Blazers Acquire Brendan Haywood, Mike Miller
MONDAY, 12:55pm: The deal is official, the Cavs and Blazers announce. Miller receives $428,241 from Cleveland thanks to his 15% trade kicker, though that amount will apply to Portland’s cap, lifting Miller’s total cap hit to $3,283,181, notes former Nets executive Bobby Marks (Twitter link).
8:49pm: The Cavs will not receive draft picks in the deal, Wojnarowski tweets. The Blazers, however, will send cash, according to Wojnarowski (Twitter link).
SUNDAY, 8:19pm: The Cavs have agreed to trade Brendan Haywood and Mike Miller to the Blazers, reports Yahoo Sports’ Adrian Wojnarowski (on Twitter). Cleveland is set to gain two trade exceptions in the deal — one for $10.5MM and another for $2.85MM — Wojnarowski tweets.
The Cavs are also set to send the better of the 2019 second-round picks that they own from the Lakers and Timberwolves plus their 2020 second-round pick, according to ESPN.com’s Brian Windhorst (on Twitter).
Haywood’s contract is non-guaranteed for next season at $10,522,500. It will become guaranteed on August 1st and therefore the Blazers are expected to waive him, Windhorst writes in a full story. The Cavs, of course, had been shopping Haywood and his sizable contract for months to no avail.
The Cavs are still interested in making deals with Tristan Thompson, J.R. Smith and Matthew Dellavedova, but at the moment, are set to cut their luxury tax bill from a little more than $32MM to just over $4MM by shedding the salaries of Haywood and Miller, ESPN.com’s Marc Stein tweets.
Eastern Notes: Irving, Anthony, Embiid, Raptors
The Cavaliers‘ Kyrie Irving is being cautious about his return to basketball after fracturing his left kneecap in the NBA Finals, writes Chris Fedor of The Northeast Ohio Media Group. Irving had surgery the day after suffering the injury in Game 1, and the team estimated his recovery time at three to four months. That should have him ready for the start of training camp in late September, but the star guard isn’t focused on that timetable. “I’m honestly not putting a date on anything,” Irving said. “People are going to put a date regardless. I’m just continuing to be on the journey I’ve been on and that’s continuing to get better every single day and rehabbing my leg.” Irving said he expects the Cavaliers to be even better next season after adding veterans Mo Williams and Richard Jefferson through free agency.
There’s more from the Eastern Conference:
- The Knicks have given their approval for Carmelo Anthony to attend a USA Basketball minicamp next month in Las Vegas, according to Mitch Abramson of the New York Daily News. It’s the latest indication that Anthony will be healthy in time for training camp after February’s surgery on a torn patellar tendon in his left knee. The August 11th-13th event will bring together players who have participated in the USA Basketball system. Non-contact workouts are planned with an informal all-star game capping off the proceedings. Anthony, who is still recuperating from the surgery, is not expected to participate in all the events.
- If Joel Embiid had slipped to the sixth pick in the 2014 NBA draft, there is a good chance the Celtics would have taken him, reports Mark Murphy of The Boston Herald. “[The Celtics] did have the go-ahead from their medical staff to make that pick,” said an unidentified source. “They weren’t going to say no to him.” The Sixers recently announced that Embiid will undergo another surgery on his right foot and probably miss a second consecutive season.
- Doug Smith of the Toronto Star compares the Raptors‘ philosophy under GM Masai Ujiri to the team’s under former GM Brian Colangelo in the writer’s latest mailbag. Smith believe the main difference is that the current regime tends have more patience with the team and lets things develop longer.
Arthur Hill contributed to this post.
Central Notes: Cavs, Jackson, Hilliard
The Cavs would benefit from bringing back unrestricted free agent J.R. Smith and the guard would benefit from a return to Cleveland after testing his luck in free agency, Bud Shaw of the Northeast Ohio Media Group opines. Smith, who is expected to meet with the Cavs soon, left $6.4MM on the table when he declined his player’s option with Cleveland in June. The reunion would make sense from a basketball standpoint, Shaw writes, because the Cavs would not need Smith to carry the load of a top scoring option and Smith is at his best off the bench and playing loose.
Here’s more from the Central Division:
- Reggie Jackson‘s five-year, $80MM deal with the Pistons does not carry any options and will pay the guard $13.9MM in the first year and $18.1MM in the final year, Eric Pincus of Basketball Insiders reports (Twitter link). It was recently reported that despite widespread criticism, Detroit coach/executive Stan Van Gundy still likes the contract.
- Darrun Hilliard, who the Pistons drafted at No. 38 and later officially signed to a three-year deal, received $600K guaranteed in the first year of his contract with Detroit with the second and third years of his deal at the minimum salary, Pincus tweets.
- The final year of the two-year deal E’Twaun Moore signed in September with the Bulls became fully guaranteed on July 15th, Pincus tweets. The combo guard will be paid slightly more than $1MM this upcoming season. Moore’s production fell last season as he made 56 appearences and averaged only 2.7 points per game.
Cavs Re-Sign James Jones
SATURDAY, 9:44am: The deal is official, the Cavs announce in a press release.
THURSDAY, 6:00pm: The deal is for one-year and $1.45MM, Brian Windhorst of ESPN.com notes (on Twitter). Windhorst is likely rounding down from the minimum salary, which for Jones would be $1,499,187.
MONDAY, 8:22am: The Cavaliers will re-sign James Jones, a league source confirmed to Joe Vardon of the Northeast Ohio Media Group. Jones told Vardon on Sunday that he would “be back in Cleveland for sure.” The 12-year veteran forward who turns 35 in October spent last year with the Cavs on a one-year deal for the minimum salary.
“I’ve made it well-known last year when I told them I was coming to help change the culture and do something special,” Jones said. “It wasn’t a situation where I was looking for a platform to move on. I was looking to be a part of something, to build something. And so I’m still in.”
Jones can receive up to $1,799,024 from the Cavs via Non-Bird rights, but it seems likely that Cleveland will push him to sign for the $1,499,187 minimum salary. If he takes the minimum on another one-year deal, the Cavs would only be responsible for $947,276, the equivalent of the two-year veteran’s minimum, with the league picking up the rest. That savings of $851,748 would allow Cleveland to avoid paying an additional amount of more than three times as much in tax penalties because of the team’s otherwise soaring payroll. So, a roughly $300K sacrifice for Jones would mean much for the Cavs.
The Joel Bell client, a Miami native, followed LeBron James from the Heat to the Cavs last summer. Jones played more total minutes this past season than he had in any of the previous three with Miami, averaging 4.4 points in 11.7 minutes per game with 36.0% three-point percentage across 57 appearances. His role increased in the playoffs, when he saw 15.5 MPG, but he averaged the same 4.4 PPG.
Hoops Rumors Community Shootaround 7/24/15
With the month of July nearly over most of the bigger name free agents have already locked down their new deals and know what jerseys they will don for next season. The most notable remaining unrestricted free agent is J.R. Smith, who left $6.4MM on the table when he declined his player’s option with Cleveland for the 2015/16 campaign back in June. While there’s still a good chance that Smith will re-sign with the Cavs, his chances of topping that salary amount for next season are rapidly dwindling along with most of the teams’ available cap space. Smith experienced a bit of a career revival after escaping New York at midseason, though his postseason shooting woes, and ill-advised elbow to Jae Crowder‘s face that earned him a two game suspension, could not be considered closing out the season on a high note.
This brings me to the topic of the day: Where does J.R. Smith play next season, and how much do you predict he’ll earn for 2015/16?
Smith can be an explosive scorer when he’s “on” and playing under control. He’s also only two seasons removed from winning Sixth Man of the Year honors, and he did manage to steer clear of trouble while with the Cavs, except for that one postseason incident. The 29-year-old also fit into the Cavs’ rotation quite well, and the team has expressed a desire to re-sign Smith, though they reportedly weren’t pleased at him opting out of his deal.
Is remaining in Cleveland the best option for Smith, or do you see another team being a better fit? What sort of deal can Smith expect to land at this stage of the offseason? Does anyone out there believe he’ll top the $6.4MM he was set to earn? All these questions and more are fair game. Take to the comments section below to express your opinions, share your thoughts, and kill some time with your fellow hoops fans. We look forward to what you have to say.
Note: Since these Shootarounds are meant to be guided by you the reader, we certainly welcome your input on the topics we present. If there is something you’d like to see pop up here for a discussion, shoot me a message at hoopsrumorsmailbag@gmail.com or hit me up on Twitter at @EddieScarito to submit topics or ideas for what we should present in future posts.
Latest On Brendan Haywood
The Cavaliers have not had any luck in trying to deal Brendan Haywood and his sizable non-guaranteed contract, and the team now is focused on flipping Haywood for a traded player exception, Brian Windhorst of ESPN.com relays. The trade Cleveland made earlier today which sent the rights to Rakeem Christmas to the Pacers was intended to give the Cavs roster flexibility and an asset they may use in moving Haywood to create a large trade exception within the next week, Windhorst notes.
While the Cavs haven’t made a final decision regarding what to do with Haywood, the franchise has arrived at the conclusion it will not be able to find a suitable deal to use Haywood’s $10,522,500 non-guaranteed contract, sources told Windhorst. The Cavs are now considering all options to move Haywood before August 1st, when his contract becomes guaranteed, as is shown by our schedule of guarantee dates.
The only teams currently possessing enough cap space to absorb Haywood and create a trade exception for Cleveland are the Trail Blazers and the Sixers, notes the ESPN scribe. The Jazz are also a possibility, but they would have to trade or cut several players with non-guaranteed contracts to engineer a trade for the big man. Cleveland will likely need to include a draft pick to facilitate a deal, which is a big reason that Christmas’ rights were dealt, Windhorst relays, and the 2019 second-rounder the team acquired from Indiana could be utilized in this endeavor.
Windhorst also notes that the Cavs felt comfortable dealing Christmas because they have another backup big-man option in Sasha Kaun, a 2008 Cavs draft pick who has been playing in Russia. The team still has $1.2MM left of its taxpayer midlevel exception, and they might use it to ink Kaun, according to Windhorst’s sources.
Pacers Acquire Rakeem Christmas From Cavs
The Pacers have acquired the rights to rookie forward Rakeem Christmas from the Cavaliers, the team has announced via a press release. Heading to Cleveland in the deal is the 2019 second round pick that Indiana acquired from the Lakers in the Roy Hibbert trade. “We really liked Rakeem when he came in for pre-draft workouts,” said Pacers president of basketball operations Larry Bird. “He is a solid player who was a contributor all four years at Syracuse and we look forward to having him on our team.”
Christmas, the No. 36 overall pick in the 2015 NBA Draft, had been acquired by the Cavs on draft night from the Timberwolves in exchange for the rights to Duke point guard Tyus Jones. Cleveland did not sign Christmas to a rookie contract prior to shipping him to Indiana. Thus, the Pacers will have to negotiate a deal with Christmas before he joins the team.
The 23-year-old spent four seasons playing for Syracuse, and his career numbers with the Orangemen were 7.4 points, 5.3 rebounds, and 1.7 blocks to go with a slash line of .560/.000/.681. Christmas saved his best work for his senior campaign, when he logged 17.5 PPG and 9.1 RPG.
Eastern Notes: Mejri, Dudley, Jackson, Ennis
Tunisian center Salah Mejri, in whom the Cavaliers were reportedly interested this spring, has an offer from an NBA team, sources tell Sportando’s Emiliano Carchia (Twitter link). Real Madrid, his Spanish club, informed Mejri a few days ago that he would be released, as David Pick of Eurobasket.com reported (Twitter link). Mejri went undrafted in 2008, so no NBA team holds his rights, unlike center Sasha Kaun, Cleveland’s own draft-and-stash prospect who’s reportedly been in talks recently with GM David Griffin. Here’s more from around the Eastern Conference:
- Jared Dudley will miss approximately three or four months after undergoing surgery Tuesday to fix a herniated disk in his lower back, the Wizards announced. The team was aware that he was playing in pain last season before acquiring him via trade from the Bucks this month, according to Jorge Castillo of The Washington Post. The timetable means he stands to miss nearly a month of the regular season, though it also indicates he could return before opening night.
- Top free agents don’t often choose to go to Detroit, so the Pistons had little choice than to pay top dollar to retain restricted free agent Reggie Jackson, argues Terry Foster of The Detroit News. Jackson’s five-year, $80MM deal is receiving widespread criticism, but coach/executive Stan Van Gundy thinks the conventional wisdom will change, as Vince Ellis of the Detroit Free Press relays. “We’re excited about that and I think that also … that as we get two years down the road and look at what’s going on in this league and where the numbers are gonna go and the way we know that Reggie’s gonna play, we know this is going to be a bargain in this league,” Van Gundy said.
- James Ennis struggled mightily in summer league, and the Heat would be on the hook for at least 50% of his salary this season if he remains on the roster through August 1st. However, the team has given him positive feedback and is paying for him to take part in a skill development camp in California, according to Barry Jackson of the Miami Herald. Jackson suggests that’s a sign that the Heat will retain Ennis through the looming guarantee date. The Herald scribe speculates that Henry Walker, who’d earn a $100K partial guarantee if he sticks through that same August 1st date, is at greater risk to be let go, since the Heat held him out of summer league.
J.R. Smith To Meet With Cavs
Unrestricted free agent J.R. Smith will meet with the Cavs this week to talk about a new contract and is aware that there’s a decent chance he will make less than the $6.4MM he left on the table when he declined his player’s option with Cleveland in June, Joe Vardon of the Northeast Ohio Media Group reports.
Smith told Vardon he had discussions with the Blazers, but they did not amount to anything. Smith reiterated that he would like to come back to Cleveland. “I definitely want to come back to Cleveland,” Smith said. “The coaches, the team, everything about the situation, it’s perfect for me.”
The team was unhappy with Smith’s decision to opt out and started looking for a replacement, according to previous reports. At this point, most free agents, at least the top ones, have been signed and the list of teams with cap space is dwindling. Smith, 29, averaged 12.7 points per game and shot 39% from three-point range during the regular season with the Cavs after being acquired from the Knicks.
Nuggets Waive Pablo Prigioni
JULY 20TH, 4:26pm: The Nuggets have waived Prigioni, ESPN.com’s Marc Stein tweets. Denver confirmed the move in its press release on the Lawson trade.
JULY 19TH, 9:13pm: The Nuggets intend to waive newly acquired point guard Pablo Prigioni, TNT’s David Aldridge reports (Twitter link). Prigioni is being sent to Denver as part of the Ty Lawson deal. The Nuggets appear to be committing to turning the team over to 2015 first-rounder Emmanuel Mudiay with today’s moves.
Prigioni’s salary of $1,734,572 is set to become fully guaranteed if he remains on the roster past Monday, as is shown by our schedule of contract guarantee dates. Denver would only be on the hook for $440K, the amount of Prigioni’s partial guarantee, by waiving him.
What’s next for the 38-year-old from Argentina is unclear. He’ll likely draw offers from overseas, and the Cavaliers, who were reportedly trying to acquire Prigioni at last season’s trade deadline, could potentially look to him as an alternative to Matthew Dellavedova, who is still unsigned, though that is merely my speculation.
In three NBA seasons Prigioni has averaged 3.8 points, 1.9 rebounds, and 3.0 assists to go with a slash line of .437/.398/.872.