Cleveland Cavaliers Rumors | Hoops Rumors

Cavs Sign Dahntay Jones

April 13th, 2016 at 10:06am CST by Chuck Myron

The Cavs have signed veteran swingman Dahntay Jones for tonight’s regular season finale and the playoffs, the team announced via press release. The team had an open roster spot, so no corresponding move is necessary. Cleveland was reportedly unlikely to fill the vacancy, so the signing appears to be a reversal of plans, perhaps related to concern regarding the injured Mo Williams, who’s traveling to New York today for further examination on his sore left knee, as Chris Haynes of the Cleveland Plain Dealer and the Northeast Ohio Media Group reports.

Jones, 35, spent most of the season with the D-League affiliate of the Pistons following a preseason stint with the Nets, who waived him before opening night. The Cavs will face the Pistons in the first round of the playoffs.

The 11-year NBA veteran played a bit role on the Clippers last season, averaging less than a point per game in 33 appearances. The Clippers were apparently fond of Jones for his contribution to team chemistry, so it’s conceivable that played a role in Cleveland’s decision, given the pressure surrounding the Cavs. Still, Jones proved he still has on-court value during his time in the D-League this season, sticking 41.2% of his 3-pointers. He averaged 15.7 points, but he made his reputation in the NBA as a stout defender.

Cleveland is limited to the minimum salary, so the deal figures to cost the Cavs $26,467 in salary and luxury tax payments. Jones is in line to see $8,819 plus a playoff share.

Despite Whispers, Mo Williams Says No Retirement Yet

April 12th, 2016 at 11:59am CST by Chuck Myron

The Cavs have once more assigned Sasha Kaun and Jordan McRae to the D-League, the team announced. Cleveland sent them to the D-League Canton Charge on Monday but recalled them later in the day, reportedly because of the injuries to Iman Shumpert, who’s expected to return to play at the start of the postseason, and Williams.

Mo Williams insists he has no plans to retire after the season, even though multiple people suggest otherwise, reports Jason Lloyd of the Akron Beacon Journal. Williams visited well-known orthopedic surgeon Dr. James Andrews on Monday, and it’s believed this is the third time he’s seen Andrews about his sore left knee, which has been bothering him for the last couple of years, Lloyd writes. No surgery is planned at this point, but if he were to undergo a procedure, he’d miss the playoffs and perhaps the start of next season, according to Lloyd. Williams, 33, has a player option worth nearly $2.195MM for 2016/17 on his contract with the Cavaliers.

Latest On Knicks Coaching Situation

April 12th, 2016 at 8:58am CST by Chuck Myron

David Blatt is a long shot for the Knicks head coaching job unless team president Phil Jackson defers to GM Steve Mills, a source tells Marc Berman of the New York Post. Ian Begley of ESPNNewYork.com reported Monday that the Knicks are considering the former Cavaliers coach and that Jackson views him favorably. Kurt Rambis, the interim head coach, remains a strong candidate to secure the job on a long-term basis, Begley wrote, but even if he doesn’t, he’ll remain with the Knicks as either the top offensive assistant or assistant GM, sources tell Berman.

That’s despite the general feeling in the locker room that Rambis talks down to the players, as one Knicks player told Frank Isola of the New York Daily News. Sources previously indicated to Berman that Rambis doesn’t have the same level of respect from the players that former coach Derek Fisher did. Carmelo Anthony has said he’d like for the Knicks to at least listen to candidates aside from Rambis, though Anthony delivered praise for the interim boss Sunday, as Begley chronicles (ESPN Now link).

“He was kind of a big-time influence in what we had going on early in the season and even last year, being the associate head coach,” Anthony said. “But just the way that he was able to jump right in there [after taking over], get guys’ attention and get guys to play — usually in that situation it takes time. Most people put in a new system, a new offense, a new defensive scheme. He jumped right in there because it was the same system.”

Rambis has close ties to Jackson, sharing the same agents, as Berman points out, but renewed speculation emerged Sunday that Jackson, who can opt out after next season, will remain team president for no more than another year, Isola relays. Berman suggests that hiring Blatt would represent a transition of sorts to Mills, who played college ball with Blatt at Princeton. Blatt was an usher at Mills’ wedding, according to Berman. Isola advocates for the Knicks to hire Tom Thibodeau, but Jackson, who remains in contact with Bulls executive John Paxson, isn’t impressed with the ex-Bulls coach, as Berman pointed out recently.

Kaun, McRae Recalled From Canton Charge

April 11th, 2016 at 10:27pm CST by Dana Gauruder

The Cavaliers recalled center Sasha Kaun and shooting guard Jordan McRae from their D-League affiliate, the Canton Charge, according to the team’s website. They had been assigned to the Charge earlier in the day. The pair will be reassigned to the Charge on Tuesday, Josh Weir of The Repository tweets.

Knicks Consider David Blatt For Coaching Job

April 11th, 2016 at 4:11pm CST by Chuck Myron

The Knicks are giving David Blatt consideration for their head coaching job, sources tell Ian Begley of ESPNNewYork.com. Team president Phil Jackson has a favorable view of the former Cavaliers coach who played with Knicks GM Steve Mills at Princeton, according to Begley. Interim head coach Kurt Rambis remains a strong candidate to win the removal of his interim tag, but Jackson plans to do his due diligence and consider others, league sources tell Begley.

Jackson has reportedly been pulling for Rambis from the start of his interim gig, and Begley and ESPN colleague Marc Stein reported just last week that Jackson was pushing for Rambis to get a long-term deal as head coach. However, owner James Dolan is reportedly researching potential front office replacements for Jackson, and Rambis hasn’t distinguished himself with a 9-18 mark since taking over on the bench.

A wide-ranging search would seemingly be the preference of Carmelo Anthony, who’s said he’d like Jackson to at least listen to other candidates for the head coaching job. Sources recently indicated to Marc Berman of the New York Post that former head coach Derek Fisher drew more respect from Knicks players than Rambis does.

Blatt didn’t always have command of the locker room in Cleveland, where his relationship with LeBron James was a matter of close scrutiny. Blatt’s camp believes James was the sole catalyst for the team’s coaching change from Blatt to Tyronn Lue earlier this season, as TNT’s David Aldridge reported.

In any case, Blatt comes to the table with a much more impressive record than Rambis has. The Cavs made the finals last summer under Blatt’s watch and went 83-40 overall during his tenure. Rambis is 65-163 all-time as an NBA head coach, though with decidedly less talent on his rosters. Blatt, the former Russian national team coach, also figures to be a candidate for the head coaching job of the Russian-owned Nets, who have an interim coach of their own in Tony Brown.

Celtics Sign John Holland

April 11th, 2016 at 3:54pm CST by Chuck Myron

3:54pm: The signing has formally taken place, the team announced (Twitter link). Holland will see $9,266 this season, not including his playoff share, and a non-guaranteed $874,636 next season, provided he signed for the minimum, as is standard for midseason signees.

1:37pm: The deal would cover the rest of 2015/16 plus next season, and next season’s salary would be non-guaranteed, league sources tell Charania (Twitter link).

1:00pm: The Celtics plan to sign former Boston University swingman John Holland into their open roster spot, reports Shams Charania of The Vertical (Twitter link). The deal is contingent upon him passing a physical, notes Adam Himmelsbach of the Boston Globe (on Twitter). The 27-year-old was with the Spurs in the 2014 preseason and has been playing with the D-League affiliate of the Cavaliers this season.

The contract would cover the playoffs, and the Celtics had a desire to carry a full 15-man roster in the postseason in case of injury, Himmelsbach tweets. Coach Brad Stevens said recently the team would prefer a versatile forward, seemingly a hint that former 10-day signee Coty Clarke might return, but instead the team is going with Holland, who is 6’5″ and can play two-guard and small forward but would be significantly undersized at power forward.

Holland averaged 16.0 points in 30.2 minutes per game with 36.9% shooting in 37 regular season appearances with the D-League Canton Charge this season, and he turned it up in two playoff games last week, making 10 of 17 total 3-point attempts and averaging 28.5 points.

It’s unclear whether the deal would carry into next season. Either way, he’d likely receive a prorated rookie minimum salary this season plus a share of the team’s playoff earnings.

Cavs Unlikely To Fill Open Roster Spot

April 11th, 2016 at 3:15pm CST by Chuck Myron

The Cavs have assigned Sasha Kaun and Jordan McRae to the D-League, the team revealed in separate announcements. They’ll provide playoff help to the Canton Charge, who are reportedly poised to lose John Holland to an NBA contract with Boston.

The Cavaliers won’t rule out signing a player to fill their open roster spot, but it’s likely they won’t, reports Chris Haynes of the Northeast Ohio Media Group and the Cleveland Plain Dealer (Twitter link). That’s even though Mo Williams is suffering from continued soreness in his left knee that’s prompted a visit to noted orthopedic surgeon Dr. James Andrews, the team announced. No surgery is set for Williams at this point, however. Iman Shumpert will miss the rest of the regular season with left knee trouble, but he’s expected to be ready for the start of the playoffs, according to the team.

Johnson Could Have Helped Cavs

April 10th, 2016 at 8:05pm CST by Arthur Hill

Joe Johnson would have been a valuable addition to a Cavaliers team that is weak at the backup wing position, contends Jeff Kasler of AmicoHoops. Cleveland was considered an early favorite to land Johnson as he was negotiating his buyout with the Nets, but Johnson opted for Miami because he prefers the Heat’s up-tempo offense. Kasler says Johnson would have given the Cavs quality minutes that Richard Jefferson and Iman Shumpert aren’t providing and would have allowed more rest time for LeBron James in the postseason.

Irving Maintains That Cavs Are Team To Beat

April 6th, 2016 at 8:20pm CST by Eddie Scarito

Kyrie Irving isn’t backing down from his proclamation that the Cavaliers are the team to beat in the NBA this season, despite the fact that the Warriors are the defending champions and have a shot to set the single-season mark for victories, Chris Fedor of The Northeast Ohio Media Group relays. “I mean, I feel that way and I was just being honest about it,” Irving said. “We all should feel that way as well, no matter if we’re going up and down. We still have the talent and we still have the belief. Whether we show it on a consistent basis, we know internally what we have and what we’re capable of when clicking on all cylinders. May not be perfect, may not be the prototypical team that everyone else sees, but I believe in these guys. I will go to war with these guys any day.“

Lue Challenges LeBron James To Focus On Basketball

April 4th, 2016 at 9:38pm CST by Dana Gauruder

Cavs coach Tyronn Lue asserted his authority in a recent meeting with LeBron James in which Lue told the superstar small forward to cut out the distractions, Brian Windhorst of ESPN.com reports. Lue’s challenge came in the wake of James’ recent actions, including comments about his desire to play with Dwyane Wade, Chris Paul and Carmelo Anthony and cryptic messages on social media, Windhorst continues. James has lifted his game since the meeting, averaging 28.9 points, 8.9 rebounds and 9.6 assists over the past seven games as Cleveland has solidified its status as the Eastern Conference’s top seed, Windhorst adds.