Cavaliers Notes: Deadline Deals, Wade, LeBron
No NBA team overhauled its roster at the trade deadline more drastically than the Cavaliers, who shipped out six current or former rotation players: Isaiah Thomas, Derrick Rose, Dwyane Wade, Jae Crowder, Iman Shumpert, and Channing Frye.
According to general manager Koby Altman, all those deadline deals were as much about repairing the culture in Cleveland as they were about seeking better on-court results. “We were really worried that what was going on on the floor and sort of our culture in the building that we were marching a slow death and we didn’t want to be a part of that,” Altman said on Thursday, per Joe Vardon of Cleveland.com.
Acknowledging that the veteran players acquired in last summer’s Kyrie Irving trade never really fit in Cleveland, Altman said that those pieces still had enough value to allow the team to go out and acquire players it liked. Altman also hopes Thursday’s deals will re-energize his star player, LeBron James, who has been visibly frustrated this season.
“I don’t want to say he didn’t believe in this group and want to be careful in saying that because he’s going to compete every night and try to get whatever teams he’s on to the Finals,” Altman said of James, per Dave McMenamin of ESPN. “But I wanted to see a renewed sense of joy in him, and being around him the last 24 hours has been great.”
Here’s more from out of Cleveland:
- Here’s Altman on the motivation behind the Wade trade with the Heat, according to Chris Fedor of Cleveland.com: “As I started to get closer to deals to bring back youthful wings that I wanted to see play right away, I realized that this was going to be a role for Wade where minutes are going to be reduced, and reduced, and reduced. … I said, ‘Is this fair for Dwyane? Is this something that he signed up for?’ And so, we explored that with Miami. I wanted to make sure that I talked to LeBron about that. Because Dwyane did come in large part because of LeBron, and because of the situation here. And we wanted to give Dwyane the option. ‘Do you want to be a part of this? No one’s telling you that you have to go by any means, but, we want to give you a chance to go home.’ I think he and his representation were very, very appreciative of that.”
- While LeBron hasn’t spoken publicly about the Cavs’ deadline deals, multiple reports suggest that he’s on board with the moves. One league source called the moves “win-win” in terms of competing now and constructing a roster built for long-term success, per Vardon. Meanwhile, Sam Amick of USA Today writes that the “behind-the-scenes reaction from James’ inner circle was a resounding thumbs-up.”
- LeBron didn’t commit to the Cavs beyond this year before the team completed its series of moves, according to Vardon, who adds that Altman and owner Dan Gilbert didn’t ask the four-time MVP for that sort of commitment.
- One league executive who spoke to Sean Deveney of The Sporting News believes the Cavs significantly improved their chances of re-signing James this offseason as a result of their deadline-day trades. “Even if they don’t win this year, they’ve given themselves room to grow,” that exec told Deveney.
- ESPN’s Zach Lowe takes an in-depth look at the Cavaliers’ deadline, and is generally in favor of the team’s moves, questioning only the decision to give up a first-round pick while taking on Jordan Clarkson in the swap with the Lakers. Citing league sources, Lowe also notes that the Cavs wouldn’t have been able to acquire Avery Bradley from the Clippers without surrendering a first-round pick.
Mavs Don’t Plan To Buy Out Nerlens Noel
After keeping him on their roster through the trade deadline, the Mavericks have no plans to buy out Nerlens Noel in the coming weeks, according to Marc Stein of The New York Times (via Twitter).
So far, Noel’s stint in Dallas hasn’t worked out like he or the team had hoped. Acquired in a deadline deal a year ago, the 23-year-old was solid down the stretch last season for the Mavs, but had a frustrating free agency in which he turned down a lucrative multiyear deal and ended up signing his one-year qualifying offer, worth $4.19MM.
Noel hoped a big 2017/18 season would allow him to cash in as an unrestricted free agent in 2018, but he has been slowed by injuries, and has played sparingly even when healthy, averaging 4.0 PPG and 4.1 RPG in 18 games (12.5 MPG).
While a buyout would make some sense, given Noel’s struggles in Dallas and his expiring contract, it doesn’t appear to be in the cards. A thumb injury continues to keep Noel on the shelf for now, but according to Stein, the Mavs are hopeful that the young center will be able to get back on the court after the All-Star break. At that point, the club will take another shot at getting him regular minutes and establishing a role for him, Stein adds.
2018 NBA Trade Deadline Recap
After weeks of speculation suggesting that it might be a quiet 2018 trade deadline, we got a pretty eventful day in terms of deals completed — NBA teams agreed to 12 trades today, after four others had been finalized in the 10 days leading up to the deadline.
The deadline was still quiet on some fronts, with contenders like the Warriors, Celtics, Rockets, and Raptors staying out of the fray, but the Cavaliers underwent one of the biggest single-day overhauls in years, and last week’s Blake Griffin trade was a bona fide blockbuster.
Our recap of all of 2018’s deadline deals can be found below, starting with the moves completed today…
Trades completed on deadline day:
- Lakers acquire Isaiah Thomas, Channing Frye, and the Cavaliers’ 2018 first-round pick (top-3 protected).
- Cavaliers acquire Jordan Clarkson and Larry Nance Jr.
- Cavaliers acquire George Hill, Rodney Hood, and the draft rights to Arturas Gudaitis.
- Jazz acquire Jae Crowder, Derrick Rose, and the right to swap 2024 second-round picks with the Cavaliers.
- Kings acquire Iman Shumpert, Joe Johnson, the Heat’s 2020 second-round pick (from Cavaliers), cash ($2.1MM from Cavaliers; $1.1MM from Jazz), and the draft rights to Dimitrios Agravanis.
- Heat acquire Dwyane Wade.
- Cavaliers acquire a 2024 second-round pick (heavily protected).
- Knicks acquire Emmanuel Mudiay.
- Nuggets acquire Devin Harris and the less favorable of the Clippers’ and Knicks’ 2018 second-round picks (from Knicks).
- Mavericks acquire Doug McDermott and the less favorable of the Kings’ and Trail Blazers’ 2018 second-round picks (from Nuggets).
- Suns acquire Elfrid Payton.
- Magic acquire the second-most favorable of the Grizzlies’, Hornets’, and Heat’s 2018 second-round picks.
- Pistons acquire James Ennis.
- Grizzlies acquire Brice Johnson and the less favorable of the Bulls’ and Pistons’ 2022 second-round picks.
- Pistons acquire Jameer Nelson.
- Bulls acquire Willie Reed and the right to swap 2022 second-round picks with the Pistons.
- Heat acquire Luke Babbitt.
- Hawks acquire Okaro White.
- Bulls acquire Noah Vonleh and cash.
- Trail Blazers acquire the draft rights to Milovan Rakovic.
- Nets acquire Dante Cunningham.
- Pelicans acquire Rashad Vaughn.
- Hawks acquire Sheldon Mac and cash.
- Wizards acquire a 2019 second-round pick (heavily protected).
- Kings acquire Bruno Caboclo.
- Raptors acquire Malachi Richardson.
Trades completed in the 10 days leading up to the deadline:
- Hornets acquire Willy Hernangomez.
- Knicks acquire Johnny O’Bryant, the Hornets 2020 second-round pick, and the Hornets’ 2021 second-round pick.
- Bucks acquire Tyler Zeller.
- Nets acquire Rashad Vaughn and the Bucks’ 2018 second-round pick (if it falls between 31-47).
- Pelicans acquire Nikola Mirotic and their own 2018 second-round pick (previously sent to Bulls).
- Bulls acquire Omer Asik, Tony Allen, Jameer Nelson, the Pelicans’ 2018 first-round pick (top-5 protected), and the right to swap 2021 second-round picks with the Pelicans.
- Pistons acquire Blake Griffin, Willie Reed, and Brice Johnson.
- Clippers acquire Tobias Harris, Avery Bradley, Boban Marjanovic, the Pistons’ 2018 first-round pick (top-4 protected), and a 2019 second-round pick.
Atlantic Notes: Mudiay, Ntilikina, Bruno, Ainge
The Knicks were interested in both Emmanuel Mudiay and Elfrid Payton as minutes winded down to the trade deadline and the team ultimately decided to swing a deal for Mudiay. Both former lottery pick point guards have been disappointments but Mudiay may have been the more sensible target for the Knicks, Marc Berman of the New York Post writes.
While Mudiay and Payton both come with some downside, they are also both still young and possess talent. Berman quotes two executives who believe Mudiay — who is still under contract for one additional season beyond 2017/18 — is a better fit for the Knicks. The Knicks also gave up Doug McDermott, who was not in New York’s future plans, Berman notes.
In 42 games this season, Mudiay has averaged 8.5 PPG and 2.9 APG.
Check out other Knicks news below:
- While adding another young point guard could be interpreted as the Knicks losing faith in Frank Ntilikina, he is not worried about the acquisition, Newsday’s Al Iannazzone writes. Ntilikina views the addition of Mudiay as a positive that will benefit both sides. We’re not competing against each other,” Ntilikina said. “We’re going to bring each other to the top to make the Knicks a competitive team. We can both play with the ball, we can both play off the ball, so it might be great for us.”
- The Raptors‘ trade of Bruno Caboclo to the Kings for Malachi Richardson may not be a major deal on a blockbuster deadline day but it has salary cap implications, Josh Lewenberg of TSN writes. Trading Caboclo sheds nearly $1MM in salary, which gives Toronto flexibility to fill its 15th roster spot without going over the tax line.
- Despite numerous rumors entering the deadline, the Celtics ultimately kept Marcus Smart. Greg Monroe‘s deal with Boston also became official and the chase for Eastern Conference supremacy continues. Adam Himmelsbach of the Boston Globe spoke to general manager Danny Ainge about the deadline, Smart staying in Boston, and the team’s future — including plans to explore the buyout market.
Kings, Raptors Swap Malachi Richardson, Bruno Caboclo
9:29pm: The Kings have officially acquired Caboclo for Richardson, the team announced in a press release.
4:51pm: The Kings have changed course and will now keep Caboclo on their roster, tweets Sean Cunningham of ABC 10 Sacramento. The Kings are waiving Georgios Papagiannis to clear the roster spot necessary for their other trade.
1:04pm: The Kings plan to release Caboclo once the trade is complete, tweets Jason Jones of The Sacramento Bee.
Sacramento will still owe him the rest of his $2.45MM salary for this season, but the Kings need to open a roster spot to complete a deal with Cleveland and Utah that brings in Iman Shumpert and Joe Johnson while sending out George Hill. Sacramento also gets rid of the nearly $1.6MM Richardson is owed next season, along with future options on his rookie contract.
12:32pm: The Raptors and Kings are finalizing a deal to swap Bruno Caboclo for Malachi Richardson, tweets Shams Charania of Yahoo Sports.
A first-round pick in 2016, Richardson has been somewhat of a disappointment in Sacramento after being acquired in a draft-night trade. He has played just 47 games in a season and a half and is averaging 3.5 points while shooting .365 from the field and .299 from 3-point range.
Toronto also had high hopes for Caboclo when it made him the 20th pick in the 2014 draft, but he has spent almost his entire career in the G League. He has played just 25 games at the NBA level, including two this season.
The Raptors save close $1MM in the deal, which was made to provide more flexibility in the buyout market, tweets Josh Lewenberg of TSN.
NBA G League Assignments/Recalls: 2/8/18
Here are Thursday’s G League assignments and recalls from around the NBA.
- The Lakers recalled center Thomas Bryant from the South Bay Lakers, according to the G League team’s Twitter feed. Bryant has appeared in 23 games with South Bay, averaging 19.2 PPG and 7.0 RPG.
Kings Waive Georgios Papagiannis
8:54pm: Now that the Kings’ three-team trade with the Cavs and Jazz is complete, Papagiannis’ release has been made official as well, the team confirmed in a press release.
4:03pm: After exploring the trade market and not finding a deal, the Kings intend to waive former lottery pick Georgios Papagiannis, according to Shams Charania of Yahoo Sports (Twitter link).
Papagiannis, a 7’1″ center, was selected by the Kings with the 13th overall pick in the 2016 draft after the team traded down from No. 8. It was a surprising pick at the time, and Papagiannis’ play in his first season and a half in the NBA didn’t exactly vindicate Sacramento’s choice.
In 38 career contests, Papagiannis has averaged 4.2 PPG and 3.2 RPG. The big man appears to have taken a step back this season, having seen his FG% dip to just .415. Of course, the sample size is small — Papagiannis has averaged just 7.4 minutes per game in 16 contests.
Any team with interest in claiming Papagiannis off waivers would need cap room or an exception to absorb his $2,301,360 salary for this season. He also has a guaranteed $2,400,480 salary for 2018/19, with a $3,430,286 team option for 2019/20.
The Kings already parted with one 2016 first-round pick earlier today, agreeing to send Malachi Richardson to Toronto in a trade with the Raptors. Sacramento acquired Bruno Caboclo in that deal and was reportedly set to waive him to clear the room necessary to take on two players for George Hill in another trade. With Papagiannis now on his way out, it’s not clear if the Kings will still waive Caboclo too. (Update: They don’t plan to.)
Suns Waive Isaiah Canaan
8:50pm: The Suns have officially waived Canaan, the team announced today in a press release.
“We still consider Isaiah to be a member of the Phoenix Suns family,” GM Ryan McDonough said in a press release. “In speaking with Isaiah and his agent, we are fully committed to doing everything we can to help him with his rehab and recovery from his injury. This move is being made strictly to create a roster spot with Isaiah being out for the remainder of the season.”
4:27pm: The Suns will waive point guard Isaiah Canaan in order to clear a roster spot for newly-acquired point guard Elfrid Payton, tweets Scott Bordow of The Arizona Republic.
[RELATED: Suns to acquire Elfrid Payton from Magic]
Canaan, 26, appeared in 19 games for the Suns, averaging 9.1 PPG and 4.0 APG with a .382/.333/.902 shooting line. However, his season was cut short when he suffered a brutal ankle fracture last week. Canaan immediately underwent surgery to repair the damage, ending his season.
Although the Suns love Canaan as a player and person and wanted to keep him around, they couldn’t justify using one of their 15 roster spots on him for the rest of the season, per Bordow. The veteran guard, who will still receive his full salary for 2017/18 despite being waived, will be an unrestricted free agent at season’s end, so there was little incentive for Phoenix to keep him on the roster.
Canaan’s roster spot has undergone plenty of turnover this season — the Suns waived Mike James in order to create room for Canaan after initially waiving Derrick Jones to open up a spot for James.
Magic Trade Elfrid Payton To Suns
8:41pm: The Magic have officially traded Payton to the Suns, the team announced in a press release. Phoenix waived Isaiah Canaan in order to clear a roster spot for Payton.
2:52pm: Josh Robbins of The Orlando Sentinel clarifies (via Twitter) that the second-round pick the Magic receive in the deal will actually be the second-most favorable of the Grizzlies’, Hornets’, and Heat’s 2018 second-rounders. For now, that would be the Charlotte pick.
1:58pm: The Magic and Suns have agreed to a trade, according to ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski, who reports (via Twitter) that the teams will swap point guard Elfrid Payton for a second-round pick. That pick will be the Grizzlies’ 2018 second-rounder, tweets John Gambadoro of Arizona Sports 98.7.
The deal signals a new start for Payton, who is headed for restricted free agency this summer. His streaky shooting and problems on defense made him expendable, especially as a new regime took over in Orlando’s front office. Payton was having a fine statistical season, averaging 13.0 points, 6.3 assists and 4.0 rebounds per game, but the Magic still aren’t winning and the organization decided to go in a different direction.
He will get a chance to revive his career with the Suns, who have been looking for a new point guard since trading Eric Bledsoe to Milwaukee. Phoenix lost Isaiah Canaan to a broken ankle at the end of January and was down to just one healthy point guard on its roster. The addition of Payton allows Devin Booker to move back to his natural position of shooting guard, adds Scott Bordow of The Arizona Republic (Twitter link).
The Suns reached the salary floor with the move and have $6.9MM in cap space remaining, posts Bobby Marks on ESPN Now. Payton will carry a cap hit of $3.3MM and will be restricted this summer if Phoenix tenders a $4.8MM qualifying offer as expected.
Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.
Pistons Acquire James Ennis From Grizzlies
8:05pm: The Pistons have officially acquired Ennis, the team announced tonight in a press release.
11:44am: The pick included in the deal is for 2022, according to Chris Herrington of The Memphis Commercial Appeal (Twitter link), who adds that the Pistons will use their Disabled Player Exception to accommodate Ennis.
11:29am: The Pistons have acquired James Ennis from the Grizzlies in exchange for Brice Johnson and a second-round pick, tweets Adrian Wojnarowski of ESPN. It’s the same package that Detroit had been rumored to send to New Orleans in exchange for Dante Cunningham.
After a couple of years as a journeyman, Ennis found a home in Memphis over the past two seasons, developing into a regular part of the rotation. The 27-year-old is averaging 6.9 points and 3.5 rebounds through 45 games this season. He has an expiring contract worth a little more than $3MM.
Johnson, 23, was acquired from the Clippers last week in the deal that brought Blake Griffin to Detroit. A first-round pick in 2016, Johnson had yet to suit up for the Pistons and played just nine games in L.A. this season. He is still on his rookie contract and is making a little more than $1.33MM.
Because of the salary discrepancy, the Pistons will have to use either the Disabled Player Exception of $5.2MM they were awarded earlier this week or a $7MM trade exception to take on Ennis’s contract.