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Cavaliers Notes: Thompson, Nance, Smith, Lue

September 29th, 2018 at 6:30pm CST by Arthur Hill

Cavaliers coach Tyronn Lue plans to have Tristan Thompson and Larry Nance Jr. share the starting center’s role depending on the matchup, according to Marla Ridenour of The Akron Beacon-Journal. Thompson will be the starter against teams with taller centers, while Nance will match up against smaller and quicker opponents.

“Last year it kind of wore Larry down trying to guard those big guys the whole game,” Lue said after today’s practice. “That’s a lot to ask for him to guard Dwight [Howard] and [Andre] Drummond and all those big guys, it’s not fair to him, DeAndre Jordan … I talked to those guys before camp started and kind of told them what the situation was. Larry loved it.”

Nance started 10 of the 24 games he played for the Cavs after being acquired from the Lakers at the trade deadline. He was used entirely in a reserve role during the playoffs. Thompson, formerly Cleveland’s full-time starter, appeared in just 53 games last season and started 22. He was the starter in 11 of the 19 postseason games he played.

Kevin Love, who started 48 games at center last season, will move back to power forward but will switch onto opposing centers on defense. Ante Zizic will also see time in the middle.

There’s more today out of Cleveland:

A new tattoo may cost J.R. Smith some money this season if he doesn’t cover it up, relays Chris Fedor of Cleveland.com. Smith has the logo of the Supreme clothing brand on the back of his right leg and reacted angrily to threatened disciplinary action from the league. “So you mean to tell me I have to cover up my tattoo for what?” he tweeted. “You don’t make people cover up Jordan logos, NIKE checks or anything else but because it’s me it’s a problem all of a sudden!!!”
Smith hopes his younger teammates can learn from some of the mistakes he has made in his career, Fedor writes in a separate story. Smith’s time in the NBA has been filled with questionable decisions, including a soup-throwing incident last year and a clock-related gaffe at the end of Game 1 of the NBA Finals. “If I ain’t a lesson teacher I don’t know who is,” he said. “Obviously I’ve made tons of mistakes throughout my life on and off the court. If you can’t learn from my mistakes and listen to what I have to say, then more power to you and God bless you.”
Lue announced a “no tanking” policy this week, but a rough start to the season could test that philosophy, Ridenour notes in another piece.

Cavaliers Notes: Workouts, Osman, Sexton, Thompson

September 12th, 2018 at 10:32am CST by Arthur Hill

Kevin Love‘s duties in taking over for LeBron James as team leader include organizing the Cavaliers’ annual pre-camp workouts, writes Joe Vardon of Cleveland.com. Love, whose leadership role was cemented when he agreed to a four-year, $120MM extension this summer, is hosting the voluntary sessions this week at the University of Miami.

Most of the players who are under contract are expected to attend. Coach Tyronn Lue is in Miami as well, but won’t participate if the players-only tradition continues. Tristan Thompson, Cedi Osman and Ante Zizic are all out of the country to play in World Cup qualifiers.

James, who signed with the Lakers in July, organized the workouts in each of the past four seasons. They are usually held in vacation spots, with coaches and front office personnel accompanying the team but letting the players run things.

There’s more today out of Cleveland:

Osman can look forward to a much larger role in his second season with the Cavaliers, Vardon notes in a player profile. Osman may inherit James’ role as starting small forward, although Rodney Hood is also a candidate. The 23-year-old saw action in 61 games as a rookie, averaging 3.9 points per night. Osman played several years in Europe before coming to the NBA and appeared much more polished in this year’s Summer League, according to Vardon.
Collin Sexton will need to improve his shot, especially from long distance, to become a Rookie of the Year candidate, Vardon states in another profile. Sexton tied with Suns center Deandre Ayton as the favorite for the award in a poll among players drafted this year. However, his success could depend on improving his accuracy from 3-point range, where he hit just .336 last year as a college freshman, and just .242 in SEC games.
Thompson, who owns a championship ring and has made four straight trips to the NBA Finals, hopes to create that same atmosphere of success on the Canadian national team. He has been playing for his home country for nearly a decade and believes there’s an opportunity for Canada to become a major player in international competitions. “Right now we have a wave of really good players in the NBA,” Thompson said, “but who knows? Maybe 15 years from now we have a drought, so while guys are here and at a high level, let’s take advantage of it.”

Cavaliers Notes: Love, Trades, Hood

September 10th, 2018 at 9:55pm CST by Arthur Hill

The Cavaliers will need Kevin Love to post the type of numbers he put up regularly in Minnesota for them to remain a playoff contender after the departure of LeBron James, writes Joe Vardon of Cleveland.com. Love had an eventful off-season, highlighted by his 30th birthday last week and a four-year, $120MM extension in July.

Love was an All-Star with the Timberwolves before a trade brought him to Cleveland to be part of a Big Three with James and Kyrie Irving. That trio reached three straight NBA Finals and won the 2016 title before Irving was traded to Boston last summer.

Love played 59 games last season and made his fifth All-Star appearance, but he was sidelined for much of the year by a broken hand. He has become the face of the franchise now, Vardon notes, and the Cavaliers will be expecting much more than the 17.6 PPG and 9.3 RPG he averaged last year.

There’s more news out of Cleveland:

The Cavaliers should ignore calls to trade Love and accelerate the rebuilding process, David Aldridge of TNT writes in a mailbag column. Cleveland doesn’t have a great history of attracting free agents, Aldridge argues, and that path would be much more difficult without an elite player on the roster. Love can keep the Cavs competitive for the next couple of seasons, then be traded if the organization decides to commit to a youth movement.
Rodney Hood will be competing against a talented group of shooting guards when he becomes unrestricted free agent next summer, notes Greg Swartz of Bleacher Report. After failing to get a contract he liked as a restricted free agent, Hood opted to accept Cleveland’s $3,472,887 qualifying offer, reportedly turning down a three-year deal from the team in the neighborhood of $21MM. Also hitting the open market next summer will be Klay Thompson, J.J. Redick, Tyreke Evans, Kentavious Caldwell-Pope, Austin Rivers, Mario Hezonja, Danny Green, Terrence Ross and Jeremy Lamb.
Hood’s body of work through his first four seasons suggests his best days might still be ahead of him despite his playoff struggles, Joe Gabriele of the team’s website opines. Hood could have a breakout season since he’ll have more of a scoring and leadership role with the James-less Cavs, Gabriele adds.

Central Rumors: Leuer, Wood, Love, Bullock

August 17th, 2018 at 6:30pm CST by Dana Gauruder

Pistons big man Jon Leuer is expected to be ready by the season opener and perhaps by the start of training camp, Vince Ellis of Detroit Free Press tweets. Leuer underwent surgery to repair a meniscus issue that arose during a workout earlier this month. Leuer appeared in just eight games last season due to a left ankle injury that required season-ending surgery in January. The team is hopeful Leuer, who is entering the third year of a four-year, $42MM contract, can return his role as a rotation player at center and power forward.

We have more from the Central Division:

Christian Wood is confident he can earn a spot on the Bucks’ opening day roster, as he expressed to HoopsHype’s Bryan Kalbrosky. The 6’11’ Wood reached an agreement with Milwaukee on a training camp deal after posting big numbers on their summer league squad. “Once I get the time and people see me, I know that I can be an X-factor in the NBA. I can run the floor and beat other bigs and I’m faster than most people my size,” he told Kalbrosky.
Kevin Love had a pretty good idea that LeBron James would either pick the Lakers or stay with the Cavs, he revealed in an ESPN interview that was relayed by Alysha Tsuji of USA Today. “I knew it was probably between Cleveland and Los Angeles. I think he’s always looking for a different challenge. He’s always wondering what’s next, and it feels like sometimes he’s playing chess and everybody else is playing checkers,” Love said.
The Pistons have depth at the wing spots but Reggie Bullock will retain his starting spot under new coach Dwane Casey, MLive’s Ansar Khan writes. Bullock emerged as one of the league’s top 3-point shooters last season after being inserted into the lineup. He’s one of the league’s biggest bargains at $2.5MM, as Khan notes, and should get a much bigger contract as a free agent next summer if he has a similar season.

Cavaliers Notes: Smith, Korver, White, Love

August 5th, 2018 at 10:21am CST by Arthur Hill

The Cavaliers’ expected deal with free agent guard David Nwaba doesn’t change the status of J.R. Smith or Kyle Korver because both players were already on the trading block, according to Joe Vardon of Cleveland.com. Appearing on a podcast with Chris Fedor from the same organization, Vardon says the Cavs would like to unload at least one veteran guard to cut down on their cap commitments. Smith will make $14.72MM in the upcoming season and has a $15.68MM player option for 2019/20. Korver has a $7.56MM salary with a $7.5MM player option the following year.

Cleveland is looking for a first-round pick in exchange for Korver, says Vardon, who adds that Philadelphia’s reported offer to swap Jerryd Bayless straight up for Korver wouldn’t have benefited the Cavs.

There’s more news from Cleveland:

Today marks a salary guarantee date for Okaro White, Vardon tweets. Half of the $1,544,951 he is owed for the upcoming season will become guaranteed if he isn’t waived by 5pm Eastern time. White, who missed much of last season with a broken foot, didn’t see any game action after signing with the Cavaliers in March, but he was able to play for their Summer League team.
LeBron James‘ departure has left Kevin Love as clearly the top talent on the roster, but he shouldn’t try to go back to being the player he was in Minnesota, writes Terry Pluto of Cleveland.com. Although Love put up impressive numbers with the Timberwolves, averaging 26.1 PPG in his final season there, he was often lazy on defense and was never able to lead that team to the playoffs, Pluto notes. He suggests that Love should embrace the lessons he has learned in four years with the Cavaliers and become an example to younger players of how to play winning basketball.
While losing James is obviously a huge step back for the organization, Greg Swartz of Bleacher Report identifies a few Cavaliers who could benefit from LeBron’s absence. He states that more playing time and a greater responsibility in the offense should help Love, along with Cedi Osman, Jordan Clarkson, Larry Nance Jr. and Rodney Hood.

Cavaliers Notes: Love, Nance, Veterans

July 24th, 2018 at 10:53pm CST by ChrisCrouse

Kevin Love expressed his desire to stay in Cleveland during his exit interview with the team following the NBA Finals, Jeff Zillgitt of USA Today reports. The power forward also reiterated his desire to stay once the news of LeBron James leaving town broke — during both interactions, he discussed his interest in a long-term deal.

Love inked a four-year extension with the Cavaliers worth an additional $120MM. As part of the arrangement, the big man declined his player option for the 2019/20 season, which is the first season the new pact will kick in.

Here some notes and reactions on the deal signed by Cleveland’s newest face of the franchise:

The Love signing suggests that the Cavaliers have no interest in a full teardown, Jeremy Woo of Sports Illustrated writes. Outside of rookie deals, Love is the only guaranteed contract on the books past the 2019/20 campaign.
Cleveland is reportedly interested in giving both Larry Nance Jr. and Rodney Hood new deals, Woo adds. Nance has one season at roughly $2.27MM left on his current deal. Hood is a restricted free agent, though he hasn’t had much interest this offseason after a shaky start to his Cavs career.
The belief around the league was that the Cavaliers were going to move their high-priced veterans, but it became clear early on that the franchise wasn’t going to find takers for many of its players, sources tell Steve Kyler of Basketball Insiders. The scribe adds that Cleveland remains open to trades. However, after locking Love down long-term, there isn’t much urgency to move veterans.

Cavs Sign Kevin Love To Four-Year Extension

July 24th, 2018 at 10:39am CST by Luke Adams

The Cavaliers have insisted all offseason that they don’t intend to trade Kevin Love, and now they’ve doubled down on that position, locking up the All-Star forward to a long-term contract. According to ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski and Brian Windhorst, Love has signed a four-year, $120MM extension with the Cavs. The club has confirmed the deal in a press release.

“When I first came to Cleveland, I came with a long-term mindset,” Love said in a statement. “I came here to win. We developed a culture here that reflects that. I’m super excited and I couldn’t be happier. It’s a big commitment for me and it’s a big commitment from the Cavaliers, so I want to thank Dan Gilbert, Koby Altman and the entire organization. I enjoy playing here, I’m excited about the team that we have and look forward to our future together.”

As part of the agreement, Love has declined his player option for 2019/20, with the first year of his new deal replacing that option. Factoring in the final year of his current contract, which will pay him $24.12MM in 2018/19, the veteran big man is on track to earn nearly $145MM over the next five seasons. The extension won’t include a player option or a no-trade clause, per Joe Vardon of Cleveland.com.

Love, who joined the Cavaliers shortly after LeBron James returned to Cleveland in 2014, has averaged 17.1 PPG and 10.0 RPG during his four years with the franchise. Although he earned a pair of All-Star nods during those seasons, he was never the centerpiece of the Cavs’ offense the way he was in Minnesota, when he averaged 23.5 PPG and 13.7 RPG in his last four years with the Timberwolves.

The Cavs’ new deal for Love, which will run through 2023, looks like a bet on him recapturing his Wolves form – at least to some extent – now that he no longer has to take a back seat to James and Kyrie Irving. While an increasing salary cap will make the contract more manageable in future seasons, it’s still a significant investment in a player who will turn 30 in September and will be 34 by the end of the deal.

Following James’ departure from Cleveland earlier this month, the Cavs insisted both publicly and privately that trading Love wasn’t in their plans, though multiple reports suggested that he wasn’t untouchable either. Today’s move ensures that Love will remain a Cavalier for the foreseeable future — because his deal exceeds the limit for an extend-and-trade transaction, he can’t be dealt for the next six months.

An extension for Love can start at up to 120% of his 2018/19 salary, and according to Windhorst (Twitter link), it will do just that. Windhorst notes that the deal will be worth the maximum allowable amounts in the first two years before staying the same in the third year, then decreasing in the final year. It’s about $8-9MM less than Love’s maximum possible contract extension starting in ’19/20, adds Windhorst.

Based on my calculations, that structure should result in salaries of approximately $28.9MM (2019/20), $31.3MM (2020/21), $31.3MM (2021/22), and $28.9MM (2022/23).

Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.

Central Notes: Love, Middleton, Perkins, Pistons

July 19th, 2018 at 10:45pm CST by ChrisCrouse

Earlier tonight, we heard talk of the Cavaliers sending Kyle Korver to Philadelphia in exchange for Jerryd Bayless. While we wait to see if anything materializes in Cleveland, let’s take a look at some notes from the Central Division:

The Cavaliers are not shopping Kevin Love, though he could be on the move if the right offer presents itself, ESPN’s Brian Windhorst mentions on the Lowe Post podcast. The scribe adds that Khris Middleton is in the same boat with the Bucks not deeming him untouchable nor looking to deal him.
Cleveland waived Kendrick Perkins to “do right” by the big man and allow him to pursue training camp deals, a source tells Joe Vardon of Cleveland.com. The Cavaliers signed Perkins on the final day of the 2017/18 regular season back when LeBron James was still on the roster. The team had hoped to use Perkins’ contract as part of an offseason trade.
The Pistons have added Tim Grgurich and Micah Nori as assistant coaches to Dwane Casey‘s staff, Ansar Khan of Mlive.com relays.
Alex Boeder of NBA.com examines what Brook Lopez will bring to the Bucks. Lopez should be able to help the team stretch the floor with his three-point shot, as over 40% of his shots from the field last came from behind the arc.
FIBA has banned Bucks center Thon Maker for three games in international play for his part in a brawl during a game in the Philippines earlier this month, according to an ESPN report. Maker said he disagreed with the decision in a written statement that was released on his Twitter account.

Cavaliers Notes: White, Doncic, Parker, Love

July 12th, 2018 at 5:03pm CST by Arthur Hill

Okaro White has a chance to win a roster spot with the Cavaliers, but first he has to overcome the effects of a broken left foot he suffered in November, writes Joe Vardon of Cleveland.com. White’s foot has fully healed, but he is still struggling with the psychological aspects of the injury and admits he’s “babying” it.

“I just gotta get through,” said White, who is part of the Cavaliers’ entry in the Las Vegas Summer League. “I’m old enough, I’m not young anymore, so I gotta get over it [mentally] and try to find a way to showcase my ability.”

White started four games for the Heat before the injury, but it wound up ending his season. He was shipped to the Hawks at the trade deadline, then signed with the Cavs in March, but never took the court for either team. The 25-year-old forward has a non-guaranteed $1,544,951 contract for 2018/19.

There’s more news out of Cleveland:

The Cavaliers passed on an opportunity to trade up on draft night and snag Luka Doncic, Vardon reports in a separate story. A source tells Vardon that Cleveland had an offer from Atlanta that included the No. 3 pick and Kent Bazemore, who will make more than $18MM next season with a $19.27MM option for 2019/20. However, the Cavs wanted Collin Sexton and were confident they could get him at No. 8.
With LeBron James gone, the Cavaliers should take a gamble on Jabari Parker, according to Greg Swartz of Bleacher Report. The second player taken in the 2014 draft, Parker could become a dynamic scorer and rebounder if he can fully bounce back from his second ACL surgery. Swartz suggests Cleveland should use its $8.6MM mid-level exception to offer Parker a two-year contract. That would give him $13.3MM more in guaranteed money than if he accepts his $4.3MM qualifying offer with the Bucks, and it would put him back on the open market in 2020 when he’ll only be 25. Swartz recommends a few other moves for the Cavs, including re-signing Rodney Hood, working out an extension with Larry Nance Jr., trying to trade veterans such as J.R. Smith and Tristan Thompson and taking on unwanted contracts to stockpile draft picks.
Chris Fedor of Cleveland.com suggests several trades involving Kevin Love, listing the Trail Blazers, Heat, Lakers, Suns and Jazz as possible destinations.

Cavaliers Notes: Love, Lue, James, Zizic

July 8th, 2018 at 9:08am CST by Arthur Hill

Kevin Love has a chance to raise his trade value by the February deadline, which may explain why the Cavaliers aren’t putting him on the market now, writes Terry Pluto of Cleveland.com. GM Koby Altman said this week that the organization “doesn’t get better” by moving Love, and a rival executive that Pluto talked to agrees.

With LeBron James gone, Love will become the new focus of the offense in Cleveland and he has a good chance to raise the numbers of 17.6PPG and 9.0 RPG that earned him an All-Star berth this season. He also stretches opposing defense, which will give Jordan Clarkson and rookie point guard Collin Sexton easier paths to the rim.

Love will make $24MM in the upcoming season, then has a $25.6MM salary for 2019/20 that he is expected to opt out of, so the Cavaliers will likely decide to trade him at some point. The unidentified executive says he could be very popular around the deadline, especially in the Eastern Conference, where teams will see a wide open field with James now a Laker.

There’s more this morning out of Cleveland:

The Heat, Hornets, Trail Blazers and Raptors stand out as potential trade destinations for Love, according to Frank Urbina of Hoops Hype.
Cavaliers coach Tyronn Lue will meet with Lakers coach Luke Walton and associate head coach Brian Shaw to discuss the experience of coaching James, according to Tania Ganguli of The Los Angeles Times. “I’ll just tell them LeBron’s easy,” Lue said. “People get this whole thing built up like he’s hard to coach. It’s not. LeBron’s not the problem. It’s the outside tension that’s the problem. Just put added pressure immediately on the coaches, on his teammates. Now everything you do is under a microscope. … So it’s going to be a totally different change for the Lakers. They’ll be able to handle it.” Lue adds that he spoke to James a number of times while he was making his free agency decision, but never pressed him to stay in Cleveland.
Pluto examines James’ legacy with the Cavaliers in a separate story. Through all he has accomplished, the enduring memory for James may be bringing an NBA championship to Cleveland. “Only people who are from there understand what that title meant,” said former Cavs coach Mike Brown. “To LeBron, I bet it’s worth more than all his MVP awards [four] and his other titles [in Miami] combined.”
Ante Zizic, an overlooked part of the Kyrie Irving trade, has been putting up huge numbers in the Las Vegas Summer League, relays Joe Vardon of Cleveland.com. He posted 25 points and 11 rebounds in Saturday’s loss to the Bulls.