Cavaliers Rumors

Pat Riley On LeBron, Dragic, Wade, Draft

April 20th, 2015 at 12:23pm CST by Chuck Myron

Heat team president Pat Riley said today that he’s “at peace with” the choice LeBron James made last summer to return to Cleveland, and he indicated that everyone else in the organization had moved on, too, as Joseph Goodman of the Miami Herald transcribes (Twitter links). That didn’t appear to be the case when Riley, in response to a question about the draft, said there would be “no more smiling faces with hidden agendas, so we’ll be going in clean,” as Goodman also relays from today’s season-ending press conference (Twitter link). That could be interpreted as a jab at James, whose affection for Shabazz Napier was well-known before the Heat drafted him just weeks prior to James’ departure from Miami, but Riley insists his remark could be a reference to “anyone across the board,” Goodman tweets. Regardless, Riley had much more to say about the Heat’s future, and we’ll round up the highlights here:

Riley underscored the importance of re-signing Goran Dragic, as Herald columnist Barry Jackson relays. “If he doesn’t sign, my [expletive] is going to be in that seat and I’ll be writing about it,” Riley said to the gathered media. Still, Riley is “very confident” that Dragic will be back, Jackson notes.
Dwyane Wade‘s health been an ongoing issue, but Riley challenged the 33-year-old to be prepared to play more often. Wade said last week that he intends to opt in for next season. “Dwyane has to change the narrative about his body, his injuries, his missing games,” Riley said. “We’ve had a discussion about that. Night in, night out, there’s always a question of whether he can or cannot [play]. I’d like to see him do whatever he has to do to get himself ready to practice and play every single night. He’s got five months. This is not just a Dwyane Wade problem. It’s throughout the league.”
Riley would like to see the current starters return, Jackson relays in the same piece. That would indicate that the team wants to keep Luol Deng, who’s undecided about his more than $10.15MM player option.
The Heat president laid out what he’s looking for in the draft, where the Heat have a lottery pick as long as it falls in the top 10, and the 40th pick, saying that he wants “developed players, experienced players,” Jackson notes. “While we felt we might have had enough on the perimeter, that might be an area where we look,” Riley said. “I don’t want a one-dimensional guy. [I want] guys that can [shoot], guys that are playmakers, guys that can defend. We will take the best player that’s available.”
Riley believes the Heat will return to title contention next year, Goodman tweets, and he expressed bitter disappointment about falling short of the postseason this time around, as Ira Winderman of the Sun Sentinel notes (on Twitter). “There is not a person in the organization that doesn’t think we should have made the playoffs,” Riley said.

Central Notes: Love, James, Jackson, Bucks

April 19th, 2015 at 12:57pm CST by Arthur Hill

The playoffs will shed a lot of light on Kevin Love and his future in Cleveland, writes Ethan Skolnick of Bleacher Report. Love can become a free agent by opting out this summer, and although he has stated his intentions are to remain with the Cavaliers, some around the league wouldn’t be convinced of that unless Cleveland wins the title this year, as Skolnick details. He has become the third option in Cleveland and his usage rate has fallen to 21.7%, the lowest since his rookie season in Minnesota. “Obviously, he went there with LeBron to win a championship,” former Timberwolves assistant Bill Bayno said of the offseason deal that sent Love to Cleveland. “I think he had an idea his role would be a little different, I don’t think he knew it would be this different.”

There’s more from the Central Division:

LeBron James told Dave McMenamin of ESPN.com that he will take responsibility for giving Love a bigger role in the offense during the postseason. “I think Kevin has not had the season that he’s accustomed to having the past few years,” James said, “but in order for us to win, Kevin Love has to play at a high level, and it’s my job to help him get to that point as well.” Like Love, James can opt out and become a free agent this summer, but there seems to be little chance of him leaving Cleveland.
The Pistons finally started getting the production they expected from Reggie Jackson toward the end of the season, according to Vincent Ellis of the Detroit Free Press. Acquired from the Thunder in a deadline deal, Jackson averaged 20 points, 11 assists and 4.8 rebounds over his final 16 games in Detroit. “If you look at his numbers over the last third of the year, he’s going to be top seven or eight point guard in the league over that time,” said coach and president of basketball operations Stan Van Gundy. Jackson will be a free agent this summer, but he is expected to stay in Detroit.
The Bucks are running short on time to start building their new arena, according to Brian Windhorst of ESPN.com. The franchise is under an NBA-imposed deadline to have a new facility completed or near completion by 2017. With government budgets due by the end of June, funding must be secured quickly. “The arena is a two-year process,” said Michael Fascitelli, a member of the Bucks’ ownership group who is leading the arena development. “Every day is critical.”

Eastern Notes: Ferry, Smith, Knicks, Noel

April 19th, 2015 at 11:56am CST by Arthur Hill

Danny Ferry may be on a leave of absence as Hawks GM, but he hasn’t been forgotten, writes Scott Cacciola of The New York Times. Coach Mike Budenholzer said Ferry deserves a lot of credit for building Atlanta into the top seed in the East. The coach added that he talks to Ferry frequently. “I think it’s probably important to both of us that those conversations are somewhat private,” Budenholzer said. “It’s safe to say that we talk about everything.” Ferry has been on indefinite leave since racially insensitive comments about Luol Deng‘s African heritage surfaced in September. Budenholzer declined to suggest a resolution to Ferry’s situation.

There’s more from the Eastern Conference:

J.R. Smith probably would have picked up his $6.4MM player option if he had remained with the Knicks, according to Al Iannazzone of Newsday. Despite the team’s awful season, Smith’s love of New York and his friendship with Carmelo Anthony would have influenced his decision. “I think I would have opted in,” he said. “I would have stayed. I wanted to be part of the building process to be one of those teams that ‘this is the team we got and we’re going to give a shot at it.’ I wanted to be a part of it.” A January 5th deal sent Smith to a Cavaliers team that is among the favorites for the NBA title.
Rival executives don’t expect a quick fix in New York, Iannazzone writes in a separate piece. The Knicks will have a top five draft pick and are expected to have about $30MM to spend in free agency, but that doesn’t guarantee a huge jump in wins. “They don’t really have any trade assets,” said an unidentified Western Conference executive. “It’s going to be hard to get off the deck. They have a long road up the hill. They got to go one block at a time. One piece at a time and have some patience.”
Sixers rookie Nerlens Noel told Tom Moore of Calkins Media that he would like to see the team improve its outside shooting through the draft. Philadelphia finished third in Hoops Rumors’ Reverse Standings and will find out its draft position at the May 19th lottery. “I think we’re pretty good with the frontcourt,” Noel said. “I think we definitely need to add shooting, whether it’s with the first pick we have or [possible] second pick.”

Northwest Notes: Nuggets, Brewer, Garnett

April 19th, 2015 at 10:51am CST by Arthur Hill

Sources close to the Nuggets say money won’t be an obstacle in the search for a new coach, reports Christopher Dempsey of The Denver Post. He speculated that veterans like Mike D’Antoni and Alvin Gentry could be had at an annual salary of $3MM to $4MM, as the chance to coach again would be more important than haggling over a contract. If they want Billy Donovan, the Nuggets would have to top his $3.7MM salary at the University of Florida and handle his $500K buyout. GM Tim Connelly has stated that he would like to fill the coaching vacancy before the June 25th draft.

There’s more from the Northwest Division:

The Rockets’ Corey Brewer credits the Wolves for their help in finding him a new home, reports Brett Pollakoff of Pro Basketball Talk. Brewer, who has become an important reserve in Houston, said coach and president of basketball operations Flip Saunders helped him find his way to a playoff team with the December trade to Houston. “We looked at the trade options,” Brewer said of Saunders, “he gave me permission to talk to teams, and it worked out perfectly.” Brewer said the Rockets and Cavaliers were his top choices.
Saunders is hoping to keep Kevin Garnett in Minnesota, according to Andy Greder of the St. Paul Pioneer Press. A sore knee has limited Garnett’s playing time since he was traded to the Wolves in February, but Saunders said the free-agent-to-be is working hard behind the scenes. “He is doing things right now to get ready to play [next season],” Saunders said.
After having the best week of his NBA career with the Jazz, Bryce Cotton is returning to the life of a fringe NBA player, writes Brad Rock of The Deseret News. Cotton had a 21-point game Monday against Dallas and scored 14 Wednesday against Houston, but because his contract isn’t guaranteed for next season, he’s looking forward to the summer leagues and a chance to keep proving himself.

And-Ones: Cauley-Stein, Parsons, Knicks

April 18th, 2015 at 5:22pm CST by Eddie Scarito

Mavs forward Chandler Parsons understands the criticism levied against him regarding his production not being worthy of his $14.7MM salary this season, Ben Golliver of SI.com writes. “The whole expectations of being a max player and taking that next step, it’s tough to manage at first,” Parsons said. “A lot of people look at me like I’m a different player. I’m the same player. I’ve gotten better. My numbers are down a little bit but at the same time I continue to get better. I’m on a different team. We’re very explosive offensively, we have more of a balanced attack, and I’m playing five minutes less than I did in Houston. I’m a basketball player and I impact the game in many different ways. My job is to be a good teammate, work extremely hard and do whatever it takes to win games.”

Here’s more from around the league:

Rich Kleiman of Roc Nation Sports and Leon Rose of the Creative Artists Agency will team up to represent Willie Cauley-Stein, as Liz Mullen of the SportsBusiness Journal reports in a subscription-only piece. The center from the University of Kentucky is the No. 6 prospect in Jonathan Givony’s DraftExpress rankings and No. 7 with Chad Ford of ESPN.com.
Nuggets GM Tim Connelly indicated that there are no players on Denver’s roster who are untouchable in terms of trades, Christopher Dempsey of The Denver Post tweets.
The Knicks are expected to have a busy offseason, and team president Phil Jackson will need to make decisions regarding a large number of players on his current roster. Marc Berman of The New York Post breaks down the team’s roster, and who the franchise should retain for the 2015/16 campaign. Players whom the Post scribe believes the team should bring back include Louis Amundson, Lance Thomas, and Cleanthony Early, while the team should part ways with Cole Aldrich and Travis Wear.
The Cavaliers have assigned Joe Harris to the Canton Charge, their D-League affiliate, the team announced.

Chuck Myron contributed to this post.

Central Notes: Middleton, Harris, Gasol

April 15th, 2015 at 7:14pm CST by Eddie Scarito

Soon-to-be restricted free agent Khris Middleton is in line for salaries of around $10MM this summer, several GMs and other executives tell Michael Scotto of SheridanHoops. Middleton said to Scotto that he would love to return to the Bucks but insists he’ll keep his options open. Still, multiple league sources tell Scotto that Middleton won’t be going anywhere, a sign that the Bucks intend to exercise their right to match any offer for him.

Here’s more from the Central Division:

A new arena in Milwaukee has seemed well on its way, but Gery Woelfel of The Journal Times has some doubt for the first time about whether the project will come to fruition, given the resistance that public funding has met in the Wisconsin state legislature. The NBA has the right to seize control of the Bucks if an arena deal isn’t in place by November 2017.
The Cavaliers have recalled guard Joe Harris from the Canton Charge, their D-League affiliate, the team announced. Harris has played in three playoff games for the Charge this season, averaging 17.7 points and 8.0 rebounds in 30.0 minutes per game.
Pau Gasol has enjoyed a career resurgence in his first season with the Bulls, K.C. Johnson of The Chicago Tribune writes. “This season has been extremely positive individually,” Gasol said. “I’m just happy that I’m playing at this level and accomplishing things I haven’t done in the past, which is pretty remarkable at this stage of my career. I just want to continue to work and stay focused and extend my level of play as long as I can.“

Chuck Myron contributed to this post.

Eastern Notes: Calderon, Farmar, Pistons

April 14th, 2015 at 9:06pm CST by Eddie Scarito

It’s been a difficult first season in New York for Jose Calderon, who has only appeared in 42 contests for the Knicks this season, averaging 9.1 points and 4.7 assists in 30.2 minutes per night. Though the team was reportedly shopping him prior to February’s trade deadline, the point guard still believes that he has a future with the team, Al Iannazzone of Newsday writes. “I really want to stay here,” Calderon said. “I think they want me here. That’s the feeling I got. I think I really can help this team next year.”

Here’s more from the Eastern Conference:

Jordan Farmar said that the Cavaliers expressed interest in signing him after his release from the Clippers in a buyout arrangement, but playing time concerns led him to ink a deal with Darussafaka Dogus of Turkey, David Pick of Eurobasket.com relays (Twitter link). “I wanted to play,” Farmar told Pick. “Enough of being an NBA backup.”
Pistons coach/executive Stan Van Gundy is already gearing up for what should be an active offseason for the franchise, Keith Langlois of NBA.com writes. Discussing Detroit’s free agent strategy this summer, Van Gundy said, “You’ve got to study those guys and know where you want to go. A lot of it depends on Greg Monroe and Reggie Jackson and all of that when you get to free agency and who you have in the draft and what you think their timetable might be. So there’s a lot of things you have to consider, but in the meantime you’ve got to evaluate [free agents] and have an idea.“
Van Gundy also indicated that the Pistons‘ planning extends beyond this summer, Langlois notes. “One of the things we do after the season – one of the first things – is look at our budget, salary wise, not only for the coming year but what that’s going to mean going out,” Van Gundy said. “You’ve got to have some planning. If we’re going to pay this guy X amount of money in year two, three four and five and then we’re going to pay this guy X amount of money, what are we going to have left to build our team? I know [GM] Jeff Bower has already done a lot of work on it, but I haven’t really looked at it. It’s easy to say you’re so much under the cap, but going out, if you’re giving people raises where is it going to put you the next year? There’s got to be a lot more careful planning than what we’ve done to this point.“

Eastern Rumors: Cavs, Kidd, Johnson

April 13th, 2015 at 6:45pm CST by Dana Gauruder

GM David Griffin turned the Cavs into a potential championship contender with his in-season moves and unwavering support of first-year coach David Blatt, Jeff Zillgitt of USA Today opines. Cleveland needed those improvements to be a true contender, Zillgitt continues, and his acquisitions of J.R. Smith, Iman Shumpert and Timofey Mozgov made the desired impact. Griffin also diffused a potentially divisive issue with his public support of Blatt while the team was struggling, Zillgitt adds. Cleveland’s turnaround this season has made Griffin a prime candidate for the league’s Executive of the Year award.

In other news around the Eastern Conference:

Jason Kidd deserves Coach of the Year consideration after guiding the Bucks to the playoffs one season after they won 15 games, Matt Walks of ESPN.com writes. Kidd had to deal with the season-ending injury losses of Jabari Parker and Kendall Marshall as well as Larry Sanders‘ mental health issues that led him into retirement. Kidd also changed point guards from Brandon Knight to Michael Carter-Williams at the trade deadline, yet the club ranks second in defensive efficiency, Walks points out. The Bucks have a strong young core, provided they retains restricted free agent Khris Middleton, and has the draft choices to add more pieces, Walks concludes.
Tyler Johnson‘s story offers hope for prospects with seemingly little chance to be drafted, as he went from undrafted to a prominent role in the Heat’s playoff push within a single year, as Shams Charania of RealGM examines. Johnson, who’s averaging 18.4 minutes in 30 appearances, has a non-guaranteed salary for next season that becomes 50% guaranteed if he remains under contract through August 1st.
The Cavs assigned Joe Harris to their D-League affiliate, the Canton Charge, the team announced on Monday. The guard has played in 50 games for the Cavs this season, averaging 2.7 points in 9.5 minutes per game. Harris was available to play for the Charge in their postseason game on Monday against the Sioux Falls Skyforce.

Central Notes: Butler, Monroe, Wiggins

April 12th, 2015 at 4:54pm CST by ChrisCrouse

Caron Butler, whose salary ($4.5MM) for the next season is non-guaranteed, would like to remain with the Pistons next season, David Mayo of MLive.com writes. Butler adds that if he is released, he would only consider signing with true contenders.

“I’m in a good situation,” Butler said. “So it’s a great opportunity to come back and continue the thing on. Or, if not, obviously the best thing for me is to contend. It’s either one or the other. But I won’t be looking for another situation to start over with some guys and stuff like that again. It’s either do this or contend for it all.”

While President of Basketball Operations and coach Stan Van Gundy has praised Butler for adjusting to his role on the Pistons, he was non-committal about whether the the team will bring back the 35-year-old next season. “A lot of things will determine that, where we think we’re going to be salary structure-wise and everything else,” Van Gundy said. The Pistons only have slightly more than $27.8MM in guaranteed salary on the book for the 2015/16 season, as our Salary Commitment page indicates.

Here’s more from Detroit

President of Basketball Operations and coach Stan Van Gundy reiterated that he and Greg Monroe have stayed away from business discussions during the season, David Mayo of MLive.com writes. “Greg and I have not spent any time talking about that,” Van Gundy said. “I don’t think it would be appropriate, number one, to be focusing on anything beyond the rest of the season until the season’s over.”
Monroe was slightly surprised he wasn’t able to sign an extension under Detroit’s old regime, Mayo writes in the same piece. “I thought I did enough and conducted myself in a way to at least get an offer. As people always say, it’s one thing if the player says no. But if I was never even offered anything, that says more to me than any explanation. I don’t really need an explanation once you get to that point where there wasn’t even an option for me,” Monroe said.
Andrew Wiggins appears to be the front-runner for the Rookie of the Year award and Terry Pluto of The Plain Dealer reviews his season as well as the seasons for some of the players whom the Cavs have traded away this year.

Executive Of The Year Candidate: David Griffin

April 11th, 2015 at 11:14pm CST by ChrisCrouse

The Cavs’ season got off to a rocky start, but the team rounded into form and looks like the favorite to win the Eastern Conference. The success this season is a far cry from the team’s results last year. The Cavs still have three games remaining this season, but with a record of 51-28, they already improved their win total by 18 games over last season’s and locked up the second seed in the conference. LeBron James returning to Cleveland was a huge factor in this year’s success, but that shouldn’t exclude GM David Griffin from winning the Executive of the Year award. Pat Riley was the co-winner of the award in 2011 after he successful recruited James in free agency, so there is some precedent involving James. Still, Griffin’s candidacy goes beyond The Decision 2.0.

Griffin was named the acting general manager of the Cavs in the middle of the 2013/14 season. His first trade brought Spencer Hawes to Cleveland in exchange for Earl Clark, Henry Sims and a pair of second round draft picks. Ownership clearly wanted to make the playoffs that season. While the move didn’t bring the Cavs closer to that goal, Griffin was able to follow the ownership’s directives without sacrificing crucial assets that would hinder the team’s ability to make moves in the future.

Leading up to James’ decision, Brian Windhorst of ESPN.com reported that he would insist upon a maximum salary contract. In order for the Cavs to have the means necessary to make the offer to James, they needed to unload salary. Griffin traded Jarrett Jack and Sergey Karasev to the Nets and Tyler Zeller to the Celtics in a three-way deal. Getting out of Jack’s contract was crucial to Cleveland’s long-term plan regardless of whether James ended up signing with the team or not. The move did carry an additional cost as the team had to send a first-round pick to Boston in the deal. However, given Cleveland’s likelihood of finishing with a strong record again next season, it is unlikely to be that valuable of an asset.

The day after the trade became official, James announced that he was signing with Cleveland. The news would dramatically shift the team’s objectives from hoping to become playoff-bound to winning the franchise’s first championship. That goal seemed to be in jeopardy during the early part of the season. The Cavs were struggling and James missed a stretch of eight games due to neck and back injuries. During that stretch, Griffin made two trades that turned the Cavs’ season around.

The Cavs shipped Dion Waiters to Oklahoma City in a three-way deal that netted the team J.R. Smith, Iman Shumpert and a future first-rounder from the Thunder. Griffin sent the Oklahoma City pick, along with Memphis’ first-rounder, which the team acquired in the 2013 Marreese Speights trade, to Denver for Timofey Mozgov and a second-round pick. Mozgov helped solidify the team’s defense and Smith and Shumpert gave it the depth necessary to compete with the league’s contenders. The Cavs have gone 32-9, which includes a 12-game win streak, since James returned to play alongside his new teammates.

The wildcard in Griffin’s case for the Executive of the Year award is the Kevin Love trade. The Cavs surrendered Andrew Wiggins, Anthony Bennett and a future first-round pick to acquire the UCLA product. Wiggins looks like a future star for the Wolves, while Love still doesn’t look completely integrated into Cleveland’s game plan. Love previously expressed his intention to opt in and stay in Cleveland during the 2015/16 season. However, there has been speculation that he will depart Cleveland in the offseason and over half of Hoops Rumors writers who voted in a recent poll believe he will leave town after the season. If executives around the league, who vote for the Executive of the Year award winner from among their ranks, believe that Love will leave in the offseason and Griffin gave up a potential star for a one-year rental, it will no doubt hurt his chances to take home the award.

The race for this year’s Executive of the Year award is unique in that the would-be front-runner for the award is ineligible for the honor. Because of his racially charged comments about Luol Deng, Danny Ferry, whose candidacy I previously examined, has not been nominated by the Hawks. Instead, Mike Budenholzer will be on the ballot for Atlanta, and a league source told Chuck Myron of Hoops Rumors that some GMs have spoken about abstaining from the vote because they won’t have the chance to vote for Ferry.

Regardless, some executive will win the award, and with perhaps the strongest candidate out of the running, and the potential that votes that would have gone to Ferry will simply not be cast, the door is open for another candidate to seize the award. Over the 14 months that he has held the GM position for the Cavs, Griffin has adapted to changing objectives, put together a team that has a good chance to win the Larry O’Brien trophy, and cemented himself in the conversation for the Executive of the Year award.

Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.

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