A report on Monday suggested that a buyout is becoming more likely than a trade for Cavaliers center JaVale McGee, but Chris Fedor of Cleveland.com disputes that notion.
While McGee could be on the move in a trade, it also wouldn’t be a surprise if he remains in Cleveland beyond Thursday’s deadline, according to Fedor. And in that scenario, the Cavaliers wouldn’t be interested in a buyout, multiple sources tell Fedor, who says the team’s plan is to either trade or keep McGee.
If potential suitors believe McGee could get bought out, it would significantly impact the Cavs’ leverage in trade talks, so it’s fair to be skeptical of this report. On the other hand though, Cleveland hasn’t given up on pushing for a postseason play-in spot and McGee is the team’s primary backup center, so the team won’t be eager to hand him to a contender just to save a small amount of money.
We also saw last year with Tristan Thompson that the Cavs are willing to play out the string with a veteran buyout candidate, even if he ends up eventually walking in unrestricted free agency.
Here’s more on the Cavs:
- Taurean Prince, who has appeared in just two games since February 15, is dealing with what’s been diagnosed as a left shoulder sprain. He’s attempting to rehab the injury, but may ultimately require surgery, sources tell Joe Vardon of The Athletic. That will complicate any efforts the Cavs make to trade him before this week’s deadline.
- Besides Andre Drummond‘s pricey salary, there may be some “reputational concerns” hindering the Cavs’ ability to trade him, according to Vardon. Before the Cavs benched Drummond for good, they asked him multiple times to accept a role reduction and/or to come off the bench, and he refused, Vardon continues. Teams will still be interested in the veteran center if he reaches the buyout market, so it’s not as if his attitude is a deal-breaker, per Vardon, but it’s another obstacle in Cleveland’s attempts to make a trade.
- Be sure to check out our Cavs team page for all the latest updates on the club, including Quinn Cook signing a second 10-day contract and the Warriors reportedly inquiring on Cedi Osman.
Many years from now, when JaVale McGee passes on, I think he should have a motion sensor ringtone on his head stone so every person that walks by hears Shaq saying JAVALE MCGEE.
The Cavs are going to sit on McGee after the deadline? Ya right.
And Drummond doesn’t want to play a role? Why did Cleveland trade for him in the first place?
The Cavs front office seems lost.
Guys not wanting to stay in Cleveland. Is this an attitude or reputational concern? When is it on the ball club a little
“they asked him multiple times to accept a role reduction and/or to come off the bench, and he refused.”
Then they should have the right to suspend him without pay for insubordination. Even if you a millionaire, the people that give you money still have the right to tell you what to do. If you choose not to do it, they should have the right to stop giving you money. This guy is going to get rewarded with a buyout after sitting out and getting paid for not doing what he was asked to do. How can anyone defend that system?
They *do* have that right, but they’ll need to slug it out with the player’s union to make it stick.
More importantly, the Cavs won’t discipline a player they’re trying to trade because it will hurt his trade value.
And what do you mean “rewarded” with a buyout? He’s going to have to give back money he is owed to get Cleveland to agree to a buyout. It’s not a reward, it’s a pay cut.
Not a pay cut. It would only be a pay cut if Cleveland cut his pay and still required him to work. Instead they are paying him to do NOTHING. That is not a pay cut. If anything it is severance pay.
With a contract with guaranteed payments as opposed to salary, that money belongs to the player. Yes, it’s in return for service, but you would need to go into litigation to prove the player has violated his contract, unless they reach a settlement, aka “buy-out.” In a typical legal settlement, neither party admits wrongdoing, so it’s not equivalent to being fired or disciplined for cause.
The money doesn’t belong to the player until it is paid. Players forfeit salary in the event of suspensions. It is true that they can still get paid by not playing through injury or the team just deciding not to play them for whatever reason. But if a player is suspended by the league or the team, he forfeits that payment. So it is still a salary.
That’s Cleveland’s fault for sitting him, it’s not like he demanded to be traded. So they are choosing to pay him for nothing.
If the report is true, they sat him because he had a bad attitude and chose to not listen to his coaches. I would want that player away from the team as well, even if I did still have to pay him. Even if do believe they shouldn’t have to pay him in that instance.
So if the report is true, it’s not Cleveland’s fault, it is Drummond’s. His decisions are what got him sat down. Cleveland really had no choice unless they wanted the entire team to implode.
Oh boy! hiflew are you tellin’ me CLE hasn’t implode?
Boy oh boy! Can’t wait to see what is implodin’ for them, right?
I mean I would be upset if I was Dre & they cut my role down so they can play a lesser player than me, kind of sucks, don’t you agree?
BTW he never asked to play in CLE, that wasn’t his choice, so he mustn’t be expected to like it there or to be committed to a team for which he never signed for, right?
‘This guy is going to get rewarded with a buyout after sitting out’
A buyout means he will be given far less money than he is owed. Isn’t that what you’re advocating for as a punishment? How is it a ‘reward’ to receive a fraction of the money you’re owed as stipulated by your contract?
The reward means he gets money for sitting out, instead of not getting money for being suspended for not following orders. It is a reward when you get money for not doing work. Even if it is less than his contract specified, he is still receiving money for not doing the work required by the contract. How is that not a reward?
And buyouts are hardly “a fraction” of the money owed. Most of the time they get the entire amount minus the money they will sign with a new team for. Blake Griffin was an exception just because he was a 2 year buyout, not 1.