Cleveland Cavaliers Rumors | Hoops Rumors

Cavaliers Focused On Adding Wing Players

July 6th, 2016 at 11:53am CST by Luke Adams

The Cavaliers are on track to lose a pair of contributors when the July moratorium ends tomorrow, with Timofey Mozgov headed to the Lakers and Matthew Dellavedova ticketed for Milwaukee. Still, while the Cavs haven’t agreed to deals with any free agents of their own yet, the team is scouring the trade and free agent market looking for ways to fortify its roster. According to Chris Broussard of ESPN.com (via Twitter), Cleveland is looking to add at least one athletic, shooting wing player.

While there may still be a few players on the free agent market who fit that bill, the Cavs don’t have much spending flexibility, and would likely only be able offer their $2.9MM room exception or a minimum-salary contract. The trade market may make more sense for Cleveland, and according to Broussard, the club had interest in acquiring Trevor Ariza. However, the Rockets weren’t looking to move Ariza at this time.

As our list of outstanding trade exceptions shows, the Cavaliers still hold a handful of TPEs that could be used to accommodate deals. The most intriguing one is the $9,638,554 exception Cleveland created at the 2016 trade deadline. Using that trade exception, the Cavs could acquire a player whose salary fits into that amount without sending out any salary of their own. Ariza, for instance, could be absorbed into that TPE, since he’s making just $7,806,971 this season.

The Cavaliers could also send out their own players to make a trade work, but the franchise isn’t all that interested in significantly shaking up a roster that’s coming off a championship. If Cleveland did need to send out salary to accommodate a larger acquisition, Iman Shumpert ($9,662,922) and Channing Frye ($7,806,971) would probably be candidates to be moved.

Ray Allen Considering NBA Comeback

July 6th, 2016 at 8:22am CST by Luke Adams

As the Warriors consider veteran free agents willing to sign on minimum salaries to help fill out their roster, Ray Allen‘s name has surfaced in recent days as a player Golden State may call. As it turns out, Allen is indeed mulling a comeback and his representatives have reached out to the Warriors, league sources tell Chris Broussard of ESPN.com.

According to Broussard, Allen isn’t entirely sure that he wants to return to the NBA after not having appeared in a game since 2014, but he’s “intrigued” by the possibility of competing for another championship. Broussard reports that the longtime sharpshooter would also consider the Cavaliers, Spurs, and Clippers, in addition to the Warriors.

Per Chris Haynes of Cleveland.com, Allen’s reps have also reached out to the Cavs, and the interest between Cleveland and the 40-year-old is mutual. However, even though Allen and LeBron James are “extremely close,” the Finals MVP hasn’t been recruiting his former teammate so far, tweets Haynes.

As for the Warriors, they remain undecided on whether they want to pursue Allen, says Broussard. Based on what we’ve seen so far this week, with Zaza Pachulia and David West agreeing to join the team on below-market deals, Golden State may have its pick of veteran contributors, so the club figures to do its homework on all potential options.

Allen, who turns 41 later this month, last played for the Heat, helping the team win a championship in 2012/13 and get back to the NBA Finals in 2013/14. By the end of his final year in Miami, he was averaging well below his career mark of 18.9 PPG, but he still shot an impressive 39.8% on three-pointers during those two seasons with the Heat.

Latest On Dwyane Wade

July 5th, 2016 at 10:03pm CST by Luke Adams

10:03pm: Wade has a meeting scheduled on Wednesday with Nuggets officials that will take place in New York, Wojnarowski tweets.

7:34pm: The Nuggets have offered Wade a contract worth more than $50MM over two years, Marc Stein of ESPN.com tweets. Denver is holding out hope that the veteran shooting guard will accept its bid, the scribe adds.

12:37pm: Wade’s representatives have told teams that their client is seeking a two-year, $50MM contract, reports Brian Windhorst of ESPN.com, adding that the Nuggets and Bulls continue to stay in touch with Wade, who is also talking to the Heat. Adrian Wojnarowski of The Vertical, meanwhile, reports that the veteran star is prioritizing a guaranteed third year in contract talks. Either way, it sounds like a two-year, $40MM offer won’t get it done.

The Bucks currently aren’t involved in the bidding for Wade, and while there have been rumors about the Cavs, there’s no traction between Wade and Cleveland at this point, according to Windhorst. Per Wojnarowski, the Bulls and Wade have talked about setting up a face-to-face meeting but nothing has been scheduled.

As for the Heat, Ira Winderman of The South Florida Sun Sentinel tweets that they seem to want to hold firm on two years for Wade, even though they may be willing to include a player option and do another two-year deal next summer.

10:58am: Dwyane Wade has canceled a previously-scheduled Wednesday meeting with the Bucks, according to ESPN’s Zach Lowe (Twitter link). Lowe’s report follows up on a tweet from ESPN’s Brian Windhorst, which suggests that Wade has canceled more than one free agent meeting. However, it’s not clear what other team(s) had been set to meet with the veteran guard.

Despite the fact that Wade played his college ball at Marquette, it always seemed like a long shot that he’d seriously consider signing with the Bucks this offseason after spending his entire career in Miami. After Kevin Durant opted not to sign with the Heat, Miami reportedly increased its offer to Wade to two years and $40MM, getting a little more serious about negotiations with the former Finals MVP. Although he didn’t accept that offer, Wade’s decision to cancel his meeting with the Bucks may hint that he and the Heat are moving closer to finding common ground.

Outside of Milwaukee and Miami, several teams have been linked to Wade since free agency began, including the Nuggets, Knicks, Bulls, and Mavericks. Of those teams, only Denver still had the cap space to pursue Wade. There has also been speculation that the Cavaliers could have interest in LeBron James‘ former teammate, though those whispers have been unsubstantiated. Even if Cleveland did explore that possibility, the team would have to trade multiple contracts in order to be able to offer Wade a decent salary.

Teams Inquiring On LeBron Rebuffed By Agent

July 5th, 2016 at 1:28pm CST by Luke Adams

After four days of breathless speculation about where Kevin Durant would land, KD is off the market, leaving the title of best available free agent to another superstar: LeBron James. We’ve hardly heard a word since July began about the status of LeBron, who said in June he’d return to the Cavaliers, but he’s technically not under contract. So it comes as no surprise that, as Marc Stein of ESPN.com tweets, teams are calling to inquire about the Finals MVP. However, agent Rich Paul has been “politely” informing those teams that his client isn’t leaving Cleveland, says Stein.

Bret Brielmaier To Join Nets’ Staff

July 3rd, 2016 at 6:38pm CST by Arthur Hill

Cavaliers assistant Bret Brielmaier will join the Nets’ coaching staff, tweets Adrian Wojnarowski of The Vertical. His hiring will complete the staff of new Brooklyn coach Kenny Atkinson, who was hired in April.

Brielmaier has been an assistant in Cleveland for the past three seasons. He worked under Mike Brown, David Blatt and Tyrone Lue.

Brielmaier started his NBA career with the Spurs in 2009/10 as a player development assistant and was later promoted to video coordinator.

NBA Taxpaying Teams For 2015/16

July 3rd, 2016 at 1:49am CST by Luke Adams

With the salary cap set for the new league year, the NBA has finalized its luxury-tax calculations for the 2015/16 season, and the champion Cavaliers will be on the hook for a hefty bill. According to ESPN’s Marc Stein, owner Dan Gilbert and the Cavs, having spent well beyond the luxury-tax threshold last season, owe a tax payment of $54MM.

Here’s the complete list of taxpaying teams for the 2015/16 season, per Stein:

Cleveland Cavaliers: $54MM
Los Angeles Clippers: $19.9MM
Golden State Warriors: $14.8MM
Oklahoma City Thunder $14.5MM
Houston Rockets: $4.9MM
San Antonio Spurs: $4.9MM
Chicago Bulls: $4.2MM

The tax payments owed by those seven teams total nearly $120MM, and according to Stein, half of that money will be used to fund the NBA’s revenue-sharing program. The other half will be split up equally among the league’s 23 non-taxpaying teams, with each franchise receiving about $2.5MM.

On the other end of the spectrum, the Trail Blazers and Magic were the only teams to fall short of the $63MM floor, per Eric Pincus of Basketball Insiders (Twitter link). They’ll have to make up the difference by cutting checks to the players who finished the season on their respective rosters.

Latest On Jamal Crawford

July 3rd, 2016 at 12:44am CST by Luke Adams

12:44am: In addition to the teams mentioned below, the Sixers have also been in touch with Crawford, tweets Arash Markazi of ESPN.com. However, according to Markazi, despite the fact that Crawford was reportedly “disappointed” with the Clippers’ initial offer, the team remains optimistic that it can re-sign him.

11:47pm: There’s also mutual interest between the Cavaliers and Crawford, though it remains to be seen whether Cleveland has the spending flexibility to make it work, reports Sam Amico of Amico Hoops (via Twitter). The Cavs would likely have to make a mid-level offer to Crawford.

11:41pm: The Clippers agreed to new deals with two of their free agents on Saturday, but even though Austin Rivers and Wesley Johnson will be returning, it appears Los Angeles might not be bringing the whole gang back together. The Clippers have made a contract offer to Jamal Crawford, but the veteran guard was disappointed with that offer, according to Mike Mazzeo of ESPN.com (via Twitter).

Although Crawford is hardly a goner yet, he has drawn interest from several other teams around the NBA. According to Dan Woike of The Orange County Register (via Twitter), there’s mutual interest between Crawford and the Warriors, who are waiting to see whether or not they have a shot to land Kevin Durant. Conversely, as today’s free agent agreements signaled, the Clippers have been told that Durant won’t be joining them, per Ben Bolch and Brad Turner of The Los Angeles Times.

Meanwhile, the Nets have strong interest in Crawford, Mazzeo reports (Twitter link). Brooklyn is keeping a close eye on the shooting guard market, and is mulling the possibility of making a run at Allen Crabbe or Dion Waiters, as Brian Lewis of The New York Post tweets. Unlike Crawford, both Crabbe and Waiters are restricted free agents, meaning their current teams – the Blazers and Thunder – could match an offer sheet.

The Knicks, Mavericks, Magic, and Heat have also been mentioned as possible Crawford suitors this week, though at least a couple of those teams have gone in another direction at the shooting guard spot.

Cavs, Tyronn Lue Discussing New Deal

July 2nd, 2016 at 1:05am CST by Luke Adams

The Cavaliers and head coach Tyronn Lue have begun discussing a contract extension, per Chris Haynes and Joe Vardon of Cleveland.com. As the duo explains, Lue didn’t sign a new deal when he was promoted from his assistant role to replace David Blatt this year, and the gamble paid off. Lue will be in line for a much bigger raise now that he has a championship under his belt than he would have been if he’d signed a new contract earlier this year.

RFA Rumors: Dellavedova, Waiters, T. Johnson

July 1st, 2016 at 2:21am CST by Luke Adams

Earlier tonight, we heard that the Warriors plan to retain restricted free agent Harrison Barnes if they’re unable to land Kevin Durant. Here are several more updates on RFAs around the league:

The Kings, Hawks, Mavericks, and Bucks have all reached out to Matthew Dellavedova‘s camp early in free agency, league sources tell Chris Haynes of Cleveland.com. Dellavedova is in Australia preparing for the 2016 Olympics, so he’s unlikely to have face-to-face meetings with any suitors anytime soon, but it sounds like he’s interested in exploring his options. A return to the Cavaliers remains in play for the RFA guard, but it’s possible the price will get too high for Cleveland’s liking, Haynes writes.
Dion Waiters‘ representatives fielded interest from the Kings, Nets, Sixers, Bulls, Heat, and Thunder tonight, a source tells Dave McMenamin of ESPN.com (Twitter link). Oklahoma City extended a qualifying offer to Waiters earlier this week, making him a restricted free agent and giving the Thunder the right of first refusal.
On The Vertical’s free agency broadcast earlier tonight, Adrian Wojnarowski reported that Tyler Johnson has received interest from a handful of teams, including the Nets and Pelicans, and is expected to begin taking meetings on Friday (Twitter links via Scott Kushner of The Advocate and Barry Jackson of The Miami Herald. The restricted free agent guard, who got a qualifying offer from the Heat, could earn up to $10MM annually, per Wojnarowski (Twitter link via Brian Lewis of the New York Post).

Mozgov Seeking Multiyear Deal

June 30th, 2016 at 10:27pm CST by Eddie Scarito

Cavs unrestricted free agent center Timofey Mozgov has no desire to ink a one-year deal this offseason, preferring the security and stability of a long-term pact, Tim Bontemps of The Washington Post relays.