- Several NBA.com scribes – including David Aldridge, Scott Howard-Cooper, Fran Blinebury, and others – gave their two cents on the best fit for point guard Mario Chalmers, with the Cavaliers getting the most votes. The Clippers and Kings were also mentioned as potential suitors that would make sense for Chalmers, who is still recovering from an Achilles injury.
- Eric Pincus of Basketball Insiders provides some housekeeping details on a few offseason trades, reporting that the Clippers paid the Magic $230K in their C.J. Wilcox trade, the Jazz paid the Sixers $1.6MM in their Tibor Pleiss deal, and the Cavaliers paid the Sixers $1.8MM in their Sasha Kaun swap (all Twitter links).
OCTOBER 21, 12:32pm: The Cavs are at an impasse with Williams and are trying to attach his contract to McRae in a trade in order to reduce their tax penalties, writes Brian Windhorst of ESPN.com. Windhorst also confirms that the Cavs were essentially showcasing McRae during the preseason.
OCTOBER 20, 3:31pm: After waiving Toney Douglas last week, the Cavaliers remain in the market for a veteran point guard to back up Kyrie Irving and complement rookie Kay Felder, reports Joe Vardon of Cleveland.com. According to Vardon, the Cavs have engaged in “advanced discussions” with at least one team and hope to make a deal before the start of the regular season next week.
[RELATED: Wolves, others have inquired on Iman Shumpert]
While Vardon doesn’t offer specifics on the Cavs’ negotiations, he points to a couple players who could be moved in potential deals. Jordan McRae had a strong preseason, but doesn’t have a clear role in the Cavs’ rotation, and could appeal to trade partners. Additionally, Mo Williams intends to retire, but hasn’t formally filed his papers and remains on Cleveland’s books — his contract could be used to help match salaries.
According to Vardon, the Cavs have explored the free agent market for a potential solution at the point, participating in contract discussions with Norris Cole, Mario Chalmers, and Kirk Hinrich. However, Cole signed a deal with a team in China, and Cleveland doesn’t believe Chalmers will be fully health until the new year.
If the Cavaliers do make a trade, they could put one or more of their traded player exceptions to use. Cleveland is one of just four NBA teams to currently hold a TPE, and their biggest exception is worth $9,638,554, which would accommodate a majority of the contracts around the league. Still, as Bobby Marks of The Vertical notes in a piece about waiver claims, the club will have to be careful about adding too much extra salary. Based on their current position in the tax, the Cavs would be penalized $3.25MM for every $1MM they add to their 2016/17 salary total.
Several teams, including the Timberwolves, have inquired on the availability of Iman Shumpert in recent weeks, ESPN’s Zach Lowe writes in his latest piece previewing the upcoming NBA season. Those teams have gotten the impression that the Cavaliers are willing to discuss Shumpert, though they won’t simply dump his salary for nothing, says Lowe.
There are a few reasons why it could make sense for the Cavs to consider moving Shumpert. For one, after re-signing J.R. Smith, the Cavs are fairly deep on the wing, with Smith, Shumpert, Mike Dunleavy, Richard Jefferson, and James Jones among the players who could see regular minutes at the two or three. That list doesn’t even include LeBron James, who figures to occasionally play some small forward, or Jordan McRae, who has led the team in preseason scoring.
Additionally, the Cavs are well into tax territory now, so removing Shumpert’s $9,662,922 salary from their books would reduce their eventual tax bill significantly. The ex-Knick’s deal runs through at least 2018, with a player option for 2018/19, so moving it off the books could create a little more future flexibility as well.
The Cavaliers have reportedly been on the hunt for a backup point guard via trade, and while McRae and Mo Williams were among the players mentioned as trade candidates in that report, Shumpert’s salary is significantly larger. Trading him would allow Cleveland to take on more salary in return, increasing their number of options.
The Timberwolves also represent an interesting potential trade partner for the Cavs, since both Ricky Rubio and Tyus Jones have been the subject of trade rumors this offseason. The Wolves like both players, but fifth overall pick Kris Dunn is viewed as the point guard of the future in Minnesota. It’s also worth noting that the Wolves are well below the salary cap, and could easily accommodate Shumpert’s salary.
[RELATED: Several teams interested in Tyus Jones]
Still, this is mostly speculation. While it’s possible the Cavs decide to move Shumpert, it would be a little surprising to see the team shake up its rotation significantly this close to the start of the regular season. As Lowe notes, Cleveland would have to get real value in return, rather than just dumping Shumpert’s contract.
The Cavaliers have cut down the numbers of players on their roster from 20 to 17, according to Dave McMenamin of ESPN.com, who reports (via Twitter) that the team has waived shooting guard Markel Brown, power forward Cory Jefferson, and power forward Jonathan Holmes. The Cavs confirmed the moves in a press release.
Brown, Jefferson, and Holmes each signed a one-year summer contract with the Cavaliers heading into training camp this year, with none of the three players receiving any guaranteed money from the team. Cleveland only has 13 guaranteed salaries on its books for 2016/17, so there’s a roster spot or two available for a player without a fully guaranteed deal, but it was always going to be an uphill battle for Brown, Jefferson, or Holmes to make the cut.
While Holmes has never appeared in a regular season NBA game, Brown and Jefferson have seen some action over the last two seasons, and were teammates in Brooklyn in 2014/15. Brown is the slightly more accomplished player of the pair, having appeared in 109 games to Jefferson’s 58. Brown averaged 5.9 PPG, 2.0 RPG, and 1.5 APG in those games.
With at least two more cuts to make, the Cavs will be making decisions on players like John Holland, Jordan McRae, Dahntay Jones, and DeAndre Liggins within the next few days.
Here’s more out of Cleveland:
- Within an interesting piece on Kevin Love, Lee Jenkins of SI.com writes that Cavs GM David Griffin told Love in February that he didn’t want to trade him, but would understand if the big man wanted to go somewhere where he could be the primary option again. According to Jenkins, Love replied, “I want to be a champion.”
- James Jones, who re-signed with the Cavaliers this summer, tells Lang Greene of Basketball Insiders he’s focused on playing 15 years in the NBA, then retiring. Jones is currently entering his 14th season, so that plan would put him on track to call it a career in 2018.
The details on J.R. Smith‘s new deal with the Cavaliers are now available, and as Bobby Marks of The Vertical outlines, Smith’s salaries don’t descend annually, as some previous reports suggested. Smith will earn $41.28MM in the first three years of his new contract, with an opportunity to earn a $15.68MM salary in year four. Currently, that fourth year is guaranteed for just $3.87MM, bringing the total guarantee to $45.15MM. For the 2016/17 season, Smith will be on Cleveland’s books for $12.8MM, taking the team deep into luxury-tax territory.
- With Smith now locked up, the Cavaliers‘ next big free agent will be a player who signed a lucrative new multiyear deal this summer: LeBron James. As Joe Vardon of Cleveland.com writes, James will be eligible to opt out in 2018, while Smith, Kyrie Irving, and Kevin Love can’t reach the open market until at least 2019.
- J.R. Smith is excited that his contract standoff with the Cavaliers is now in the past, adding that he intends to live in Cleveland year-round now that he has a long-term deal, Michael Beaven of Ohio.com writes. “It feels great,” Smith said of being back. “I didn’t take my physical yet, so I can’t practice, but it feels good to be in the gym, be around the guys and to be a part of it. I have worked out and done a bunch of basketball drills, but as far as 5-on-5 pickup I haven’t done anything like that. I had a great team behind me as far as on the agent side. The Cavs wanted me and they knew I wanted to be here.”
The 2016/17 NBA regular season will get underway next week, which means it’s time to start getting serious about predictions for the upcoming campaign. With the help of the lines from offshore betting site Bovada.lv, we’re going to run through the predicted win totals for each of the NBA’s 30 teams, by division, and have you weigh in on whether you think those forecasts are too optimistic or too pessimistic. Having looked at the Atlantic and Northwest division so far, we’re moving on to the Central today…
Cleveland Cavaliers
- 2015/16 record: 57-25
- Over/under for 2016/17: 56.5 wins
- Offseason in review: Added Chris Andersen, Mike Dunleavy, Kay Felder. Lost Matthew Dellavedova, Timofey Mozgov, Mo Williams.
How many games will the Cavaliers win?
Over 56.5
66.50%
(403 votes)
Under 56.5
33.50%
(203 votes)
Total Votes: 606
(App users, click here for Cavaliers poll)
Detroit Pistons
- 2015/16 record: 44-38
- Over/under for 2016/17: 44.5 wins
- Offseason in review: Added Jon Leuer, Boban Marjanovic, Ish Smith, Henry Ellenson. Lost Jodie Meeks, Anthony Tolliver, Steve Blake.
How many games will the Pistons win?
Over 44.5
54.03%
(302 votes)
Under 44.5
45.97%
(257 votes)
Total Votes: 559
(App users, click here for Pistons poll)
Indiana Pacers
- 2015/16 record: 45-37
- Over/under for 2016/17: 44.5 wins
- Offseason in review: Added Al Jefferson, Jeff Teague, Thaddeus Young, Kevin Seraphin, Aaron Brooks. Lost George Hill, Solomon Hill, Jordan Hill, Ian Mahinmi, Ty Lawson.
How many games will the Pacers win?
Over 44.5
73.06%
(404 votes)
Under 44.5
26.94%
(149 votes)
Total Votes: 553
(App users, click here for Pacers poll)
Chicago Bulls
- 2015/16 record: 42-40
- Over/under for 2016/17: 38.5 wins
- Offseason in review: Added Dwyane Wade, Rajon Rondo, Robin Lopez, Michael Carter-Williams, Isaiah Canaan, Denzel Valentine, Jerian Grant. Lost Derrick Rose, Pau Gasol, Joakim Noah, Mike Dunleavy, Aaron Brooks, E’Twaun Moore, Justin Holiday, Tony Snell.
How many games will the Bulls win?
Over 38.5
61.90%
(372 votes)
Under 38.5
38.10%
(229 votes)
Total Votes: 601
(App users, click here for Bulls poll)
Milwaukee Bucks
- 2015/16 record: 33-49
- Over/under for 2016/17: 34.5 wins
- Offseason in review: Added Matthew Dellavedova, Mirza Teletovic, Jason Terry, Thon Maker, Michael Beasley. Lost Jerryd Bayless, Greivis Vasquez, Tyler Ennis, O.J. Mayo, Johnny O’Bryant.
How many games will the Bucks win?
Over 34.5
67.48%
(415 votes)
Under 34.5
32.52%
(200 votes)
Total Votes: 615
(App users, click here for Bucks poll)
Previous voting results:
- Boston Celtics (52.5 wins): Under (54.59%)
- Toronto Raptors (50.5 wins): Over (54.63%)
- New York Knicks (38.5 wins): Over (71.41%)
- Philadelphia 76ers (23.5 wins): Under (54.62%)
- Brooklyn Nets (20.5 wins): Under (60.74%)
- Utah Jazz (49 wins): Under (68.72%)
- Portland Trail Blazers (45.5 wins): Over (69.92%)
- Oklahoma City Thunder (43.5 wins): Over (65.71%)
- Minnesota Timberwolves (40.5 wins): Over (50.11%)
- Denver Nuggets (37 wins): Under (68.81%)
NBA.com has completed its annual survey of NBA general managers, asking each of the league’s 30 GMs an array of questions about the league’s top teams, players, and coaches. As John Schuhmann of NBA.com details in his piece announcing the results, it comes as little surprise that NBA GMs are just as bullish on the Cavaliers‘ and Warriors‘ chances in 2016/17 as the rest of us are — those are the only two teams GMs predicted to become this season’s NBA champion, with Golden State getting 69% of the vote and Cleveland getting 31%.
While there are many responses in the GM survey worth checking out, we’ll focus on rounding up some of the more interesting ones related to rosters and player movement. Let’s dive in…
- LeBron James led the way in votes for 2016/17’s MVP award, but Karl-Anthony Towns was the clear choice for the player most GMs would want to start a franchise with today.
- The Warriors were the only team to receive more than two votes for which team made the best offseason moves — Golden State was the runaway winner at 83.3%, largely due to the signing of Kevin Durant. The addition of Durant was easily voted the move most likely to make the biggest impact this season, and it was also viewed as the most surprising move of the summer, just ahead of Dwyane Wade joining the Bulls.
- The Jazz‘s trade for George Hill received at least one vote for the move likely to have the biggest impact, and it was the winner for the most underrated player acquisition of the offseason.
- Dejounte Murray (Spurs), Kris Dunn (Timberwolves), and Patrick McCaw (Warriors) were considered the biggest steals of the draft by GMs, who voted Milos Teodosic and Sergio Llull as the top international players not currently in the NBA.
- NBA general managers view Tom Thibodeau as the new coach most likely to make an immediate positive impact on his new team, and think Chris Paul is the player most likely to become a future NBA head coach.
- The rules that GMs wants to see changed or modified include the draft lottery system, the number of timeouts per game, and intentional fouling.
Over the next several weeks, Hoops Rumors will be breaking down the 2016 offseason for all 30 NBA teams, revisiting the summer’s free agent signings, trades, draft picks, departures, and more. We’ll evaluate each team’s moves from the last several months and look ahead to what the 2016/17 season holds for all 30 franchises. Today, we’re focusing on the Cleveland Cavaliers.
Free agent signings:
- LeBron James: Three years, $99.857MM. Third year player option.
- J.R. Smith: Four years, $57MM. Fourth year non-guaranteed. Official contract details not yet confirmed.
- Richard Jefferson: Three years, $7.613MM. Third year non-guaranteed.
- Chris Andersen: One year, minimum salary.
- James Jones: One year, minimum salary.
Camp invitees:
- Markel Brown: One year, minimum salary (summer contract)
- Toney Douglas: One year, minimum salary (summer contract). Waived.
- John Holland: One year, minimum salary (summer contract)
- Jonathan Holmes: One year, minimum salary (summer contract)
- Cory Jefferson: One year, minimum salary (summer contract)
- Dahntay Jones: One year, minimum salary (summer contract)
- DeAndre Liggins: Two years, minimum salary ($25K guaranteed)
- Eric Moreland: One year, minimum salary (summer contract). Waived
Trades:
- Acquired the draft rights to Kay Felder (No. 54 pick) from the Hawks in exchange for cash ($2.47MM).
- Acquired the draft rights to Albert Miralles from the Bucks in exchange for Matthew Dellavedova (sign-and-trade) and cash ($200K).
- Acquired Mike Dunleavy and the draft rights to Vladimir Veremeenko from the Bulls in exchange for the draft rights to Albert Miralles.
- Acquired the draft rights to Chu Chu Maduabum from the Sixers in exchange for Sasha Kaun and cash.
Draft picks:
- 2-54: Kay Felder. Signed for three years, minimum salary. Second year partially guaranteed. Third year team option.
Departing players:
Other offseason news:
- Signed head coach Tyronn Lue to a five-year extension reportedly worth $35MM.
- Reportedly have interest in Kevin Garnett as assistant coach.
- Iman Shumpert arrested for DUI.
- Named Nate Reinking coach of D-League affiliate Canton Charge.
Check out our salary cap snapshot for the Cleveland Cavaliers right here.
The band is finally back together in Cleveland, although there’s not much rehearsal time before the season starts.
The Cavaliers brought back the final piece of their championship puzzle Friday when J.R. Smith ended his long standoff by agreeing to a contract with $45MM guaranteed over the first three seasons. A fourth year at about $12MM will become guaranteed if he remains on the Cavs’ roster at the end of the 2018/19 season.
Smith has been an indispensable member of the team’s backcourt since coming to Cleveland in a trade with the Knicks in January of 2015. He averaged 11.5 points per game and shot 43% from 3-point range during last season’s playoff run. During the season, Smith started all 77 games in which he played and averaged 12.4 points per night.
Getting Smith under contract solidifies one backcourt position, but uncertainty remains at point guard. Kyrie Irving has become one of the league’s best players and added to his legend with the winning shot in Game 7 of the NBA Finals. But it’s uncertain who will be backing him up after Matthew Dellavedova was shipped to Milwaukee in a sign-and-trade over the summer.
Veteran Toney Douglas was waived Saturday after Smith was signed, and Jordan McRae has been pulled from the competition because head coach Tyronn Lue wants him to concentrate on being a shooting guard. Rookie Kay Felder has been sharing reserve duties in the preseason with DeAndre Liggins, so that arrangement will probably continue once the season starts.
Veteran Mo Williams, who played 41 games for the Cavs last season, told the team late last month that he plans to retire, and he had surgery on his left knee three days ago. However, Williams hasn’t filed retirement papers with the league and he still has a spot on the Cavaliers’ roster. The team plans to monitor his progress in case he decides to play again. Williams would receive his full $2.2MM salary if Cleveland waives him, and buyout talks have produced little progress.
After winning his third NBA title in June, LeBron James reached another milestone in August as a new three-year, $99.857MM contract made him the league’s highest-paid player for the first time. His $33MM salary in 2017/18 will be the largest in NBA history.
It’s a fitting reward for a player who led the Cavs to the first championship in their 45-year history. James is coming off another brilliant year, averaging 25.3 points, 7.4 rebounds and 6.8 assists per game during the regular season and raising those numbers to 26.3 points, 9.5 rebounds and 7.6 assists in the playoffs.
Cleveland also re-signed veteran small forward Richard Jefferson for three years at $7.613MM, with the third season non-guaranteed. The 36-year-old initially announced his retirement while the Cavaliers celebrated their championship, but he changed his mind as the summer wore on.
Another important re-signing was Lue, who led the Cavs to the title after taking over as head coach when David Blatt was fired in January. Lue received a five-year extension believed to be worth $35MM.
The Cavs reached offseason agreements with two of James’ teammates from his days in Miami, re-signing James Jones for one year at a veteran’s minimum salary and giving a similar deal to center Chris Andersen. Cleveland had a need for center help after losing Timofey Mozgov to the Lakers in free agency and trading Sasha Kaun to the Sixers. Andersen appeared in just seven games for the Heat and 20 for the Grizzlies last season.
Cleveland picked up another veteran when the Bulls had to unload Mike Dunleavy Jr.‘s salary to create enough cap room to sign Dwyane Wade. The Cavs swung a trade that brought Dunleavy from Chicago for virtually nothing in return, giving them another potent 3-point shooter to help stretch defenses.
The championship helped to quiet trade speculation surrounding Kevin Love, who appears to be set as the power forward for years to come. Complaints that Love wasn’t a good fit alongside James and Irving have been following him ever since he was acquired from Minnesota in a 2014 deal. Love turned in a strong playoff performance, averaging 14.7 points and 8.8 rebounds per game after missing most of the 2015 playoff run with a shoulder injury. A report last month said the Cavaliers stopped listening to trade offers for Love in the middle of the season.
Draft night was quiet in Cleveland except for a deal with the Hawks that brought in Felder, the 54th pick, in exchange for cash considerations. A speedy 5’9″ sparkplug, Felder impressed the Cavs during summer league and was signed to a three-year contract.
The last-minute addition of Smith means the Cavaliers will have a very familiar look as they try to defend their NBA title. Dellavedova, Mozgov and Wiliams are the only significant losses from last year, and the additions of Dunleavy and Andersen will help offset those, along with a full season from Channing Frye, who was acquired from Orlando at February’s trade deadline.
The Cavs make have to tweak the roster a little bit if Felder doesn’t work out as the reserve point guard, but they enter the season as very heavy favorites to tear through the East again and return to the NBA Finals. The Big Three of James, Irving and Love will always be in the spotlight in Cleveland, but owner Dan Gilbert has proven that he will spend big to put a dangerous team around them.
Salary information from Basketball Insiders used in the creation of this post. Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.
Contract length was the sticking point more than salary in the long standoff between J.R. Smith and the Cavaliers, writes Terry Pluto of Cleveland.com. Smith’s impasse ended Friday night when he agreed to a new three-year, $45MM pact with a non-guaranteed fourth season. Because of the luxury tax, Smith’s $12.8MM salary for this season will cost the Cavs about $39MM. The tax is why Cleveland didn’t match Milwaukee’s four-year, $40MM offer to Matthew Dellavedova, Pluto notes, as the front office decided it was too expensive to keep both.
Pluto also casts doubt on reports that the Cavs were motivated to get a deal done with Smith because he was negotiating with the Sixers, saying that Philadelphia had plenty of cap room to make Smith an offer any time during the summer if it had been interested and that Smith doesn’t fit with the rest of the Sixers’ young roster.