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Community Shootaround: NBA Finals Game 6

June 16th, 2016 at 10:08am CST by Luke Adams

The sixth game of the 2016 NBA Finals takes place tonight in Cleveland, exactly one year after the Warriors dispatched the Cavaliers in Game 6 of the 2015 NBA Finals to win their first championship in 40 years. The Cavs are hoping history won’t repeat itself tonight — a Cleveland win would force a Game 7 in Oakland on Sunday.

After the series opened with a pair of dominant wins by the Warriors, the two teams have looked a little more evenly matched over the course of the last three games. The Cavaliers won at home in Game 3, then each team stole a game on the other club’s home court to give Golden State a 3-2 lead as the series returns to Quicken Loans Arena.

The Cavaliers have looked excellent at home throughout this year’s postseason, with the lone exception of their Game 4 loss to the Warriors, and they’re coming off an impressive Game 5 win in which LeBron James and Kyrie Irving each exploded for 40+ points. However, the Warriors were missing Draymond Green in that game, and if shots aren’t falling quite so easily for either James or Irving tonight, things could look very different.

Today’s Community Shootaround discussion question is a simple one: How do you expect Game 6 to play out? Will LeBron and Kyrie carry the Cavaliers to another win? Could another Cleveland player to step up to help lead the Cavs to victory? Or is tonight’s game going to be the final contest of the 2015/16 season? Will Green’s return result in the Warriors’ second straight road victory? Will the Stephen Curry and/or Klay Thompson show win out?

Take to the comments section below to share your thoughts and opinions on Game 6. We look forward to hearing what you have to say.

J.R. Smith Won’t Exercise Player Option

June 15th, 2016 at 2:41pm CST by Luke Adams

June 16th could be the last day of the Cavaliers’ season, but it also represents a key date for Cleveland guard J.R. Smith for another reason — it’s the deadline for Smith to pick up his player option. And according to Chris Haynes of Cleveland.com, Smith will let that deadline pass without exercising his option, putting him on track for free agency in July.

Given the key role he has played for the Eastern Conference champs this season, and the relatively modest salary on his 2016/17 option, it’s not too surprising that Smith will turn it down. Had he exercised it, the 30-year-old would only have initially been guaranteed $2.2MM of his $5.375MM salary — the rest would have become guaranteed in September.

Opting out of his contract will allow Smith to explore the market for more sizeable offers, or to re-up with Cleveland at a higher rate. The Cavaliers hold Smith’s Bird rights, so cap space won’t be an issue if the team wants to re-sign him, and for his part, it sounds like the ex-Knick is happy in Cleveland. “This is where I want to be,” Smith told Haynes. “The fans love me; I love them and my teammates.”

In his first full season as a Cavalier, Smith averaged a career-high 6.6 three-point attempts per game and made 40% of them, the second-best mark of his 12-year NBA career. He has improved upon those numbers in the postseason, with a .444 3PT% on seven attempts per game from beyond the arc.

Smith is one of three Cavs veterans with decisions to make on player options this summer. Mo Williams reportedly intends to opt in, while LeBron James‘ decision has yet to be reported or announced.

Cavaliers’ Mo Williams To Pick Up Option

June 14th, 2016 at 8:57pm CST by Arthur Hill

Veteran Cavaliers point guard Mo Williams will pick up his option for 2016/17, reports Chris Haynes of The Northeast Ohio Media Group. Williams will receive $2.2MM for next season, the last of a two-year, $4.3MM contract he signed with Cleveland last summer.

Williams faces a Thursday deadline to opt out and test the free agent market. Haynes writes that the Cavaliers have been notified that he intends to bypass that option.

Williams appeared in 41 games with the Cavaliers this season, averaging 8.2 points per night while shooting 35% from 3-point range. Physical problems involving inflammation of the cartilage under his left kneecap limited Williams’ availability. Next season will be his 15th in the NBA.

Offseason Salary Cap Digest: Cleveland Cavaliers

June 14th, 2016 at 10:12am CST by Luke Adams

Since LeBron James returned to Cleveland and the Cavaliers traded No. 1 pick Andrew Wiggins as part of a package for Kevin Love, anything short of a championship has been considered a disappointment for the franchise. That means the next several days could go a long way toward determining what kind of offseason is in store for the Cavs.

Even if the club manages to pull off the improbable comeback against the Warriors, Love’s days in Cleveland could be numbered. He has essentially been a non-factor in the Finals, and moving his $21MM+ salary shouldn’t be too challenging, with the cap projected to rise by $22MM. Of course, LeBron’s decision on his player option is perhaps the more pressing issue for the Cavs, but even if he opts out, there has been little to no buzz suggesting the former MVP will leave Cleveland this summer.

See how Cleveland’s cap situation looks for 2016/17 as Hoops Rumors continues its offseason salary cap digest series.

Guaranteed Salary

Kevin Love ($21,165,675)
Kyrie Irving ($17,638,063)
Tristan Thompson ($15,330,435)
Iman Shumpert ($9,662,922)
Channing Frye ($7,806,971)
Sasha Kaun ($1,333,420)
Total: $72,937,486

Player Options

LeBron James ($24,004,173)
J.R. Smith ($5,375,000)
Mo Williams ($2,194,500)
Total: $31,573,673

Team Options

Jordan McRae ($874,636)

Non-Guaranteed Salary

Dahntay Jones ($1,551,659)

Restricted Free Agents (Qualifying Offers/Cap Holds)

Matthew Dellavedova ($1,434,095/$2,179,824)
Totals: $1,434,095/$2,179,824

Unrestricted Free Agents (Cap Holds)

LeBron James ($29,861,650) — pending player option
J.R. Smith ($9,500,000) — pending player option
Timofey Mozgov ($9,405,000)
Mo Williams ($2,520,000) — pending player option
Richard Jefferson ($980,431)
James Jones ($980,431)
Total: $53,247,512

Other Cap Holds

Shawn Marion ($980,431)

Projected Salary Cap: $92,000,000

The Basketball Insiders salary pages were used in the creation of this post.

James Is Responsible For This Cavaliers Team

June 11th, 2016 at 8:48pm CST by Arthur Hill

LeBron James is falling in the NBA Finals with the Cavaliers team that he built, writes Dave Hyde of The Sun-Sentinel. It was James’ decision to leave Miami for Cleveland two years ago because he saw a franchise with younger talent, Hyde notes, and he pushed for the deal that sent Andrew Wiggins to Minnesota for Kevin Love. James also approved the trade with New York that brought J.R. Smith and supported the hiring of Tyronn Lue, who had no previous experience as a head coach. Cavs managment has given James everything he wanted since his return, Hyde writes, saying it shows the danger of letting a player make too many personnel decisions.

The Cavs’ bench has been letting them down in the finals, points out Marc Berman of The New York Post. Channing Frye, who was acquired in a February deal with the Magic, only has two points in the series. Iman Shumpert has been held to 11. Love came off the bench to score 11 in Game 4, but the rest of the reserves combined for just four points. Berman says depth will need to be the focus of Cleveland’s offseason moves.

James’ desire to have Love as a teammate instead of Wiggins shaped the Cavaliers‘ destiny, contends Shaun Powell of NBA.com. Wiggins’ defensive prowess would have been much more valuable against the Warriors, Powell argues, noting that he is also capable of creating offense with his dribble, in contrast to Love, who has settled into a role as a 3-point shooter since he arrived in Cleveland. Wiggins also could have eased the Cavaliers’ financial burden with a rookie contract instead of the maximum deal that Love got last summer.

Warriors Consider Tyrone Corbin, Mike Brown

June 11th, 2016 at 2:38pm CST by Arthur Hill

Tyrone Corbin has emerged along with Mike Brown as the top candidates to be the lead assistant in Golden State next season, tweets Marc Stein of ESPN.com. Brown has been linked to the position before, but Corbin, a former teammate of Warriors head coach Steve Kerr, is a new name in the mix. (Twitter link).

Corbin is a former head coach with the Kings and Jazz and has been out of coaching since being relieved of his interim position with Sacramento when George Karl was hired in 2015. He has been working as an adviser to the Kings’ front office ever since.

Brown served as head coach of the Cavaliers and Lakers and has been out of coaching since Cleveland fired him after the 2013/14 season. Brown reportedly turned down an assistant’s position in Memphis last week.

The Warriors’ lead assistant job will be open once the NBA Finals are done and Luke Walton leaves to become head coach of the Lakers. He held the position in Golden State for one season, taking over when Alvin Gentry left to take the reins in New Orleans.

And-Ones: Love, Knicks, Turner, Butler

June 6th, 2016 at 11:00pm CST by ChrisCrouse

If the Cavaliers are going to make a major change this offseason, it’ll be Kevin Love on the trading block, reports Chris Mannix of The Vertical. “If they go out like this, I’m betting on a Kevin Love auction,” one league executive tells Mannix. Love had just five points in 21 minutes during Sunday night’s blowout loss to the Warriors.

Here’s more from around the league:

The Knicks are rumored to have interest in Evan Turner and Alex Kennedy of Basketball Insiders hears that the interest in mutual (Twitter link). Turner will be an unrestricted free agent this summer.
Bulls forward Jimmy Butler has a strong desire to play in the Olympics despite hearing about all the players who will sit out, Vincent Goodwill of Comcast Sportsnet tweets.
Nick Minnerath has worked out for the Clippers, Alex Kennedy of Basketball Insiders tweets. Minnerath, who formerly played for the Canton Charge of the D-League, will also attend free agent mini-camps with the Pistons and Mavs later this month.

Community Shootaround: Cavs Winning The Finals?

June 6th, 2016 at 8:32pm CST by ChrisCrouse

The Cavs lost their first two games of the NBA Finals by a combined 48 points. Neither Klay Thompson nor Stephen Curry had monumental games for the Warriors. Instead, it was the team’s depth that mechanically wore down Cleveland. Perhaps there are some adjustments that coach Tyronn Lue can make, but it seems unlikely that this team can compete with all the talent that Golden State has.

So that brings us to tonight’s topic: Is there any way the Cavs can wins this series?

Could they decide to dust off Timofey Mozgov and attempt to recapture some of the success they had during last year’s finals where they went big and governed the paint? Kevin Love is talented, but he’s hasn’t played like a traditional big man since he was in Minnesota. Is it time to reduce his minutes? Love has the ability to be a major force and perhaps the Cavs can make adjustments in order to benefit from their $110MM big man without sending him to the bench. Perhaps there are better solutions to make this series more competitive.

Should Richard Jefferson being playing meaningful minutes at this point in his career? That’s where I’d begin if I were tasked with mustering up a comeback performance for Cleveland during these finals. Tell us what you would do. What adjustments would you make if you were in control of the Cavs?

Take to the comments section below to share your thoughts and opinions on the topic. We look forward to what you have to say.

Knicks Notes: Lin, Lawson, Hornacek, Jackson

June 5th, 2016 at 10:05am CST by Arthur Hill

The Knicks will be looking for a point guard in free agency, but won’t consider Jeremy Lin or Ty Lawson, according to Marc Berman of The New York Post. A source tells Berman the team isn’t impressed with Lin’s defense and thinks Lawson’s off-court problems, which include two DUI offenses, make him too much of a gamble. Mike Conley is considered the best free agent point guard on the market and will probably be the Knicks’ first target. Berman writes that Carmelo Anthony prefers Rajon Rondo, but many in the team’s front office believes he dominates the ball too much. Some other possibilities are Brandon Jennings, D.J. Augustin and Tyler Johnson.

There’s more this morning out of New York:

New coach Jeff Hornacek, who was officially hired this week, said his three-year contract was timed to coincide with team president Phil Jackson’s deal, Berman writes in the same piece. “He had three years left, so he wanted to make it as mine,’’ Hornacek said. “Phil wants to bring winning basketball back to New York. I’m excited he brought me along to help do that.’’
Another possible answer at point guard is Seton Hall’s Isaiah Whitehead, Ian Begley posts on ESPN Now. Whitehead worked out for the Knicks Saturday and reportedly had an impressive showing. Jackson prefers tall points guards, and Whitehead qualifies at 6’5″, plus he grew up in the New York area, so the pressure of playing in the city shouldn’t affect him. The Knicks are hoping to acquire a draft pick, and Begley speculates that they may have to trade into the late first round to land Whitehead.
Former Knick J.R. Smith, now in the NBA Finals with the Cavaliers, says he feels bad that Anthony is stuck in an unstable situation in New York, writes Fred Kerber of The New York Post. Hornacek will be Anthony’s fifth head coach in nearly seven seasons with the Knicks. “When he first got there, I’m sure he felt they were going to work toward something, which he did being the second team in the Eastern Conference at one point and then the drop-off,” said Smith, who was traded to Cleveland midway through the 2014/15 season. “I’m sure it was disappointing for him. But he’s a soldier. I’m sure he’ll get through it.”
The development of Kristaps Porzingis will determine how successful Hornacek is in New York, contends Mike Vaccaro of The New York Post. Vaccaro says the new coach’s biggest challenge will be to ease Anthony into a second-fiddle role while building the team around Porzingis.

Lue Tried To Persuade Griffin Not To Fire Blatt

June 1st, 2016 at 1:36pm CST by Luke Adams

In an interesting piece at Cleveland.com, Chris Haynes details a phone call that took place between Tyronn Lue and Cavaliers general manager David Griffin earlier this year, when Lue tried to convince Griffin that David Blatt shouldn’t be fired. However, the GM had already up his mind, and by the end of the call, Lue had agreed to become Cleveland’s new head coach. Now, Lue is preparing his team for the NBA Finals, while Blatt has signed a two-year contract to coach a team in Turkey.