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.
Spencer Jones Among Two-Way Players Nearing Active-Game Limit
Second-year forward Spencer Jones has emerged as a key part of the Nuggets‘ rotation this season, starting 31 games and averaging 23.5 minutes per night for the Western Conference’s No. 3 team. However, Jones’ two-way contract only allows him to be eligible for up to 50 regular season games and he’s just three away from that limit — he has appeared in 43 contests and was a DNP-CD in four more early in the season.
While the Nuggets have let Jones and his representatives know that they want to promote him to the standard roster, the 24-year-old is also aware he may run out of games before that happens, writes Bennett Durando of The Denver Post (subscription required).
“You want to figure out, where you’ve got a championship push, everything you need to make that push. So yeah, I always knew the decision wasn’t going to be until the (trade) deadline, (that it) won’t be decided until around then,” Jones said. “I may run out of games before then. So they’ve mentioned the possibility of sitting out one or two just ’cause. So we’ll see how it pans out.”
Denver has an open spot on its 15-man roster, so the front office could convert Jones’ contract today without making a corresponding move. However, the Nuggets will likely want to hold that spot open for a few more days to maximize their roster flexibility at the trade deadline.
The Nuggets are also operating above the luxury tax line by about $400K and have reportedly made it a priority to finish this season as a non-taxpayer. That means Jones might have to wait for his promotion until after Denver makes a move to shed a little salary.
If they were to trade one of their lowest-paid players without taking back any salary, the Nuggets could sign Jones and remain below the tax line due to the gap between a full-season and prorated salary. For instance, Hunter Tyson‘s deal features a $2,221,677 cap hit, whereas a minimum-salary contract for Jones would count for just $871K as of February 6 (Denver could also use a portion of its mid-level exception to sign Jones for more than the minimum).
“Whatever happens with Spence, he’ll be fine. What he’s done and what he’s put on tape is a professional basketball player that belongs in a rotation,” head coach David Adelman said. “And he’s earned it. … We’ll figure it out. What that means, I don’t know. And those are Ben (Tenzer) and Jon (Wallace) questions; we’ll have that conversation with them. But we’ll do the best we can do for (Jones) and for the whole roster as we go forward.”
As Durando points out (via Twitter), Jones got a bit of a reprieve when the Nuggets had a game postponed last Sunday and rescheduled for March. But Denver still plays four times between now and next Thursday’s deadline, so if the club isn’t ready to promote Jones until after the deadline, he’ll have to sit out one of those four contests.
There are several other two-way players around the NBA who are nearing their active game limits. Here are the players who are within 10 of the limit, with the number of games they have remaining noted in parentheses:
- Chris Youngblood, Thunder (2)
- Pat Spencer, Warriors (3)
- Jabari Walker, Sixers (3)
- Note: The Sixers have reached their limit of 90 “under-15” two-way games and must maintain a full 15-man standard roster to use their two-way players.
- Daniss Jenkins, Pistons (4)
- Johnny Juzang, Timberwolves (4)
- Nae’Qwan Tomlin, Cavaliers (5)
- Sidy Cissoko, Trail Blazers (7)
- JD Davison, Rockets (8)
- Ryan Nembhard, Mavericks (9)
- Caleb Love, Trail Blazers (10)
- Kobe Sanders, Clippers (10)
Cavs Rumors: Hunter, LeBron, Tyson, Tomlin
Despite his down year, the Cavaliers have received a fair amount of interest in forward De’Andre Hunter on the trade market, according to Brett Siegel of ClutchPoints, and are engaged in various discussions about him, per Jake Fischer of The Stein Line (Substack link).
However, Cleveland is hesitant to make a move involving Hunter, Siegel writes. As he explains, although the Cavs – the only club in the NBA operating above the second tax apron – have considered ways to reduce their team salary, the front office doesn’t want to flip the 28-year-old for less than it gave up to acquire him a year ago (Caris LeVert, Georges Niang, three second-round picks, and two pick swaps).
When Hunter is playing well, he’s the exact kind of three-and-D wing with size that many teams around the NBA would love to add. But he’s knocking down just 30.6% of his three-pointers this season and his injury history has given some teams pause, according to Fischer, who suggests those clubs are apprehensive about the guaranteed $24.9MM salary he’s owed in 2026/27.
The Bucks were one team that expressed interest in Hunter as they sought roster upgrades earlier in the season, Siegel writes, but their offer would have been centered around Kyle Kuzma. Not only does Kuzma not interest the Cavs, per Siegel, but they wouldn’t have been able to acquire him using Hunter, since Kuzma’s apron salary (factoring in his unlikely incentives) is larger than Hunter’s. Second-apron teams aren’t permitted to aggregate two or more players or take back more than 100% of a single player’s outgoing salary.
Here’s more on the Cavs:
- After LeBron James‘ contract with the Lakers expires this summer, could a third go-round with the Cavaliers be in the cards? He hasn’t indicated whether he intends to continue his career or whether he’d seriously consider leaving Los Angeles, but multiple team and league sources tell Dave McMenamin of ESPN that the Cavs would “gladly” welcome LeBron back if he decides he wants to return to Cleveland. Barring a significant roster overhaul, James would presumably have to be willing to take a massive pay cut in order to rejoin the Cavs, who already have $227MM in guaranteed money on their books for next season.
- After playing a very limited role as a rookie, Jaylon Tyson has enjoyed a breakout second season, earning a spot on the Rising Stars roster this week. While Tyson is pleased about that achievement, he said this week that he has bigger goals he’s working toward, as Chris Fedor of Cleveland.com details (subscription required). “I do want to be an All-Star one day,” Tyson said, adding that he also thinks he deserves consideration for Most Improved Player. “… If we were winning more games right now, I would be in that (MIP) conversation, right? I feel like respectfully and humbly, the numbers speak for itself. You see my leap from last year. … They say second-year players can’t get it, but why not? I think I should be in that conversation. We’re going to continue to win games and I’m going to keep being me, and we’ll see how it happens.”
- Marc J. Spears of Andscape examines Nae’Qwan Tomlin‘s “unheard of and not normal” path to the NBA, detailing how the former Rucker Park phenom who didn’t play high school basketball eventually ended up on a two-way contract with the Cavaliers. Tomlin has been active for 44 NBA regular season games so far this season, six away from his 50-game limit, so Cleveland will have to promote him to its standard roster if it wants to keep using him after the trade deadline.
Central Notes: Tomlin, Cunningham, Bucks Trades, Jackson
Cavaliers forward Nae’Qwan Tomlin is likely to be promoted from his two-way deal to a standard contract, but not right away, Chris Fedor of Cleveland.com writes in his latest mailbag (subsciber-only story).
Teammates and coaches are lobbying for Tomlin’s promotion, he has the support of the front office, and Cleveland has an open spot on its 15-man roster.
Still, the cap-strapped team is in no hurry to make the move and will likely keep its roster options open until the trade deadline passes, since Tomlin has only been active for 41 games — that means he’s still nine away from the 50-game threshold for two-way players. The Cavs only have seven games prior to the Feb. 5 trade deadline.
Here’s more from the Central Division:
- The Pistons defeated New Orleans without All-Star starter Cade Cunningham in the lineup on Wednesday. Cunningham sat out due to an illness and a left hip contusion. He’s questionable to play in Detroit’s home game against Houston on Friday, Hunter Patterson of The Athletic tweets.
- The Bucks have limited trade assets but they’re comfortably below the luxury tax line and about $18MM under the first apron. So what kind of moves might they make, short of trading their superstar? The Athletic’s Eric Nehm proposes a number of hypothetical deals, a few of which include Kyle Kuzma, Gary Harris and Amir Coffey as well as a blockbuster that would involve Bobby Portis and several other players to acquire the Kings’ Zach LaVine.
- Quenton Jackson‘s ankle was “jammed,” according to coach Rick Carlisle, during the Pacers’ loss to the Celtics on Wednesday. Jackson wasn’t on crutches in the locker room afterward, according to the Indianapolis Star’s Dustin Dopirak (Twitter link), and seemed to be moving around OK though he was in some pain. He’s questionable to play against Oklahoma City on Friday.
And-Ones: Biggest Mistakes, Summer League Standouts, More
As effectively managed as some NBA teams have been in recent years, all 30 clubs have made at least a few moves they regret, according to Zach Kram of ESPN.com, who runs through some of the biggest missteps of the 2020s and names the most glaring mistake each team has made this decade.
Kram’s list begins with “small-scale problems,” like the Cavaliers not giving Isaiah Hartenstein a qualifying offer in 2021 and the Knicks signing Evan Fournier to a $73MM contract in 2021, before advancing to “draft disasters” – such as the Celtics trading the draft rights to No. 30 pick Desmond Bane – and miscellaneous midtier mistakes,” including the Pistons giving Monty Williams the largest head coaching contract in league history.
Kram’s final two categories are “too high a cost for too little reward” and “franchise-altering terrible trades.” The top two mistakes on his list are the Mavericks moving Luka Doncic and the Suns giving up the assets they did to land Kevin Durant and Bradley Beal.
Here are more odds and ends from around the basketball world:
- John Hollinger of The Athletic shares his biggest takeaways from this month’s Summer League games, including identifying Tolu Smith of the Pistons, Nae’Qwan Tomlin of the Cavaliers, and Drew Timme of the Nets as players to watch going forward. Hollinger also mentions Jazz big man Kyle Filipowski, Timberwolves guard Terrence Shannon Jr., Pistons forward Ron Holland, Thunder guard Ajay Mitchell, and Cavaliers wing Jaylon Tyson as the players who showed they were “too good for summer league.”
- While Summer League success doesn’t always carry over to the subsequent regular season, scouts around the NBA find July’s games “extremely valuable” for evaluating players, as Tobias Bass of The Athletic writes. “Before the draft, no matter what your opinion is about a player or how analytics project him to be, it’s always interesting to see how competitive they are once they get to summer league,” one Western Conference scout told Bass. “How quickly they pick up terminology, are they culture fits and can they keep the main thing the main thing? Can they be attentive, on time and professional, especially with all the distractions in Vegas?”
- Keith Smith of Spotrac empties out his notebook after traveling to Las Vegas for Summer League, sharing quotes from coaches, scouts, and executives about each of the NBA’s Eastern Conference and Western Conference teams.
Cavs Rumors: Oladipo, Wade, Tomlin, Enaruna
The Cavaliers currently have 13 players on standard contracts and it’s not yet clear how they intend to fill their 14th roster spot, Chris Fedor of Cleveland.com writes in a subscriber-only mailbag article.
As Fedor explains, head coach Kenny Atkinson‘s switch-heavy defensive system means another versatile wing will always be an option for the Cavs, but it also wouldn’t be a surprise if the team adds another ball-handler.
Darius Garland will be coming off toe surgery, Lonzo Ball has only played in 35 games over the past three seasons for health reasons (mostly knee-related), and it remains to be seen whether the club is comfortable using Craig Porter Jr. in a major role, Fedor writes. While Donovan Mitchell is another ball-handling option, Cleveland won’t want to lean on him too heavily early in the season.
One free agent guard who is at least on the Cavs’ radar is two-time All-Star Victor Oladipo. A member of the front office attended Oladipo’s recent workout in Las Vegas, according to Fedor, who says Cavs owner Dan Gilbert has long been a fan of the former No. 2 overall pick. In fact, Fedor describes Gilbert as having been “eager” to use the No. 1 overall pick in 2013 on Oladipo until David Griffin, then an assistant general manager, lobbied for Anthony Bennett.
Here’s more on the Cavs from Fedor:
- There was a good deal of “chatter” in Las Vegas about the possibility of the Cavaliers trading forward Dean Wade, says Fedor. Wade is on an expiring $6.6MM contract in 2025/26 and there’s a sense that he may not be a priority for a cap-strapped Cleveland team beyond the coming season. Sources tell Cleveland.com that contending teams from each conference have expressed interest in Wade, with Fedor adding that the Mavericks are among the clubs believed to be fans of him.
- If Wade were to be moved, it could create an opportunity for two-way forward Nae’Qwan Tomlin, who made just five NBA appearances as a rookie last season. The 24-year-old “continues to turn heads” after averaging 20.3 points, 8.5 rebounds, 3.8 assists, and 1.8 steals per game on .582/.409/.800 shooting in four Summer League outings, Fedor notes, and could compete for rotation minutes this fall.
- Former Cleveland State wing Tristan Enaruna, who had a good Summer League for the Cavs (13.3 PPG, .568/.429/.500 shooting), is among the players the club is considering for its open two-way slot alongside Tomlin and Luke Travers, per Fedor.
- Fedor observes that improving the defense was a priority for the Cavaliers this summer after the unit struggled in the club’s second-round series loss to Indiana. That’s one reason why the front office prioritized retaining Sam Merrill over Ty Jerome. The belief in Cleveland, Fedor writes, is that Merrill and new additions Ball and Larry Nance Jr. won’t get played off the court in the postseason.
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 Nae’Qwan Tomlin To 10-Day Deal
February 20: Tomlin’s 10-day deal is official, the Cavaliers confirmed in a press release.
February 19: The Cavaliers have agreed to sign G League forward Nae’Qwan Tomlin to a 10-day contract, league sources tell Michael Scotto of HoopsHype (Twitter link).
As we outlined on Tuesday, Cleveland has been carrying 13 players on standard contracts since the trade deadline on February 6. Teams are permitted to carry fewer than 14 players on their standard rosters for no more than two weeks at a time, so the Cavs need to add a 14th man by Thursday. It appears Tomlin will be that 14th man.
A 6’10” rookie, Tomlin went undrafted last June after finishing his college career at Memphis. He signed an Exhibit 10 contract with the Cavs last September, which allowed the club to gain his G League rights.
Tomlin has subsequently spent the 2024/25 season with the Cleveland Charge, appearing in 35 total Tip-Off Tournament and regular season games for the Cavaliers’ NBAGL affiliate. The 24-year-old has averaged 15.7 points, 7.1 rebounds, 1.9 assists, and 1.5 blocks in 28.6 minutes per contest, with a shooting line of .545/.362/.614.
As Scotto notes, Tomlin has been especially effective in recent weeks, scoring over 20 points in six of his past seven games, including a 37-point outburst vs. the Westchester Knicks on Feb. 7.
Tomlin will earn $66,503 on his 10-day contract with Cleveland, which will cover the club’s next five games. It’s unlikely that he’ll see much – if any – action for the Cavs, but he’ll be available if needed as a depth piece in the frontcourt.
After Tomlin’s 10-day deal expires, the Cavs would have the ability to carry fewer than 14 players for up to two more weeks before having to stay at 14 (or 15) for the remainder of the season, since teams aren’t permitted to drop below that roster minimum for more than 28 total days.
Cavaliers Sign Jacob Gilyard, Zhaire Smith
SEPTEMBER 25: Gilyard and Smith have each officially signed with the Cavs, per RealGM’s transaction log.
Having cut Tomlin and Osabuohien on Tuesday, Cleveland is back up to 21 players under contract, with Nance’s deal now official too.
SEPTEMBER 24: Free agent guards Jacob Gilyard and Zhaire Smith are signing Exhibit 10 contracts with the Cavaliers, reports Chris Fedor of Cleveland.com (subscription required).
Gilyard, 26, spent last season on two-way deals with the Grizzlies and Nets, appearing in a total of 41 games for the two teams. The 5’9″ point guard held his own in a rotation role for Memphis, averaging 4.7 points and 3.5 assists with a .425 3PT% in 17.7 minutes per game across 37 outings (14 starts).
However, two-way players can’t be active for more than 50 NBA games, so with Gilyard just about at that limit, the Grizzlies opted to waive him rather than promote him, putting him on track to finish the season in Brooklyn. He became an unrestricted free agent this summer after the Nets opted not to tender him a two-way qualifying offer.
As for Smith, the former No. 16 overall pick spent most of last season with the Cleveland Charge in the G League, briefly earning an NBA call-up on a 10-day contract with the Cavaliers in February. In 47 Showcase Cup and regular season games for the Cavs’ NBAGL affiliate, the 6’4″ guard averaged 13.3 points, 4.1 rebounds, and 1.8 assists in 33.0 minutes per contest, posting an impressive shooting line of .539/.394/.836.
Since Cleveland controls Smith’s G League returning rights and recently acquired Gilyard’s rights in a trade with the Memphis Hustle, the plan will likely be for both players to report back to the Charge this fall. Their Exhibit 10 contracts will make them eligible for bonuses worth up to $77.5K as long as they spend at least 60 days with the Cavs’ G League team.
According to Fedor, before they’re waived, Gilyard and Smith will get the opportunity to attend training camp with the Cavs along with fellow invitees Pete Nance and Jules Bernard. A report on Monday indicated that those two players, along with Nae’Qwan Tomlin and Gabe Osabuohien, had agreed to Exhibit 10 deals with Cleveland. Fedor confirms that reporting, but says Tomlin and Osabuohien are expected to be waived before camp begins.
The Cavs’ deals with Bernard, Tomlin, and Osabuohien are now official, per RealGM’s transaction log.
The Cavs are already carrying 14 players on standard contracts and three on two-way deals, so they’ll be at the 21-man limit once their back-of-the-roster transactions are complete.
Hornets’ Soriano, Pelicans’ Robinson, Two Cavs Among Tuesday’s Cuts
The Hornets have waived Joel Soriano, according to the NBA.com official transaction log. Soriano was on an Exhibit 10 contract, which he signed earlier this month.
A 6’10” center, Soriano went undrafted in June after finishing his college career at St. John’s. The big man averaged a double-double (14.5 points, 10.7 rebounds) in 66 games during his final two college seasons while also chipping in 1.6 blocks and 1.4 assists in 29.3 minutes per contest.
Soriano could receive a bonus worth up to $77.5K after he clears waivers, then spends at least 60 days with the Greensboro Swarm, Charlotte’s G League affiliate.
Here are a few more of the latest cuts from around the league:
- After announcing earlier today that they’ve signed him to an Exhibit 10 contract, the Pelicans have already waived Galen Robinson Jr., per NBA.com’s transaction log. The Birmingham Squadron, New Orleans’ G League affiliate, holds Robinson’s returning rights, so the quick sign-and-waive transaction was simply designed to get him an Exhibit 10 bonus (worth up to $77.5K) on top of his standard G League salary if he spends at least 60 days with the Squadron this season.
- Shortly after signing them to Exhibit 10 contracts, the Cavaliers have waived Nae’Qwan Tomlin and Gabe Osabuohien, according to the transaction log at NBA.com. The cuts had been expected, since today’s reporting indicated that Cleveland had agreed to Exhibit 10 deals with six players but only had room to bring four of them to training camp. Tomlin and Osabuohien figure to open the season with the Cleveland Charge, the Cavs’ G League affiliate.
Luke Adams contributed to this post.