Dan Gilbert Rumors | Hoops Rumors

Stein’s Latest: Atkinson, Harden, Sabonis, White

December 21st, 2025 at 4:00pm CST by Arthur Hill

There have been “rumbles in coaching circles” that Kenny Atkinson’s job is becoming less safe amid the Cavaliers‘ recent stumbles and their disappointing 15-14 record, Marc Stein of The Stein Line states in his latest Substack column (subscription required). Atkinson led the Cavs to the best record in the East a year ago in his first season with the team, but a second-round playoff ouster and this season’s shaky start have built up frustrations in Cleveland.

A report that owner Dan Gilbert is “very unhappy” with the team’s recent play provides another reason to be concerned about Atkinson’s job security. The Cavaliers headed into the season expecting to challenge New York for the top spot in the East, but they’re currently in play-in territory after dropping eight of their last 11 games, with several losses coming against teams near the bottom of the standings.

However, a source tells Stein that Gilbert’s anger is unlikely to result in a quick coaching change. He points out that Gilbert was one of Atkinson’s strongest supporters during the hiring process, preferring him over James Borrego, who’s now the interim head coach in New Orleans.

Stein shares more inside information from around the league:

After speculating in a recent column that the struggling Clippers might listen to offers for James Harden before the deadline, Stein heard from a rival front office member who’s expecting Harden to be made available in trade talks. Stein points out that as a one-year Bird Rights signee who remained with his team, Harden has the ability to veto any trade he doesn’t like. Harden’s new contract technically covers two seasons, but it contains a player option with a partial guarantee.
With Domantas Sabonis projected to miss at least four-to-five more weeks while recovering from a partially torn meniscus in his left knee, Stein points out that there’s a chance he might not return to the court by the February 5 trade deadline, which is roughly six-and-a-half weeks away. Stein states that it’s unclear if the Kings are willing to listen to trade offers for the former All-Star center, as they prefer to part with DeMar DeRozan and Zach LaVine. However, there’s sure to be league-wide interest in Sabonis if the front office commits to a full rebuilding project.
Stein hears that rival teams are getting the impression that the Bulls are more willing to consider trading Coby White than they’ve been in the past. White has an expiring $12.9MM contract this season and is headed for unrestricted free agency next summer. Stein notes that White’s modest salary complicates Chicago’s effort to get back equivalent value in a deal, since he’s unlikely to sign an extension before reaching unrestricted free agency next summer.

Owner Dan Gilbert ‘Very Unhappy’ With Cavaliers’ Play

December 20th, 2025 at 3:13pm CST by Rory Maher

Owner Dan Gilbert has been “very unhappy” with the Cavaliers‘ performance this season, particularly over the past few weeks as the team has dropped eight of its last 11 games, Chris Fedor of Cleveland.com reported on the Wine and Gold Talk podcast (YouTube link).

The Cavaliers have lost three straight games, starting with Charlotte last Sunday. The past two losses have come at the hands of Bulls, another team that had been struggling. Going back a bit further, the Cavaliers barely beat the lowly Wizards last week and lost at home on Dec. 6 to a Golden State team that was missing all of its top players.

“Two sources with knowledge of the situation, very close to the situation, say that Dan Gilbert is very unhappy about what is going on,” Fedor said. “He turns on the games and he hears boos? Four times in the last five home games? Turns on games and sees the Cavs trailing by double digits again. Sees the Cavs leading by one minute in the second half of these games.

“And he’s paying a huge a luxury tax bill,” Fedor continued. “It’s the highest payroll in the NBA. It’s the only team in the second apron. He’s willing to do that when he thinks the team has a chance to win the championship. When he believes in the group that he has. But it’s not that early anymore. … When you see this 29 games in, you start asking questions if you’re the guy in charge with everything in this organization.”

As Fedor mentioned, the Cavaliers are operating over the second tax apron, which will limit their roster flexibility in the coming weeks. The team’s luxury tax bill is currently projected to be nearly $164MM, per Spotrac.

The Cavs held the best record in the Eastern Conference — and second-best overall — in 2024/25 when they finished 64-18. They lost to Indiana in the second round of the playoffs but largely ran back the same roster in the hope of making a deeper playoff run.

However, things haven’t gone as planned through about 35% of the season. The Cavs have dealt with several injuries to key players and haven’t looked anything close to last year. They’re currently 15-14, the No. 8 seed in the East.

Fedor said members of Cleveland’s front office have been trying to allay Gilbert’s concerns by stating that Max Strus, Sam Merrill and Evan Mobley will eventually return from their respective injuries. Still, Fedor suggested that Gilbert has become more involved in the basketball operations department of late and that could factor into the team’s moves ahead of the trade deadline.

Cavaliers’ Koby Altman On Roster: ‘I Love Our Foundation’

May 19th, 2025 at 3:39pm CST by Rory Maher

The Cavaliers had the second-best regular season in franchise history in 2024/25, winning 64 games en route to the No. 1 seed in the East. But injuries — including a toe sprain to Darius Garland — limited the team to some extent in the postseason, and Cleveland lost its second-round series against Indiana in five games.

At his end-of-season media session on Monday, president of basketball operations Koby Altman said that while the Cavaliers were frustrated by their playoff showing, there’s still an “internal belief” that the current roster — particularly the “core four” of Garland, Donovan Mitchell, Evan Mobley and Jarrett Allen — has an opportunity to contend for championships going forward, per Chris Fedor of Cleveland.com.

“Obviously, we feel it. It’s raw for us. We’re disappointed how it ended. But it was a remarkable year on so many fronts and you guys were all invested in this. We’re not going to go anywhere. We’re going to keep fighting for that championship and this window is wide open, we believe.”

Here are a few more highlights from Altman’s presser, courtesy of Fedor.

On his confidence in the roster:

“I love our foundation. I love our core. Our starting lineup, the average age is 26.8. We have two All-Stars that are 25 (Garland) and 23 (Mobley), respectively, and they’re going through it, they’re going through these experiences, they’re going through these battles and we’re sustainable in a lot of ways, not just because guys are under contract, but our youth.

“Our belief in this group in a lot of ways, there’s a newness to this group as well in terms of our new head coach that’s been with us for one year. Us figuring out our offensive identity happened this year and so I’m really high on and optimistic about our future. That being said, it can’t just be 82 games. We have to figure out this next 16, we have to figure out how to get over the hump. But this group has shown they can play some of the best basketball in the world. It’s how do we do it on the highest stage and continue to keep pushing to get over that hump?”

On not overreacting to the playoff loss:

“If we were going to be reactionary, it would have been last year after everything that was written about that group, and all the rumors and all this and that and we stood pat and look what happened, right? I think the same thing now as you lean in even more to what we’re building, the culture that we have here, the internal growth, the youth, the sustainability of that.

“I think there’s a championship window that we have here that’s wide open and that’s one that we’re going to try to pursue next year and the year after and the year after and so forth. We’re not done by any stretch. But I would say if there was a time that we were going to crumble it potentially would’ve been last year, certainly not after what we’ve seen from this group this year is something where were we are going to break up a group that’s been together for three years and has accomplished what they’ve accomplished and is ready to take that next step. As disappointing as this ending was.”

On potentially re-signing backup guard Ty Jerome, who finished third in Sixth Man of the Year voting:

“Love to keep him. I mean, listen, we’re hopeful. I would say that I got to be careful ‘cause he’s going to be an unrestricted free agent, and he is ours, so we can talk about Ty in that vein. Part of (head coach Kenny Atkinson‘s) system, which is, again, we’re always going to be rooted in player development, which is great. And so when guys find that confidence in this system, their value gets driven up. Same thing with Sam Merrill. You want to call these guys end-of-bench players before that have become real rotational players and valuable within the ecosystem, not just us.

“I think the good news is those guys are going to be, they’re going to do really well for themselves. And the good news also is that we know because of our program, we’re going to be able to continue to develop our end-of-bench guys to become rotational guys. That’s going to be part of our evolution and also how we navigate some stiff penalty taxes. We have to continue to develop from within. And those two stories are incredible success stories from the development programs and putting them in a position to be successful. And so, yes, we’d love to keep Ty, but we’ll see what the marketplace holds.”

Altman said owner Dan Gilbert has given the front office “no restrictions in terms of going into the tax.” He added that Cleveland was willing to be a taxpayer and will operate over the second apron “if we need to go there” — the Cavs project to be over the second apron in 2025/26.

Altman also discussed how the Cavaliers can improve their individual and collective mental toughness, Gilbert’s “support” and “positivity,” why they’re likely to “run it back,” and defended Allen from the criticism he has faced for his poor showing at the end of the Pacers series.

Fischer’s Latest: Cavs, Rockets, Hawks, Blazers, Draft

May 16th, 2025 at 2:19pm CST by Luke Adams

The Cavaliers avoided the luxury tax this season when they sent Caris LeVert and Georges Niang to Atlanta at the trade deadline in a deal for De’Andre Hunter, which allowed them to duck below the tax threshold by less than $1MM. According to Jake Fischer of The Stein Line (Substack link), that move was widely viewed as one intended to create financial flexibility for the Cavs going forward, rather than as part of a directive to cut costs.

The Cavaliers’ salary projects to soar well into apron territory beginning in 2025/26, and while the team presumably has some sort of upper limit for how much it’s willing to spend in a given season, Dan Gilbert has been portrayed as an owner who is comfortable paying tax penalties as long as the club is a legitimate contender, according to Fischer.

Despite Cleveland’s second-round playoff exit, the club presumably still views itself as a contender on the heels of a 64-win season, Fischer notes. That means it appears safe to assume the Cavs will operate above the luxury tax line for the foreseeable future, with future repeater penalties pushed down the road by an extra year as a result of avoiding the tax this season.

Here’s more from Fischer:

Rival teams expect the Rockets to explore trading the No. 10 overall pick in this year’s draft for win-now talent, according to Fischer, who notes that last year’s No. 3 pick Reed Sheppard couldn’t break into Houston’s regular rotation during his first season. People around the league are skeptical the Rockets will be looking to add another lottery-pick rookie to the mix as the club looks to take the next step toward title contention.
Although the Hawks continue to seek a new head of basketball operations and have arranged interviews with some candidates, there’s still a chance that Atlanta opts not to make an additional hire after dismissing Landry Fields and promoting Onsi Saleh to general manager, sources tell Fischer. There is already reportedly no shortage of executives who have a voice in Atlanta’s personnel decisions, as we detailed last month.
In addition to reiterating that the Pelicans would be a potential facilitator to watch in the event of a Giannis Antetokounmpo trade request, Fischer points to the Trail Blazers as another team to monitor in that scenario. While New Orleans controls Milwaukee’s 2026 and 2027 first-round picks via swap rights, Portland will be in that position from 2028-30, so if the Bucks want to regain control of their own drafts, they’d have to deal with one or both of those clubs.
Yaxel Lendeborg, Miles Byrd, Cedric Coward, and Karter Knox are among the prospects testing the draft waters whose decisions are being “eagerly awaited” by NBA teams, Fischer writes. According to Fischer, all four players have multi-million-dollar NIL offers on the table if they return to college, including a $3MM+ offer from Michigan for Lendeborg. They have until May 28 to decide whether to keep their names in the draft pool or withdraw.
In case you missed it, Fischer reported that there’s a “rising expectation” Myles Turner will re-sign with the Pacers, as we covered in a separate story.

Central Rumors: LaVine, Bulls, Pistons, Cade, Bucks, Cavs, More

June 24th, 2024 at 2:01pm CST by Luke Adams

The Bulls continue to seek a deal involving Zach LaVine, but last week’s four-year, $78MM contract agreement between the Kings and Malik Monk may have removed a prime suitor from the picture, according to Michael Scotto of HoopsHype, who says some rival executives believe retaining Monk will take Sacramento out of talks for LaVine. As Scotto has previously reported, Kings wing Kevin Huerter has fans within Chicago’s front office, so if the two teams did explore a trade involving LaVine, it seems safe to assume Huerter would be involved.

In other Bulls news, Chicago is interested in re-signing center Andre Drummond, league sources tell Scotto. The big man will be an unrestricted free agent this summer after spending the past two seasons backing up Nikola Vucevic.

Scotto also states that – prior to last week’s Alex Caruso/Josh Giddey swap – there was a belief around the league that the Bulls and Thunder would consider a possible sign-and-trade deal involving Patrick Williams. It’s unclear if that idea is off the table now or if the two clubs will look into making a second offseason trade.

Finally, Scotto reports that before they struck deals to add Wes Unseld Jr. and Dan Craig to Billy Donovan‘s coaching staff, the Bulls also reached out and talked to former head coaches Nate McMillan and Dwane Casey.

Here are a few more items of interest from around the Central:

The Pistons – along with the Magic – were expected to be in the mix for Monk before he reached an agreement to return to Sacramento, according to Scotto, who says Detroit will continue to explore the trade and free agent markets for shooting help this offseason.
Elsewhere on the Pistons front, Scotto writes that a number of executives around the NBA believe Detroit will come to terms on a maximum-salary rookie scale extension for former No. 1 pick Cade Cunningham.
The Bucks, still very much in win-now mode, are open to the idea of trading the No. 23 pick in the draft, league sources tell Scotto. Executives with rival teams also get the sense that Milwaukee would be willing to move Bobby Portis and/or Pat Connaughton in order to upgrade the roster, though Scotto notes that both players have come up in trade talks in the past and nothing has come of it to this point.
James Borrego was considered the frontrunner for the Cavaliers‘ head coaching job last week before the front office met with team owner Dan Gilbert, per Shams Charania, Joe Vardon, and Jason Lloyd of The Athletic. After that meeting between management and Gilbert, Kenny Atkinson‘s candidacy “gained considerable momentum,” The Athletic’s trio adds. Assistant coaches Jordan Ott and Trevor Hendry, who worked with Atkinson in Brooklyn, are viewed as potential additions to his new staff in Cleveland, notes Scotto.

Eastern Notes: Atkinson, Bryant, Highsmith, Jovic, Harris

May 27th, 2024 at 10:52pm CST by Dana Gauruder

Warriors assistant Kenny Atkinson is the leading candidate for the Cavaliers head coaching job but Knicks associate head coach Johnnie Bryant has a legitimate chance, too, Jason Lloyd of The Athletic tweets.

Bryant has ties to Donovan Mitchell, Lloyd notes, since he was an assistant there before the Jazz dealt Mitchell to the Cavaliers. Owner Dan Gilbert is heavily involved in the process of selecting J.B. Bickerstaff‘s replacement., Lloyd adds.

Jake Fischer of Yahoo Sports reported last week that Atkinson had emerged as the favorite to land the Cavaliers’ job.

We have more from the Eastern Conference:

Haywood Highsmith would like to stay with the Heat but that may not be feasible due to salary cap restrictions, Anthony Chiang of the Miami Herald notes. Highsmith will undoubtedly get a significant raise from his $1.9MM salary this season but if the Heat try to meet his market value, estimated in the $8-10MM annual range, they’ll be pushed up against the punitive second tax apron. Highsmith appeared in 66 regular season games and averaged career highs in points (6.1 per game), assists (1.1), steals (0.8), blocks (0.5) and minutes (20.7) while shooting career-bests from the field (46.5%) and three-point range (39.6%).
The Heat don’t have to worry about Nikola Jovic going anywhere. He’s still got two years left on his rookie scale contract and emerged as the starting power forward late in the season. Jovic might be the team’s most intriguing player as well as the Heat’s best bargaining chip, Chiang writes. “He’s 20. So I always do need to remind myself of that,” coach Erik Spoelstra said. “I hold him to an incredibly high standard because our standards are not going to change. Our expectations are always going to be championship-level expectations. Yes, I’m expecting him to rise to that.”
Gary Harris will be an unrestricted free agent this summer and Jason Beede of the Orlando Sentinel examines what the future might hold for the veteran shooting guard. Harris has been the Magic‘s top 3-point threat at times, Beede notes, but he’s also missed chunks of time with injuries and the team may look for an upgrade at that spot.

And-Ones: K. Smith, NBL, Salary Cap, Ishbia, Gilbert

April 6th, 2024 at 10:20am CST by Luke Adams

Former NBA champion and current TNT analyst Kenny Smith is getting involved in Australia’s National Basketball League, according to a press release. Smith has been appointed as the head of the NBL’s Next Stars player initiative and will “actively recruit, develop and mentor new Next Stars players” in that role.

The Next Stars initiative has served as an alternative to college basketball (or to the G League Ignite) for NBA prospects who are not yet draft-eligible, with LaMelo Ball, Josh Giddey, R.J. Hampton, and Ousmane Dieng among the notable players who have chosen that path. Alexandre Sarr, a candidate to be this year’s No. 1 overall pick, is currently in the program.

“Legitimate pathways to the NBA are evolving, and the NBL has a proven track record of getting players drafted,” Smith said in a statement. “The NBL identified a key role for me to mentor and support young talent and equip them with the tools to compete at a professional level with a view to making the leap into the NBA.”

In addition to heading up the Next Stars initiative, Smith will also become the part-owner of an NBL expansion team that will be announced in the near future, according to the announcement.

Here are more odds and ends from around the basketball world:

The NBA shared new salary cap projections for 2024/25 with its teams this week, but the estimated figures haven’t changed since January’s update, reports ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski (via Twitter). As Wojnarowski relays, the cap is still projected to be $141MM next season.
Suns owner Mat Ishbia has been in the news for non-basketball reasons over the past week. Baxter Holmes of ESPN put out a story detailing the feud between Ishibia and Cavaliers owner Dan Gilbert due to the billionaires’ rival mortgage companies, while Hunterbrook Media published an investigative report about the questionable legality of Ishbia’s business practices as the CEO and chairman of United Wholesale Mortgage. As Duane Rankin of The Arizona Republic details, Ishbia suggested during a media session that Hunterbrook’s investigation was funded Gilbert’s Rocket Mortgage, which a Rocket Mortgage spokesperson adamantly denied.
Noting that the teams near the bottom of the NBA’s standings have been historically bad since the All-Star break, John Hollinger of The Athletic considers ways the league might address the issue and improve its product in March. Hollinger suggests eliminating the buyout market entirely and making any player waived after the trade deadline ineligible for the postseason, but acknowledges that the impact may be marginal.

Gilbert: Cavs Confident Mitchell Will Sign Extension

March 28th, 2024 at 2:24pm CST by Rory Maher

Cavaliers owner Dan Gilbert believes star guard Donovan Mitchell will eventually sign a long-term extension to remain in Cleveland, per Larry Lage of The Associated Press.

“We’ve been talking to him, sure, for the last couple of years about extending this contract,” Gilbert said Thursday in an interview with The Associated Press. “We think he will extend. I think if you listen to him talk, he loves the city.

“He loves the situation in Cleveland because our players are very young and we’re just kind of putting the core together that he’s clearly the biggest part of.”

Mitchell is currently in the third season of a five-year rookie scale extension he signed with Utah prior to being traded to Cleveland in 2022. However, the 27-year-old could become a free agent in 2025 if he declines his $37.1MM player option for 2025/26.

A five-time All-Star, Mitchell made his first All-NBA appearance in ’22/23. While Mitchell won’t earn an All-NBA spot this season (he has missed too many games to qualify), that won’t have any impact on his next contract, since he’s no longer eligible for a super-max deal after being traded. He will be extension-eligible as of this July, however.

The Cavaliers could offer Mitchell a new contract that’s worth 30% of the ’25/26 cap and covers up to four seasons (through ’28/29), with 8% annual raises. Based on the latest cap projections, that four-year max extension would be worth an estimated $199MM.

Mitchell, who has been dealing with a nagging knee injury as well as a nasal fracture, could reportedly return to action on Friday. He has missed the past six games — and 13 of the past 15 — as he recovers from the injuries.

The Cavaliers have been in a skid of late, going 4-8 over their last 12 games to currently hold a 44-29 record, good for the No. 4 seed in the East. They’ve gone 11-13 without Mitchell this season, Lage notes.

And-Ones: Boomers, Awards, Thibodeau, Butler, Gilbert

May 7th, 2023 at 9:50pm CST by Dana Gauruder

All but one of the 11 Australian players in the NBA have been named to the extended Australian Boomers squad for the 2023 FIBA World Cup, Olgun Uluc of ESPN reports. The exception is a notable one — the Nets’ Ben Simmons, though there’s a possibility he’ll be added ahead of the selection camp.

Simmons recently expressed interest in playing for Australia in this year’s World Cup.

Some of the NBA current or past players who made the 18-man list include Patty Mills, Joe Ingles, Matthew Dellavedova, Dante Exum, Josh Green, Jock Landale, Matisse Thybulle, Josh Giddey, Dyson Daniels, Xavier Cooks and Thon Maker. The team will eventually be pared to 12 players.

We have from around the basketball world:

It’s going to be a busy week in terms of NBA awards announcements, the league’s communications department tweets. The All-Rookie team will be revealed on Monday, the All-Defensive Team will be unveiled on Tuesday and the All-NBA team will be announced on Wednesday. The Teammate of the Year award will be announced on Thursday.
Knicks coach Tom Thibodeau is looking for ways to slow down red-hot Jimmy Butler and the Heat. ESPN’s Nick Friedell takes an in-depth look at the relationship between Thibodeau and his former player.
Nick Gilbert, son of Cavaliers owner Dan Gilbert, has died at the age of 26, according to ESPN’s News Services. Nick Gilbert had a lifelong battle with neurofibromatosis (NF1), which causes noncancerous tumors to grow on the brain, spinal cord and skin. He became well-known to NBA fans for being Cleveland’s good luck charm at the draft lottery, as the Cavs twice got the top pick when he was the team’s lottery representative.

Suns Owner Ishbia: Durant Trade Involved “No Risk”

February 21st, 2023 at 10:56pm CST by Dana Gauruder

New Suns majority owner Mat Ishbia believes the Kevin Durant blockbuster deal wasn’t risky at all, he told Chris Mannis of Sports Illustrated.

Ishbia made a big splash and acquired of one of the league’s biggest stars right after being approved by the league’s owners to take control of the franchise.

“I don’t look at it like a risk at all. I know what the vision is,” he said. “I’m going to own this team for 50 years, so like zero [risk]. I don’t need to come in and win in the first year. But at the same time, there’s nothing in my life that I don’t want to win at. We’re going to try to win everything we do.”

The fact that Durant is in the first season of a four-year extension played into the decision to make the deal with the Nets. The Suns gave up Cameron Johnson, Mikal Bridges, Jae Crowder and several first-rounders in the deal, which turned into a four-team swap.

“It wasn’t a tough decision. We really didn’t want to give up some of the guys, because we love those guys,” Ishbia said. “They were winners and we didn’t want to give them up. But at the end of the day the right decision was, what do we do to maximize our team for today and for the next three to four years? This is going to be what the Phoenix Suns are about.”

Ishbia touched on a number of topics with Mannix:

Potential luxury tax penalties didn’t factor into the decision to make the trade. Ishbia is also unfazed by any future tax issues: “The financial piece was five seconds. They know I’m ready. That doesn’t bother me.”
Ishbia won’t meddle with GM James Jones and head coach Monty Williams in their jobs: “James will pick the best player. And that’s his job. I’m not calling Monty Williams to ask him why we played someone. That’s not my thing. I’ll watch the game like a fan and cheer the team on. That’s what my job is to do, is to be the biggest supporter, to give Monty Williams all the support he needs, to give James Jones all the support they need, to give the players all the support they need.”
Cavaliers owner Dan Gilbert was the only owner who abstained from approving him as Phoenix’s owner. Gilbert and Ishbia both own major mortgage companies based in Michigan, but Ishbia says there’s no bad blood between them. “If I saw Dan today, we’d shake hands and say hello. We’re normal people. But we’re not giving each other advice and being friendly in the business side. I have no negativity towards him. He’s probably not one of the first owners I’ll call for advice on ticket sales or sponsorships, but I’m friendly to everybody. But I’m fine talking with him.”