Cavs, Kings, Bulls Finalize Trade Involving Ellis, Hunter, More
The Cavaliers, Kings and Bulls have officially completed their three-team trade, according to press releases from Cleveland, Sacramento and Chicago.
The full deal is as follows:
- Cavaliers acquire Keon Ellis, Dennis Schröder, and Emanuel Miller; waived Luke Travers.
- Kings acquire De’Andre Hunter.
- Bulls acquire Dario Saric, 2027 second-round pick, and 2029 second-round pick; waived Jevon Carter.
“After careful evaluation and a clearer view of the Eastern Conference landscape, we believe adding Dennis and Keon strengthens our depth, expands our flexibility, and positions us to keep building a Championship caliber team now and into the future,” Cavs president of basketball operations Koby Altman said in a statement.
“In a season defined by its parity, this move better aligns us for a deeper postseason run. I’m thankful as well to De’Andre, who made an immediate impact upon his arrival to Cleveland and represented the Cavaliers with class. We appreciate everything he did for us both on and off the court, and we wish him the best in Sacramento. We drafted Luke in 2022 and have seen his development improve each year and thank him for his contributions to the franchise.”
Our primary breakdown of the trade can be found here. The involvement of Miller and Travers was outlined here.
The Kings have now have two standard roster openings after sending out three players (Ellis, Schröder, Saric) for one (Hunter). They will have 14 days to get back to at least 14 players on standard contracts. The Cavs and Bulls, meanwhile, have full 18-man rosters.
Cavs Receiving Miller From Bulls, Waiving Travers To Complete Ellis Deal
In order for all three teams to “touch” in the agreed-upon trade involving Keon Ellis, Dennis Schröder and De’Andre Hunter, the Bulls are trading two-way player Emanuel Miller to Cleveland, sources tell Julia Poe of The Chicago Tribune.
The Cavaliers are waiving Luke Travers, who is also on a two-way contract, to make roster room for Miller, as first reported by Olgun Uluc of ESPN and confirmed by Chris Fedor of Cleveland.com (Twitter links).
Miller, a second-year forward, has only made five NBA appearances this season, averaging 3.0 points in 6.6 minutes per game. He’s had a much larger role in the G League with the Windy City Bulls, averaging 17.5 PPG, 6.5 RPG, 2.2 APG and 0.9 SPG on .529/.354/.691 shooting in 21 games (33.8 MPG).
Travers, a former second-round pick, made 12 appearances for the Cavs in his second season, averaging 2.3 PPG and 2.0 RPG in 8.6 MPG. The Australian wing filled the stat sheet in the NBAGL with the Cleveland Charge, putting up 17.1 PPG, 9.0 RPG, 4.9 APG, 1.8 SPG and 1.6 BPG in 15 games (31.5 MPG). He struggled with efficiency, however, posting a .424/.283/.618 shooting line.
The full trade appears to be as follows:
- Cavaliers receive: Ellis, Schröder (from Kings), Miller (from Bulls). Will waive Travers.
- Bulls receive: Dario Saric (from Kings), two second-round picks (a 2027 second-rounder from Cleveland via Denver, and a 2029 least favorable pick from Sacramento). Will waive veteran guard Jevon Carter to acquire Saric.
- Kings receive: Hunter (from Cavaliers). Open two roster spots to eventually promote Dylan Cardwell from his two-way deal.
As Keith Smith of Spotrac observes (via Twitter), the Cavs’ standard roster will be full once the trade is finalized, which means they won’t have room to convert Nae’Qwan Tomlin from his two-way deal. The second-year forward, who has become a rotation regular in Cleveland, can only be active for four more games.
The Cavaliers are still likely to promote Tomlin, Smith notes, whether by making additional trades or waiving a player after the deadline.
Cavs Re-Sign Luke Travers On Two-Way Contract
The Cavaliers have re-signed forward Luke Travers on a two-way contract, according to the NBA transactions log.
Travers received a qualifying offer and apparently accepted that offer to remain on a two-way deal. The qualifying offer is equivalent to another one-year, two-way deal, with a portion (approximately $85K) guaranteed.
Drafted 56th overall in 2022, Travers played 12 games with the NBA club this past season, averaging 1.0 points and 1.7 rebounds in 7.3 minutes. Travers was an Australian draft-and-stash prospect and joined the Cavs on a two-way deal last offseason, though he has been part of their Summer League team for three seasons.
Travers appeared in 21 regular season games with the G League’s Cleveland Charge, averaging 17.0 points, 9.9. rebounds, 7.0 assists, 1.5 steals and 1.2 blocks in 34 minutes per game.
The Cavs now have a pair of players on two-way contracts, with Travers joining Nae’Qwan Tomlin.
Suns’ Gillepsie, Lakers’ Koloko Among Two-Way Players Receiving QOs
A series of players who finished the 2024/25 season on two-way contracts have received qualifying offers from their respective teams, making them free agents, according to Keith Smith of Spotrac. Those players are as follows (all links go to Twitter):
- Isaiah Crawford, Kings (link)
- Collin Gillespie, Suns link)
- Harrison Ingram, Spurs (link)
- Daniss Jenkins, Pistons (link)
- Spencer Jones, Nuggets (link)
- Christian Koloko, Lakers (link)
- Riley Minix, Spurs (link)
- Jacob Toppin, Hawks (link)
- Luke Travers, Cavaliers (link)
- Tristan Vukcevic, Wizards (link)
- Keaton Wallace, Hawks (link)
In each case, the player’s qualifying offer is equivalent to another one-year, two-way deal, with a small portion (approximately $85K) guaranteed.
While a rival team could technically sign any of these players to an offer sheet during free agency, we essentially never see that happen with two-way free agents. Most of them end up either accepting their two-way QOs or agreeing to new standard contracts with their current teams.
Gillespie, who turned 26 on Wednesday, is among the players who made a strong case for a promotion to a standard contract this past season. He averaged 5.9 points, 2.4 assists, and 2.4 rebounds in 14.0 minutes per game for Phoenix across 33 appearances (nine starts) and made 43.3% of his three-point tries.
Koloko (2.4 PPG and 2.5 RPG in 37 games), Vukcevic (9.4 PPG, 3.7 RPG, and .496/.373/.776 shooting in 35 games), and Wallace (5.4 PPG and 2.6 APG in 31 games) also played rotation minutes for their respective clubs in 2024/25.
Sunday is the deadline for teams to make qualifying offers to players who are eligible for restricted free agency.
Cavaliers Sign Nae’Qwan Tomlin To Two-Way Deal
March 2: Tomlin has been officially signed, according to the NBA transactions log. The Cavaliers waived Thor to create a two-way opening, as we detailed in a separate story.
March 1: Nae’Qwan Tomlin will sign a two-way contract with the Cavaliers, sources tell Michael Scotto of HoopsHype (Twitter link). The deal will cover two seasons, Scotto adds (Twitter link).
Last week, Cleveland gave the 24-year-old power forward a 10-day contract. He has appeared in three games during that deal, which will expire tonight, averaging 3.3 points and 1.7 rebounds in 4.7 minutes per contest.
The 6’10” rookie signed an Exhibit 10 contract with the Cavs in September after going undrafted out of Memphis. He spent most of the season with the G League’s Cleveland Charge, posting 15.7 points, 7.1 rebounds, 1.9 assists, and 1.5 blocks per night in 35 total Tip-Off Tournament and regular season games,
The Cavaliers will have an opening on their main roster once Tomlin’s 10-day contract expires, but all three of their two-way slots are currently filled. Either Emoni Bates, Luke Travers or JT Thor will have to be waived or promoted to the 15-man roster before Tomlin’s new deal can be finalized.
Whatever the Cavs decide to do, it will have to happen by March 4, which is the deadline to sign players to two-way contracts.
Cavaliers Sign Luke Travers To Two-Way Deal
4:30pm: The signing is official, according to the Cavaliers.
3:39pm: Draft-and-stash prospect Luke Travers has agreed to sign a two-way contract with the Cavaliers, agent Daniel Moldovan tells Adrian Wojnarowski of ESPN (Twitter link).
Travers, who will turn 23 next Tuesday, was the 56th overall pick in the 2022 draft. Rather than signing an NBA contract at that time, however, he continued to play professionally in his home country of Australia, suiting up for the Perth Wildcats in 2022/23 and Melbourne United in ’23/24.
A 6’7″ wing, Travers enjoyed a strong season in Melbourne this past year, averaging 12.0 points, 7.6 rebounds, and 1.9 assists in 26.3 minutes per game, with a shooting line of .516/.327/.671, across 25 appearances. He has also suited up for Cleveland’s Summer League team in each of the past three offseasons, averaging 7.4 PPG, 5.3 RPG, 1.9 APG, and 1.4 BPG in 15 outings (24.7 MPG) in Las Vegas.
Word broke earlier this month that Travers had left Melbourne United to pursue NBA opportunities, and while a two-way deal with Cleveland always appeared to be the most likely outcome, that wasn’t considered a certainty until now. The Cavs could’ve traded his NBA rights to another team or used a 15-man roster spot to sign him.
Instead, Travers will begin his NBA career in Cleveland on a two-way contract that will pay him $578,577, half of the rookie minimum. He’s eligible to appear in a maximum of 50 NBA games while on that deal, though if the Cavs hold an open spot on their standard 15-man roster, they’ll be limited to 90 total NBA games for their three two-way players (Travers, Emoni Bates, and JT Thor). As a result, the Australian wing will likely spend plenty of time in the G League with the Cleveland Charge.
Once their reported deals with Travers and Thor are official, the Cavs will have 15 players under contract — 12 on standard deals and three on two-ways, with Isaac Okoro still a restricted free agent.
Cavs Notes: Roster, Okoro, Bates, Nance, Travers
The Cavaliers are still carrying just 10 players on standard guaranteed contracts for the 2024/25 season. However, the team doesn’t appear likely to make a series of roster additions before the regular season begins.
Craig Porter, who has a partially guaranteed salary, and Sam Merrill, who has a non-guaranteed deal, are penciled in as the 11th and 12th players on the 15-man regular season roster. And, as Chris Fedor of Cleveland.com explains, one of the other roster openings remains earmarked for restricted free agent Isaac Okoro. There hasn’t been any movement recently in negotiations with Okoro, per Fedor, with Cleveland having made its position clear to the forward’s camp.
If Okoro returns as the 13th man, the 14th spot on the roster would likely be reserved for a “cost-effective, playable, end-of-bench veteran,” according to Fedor, who suggests that the ideal target would be a player who could provide depth and locker room leadership, like Tristan Thompson did last season.
New Cavaliers head coach Kenny Atkinson, who is serving as an assistant for the French national team, is expected to meet with members of Cleveland’s front office after the Olympics to discuss what he’s looking for with that 14th roster spot, as well as possible targets, Fedor writes.
As for the 15th spot, the plan is to leave it open to begin the regular season in order to save some money and maximize the team’s roster flexibility, Fedor concludes.
Here’s more on the Cavs:
- Cleveland doesn’t yet have any players signed to two-way contracts for the coming season, but Fedor expects Emoni Bates to return in one of those slots. A two-way qualifying offer remains on the table for Bates, making him a restricted free agent. Pete Nance, who finished last season on a two-way contract and played a significant role on the Cavs’ Summer League team, is another strong candidate for a two-way deal, Fedor adds.
- When draft-and-stash prospect Luke Travers left Melbourne United to pursue other professional opportunities, he made that decision in conjunction with the Cavs, sources tell Cleveland.com. However, the plan for Travers remains up in the air — having him sign a two-way contract is the most logical outcome, but it isn’t a certainty yet, says Fedor.
- As Fedor observes, as long as the Cavs are carrying just 14 players on their standard roster instead of 15, their two-way players are limited to 90 total games (instead of 50 apiece), meaning Travers could spend plenty of time in the G League with the Cleveland Charge if he comes stateside on a two-way deal. That might be fine with him, but Fedor suggests that a deal in Europe – where he’d presumably have a bigger role than he would in the NBA – is another option that may still be in play for the 22-year-old Australian wing. The Cavs could also trade Travers’ NBA rights, though there’s no indication they’re pursuing that path.
Luke Travers Departs Melbourne United, Pursuing NBA Opportunities
Forward Luke Travers, the No. 56 overall pick in the 2022 draft, was granted release from his contract with Melbourne United, Olgun Uluc of ESPN reports (Twitter link).
According to Uluc, the release was mutual so that Travers can “pursue NBA opportunities.” Travers’ rights are owned by the Cavaliers, so unless his rights are traded in the near future, the only contract he could sign would be with Cleveland.
The Cavaliers are in an interesting place, with first-round pick Jaylon Tyson representing their only offseason addition so far. They signed three players to extensions but have kept their roster flexibility as open as it can be. They have three standard contract spots open and are the only team to not have a player signed to a two-way contract for next season.
Their holdup in making moves is almost certainly tied to restricted free agent Isaac Okoro, who is the biggest domino left to fall in free agency. The Cavs have reportedly had talks about re-signing him and about possible sign-and-trade deals with other teams. Regardless, they seem to be in a holding pattern until that situation is resolved.
But if the team re-signs Okoro (or signs-and-trades him in a move that brings back just one player), they’d still have multiple open roster spots to fill. Of their own free agents, Marcus Morris and Emoni Bates seem the most likely to return.
Travers would be eligible to sign either a standard or two-way contract with the team. If they wanted to save some money, it would make sense to sign him to a deal that’s similar in structure to the one Gui Santos, picked one slot before Travers, received from Golden State last year.
Travers, 22, has spent three straight years with Cleveland’s summer league team. Across 15 total summer league appearances spanning 2022-24, he has averaged 7.4 points, 5.3 rebounds, 1.1 steals and 1.4 blocks. During his last season with Melbourne, he averaged 12.4 points and 7.6 rebounds across 36 games.
A 6’7″ forward, Travers would provide versatile youth and depth. If he signed, he would be the second-youngest player on the roster.
Eastern Notes: Bickerstaff, Allen, Travers, Bey, Sixers
It didn’t take long for J.B. Bickerstaff to find a new job after being fired by Cleveland, having been hired by the Pistons as their new head coach. At his introductory press conference on Wednesday, Bickerstaff discussed why he found Detroit’s vacancy appealing, per James L. Edwards III of The Athletic.
“It was my conversations with (president of basketball operations) Trajan (Langdon), to begin with,” Bickerstaff said. “I had a great feeling that this organization was heading in the right direction and was being led by the right people. For me, going through some of the things that I’ve gone through in the past, the people that you work with … being of a shared vision and willingness to commit to one another and partner with one another, I thought this group, as a whole, had a great vision. (team owner) Tom (Gores) has given every resource to go out and execute that vision.
“Then, obviously, you study the team. I took a deep dive as soon as I could. Obviously, I have experience of playing against them four times a year for so many years, but I knew the players well. I believed in their ability and talent. There is a steps process that we have to take, and we’re really aware of that and Trajan and I are united in that. It just doesn’t happen for everyone overnight.”
Bickerstaff pointed to his success with Cleveland as proof that he can turn the Pistons around, writes Larry Lage of The Associated Press. Detroit finished with the worst record in the NBA last season. Langdon said he was looking for a veteran coach to lead a young team, as Lage relays.
“You want somebody who can come in here and hit the ground running, and who’s done this before,” Langdon said. “Especially with a young team coming off a difficult season, positivity was important. We felt experience was important. The players needed to feel like the person coming in here knew what he was talking about.”
Here’s more from the Eastern Conference:
- The Cavaliers have been receiving trade inquiries on former All-Star center Jarrett Allen, but they continue to rebuff those overtures, ESPN’s Brian Windhorst said on his Hoop Collective podcast (YouTube link). Allen, who averaged 16.5 PPG, 10.5 RPG, 2.7 APG and 1.1 BPG in 77 games last season (31.7 MPG), will earn $40MM over the next two seasons.
- Australian wing Luke Travers, a second-round pick (No. 56) by the Cavaliers in 2022, is dealing with a sore hamstring that sidelined him for the team’s Summer League opener in Las Vegas on Friday, tweets Chris Fedor of Cleveland.com. Travers has expressed a strong desire to come stateside in 2024/25, though it’s unclear if he’ll be able to earn a roster spot.
- New Wizards forward Saddiq Bey will earn $6,440,678 in 2024/25, $6,118,644 in ’25/26, and $6,440,678 again in ’26/27, a source tells cap expert Yossi Gozlan (Twitter link). Bey will likely miss most — if not all — of his first season with Washington after tearing his ACL in March. The 25-year-old’s new three-year deal also includes $1MM in incentives.
- Mike Sielski of The Philadelphia Inquirer argues that free agent signee Caleb Martin will bring a much-need infusion of “Heat Culture” to the Sixers, pointing to the 28-year-old’s success with Miami as evidence. According to Sielski, the 76ers have had plenty of talent in recent years, but the team has often lacked an identity, which Martin should help fortify with his willingness to make winning energy plays.
- Former NBA forward Demetris Nichols has joined the Sixers as a player development coach, per Mike Waters of Syracuse.com (subscriber link). The No. 53 pick of the 2007 draft, Nichols appeared in 18 NBA games with Cleveland, Chicago and New York before spending several years overseas. The 39-year-old was an assistant with Wake Forest last season, Waters notes.
Cavs Notes: Wade, Hendry, Geriot, Travers, Okoro
Dean Wade missed the last 19 games of the Cavaliers‘ regular season and was only able to suit up for three of the team’s 12 playoff contests due to a right knee sprain. However, according to Chris Fedor of Cleveland.com (Twitter link), Wade is no longer experiencing any pain in that knee.
As Fedor details, the veteran forward took a few weeks off after the Cavs were eliminated from the postseason and then resumed working out in mid-June. He has been conducting full-court workouts in recent weeks with no issues, Fedor adds.
Here’s more out of Cleveland:
- Trevor Hendry, who worked under Kenny Atkinson for three years in Brooklyn, is joining Atkinson’s new staff in Cleveland as an assistant coach, league sources tell Michael Scotto of HoopsHype (Twitter link). Hendry was Brooklyn’s head video coordinator during Atkinson’s tenure but was later promoted to an assistant coaching role under Jacque Vaughn.
- The Cavaliers are still working through various coaching staff changes, according to Fedor, who tweets that veteran assistant Dan Geriot likely won’t remain with the team. The former head coach of Cleveland’s G League team, Geriot has been a Cavs assistant for several years, but appears likely to join the Pelicans in a front-of-the-bench role, says Fedor.
- Luke Travers, the 56th overall pick in the 2022 draft, will be with the Cavaliers for a third straight Summer League in Las Vegas. A 22-year-old guard/forward, Travers remains under contract with Melbourne in Australia’s National Basketball League, but has an NBA out in that deal and would be interested in making the move to Cleveland if the opportunity arises, Fedor writes for Cleveland.com. “ASAP,” Travers said of his timeline for making the move to the NBA. “You’re trying to get there as soon as possible, and you don’t want to wait around and stuff. I’ve just been trying to put in the work. … It’s all been positive talks (with the Cavaliers). They’re always trying to help me in any way they can and give me a little feedback here and there.”
- Sources tell Fedor that a spot on the Cavaliers’ roster for 2024/25 is unlikely for Travers, though there’s some curiosity within the organization about how he’d look in Atkinson’s system. The Cavs continue to negotiate with restricted free agent forward Isaac Okoro and are operating under the assumption that they’ll have just one roster spot left to fill if Okoro returns, Fedor explains. Cleveland currently has just 12 players on standard contracts, so that suggests the team doesn’t plan to immediately fill its 15th spot.