Kaun, McRae Recalled From Canton Charge
- 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
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
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
- 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
- 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
- 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
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.
Would Cavs Trade Love To Denver?
If the Cavaliers decide to break up their team this summer, Denver could be a good landing spot for Kevin Love, according to Christopher Dempsey of the Denver Post. Dealing the 6’10” power forward, who is owed $93MM over the next four seasons, would ease the salary and luxury tax burdens that Cleveland has accepted in search of a title. Dempsey believes the Nuggets have the right combination of draft picks and young players to make a deal possible, citing rookie point guard Emmanuel Mudiay and rookie center Nikola Jokic as the only untouchable players on the roster. The writer notes that Love would be the star player Denver is searching for, while the Cavs could pick up some young pieces who fit better into coach Tyronn Lue’s up-tempo style.
Ziller: Don't Get Too Down On Cavs
- LeBron James and the Cavaliers are essentially in the same position in their second year since reuniting as the Heat were in their second LeBron season, struggling to live up to expectations, observes SB Nation’s Tom Ziller. The key is the playoffs, where the Heat made a title run that year, Ziller writes.
Cavs Confident LeBron Won't Leave Again
The Cavs are confident LeBron James won’t leave in free agency again, but they understand that at least a slight chance exists that he would if they once more come up short in the postseason, writes Zach Lowe of ESPN.com. James “lashed out” at his teammates during the players-only meeting that followed the firing of David Blatt, sources told Lowe, and many in the Cavs brass have kept a nervous eye on the signs of discontent that James has shown on the court. The four-time MVP has the power to press for changes. Lowe confirms that the Cavs and Celtics spoke about Kevin Love before last month’s trade deadline but hears the Celtics made a lowball offer. The ESPN scribe believes chances are strong that Cleveland will trade Love if the team doesn’t deliver in the playoffs, underscoring the unusual level of concern surrounding a team poised to grab the top seed in the Eastern Conference.
- Cavs GM David Griffin is at fault for failing to put someone in the locker room who can hold LeBron accountable, at least to a degree, but the superstar is ultimately worth all the angst, contends TNT’s David Aldridge in his Morning Tip column for NBA.com.