Cleveland Cavaliers Rumors | Hoops Rumors

Kyle Korver Re-Signs With Cavaliers

July 12th, 2017 at 7:28pm CST by Arthur Hill

JULY 12, 8:28pm: The signing is official, the Cavaliers announced on their website.

JULY 2, 3:09pm: Kyle Korver has agreed to a new three-year, $22MM contract with the Cavaliers, tweets Shams Charania of The Vertical. The final season is only partially guaranteed, according to Brian Windhorst of ESPN.com (Twitter link).

The 36-year-old came to Cleveland in a January deal and provided a needed outside threat. He averaged 10.7 points in 35 games and shot .485 from 3-point range.

The Cavs acquired Korver’s Bird rights when they brought him over from Atlanta, which is fortunate because they don’t have any available cap room to use to re-sign him. The 14-year veteran will get a nice raise from the little more than $5.2MM he made this season.

Several other teams expressed an interest in Korver, including the Pelicans and Bucks, but he decided to remain with the Eastern Conference champions and take another shot at a ring.

Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.

Community Shootaround: Eastern Conference Favorite

July 11th, 2017 at 6:08pm CST by Joshua Fischman

LeBron James and the Cavaliers have dominated the Eastern Conference playoffs for three consecutive seasons, advancing to the NBA Finals with ease each year. King James himself has represented the East for the past seven seasons in the the league championship.

Last season, however, the Celtics finished with the best record in the conference and have enjoyed a productive offseason. Boston landed prized free agent Gordon Hayward and drafted Jayson Tatum. In addition, Danny Ainge traded for Marcus Morris and signed Aron Baynes. While Boston did trade key two-way player, Avery Bradley, and lost Kelly Olynyk in free agency, the team may be prepared to contend for its first NBA Finals berth since 2010.

For Cleveland’s part, it re-signed Kyle Korver this offseason, inked veteran Jose Calderon to a one-year contract backing up Kyrie Irving at point guard, and brought in another vet in forward Jeff Green. Over their past three Eastern Conference Finals series, the Cavaliers have won 12 of 15 games.

Will the Cavs’ recent playoff domination continue or have the Celtics suddenly emerged as the favorite to represent the East in the Finals? Which team will finish with the better record this season and what, if anything, will home-court advantage mean if the teams face off in the postseason?

We look forward to reading your thoughts in the comments section.

Cavs Sign Jeff Green

July 11th, 2017 at 5:36pm CST by Austin Kent

JULY 11: Jeff Green has officially signed with the Cavaliers, reports Chris Fedor of Cleveland.com. The team announced the signing in a Tuesday evening press release.

JULY 7: The Cavaliers have reached a deal with forward Jeff Green, Jeff Zillgitt of USA Today tweets. Brian Windhorst of ESPN adds that the deal in place is a one-year pact worth $2.3MM.

After signing a previous one-year, $15MM deal with the Magic last offseason, Green averaged 9.2 points and 3.1 rebounds per game. The considerable pay decrease on the heels of a career worst season comes with a drastically improved chance of playing for a winner and is a low-risk, high-reward move for the reigning Eastern Conference champions.

The 30-year-old has bounced around since coming into the league in 2007/08, some of his best years coming early in his career with the Thunder, and as a result it’s been difficult to truly assess what he’s worth. That, perhaps, has never been more evident than when one compares the contrasting deals the forward signed this summer versus last.

Central Rumors: Pistons, Cavs, Bulls, Mirotic

July 11th, 2017 at 1:50pm CST by Luke Adams

The Pistons are considering free agents like Jonas Jerebko and Anthony Tolliver for one of their open roster spots, according to Vince Ellis of The Detroit Free Press (Twitter links). Ellis adds that the team has also engaged with a handful of other players as it weighs how to fill that spot.

Having traded away Marcus Morris and lost Aron Baynes in free agency, the Pistons could use some frontcourt depth, but their ability to add another free agent is somewhat limited. Having already used their full mid-level exception, Detroit could make an offer with its $3.29MM bi-annual exception, but otherwise could only offer the minimum.

Here’s more from around the Central:

Cavaliers owner Dan Gilbert met with assistant GM Koby Altman for dinner on Monday night to discuss the future of the club’s front office, sources tell Adrian Wojnarowski of ESPN (Twitter link). After losing David Griffin, the Cavs pursued Chauncey Billups to fill their head front office position, but haven’t been linked to any candidates since Billups turned them down. It’s possible Altman – who has essentially been the acting GM this offseason – will be offered the permanent job at some point, though that’s my speculation.
The Bulls remain optimistic about getting a deal done with restricted free agent Nikola Mirotic, per GM Gar Forman (link via Sam Smith of Bulls.com). “We want Niko back and we think Niko wants to be in Chicago,” Forman said. “Usually when you have those two things, at the end of the day there’s usually a way to get something done.”
Forman also discussed the Bulls‘ rebuilding process, expressing no regrets at moving Jimmy Butler last month, per Vincent Goodwill of CSNChicago.com.
The Bulls continue to operate as an over-the-cap team, having signed Justin Holiday to a deal using part of their mid-level exception ($4.6MM of $8.4MM), tweets Eric Pincus of Basketball Insiders. Chicago could create between $25-30MM in cap room by renouncing Mirotic’s cap hold and various exceptions – including the trade exception from the Butler deal – but there has been no reason to do that so far, since the club hasn’t made any big-money acquisitions.

Jose Calderon Signs With Cavaliers

July 10th, 2017 at 8:06pm CST by Arthur Hill

JULY 10th, 8:06pm: The signing is official, according to a press release on the team’s website.

JULY 1st, 8:05pm: Veteran point guard Jose Calderon has agreed to a deal with the Cavaliers, according to a tweet from his agency, Priority Sports.

Calderon, 35, will receive a one-year contract for the league minimum, which will pay him about $2.3MM, relays Joe Vardon of Cleveland.com, although it will only count roughly $1.47MM against Cleveland’s cap. Facing potentially huge luxury tax payments, the Cavs have been searching for inexpensive help for their bench.

The addition of Calderon may be a sign that free agent Deron Williams won’t return to Cleveland after signing with the team in late February.

Calderon split last season between the Lakers and Hawks and put up career lows in scoring, assists and field goal percentage.

Zach Randolph Signs With Kings

July 10th, 2017 at 5:58pm CST by Arthur Hill

JULY 10th, 5:58pm: The signing is official, according to a team press release.

JULY 4th, 12:26pm: The Kings will sign Zach Randolph to a two-year, $24MM deal, tweets Adrian Wojnarowski of ESPN.com. Both seasons are fully guaranteed, according to David Aldridge of TNT (Twitter link).

Randolph, who will turn 36 later this month, spent the past eight years in Memphis. His role with the Grizzlies was diminished this season as he lost his starting job and saw his playing time reduced to about 24 minutes per night.

The Cavaliers had also been linked to Randolph and were reported to be greatly interested in adding the bruising power forward. However, Cleveland is well over the cap and couldn’t have offered nearly as much as Sacramento did.

Today’s signings of Randolph and George Hill leave the Kings with $25.3MM in cap space, posts Bobby Marks on ESPN Now. That will be cut further by the upcoming addition of Bogdan Bogdanovic, who is expected to get $27MM over three years. That doesn’t leave enough for a reported max offer to Otto Porter, so the Kings may have decided to move in a different direction.

In addition to what he provides on the court, Randolph can serve as a mentor to the Kings’ young big men, Willie Cauley-Stein, Georgios Papagiannis and Skal Labissiere. For Memphis, it’s the latest move away from their grit-and-grind tradition as veteran guard Tony Allen is also considered unlikely to return.

Sacramento will be the fifth franchise for Randolph, a 16-year veteran who started his career with the Trail Blazers and had brief stints with the Knicks and Clippers.

Central Notes: Pistons, Felder, Mirotic

July 9th, 2017 at 5:57pm CST by Austin Kent

There’s little doubt that the Pistons will benefit in the short-term from bringing Avery Bradley in as a replacement for the much costlier Kentavious Caldwell-Pope but make no mistake, Bob Wojnowski of the Detroit News writes, they’re taking a big risk.

While Bradley is further along in his development as a perimeter stopper and boasts a more capable offensive game, the Pistons gave up considerable long-term security knowing that Bradley will hit the market as an unrestricted free agent next summer.

Essentially, Wojnowski adds, the Pistons were ready to shake things up and move on from the 24-year-old Caldwell-Pope but in doing so expose themselves to a greater threat of ultimately losing Bradley for nothing. Considering the upside after a stagnant 2016/17, it’s a gamble that a team in Detroit’s position couldn’t turn down.

There’s more from the Central Division:

The Cavaliers have brought in Jose Calderon to man their backup point guard position but that doesn’t mean Kay Felder is entirely out of the running, Joe Vardon of Cleveland.com writes. “Whoever plays the best will play,” Cavs coach Tyronn Lue said. “It’s not like Kay is out of it. He’s just got to continue to grow, get better, and he’s going to continue to get better.“
A panelist of Bulls writers discussed the prospect of restricted free agent Nikola Mirotic returning to Chicago, with ESPN’s Nick Friedell ultimately saying that the Bulls may have a pre-established limit to how much they’ll spend to retain the big man’s services and if he can land that from another organization, they’ll let him leave.
A solid performance in the Orlando Summer League helped Eric Moreland land a job as the No. 3 center for the Pistons. “I think he’s an active big that really understands pick-and-roll defense,” Pistons associate head coach Bob Beyer told Keith Langlois of Pistons.com.

Knicks Talking To David Griffin About GM Role

July 9th, 2017 at 8:52am CST by Arthur Hill

The Knicks have begun preliminary talks with David Griffin about becoming the team’s next GM, according to Adrian Wojnarowski and Ramona Shelburne of ESPN.com.

The former Cavaliers GM had dinner with team executive Steve Mills on Friday and is expected to meet with owner James Dolan soon. If the Knicks hire Griffin, he will take over day-to-day basketball operations, with Mills moving into the president’s role that was formerly held by Phil Jackson.

However, the Knicks are reportedly opposed to letting Griffin bring in the front office staff he had in Cleveland. New York has an entrenched staff that has been in place for years, and the team is reluctant to make widespread changes, according to the ESPN authors. Sources tell them that Griffin may not accept the job if it means working with an inherited front office.

Griffin had a successful track record in Cleveland, where he served as GM for three years and constructed a championship roster. He was let go at the end of June after his contract expired.

The Knicks are hoping to revamp their roster and are concentrating on players 25 and younger. Their latest move, signing Tim Hardaway Jr. for $71MM over four years, was orchestrated by Mills, according to Wojnarowski and Shelburne.

Cavaliers Notes: Crawford, Osman, Lue, Green

July 8th, 2017 at 7:33pm CST by Arthur Hill

The Cavaliers weren’t able to get into a bidding war for Jamal Crawford because they need to keep enough money to sign Cedi Osman, writes Joe Vardon of Cleveland.com. Cleveland is well over the cap for the upcoming season and wasn’t willing to give Crawford its entire $5.192MM taxpayer mid-level exception. The Cavs will need at least $816K to sign Osman, who has a $1MM buyout with his Turkish team. Crawford will reportedly sign a two-year, $8.9MM deal with the Timberwolves once he clears waivers. Vardon wrote on Friday that the Cavaliers were the favorites to land Crawford, but the Osman negotiations apparently changed that situation.

There’s more news out of Cleveland:

Coach Tyronn Lue stayed out of negotiations involving former GM David Griffin and front office recruit Chauncey Billups, Vardon writes in a separate piece. “You know how it affects me, he gave me my job,” was Lue’s only response to a question about Griffin at Friday’s summer league game. It was Griffin’s decision to fire David Blatt and replace him with Lue midway through the 2015/16 championship season. A few months after that title, Griffin rewarded Lue with a five-year, $35MM contract. Griffin could have been replaced by Billups, a close friend of Lue, but he turned down a below-market offer reported at $2MM per year. “Any time you get the chance to advance, be the president and GM, it’s always something great,” Lue said. “I know it’s something he always wanted to do. But I just kind of stayed out of the situation because I was so close to Griff, so close to Chauncey, so I didn’t want anything to do with it.”
The Cavs don’t seem worried about Jeff Green‘s drop in production last season, writes Marla Ridenour of The Akron Beacon Journal. They signed the 10-year veteran to a one-year, $2.3MM contract on Friday, with ESPN reporting that LeBron James had “active conversations” with Green before the deal was reached. Green has been with four teams in the past three seasons, and averaged just 9.2 points and 3.1 rebounds with the Magic last year, the lowest figures of his career in both categories.
Cleveland is limited is what it can offer, but Chris Fedor of Cleveland.com put together a list of seven free agents who might be willing to take a little less to join a team that has been to three straight finals. He names Thabo Sefolosha, Tony Allen, Gerald Henderson, Luc Mbah a Moute, C.J. Miles, Rodney Stuckey and Dewayne Dedmon.

Knicks Expected To Renew Carmelo Anthony Talks

July 8th, 2017 at 2:53pm CST by Joshua Fischman

After signing Tim Hardaway Jr. to a lucrative new deal, the Knicks are expected to renew their willingness to collaborate with the Rockets on trade scenarios to unload Carmelo Anthony, writes Adrian Wojnarowski of ESPN.

The Rockets have been persistent in their pursuit of Anthony, who remains willing to waive his no-trade clause to join Chris Paul and James Harden in Clutch City, per Wojnarowski. ESPN’s report, citing league sources, notes that the Knicks “do not imagine a scenario where Hardaway Jr. is sharing the floor with Anthony to start the season.” The Knicks now have $97.7MM in committed salary for the 2017/18 season with 10 guaranteed contracts, per Bobby Marks of ESPN, so moving Anthony would be one path to regaining a little financial flexibility.

Sam Amico of Amico Hoops provides further context as to what factors figure to be holding up an Anthony trade between the Knicks and either the Rockets or Cavaliers. Since Anthony possesses a no-trade clause, the Knicks’ options may be limited to these two teams.

Amico writes that the Knicks do not particularly want to take back Rockets forward Ryan Anderson and the Cavs aren’t eager to part with forward Kevin Love in a deal for Carmelo. The piece also states that Cleveland has floated Turkish draft-and-stash prospect Cedi Osman to entice New York, but Osman would come attached to multiple unappealing contracts. Amico suggests that the Cavs are content to play the waiting game in hopes that the Knicks cannot reach a deal with the Rockets and resort to buying Melo out.