position. According to Adrian Wojnarowski of The Vertical (via Twitter), Warriors assistant Mike Brown is on Ohio State’s radar as a potential candidate.
Despite the program’s interest in Brown, no contact has been made, and Wojnarowski hears that NCAA basketball doesn’t really intrigue Brown for now (Twitter link). As Wojnarowski points out, Brown has one of the NBA’s best coaching jobs as Golden State’s top assistant (and acting head coach, when necessary) and isn’t lacking for money, having worked as a head coach for multiple NBA teams.
Brown was born in Columbus, Ohio and coached the Cavs for several years, so he has ties to the area and makes sense as a potential target for OSU. However, he’s “incredibly happy” with the Warriors, tweets Anthony Slater of The San Jose Mercury News.
Ohio State parted ways with longtime head coach Thad Matta earlier this week and has been seeking a replacement. Bulls head coach Fred Hoiberg was reportedly among the school’s targets, but like Brown, he’s not believed to have interest in the position.
Community Shootaround: LeBron James’ Future
The Cavaliers are one game away from being swept by the Warriors, and Chris Mannix of The Vertical makes the case that Cleveland won’t have a legit chance to knock off Golden State anytime soon. In fact, Mannix suggests that if they hadn’t won last year’s Finals, the Cavs would likely be headed for a Buffalo Bills-esque run — good enough to come out of their conference, but not to win the championship.
With that in mind, Kevin O’Connor of The Ringer explores the idea that LeBron’s second stint in Cleveland may not be permanent. James came back to the Cavs with a goal of bringing a title to Cleveland, and did so last year, meaning there likely wouldn’t be as much animosity if elected to take his talents elsewhere for a second time.
According to O’Connor, there are rumblings around the NBA about the possibility of LeBron heading out west when he becomes eligible to opt out of his contract in 2018. Multiple league sources that spoke to O’Connor suggests that Los Angeles is a potential destination for the reigning Finals MVP, with both the Lakers or Clippers as viable possibilities.
O’Connor lays out both of those hypothetical scenarios, writing that LeBron could theoretically team with Lonzo Ball, Brandon Ingram, and Paul George for the Lakers, or with his “Banana Boat” friends – Dwyane Wade, Chris Paul, and Carmelo Anthony – for the Clippers.
At this point, both of those outcomes seem like long shots. Either L.A. team would have to complete a series of challenging roster moves to put together the groups O’Connor mentions, and there’s certainly no guarantee that LeBron will leave Cleveland anyway when he has the opportunity to reach free agency next summer. Heading west also wouldn’t necessarily improve his chances of toppling the Warriors, since he’d be in their division rather than in another conference.
Still, with the Cavs on the verge of defeat in this year’s Finals, it’s an interesting subject of speculation. What do you think? Will LeBron finish his career with the Cavaliers, or do you expect to see him eventually change teams again? If he heads elsewhere, are the Lakers and Clippers the most likely landing spots?
Weigh in below in the comments section with your thoughts!
Pistons Notes: Downtown Move, Kennard, FA Workouts
The Detroit City Council voted on Tuesday in favor of several key agreements related to the Pistons’ move downtown, as Christine Ferretti and Jennifer Chambers of The Detroit News report. However, while Tuesday’s votes finalized approvals for the Pistons’ new practice facility and headquarters, there are more roadblocks that will need to be cleared before the club’s move to the Little Caesars arena is fully approved.
On June 20, the Detroit city council is scheduled to vote on the issuance of $34.5MM in proposed taxpayer-funded DDA bonds. Shortly after Tuesday’s city council session took place though, a federal judge granted a June 19 lawsuit that seeks to halt that June 20 vote, per Louis Aguilar of The Detroit News. As Aguilar explains, that lawsuit seeks to allow Detroit and Wayne County residents to vote on whether taxpayer money should be put toward the new arena and team facilities.
As the Pistons wait for resolution to the legal battle over their potential new arena, here are a few more items related to the team:
- Duke sharpshooter Luke Kennard has been linked to the Pistons frequently in mock drafts, and the team will get a first-hand look at him on Saturday, according to Vince Ellis of The Detroit Free Press. Ellis reports that Kennard, Harry Giles, and John Collins – all viewed as first-round prospects – will be visiting Detroit in the coming days.
- The Pistons also brought in a handful of interesting prospects on Tuesday, including Bam Adebayo, Ivan Rabb, Justin Jackson, Andrew White, James Blackmon Jr., and Isaiah Briscoe (Twitter link via Rod Beard of The Detroit News). According to Keith Langlois of Pistons.com (Twitter link), Rabb is battling an injury and didn’t participate in Detroit’s workout.
- In addition to checking out potential draft targets this week, the Pistons also had a number of free agents in for a mini-camp. Beard (via Twitter) has the full list of participants, which includes former NBAers such as Marcus Thornton, Henry Sims, John Jenkins, Pierre Jackson, Manny Harris, Ben Bentil, and Eric Moreland.
Western Notes: Warriors, Lakers, Mavs, Spurs
In the wake of the Warriors‘ Game 3 win over the Cavaliers, Cleveland may have to face the harsh reality that there will be no stopping Golden State for the next few years, writes Chris Mannix of The Vertical. As Mannix explains, there aren’t many obvious routes the Cavs can take to upgrade their roster, and the Warriors should have no trouble attracting ring-chasing veterans every year — this season, productive vets like David West and Zaza Pachulia were willing to take reduced salaries to join the Dubs.
Meanwhile, fans of rival teams may hope that the Warriors’ four core players get too expensive for the team to keep them all, but that’s unlikely to happen anytime soon. Klay Thompson has been the star most frequently cited as the potential victim of a Warriors cap crunch, and acknowledged to Mannix that he has thought about one day being the face of another franchise. However, he added: “It’s just winning is so much fun.”
Here’s more from around the Western Conference:
- In an interesting and informative Lakers notebook for Bleacher Report, Eric Pincus outlines the team’s best route to landing Paul George and lists all the draft prospects that have met with and worked out for the Lakers within the past few weeks.
- Speaking of Lakers pre-draft workouts, De’Aaron Fox‘s meeting with the team is scheduled to take place on June 13, league sources tells Mark Medina of InsideSoCal.com. Lonzo Ball is considered the odds-on favorite to be drafted second overall by Los Angeles, but Fox remains in the mix.
- Eddie Sefko of The Dallas Morning News identifies five realistic free agent targets for the Mavericks, including three notable point guards.
- Utah’s Kyle Kuzma and BYU’s Eric Mika are among the prospects who have worked out for the Spurs this week, as Jabari Young of The San Antonio Express-News tweets. Kuzma, ranked as this year’s 42nd-best prospect by DraftExpress, could be a target for San Antonio with the No. 29 overall pick — or at No. 59, if he falls.
Draft Notes: Monk, Wolves, Bell, Knicks
Selecting Malik Monk is the Sixers‘ best option at No. 3, Bob Ford of the Philadelphia Inquirer contends. While taking Monk so high may be considered a reach, Ford doesn’t see it that way. He argues that front office should disregard expert rankings and pick the player who would fit in best with the team.
Only five teams were worse than the Sixers from long-range last season, as I mentioned in the franchise’s offseason preview. The Sixers’ greatness need may be shooting and Monk, who Jonathan Givony of Draft Express ranks as the eighth best prospect in the draft, made 39.7% of his attempts from behind the arc during his lone season in Kentucky.
Here’s more on the upcoming draft:
- Wolves coach Tom Thibodeau said other teams have been trying to acquire the No. 7 overall pick, ESPN’s Nick Friedell tweets. Thibs added that he believes there will be high demand for many picks in the draft.
- Jordan Bell had an impressive workout with the Sixers, according to Keith Pompey of the Philadelphia Inquirer. “For a Dennis Rodman-like player who has the ability to play across a few positions, mainly defensively, we sat with him, had a great interview as we’ve learned more about him,” Sixers executive Brandon Williams said. If Bell falls in the draft, Philadelphia could be a team to watch out for since it has four selections in the second round.
- The Knicks worked out Ike Iroegbu and Trevor Thompson, Marc Berman of the New York Post passes along (Twitter link).
- Elie Okobo worked out for the Sixers today, Jessica Camerato of Comcast Sports relays (Twitter link). Okobo previously worked out for the Jazz and he plans to meet with the Nets and Hawks.
Fred Hoiberg Has “No Interest” In Ohio State Job
Fred Hoiberg was linked to the recently vacated Ohio State heading coach job, but sources tell Vincent Goodwill of Comcast Sportsnet that the coach has “no interest” in the position.
Hoiberg previously spent five seasons as the head coach at Iowa State and it would seem natural to connect the dots between him and a major opening, such as the one at Ohio State. However, it appears he wants to remain with the Bulls, a franchise with which he’s under contract for the next three seasons.
Bulls executive John Paxson said that the team wants Hoiberg back during an end-of-season press conference. Hoiberg wasn’t able to take Chicago past the first-round of this year’s playoffs, but Paxson believes that has more to do with a lack of shooting than it does with the coach.
Workout Notes: Nets, Bulls, Evans, Dorsey
The Nets worked out several prospects today, according to Michael Scotto of Basketball Insiders (Twitter link). Jaron Blossomgame, Devin Robinson, Wesley Iwundu, Damyean Dotson, London Perrantes and Tarik Phillip all participated in drills for Brooklyn.
There’s more news on prospects meeting with teams. Here’s the latest:
- The Bulls had Luke Kennard, Shane Hammink, Isaiah Briscoe and Isaiah Hicks in for a workout today, Scotto tweets. Chicago owns the No. 16 and No. 38 overall draft selections.
- Jawun Evans will work out for the Blazers on Thursday and the Thunder on Friday, according to Scotto (Twitter link). The scribe adds that Evans will meet with the Jazz on Saturday.
- Tyler Dorsey worked out for the Sixers today, Jessica Camerato of Comcast Sportsnet tweets. Dorsey will also work out for the Blazers, Kings, Pelicans, Hornets, and Spurs before the June 22 draft.
- Sindarius Thornwell, Dotson, P.J. Dozier, Johnathan Motley, Semi Ojeleye and L.J. Rose will all work out for the Lakers on Friday, Brad Turner of the Los Angeles Times relays (Twitter link).
Fred Hoiberg Emerging As Serious Candidate For Ohio State Job
Ohio State recently let go longtime coach Thad Matta and Gary Parrish of CBS Sports tweets that Fred Hoiberg is emerging as a serious candidate for the opening.
Hoiberg joined the Bulls’ sideline on a five-year deal during the 2015 offseason and the results have varied. He owns a record of 83-81 with the club, making the playoffs for the first time during this past season.
Earlier in the season, it appeared Hoiberg was losing the team. He clashed with Rajon Rondo, and other veterans, such as Jimmy Butler and Dwyane Wade, were reportedly tuning him out. However, after Chicago lost the final four games of its series with Boston, the veterans appeared to support their coach with Wade publicly standing up for his coach.
“I definitely believe [Hoiberg] got better throughout this year,” Wade said in response to fans calling for Hoiberg to be fired. “And I think you have more a grasp moving forward with what he wants to do with this team. You have to give people a chance.’’
Hoiberg coached in the college ranks from 2010 until 2015 at Iowa State University. He compiled a record of 115-56 during his time at the program.
Lakers Draft Notes: Ball, Jackson, Fox
Lonzo Ball worked out for the Lakers earlier today and he reiterated his desire to don the purple and gold, calling Los Angeles “home,” as Jeff Goodman of ESPN.com relays. The UCLA product added that he’d be comfortable playing for any team should the Lakers pass on him. “I’ll go to any team and just do what I do,” Ball said. “Play basketball.”
Today’s workout could be the first of several since the team would like to get more familiar with Ball’s unorthodox shooting form, according to Goodman. Multiple sources tell Goodman that despite the scrutiny of Ball’s shot, the point guard remains the favorite to go No. 2.
Ball believes his workout went well and he told reporters why L.A. should take him. “They need a leader,” Ball said. “They need a point guard. I feel like I can fill that hole.”
Here’s more from Los Angeles:
- Chad Ford of ESPN.com cautions that Ball to the Lakers is not a done deal and notes that a trade involving the No. 2 overall pick remains a possibility. Los Angeles isn’t going to mortgage the future for instant success, but Ford writes that the front office would like to start winning again “sooner than later.”
- Some within the Lakers’ front office are strong supporters of Josh Jackson with the feeling that the small forward’s defense would fit in well with the team, Ford writes in the same piece.
- Ford adds (same piece) that the team took notice of how De’Aaron Fox outplayed Ball in their NCAA Tournament matchup and the scribe pegs the odds of L.A. selecting Fox at 25%. He adds that Fox, Jackson, and Ball all have workouts with the team this week and those will all have an impact on the team’s decision.
- D’Angelo Russell would be an excellent fit next to Ball, Kevin Pelton contends in that same piece. Pelton cautions that it wouldn’t be great backcourt defensively, but it could work on the other end because of each guard’s ability to spread the floor.