Cavaliers Rumors

And-Ones: Cavs, Davis, Aldridge, Kobe, Teodosic

October 20th, 2015 at 9:59am CST by Chuck Myron

The Cavaliers are the pick to win it all and LeBron James is the favorite for MVP in the league’s annual GM survey, as John Schuhmann of NBA.com presents. More than half the executives who responded favor the Cavs, while the Warriors garnered only 17.9% of the vote, the third-lowest percentage for a defending champ in the 13-year history of the GM survey. Still, neither of last year’s Finals teams has Anthony Davis, whom a whopping 86.2% of respondents selected as the player they’d most want to build their teams around.

LaMarcus Aldridge drew 79.3% of the vote for the offseason acquisition who’ll make the greatest impact, and the Spurs garnered the same percentage for the team that had the best offseason, unsurprisingly. See more on Aldridge’s decision amid the latest from around the NBA:

Aldridge thought he would re-sign with the Trail Blazers when he put off thumb surgery last season, and he thinks the Blazers did all they could to keep him, but the lure of playing closer to his home in Texas proved too great when the time came for a decision, as he told Chris Mannix of SI.com. Aldridge said to Mannix that the idea that he left Portland because he couldn’t get along with Damian Lillard was overblown, and that while he and Lillard mutually acknowledged that they could have communicated better with each other, they don’t have a poor relationship. “But I never had an issue playing with him or anything like that or with him being the face or them promoting him or anything like that,” Aldridge said in part. “If I had an issue like that then why go to the Spurs? They don’t promote anybody.”
Kobe Bryant‘s presence was one of the best parts of meeting with the Lakers this summer, Aldridge insisted to Mannix for the same piece, striking back at the notion that he didn’t want to play with the Lakers star.
The GM poll also shows 28-year-old shooting guard Milos Teodosic, who plays for CSKA Moscow but whose NBA rights aren’t tied to any team, as the second-best international player outside the NBA aside from Sixers draft-and-stash prospect Dario Saric. Plus, more GMs want to see revamped lottery odds than any other rules change.

Central Notes: Robinson, LeBron, Dudley, Noah

October 20th, 2015 at 8:59am CST by Chuck Myron

Pacers coach Frank Vogel said at the start of training camp that Glenn Robinson III would probably spend time on assignment to the D-League this season, but his play in preseason has challenged that idea, writes Mark Montieth of Pacers.com. It’s clear the team is high on him, having been impressed with his performance during informal scrimmages before camp.

“What he showed in September is that he’s real,” coach Frank Vogel said. “He’s not a couple-years-away guy. We have guys ahead of him probably, but there were days in September when he was the best player on the court. That was very, very impressive to me. He’s got a great attitude, and he’s got all the physical tools with the speed and athleticism. He has the tools to be a steal.”

Robinson signed with Indiana this summer on a three-year, $3.241MM deal that includes a fully guaranteed salary for this season. See more from the Central Division:

LeBron James turns 31 in December, but he’s still capable of bearing a heavy load for the Cavaliers, coach David Blatt contends, according to Dave McMenamin of ESPN.com. “I would hesitate to put Bron in the category of an advanced-age player,” Blatt said. “He’s not. He is in terms of the number of games he’s played or given the fact that he’s constantly deep into the playoffs and his greatness helps his team achieve those levels.”
Jared Dudley complimented the Bucks owners and said that he was on board with the trade that sent him to the Wizards this summer, one that he said he and his agent had spoken about ahead of time, as Charles F. Gardner of the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel details.
A decent chance exists that Joakim Noah will begin this season, the last one on his contract, coming off the bench, observes K.C. Johnson of the Chicago Tribune. Noah continues to display a team-first attitude for the Bulls, but removal from the starting lineup with free agency looming would challenge that demeanor, Johnson posits. “Coach is going to have a lot of decisions to make in terms of matchups and things like that,” Noah said recently. “Whatever Coach does, I’m cool with it.”

Top Bloggers: David Zavac On The Cavaliers

October 19th, 2015 at 4:59pm CST by Chuck Myron

Anyone can have a blog about an NBA team, but some set themselves apart from the rest with the dedication and valuable insight they bring to their craft. We’ll be sharing some knowledge from these dialed-in writers on Hoops Rumors in a new feature called Top Bloggers. As with The Beat, our ongoing series of interviews with NBA beat writers, it’s part of an effort to bring Hoops Rumors readers ever closer to the pulse of the teams they follow. Last time, we spoke with Jason Patt, Managing Editor of TodaysFastbreak.com and a contributor at SB Nation’s Blog a Bull. Click here to see the entire Top Bloggers series.

Next up is David Zavac, who is the Managing Editor of SB Nation’s Fear the Sword. You can follow David on Twitter at @DavidZavac and click here to check out his stories.

Hoops Rumors: How surprised are you that the qualifying offer deadline came and went and Tristan Thompson still hasn’t signed?

David Zavac: Very surprised. The Cavs and Thompson’s agent Rich Paul have a great relationship. Many credit Paul for keeping lines of communication open between owner Dan Gilbert and LeBron James after the latter took his talents to South Beach. There’s relatively obvious middle ground for a five year deal around $82-85MM. With the threat of a qualifying offer gone, I understand why the Cavs might not feel the need to budge anymore. It doesn’t look like they will, unless …

Hoops Rumors: Do the Cavs have the kind of depth necessary to withstand the absence of Thompson and all the injuries they’re dealing with, or do they need to add someone?

David Zavac: … Unless the Cavs’ frontcourt really struggles early on. Kevin Love is working back from shoulder surgery, and Timo Mozgov is working back from knee surgery. Anderson Varejao is working back from a torn Achilles, and Sasha Kaun has never played in the NBA. That’s the frontcourt. Varejao wasn’t effective next to Love last season before his injury, so it’s hard to expect much. If the Cavs are hovering around .500, maybe they cave on Thompson. I wouldn’t count on it, though.

Hoops Rumors: Jared Cunningham has been a pleasant surprise so far in the preseason. Can you envision him sticking for the regular season and seeing meaningful minutes this year?

David Zavac: I could see him making the team, but I doubt he becomes a big part of the rotation long term. Iman Shumpert and Kyrie Irving will be out early on, so maybe he would get an opportunity. Hard to see him cracking a nine-man rotation when the team is healthy, though.

Hoops Rumors: Love signed a five-year, maximum-salary deal this summer despite his off year last season. What has to happen on the floor for him to bounce back and justify that contract?

David Zavac: I’ll go against the grain and say that he can do exactly what he did last season and be worth the money. He’s a perfect floor spacer for Kyrie Irving and LeBron James. Those guys can run the pick-and-roll with either Mozgov or Thompson and there’s nothing but space and dunks. Love knocking down the shots on kick outs and being the multifaceted threat that he is allows for hyper-efficiency from James and Irving, and the Cavs score at a historic rate when the Big 3 play together. Thompson and Mozgov both fit very, very well with Love and the rest of the Big 3. If Love gets more opportunities to facilitate or steps up his defense a bit, that’s great. If not, that’s great too. He’s still providing ridiculous value.

Hoops Rumors: The Cavs traded the draft rights to Tyus Jones and Rakeem Christmas and went the draft-and-stash route with Cedi Osman and Sir’Dominic Pointer. The Cavs are clearly in win-now mode, but are they sacrificing too much of the future for the sake of the present?

David Zavac: Probably not. Irving, Thompson, Shumpert, and Kevin Love are still pretty young and are either locked in long term or figure to be locked in long term pretty soon. That’s a nice young core with a couple of superstars. It’s not fun to see your team punt on draft picks and what not, but no one knows like Cavs fans just how little most rookies and young players can contribute early on.

Hoops Rumors: The Eastern Conference doesn’t pose much of a threat, but how do the Cavs stack up against the Western Conference heavies?

David Zavac: Assuming the Cavs are at full strength, they should have a great shot against nearly everyone. Without Kevin Love and Kyrie Irving they were within two games of winning last season. The talk of Kevin Love being sat in fourth quarters and not fitting was overblown. The Cavs were 33-3 when they were healthy to close out the season. The Warriors, Rockets, and Spurs all figure to be very good. I’d be optimistic if I were writing about them as well. Hopefully whoever comes out of the conference finals will be healthy and we can get a good look.

Central Notes: Bullock, Cunningham, Cavaliers

October 18th, 2015 at 8:59am CST by Arthur Hill

Reggie Bullock is very likely to make the Pistons‘ roster, and the team is considering picking up his option for 2016/17, reports Vince Ellis of The Detroit Free Press. Detroit has until November 2nd to decide on the option, which is worth $2.2MM. Ellis cites an unidentified source with “firsthand knowledge” who says the move is being considered.

“If they pick this up, I know that I will be here at least still getting paid NBA money,” Bullock said. “I’m just trying to find a place, and Detroit would be the perfect place for me to be able to start my young career and actually be here and actually learn things as part of this system and organization.”

Bullock came to the Pistons in a July 9th deal with Phoenix that also brought Marcus Morris and Danny Granger. He didn’t earn much playing time in his first two NBA seasons with the Clippers and Suns, but has impressed Detroit’s coaches with a strong preseason performance. Bullock is averaging 12.3 points per game and has shot 8-of-16 from three-point range, along with providing a strong defensive presence on the wing.

There’s more this morning from the Central Division:

Jared Cunningham is making a strong push for a Cavaliers roster spot, according to Gary Washburn of The Boston Globe. He has been Cleveland’s leading scorer during the preseason, averaging 13.6 points per game. Cunningham has bounced around the league since being drafted in the first round in 2012, spending time with the Mavericks, Hawks, Kings and Clippers. Washburn notes that the 24-year-old would give the Cavs an athletic presence in the backcourt.
Kevin Love is expected to make his preseason debut today, but that only offers a little relief for the Cavaliers‘ injury woes, writes Jason Lloyd of The Akron Beacon Journal. Love will return to the court for the first time since having surgery to fix a dislocated left shoulder. Five Cleveland rotation players have undergone surgical procedures in the past 10 months.
The Bucks are being cautious with Jabari Parker as he comes back from a torn ACL that ended his rookie season after 25 games, according to Dave McMenamin of ESPN.com. “If you were able to watch practice, I’m sure you guys would probably question why he’s not playing,” said coach Jason Kidd. “Because he’s done everything. He looks great. But again, he hasn’t been cleared by the doctors.”

Central Notes: Jennings, Monroe, Bulls, Williams

October 17th, 2015 at 6:49pm CST by Arthur Hill

The Pistons hope to have Brandon Jennings back by Christmas, according to Vincent Ellis of The Detroit Free Press. The point guard hasn’t played since rupturing his left Achilles in January, but coach/executive Stan Van Gundy said he is “doing about everything” in practice, which includes step-back jumpers, running hard forward and backward and making moves before shooting. However, Jennings hasn’t been in a competitive situation or done any defensive drills. “They’ve given us sort of Christmastime, sort of tentative, very general, though, before or after so I think there’s a reasonable chance he could play in a game before the first of the year,” Van Gundy said.

There’s more from the Central Division:

Several former Pistons teammates who also played for Milwaukee helped convince Greg Monroe to sign with the Bucks this summer, writes Michael Lee of Yahoo Sports. Assisting Monroe in making his decision were Jennings, Caron Butler, Brandon Knight and Khris Middleton, whom Monroe had Thanksgiving dinner with last year. Middleton joked that he called or texted Monroe “every five minutes” to recruit him for Milwaukee.
If the Bulls decide to go with a full roster of 15 players, Cristiano Felicio is a good bet to grab the final spot over Jordan Crawford, speculates K.C. Johnson of The Chicago Tribune. The Brazilian center played on Chicago’s summer league team and is in camp on a non-guaranteed contract. Johnson believes he would be good insurance with Joakim Noah and maybe Pau Gasol becoming unrestricted free agents next summer.
The offseason addition of Mo Williams, combined with J.R. Smith and Iman Shumpert, gives the Cavaliers three of the toughest players in the NBA, according to Chris Haynes of The Northeast Ohio Media Group. “Nobody is going to punk me,” Williams said. “Nobody’s going to punk anybody who I stand with, so that’s just a motto that I have and I feel like my teammates should have that same motto.”

Northwest Notes: Johnson, Green, Cooley, Exum

October 17th, 2015 at 5:38pm CST by Arthur Hill

The Nuggets gave extended minutes to guards Nick Johnson and Erick Green in Friday’s game as they battle for a roster spot, writes Christopher Dempsey of The Denver Post. Neither was outstanding, as Johnson had three points and three assists on 1-of-7 shooting in 19 minutes and Green shot 2-of-5 while scoring seven points and collecting two assists in 21 minutes. Johnson came to Denver in the trade that sent Ty Lawson to Houston, while Green was part of a 2013 draft night deal that shipped Rudy Gobert to Utah.

There’s more news from the Northwest Division:

Jack Cooley, who signed today with the Cavaliers, told Spencer Davies of AmicoHoops.net that he was surprised the Jazz let him go. Cooley, who had a non-guaranteed contract in Utah, was waived Tuesday. “You obviously don’t expect that to happen,” he said, “but it’s always good to keep your head up and there’s other good teams out there that’ll look a player up who works that hard. I’ve just got to keep doing what I do, which is work hard, rebound and be physical.”
Two months after tearing his ACL, Jazz guard Dante Exum is pain free and able to walk without help, according to Aaron Falk of The Salt Lake Tribune. Exum, who is expected to miss the entire 2015/16 season, credits his quick healing to a rigorous program of physical therapy he underwent for a month before having surgery. He would like to be ready for the Olympics in August, although there is no timeline for when he might play again. “At this point, I’m not too sure,” he said. “It’s just a matter of taking it day by day, week by week and month by month.”
Dion Waiters admits he was out of shape when he was traded from the Cavaliers to the Thunder last season, writes Anthony Slater of NewsOK.com. However, Waiters is working to change his mind and body as free agency looms next summer.

Cavaliers Rumors: Thompson, James, Cooley

October 17th, 2015 at 2:02pm CST by Arthur Hill

Neither side seems to have a sense of urgency to resolve the Tristan Thompson holdout, writes Chris Haynes of The Northeast Ohio Media Group and the Cleveland Plain Dealer. It has been more than two weeks since Thompson let the Cavaliers’ qualifying offer expire, and Haynes reports that there is no ongoing communication between the team and Thompson’s agents, Rich Paul and Mark Termini. The columnist says team members have talked about how difficult a championship run would be without Thompson, and LeBron James has contacted the young forward frequently throughout the contract impasse.

Haynes notes that Thompson’s best option may be to sit out the entire season. Although he would remain a restricted free agent, he would likely see better offers next summer with the expected rise in the NBA’s salary cap.

Haynes writes that the Cavs’ offer of five years in the neighborhood of $80MM remains on the table, despite a recent rumor that the deal has been pulled. However, Thompson and his representatives are holding out for a max contract, either for five or three years.

There’s more this afternoon from Cleveland:

James may miss the rest of the preseason after receiving an injection in his back, according to Jason Lloyd of The Akron Beacon Journal. James sat out two weeks in January after getting a similar anti-inflammatory shot. The Cavs plan for their superstar to be ready for their October 27th opener against the Bulls.
Free agent forward Jack Cooley, who signed with the team earlier today, received an $845,059 non-guaranteed deal, tweets Alex Kennedy of Basketball Insiders. That number indicates that it covers one year. Kennedy notes that Cooley will be competing with Austin Daye, Jared Cunningham, Quinn Cook and D.J. Stephens for two open roster spots (Twitter link).
Thompson’s holdout and a rash of injuries are going to require patience from the coaching staff and front office during the early part of the season, writes Terry Pluto of the Plain Dealer. Five rotation players — Kevin Love, Kyrie Irving, Iman Shumpert, Timofey Mozgov and Anderson Varejao — have had surgery within the past 10 months.

Cavs Pull $80MM Offer To Tristan Thompson?

October 17th, 2015 at 2:02pm CST by Chuck Myron

SATURDAY, 2:02pm: The Cavs didn’t pull their offer, according to Chris Haynes of the Northeast Ohio Media Group and the Cleveland Plain Dealer, who indicates it might not be worth precisely $80MM but is “in the ballpark” of that number, “give or take.”

FRIDAY, 7:59am: The Cavs withdrew their five-year, $80MM offer to Tristan Thompson when his qualifying offer expired on October 1st, as Salary Cap FAQ author Larry Coon hears and writes within a Basketball Insiders chat. The sides were reportedly close to a deal for those terms on the first day of free agency in July, but instead they’ve been locked into a stalemate ever since, with Thompson’s camp apparently insistent on a max deal of either five years or three.

Mark Termini, as he usually is for Rich Paul’s Klutch Sports, has been Thompson’s lead negotiator, Coon also hears, and as Jeff Zillgitt of USA Today Sports detailed a couple of weeks ago, Termini and the Cavs both have a history with holdouts. Thompson remains a restricted free agent, but only the Trail Blazers have the cap flexibility to sign him to a max offer sheet, and aside from them, only the Sixers can come close. The last day for Thompson to accept an offer sheet would be March 1st, if he still remains unsigned at that point. Should his free agency linger into next summer, the Cavaliers would have the opportunity to make a new qualifying offer by June 30th to continue his restricted free agency.

It’s unclear what sort of offer, if any, the Cavs have on the table for Thompson at this point. Cleveland is dealing with several injuries as the regular season draws near, including the continued absences of Kyrie Irving and Kevin Love, who were hurt during the playoffs. Iman Shumpert is in line to miss roughly the first two months of the regular season because of a wrist injury that happened shortly before the start of training camp. The Cavs are a league-worst 0-5 in the preseason, though LeBron James has only appeared in two of those games as part of an effort to limit his minutes.

Where do you think the Cavs and Thompson will go from here? Leave a comment to give us your thoughts.

Cavs Sign Jack Cooley, Waive Chris Johnson

October 17th, 2015 at 11:10am CST by Eddie Scarito

11:10am: The Cavs made it official and have announced that Cooley has been signed and Johnson has been waived.

9:15am: The Cavaliers have reached a deal with unrestricted free agent power forward Jack Cooley, Shams Charania of Yahoo Sports reports (Twitter link). The details of the agreement are not yet known, but Cleveland is over the luxury tax line and limited to offering just the league minimum. The Cavs currently have 20 players on their roster, and Cleveland will waive Chris Johnson to clear room to ink Cooley, Chris Haynes of The Northeast Ohio Media Group tweets.

Cooley, 24, was in training camp with the Jazz on a non-guaranteed deal, but Utah waived him on Tuesday. The forward made 16 regular season appearances last season for the Jazz, averaging 1.7 points and 1.6 rebounds in 5.4 minutes of action per night. While Cooley provides additional frontcourt depth, Cleveland could be bringing him in as insurance in the event Tristan Thompson‘s holdout is a prolonged one, though that is merely my speculation.

Johnson, 30, went undrafted out of LSU back in 2009, and is not to be confused with swingman Chris Johnson out of Dayton. The Johnson whom the Cavs are cutting last appeared on an NBA regular season roster back in 2012/13, when he made 30 appearances for Minnesota. His career NBA averages are 2.9 points, 1.9 rebounds, and 0.6 blocks to accompany a slash line of .562/.000/.699. He spent the 2014/15 campaign playing in China.

Cavs Notes: Roster, Christmas, Cunningham

October 16th, 2015 at 10:19pm CST by Eddie Scarito

The Cavaliers are planning to have only 14 players on opening night instead of the maximum 15, reports Chris Haynes of the Northeast Ohio Media Group and the Cleveland Plain Dealer. It would take an overwhelming performance from one of the players on the roster bubble to convince the team to carry a 15th man, Haynes hears. Jared Cunningham has a non-guaranteed deal, but he’s the team’s leading scorer in the preseason and “by far” the favorite to join 13 other players with full guarantees, according to Haynes. Cavs coach David Blatt said late Thursday that the team’s 14th spot would likely go to a guard because of point guard Kyrie Irving‘s injury, as Chris Fedor of the Northeast Ohio Media Group relays (Twitter link), and Cunningham plays shooting guard.

See more on the Cavaliers below:

The contract that Dionte Christmas, another shooting guard, signed with the Cavs last week is non-guaranteed for two years at the minimum salary, reports Eric Pincus of Basketball Insiders (Twitter links).
The Cavs will likely release a few of their camp invitees after their preseason schedule ends Monday and briefly add replacements for practice purposes, Haynes adds in the same piece. Those replacements would only be on the roster for a few days, since they’ll have to be off the books by October 26th, the day the roster limit shrinks from 20 to 15. In any case, Cleveland intends to keep the roster at 20 players as long as possible, team sources tell Haynes.
Blatt wasn’t familiar with Cunningham’s game prior to this year’s training camp, but the coach is certainly a fan of the shooting guard’s game now, writes Dave McMenamin of ESPN.com. “Honestly, coming in I did not have direct experience with Jared,” Blatt said. “I hadn’t really seen him play in the league. I didn’t see him play in college. I know his history and looked into what he had done in the NBA and in the D-League. But this is the first time I’ve had a chance to work directly with him and see him on the floor, and he’d done nothing but acquit himself well in every way. He’s playing good basketball. He’s playing two-way basketball, and he’s making a serious run to try and make this team. He’s doing a good job.”

Chuck Myron contributed to this post.

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