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Cavs Notes: Jackson, Irving, Waiters, Thompson

May 17th, 2014 at 3:29pm CST by Charlie Adams

Mark Jackson doesn’t appear to be a candidate for the Cavs’ coaching position, writes Mary Schmitt Boyer of The Plain Dealer. The article notes that although players seemed to love playing for Jackson in Golden State, he has a reputation of being difficult to deal with. Here’s the latest out of Cleveland:

  • In the same piece, Schmitt Boyer adds that she believes the Cavs are in for a major overhaul and that no players on the roster are untouchable, even Kyrie Irving and Dion Waiters
  • Tristan Thompson is frustrated by the Cavs coaching turnover, reveals Schmitt Boyer in a separate article. Whoever the team hires will become Thompson’s third coach in three seasons with the team. “It’s the business of basketball,” said Thompson. “Whenever you lose someone or someone leaves the family it’s tough, but like I tell young guys: It’s the business of basketball.”
  • Coaching instability aside, Thompson was glad to see David Griffin officially named GM, notes Schmitt Boyer in the same piece. “Everyone’s excited about that,” said Thompson. “We’re happy that he got the job. He’s been there since we’ve been drafted, just glad that he was able to stay on board.”

Eddie Scarito contributed to this post.

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Windhorst On Cavs: Thompson, Hawes, Griffin

April 4th, 2014 at 9:21pm CST by Eddie Scarito

Robert Attenweiler of Cavs:The Blog.com chatted with ESPN’s Brian WIndhorst about the Cavs. The entire article is worth a read, but here are some of the highlights from their Q & A session:

  • Windhorst believes re-signing Tristan Thompson is very dangerous. He thinks the team shouldn’t extend him this summer and let him test his market in free agency. Thompson is looking for a salary in the $10MM range, and Windhorst doesn’t think the team should pay more than $8MM.
  • He believes Spencer Hawes has a future with the Cavs, but only at a salary similar to his current $6.5MM. Windhorst mentions that Cleveland will need to overpay to attract unrestricted free agents, but long-term deals to players like Hawes and Luol Deng carry big risks.
  • The team most likely won’t keep David Griffin as GM beyond this season, Windhorst opines. He believes that team owner Dan Gilbert will “swing for the moon” and go out and make a big name hire.
  • One of those names might be Isiah Thomas. Windhorst says that, “Thomas wants the job really bad. He’s pretty much out in New York. His influence is over. He’s met with Gilbert a couple of times – they had lunch or dinner together – and he really wants it. I think Gilbert is charmed by him, as everyone else is.“
  • Windhorst believes that Kyrie Irving wants out of Cleveland. He says, “The truth is [Kyrie’s] camp has been putting out there for years – years – that he doesn’t want to be in Cleveland. That they don’t want him in Cleveland. He doesn’t like Mike Brown. He didn’t like Chris Grant. He doesn’t like Dion Waiters. He’s already gotten a General Manager fired. He might get Mike Brown fired. This is the last time – once he signs he loses all of his leverage – so this is the last time he gets to enact leverage. I know he’s said all the right things so, fine, on July 1, when they offer a max contract – which they will – and I don’t even know if he’s a max player, but you have to sign him – sign a five-year, no out. That’s what a max contract is. A max contract is five years, no out. If you want out or you want three years, that’s not a max contract. You want three years? Okay, we’ll give you $12MM a year. We’re not giving you the full thing.”
  • He doesn’t think Irving leaving would have a negative effect on their chances to lure LeBron James back to town. Windhorst believes the team would have to trade Irving to accommodate LeBron, and said, “LeBron and Kyrie have drifted apart in the last few years, even to the point that if the Cavs wanted to get LeBron they would maybe trade Kyrie for someone who would fit better with LeBron.”
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Eastern Notes: Cavs, Billups, Stoudemire

March 29th, 2014 at 8:16pm CST by Eddie Scarito

Isiah Thomas has been campaigning for a position with either the Pistons or the Cavaliers front offices, writes Brian Windhorst of ESPN.com. Whether those overtures will bear fruit or not will have to wait to be seen, but both those teams really have their eye on another soon-to-be former Piston, Chauncey Billups, notes Windhorst. According to the article, Billups is likely headed towards retirement after knee surgery ended his season, and is the apple of both the Cavs’ and Pistons’ eye for a role in their respective franchise’s leadership. While there might be some interest in getting Billups to follow in Jason Kidd’s footsteps and go right from player to coach, Billups has been hinting openly for years he’d rather graduate to the front office at the end of his career, reports Windhorst.

More from the east:

  • The Pistons’ Gigi Datome met with Italian National Team head coach Simone Pianigiani and officially confirmed that he’ll play for Italy next summer, reports Emiliano Carchia of Sportando. Datome said, “At the end of the NBA season I will remain in Detroit to work. But next summer I will play for Italy. It is going to be my 14th with Italy and I am proud of that.”
  • Bob Finnan of The Morning Journal makes the case that the Cavaliers should re-sign Spencer Hawes this summer and only consider re-signing Luol Deng if he is willing to take something in the $8MM-$10MM a year range.
  • In the same article, Finnan also thinks the Cavs will entertain trade offers for Tristan Thompson this offseason. The team has Anthony Bennett waiting in the wings and Thompson could be looking for upwards of $10MM a season this summer when he is eligible to sign a contract extension.
  • Marc Berman of The New York Post examines the revival of Amar’e Stoudemire‘s career since he was inserted into the Knicks starting lineup, and what that might do for his trade value this offseason.
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Eastern Notes: Young, Jackson, Thompson

March 23rd, 2014 at 12:31pm CST by Eddie Scarito

Sixers coach Brett Brown and GM Sam Hinkie have publicly expressed their desires to make Thaddeus Young feel as comfortable in his current situation as he can be, writes Christopher A. Vito of the Delaware County Daily Times. As the team overhauls its roster in preparation for this summer’s draft and the free-agency period, Young is the last remaining high-profile veteran on the roster. Young said, “They’ve been making a conscious effort to continue talking to me, keep trying to keep me on board as far as what’s going on with construction and rebuilding effort.” Young is posting career-best numbers of 17.9 PPG, 6.1 RPG, and 2.1 APG, but he knows that his situation is less than desirable, writes Vito. “This is definitely a situation that, really, nobody wants to take on. Hey, sometimes this is how the cards are dealt to you and this is the situation that was dealt to me,” Young said.

More from around the Eastern Conference:

  • According to Mike Lupica of the New York Daily News, the best way for Phil Jackson to change the culture of the Knicks is to step in and coach the team himself. Lupica thinks that if Jackson has the energy to work in the front office, then he has the energy to coach. The article also uses the Spurs’ Gregg Popovich as an example. Lupica notes that Popovich’s first important move as the team’s executive vice-president and GM was to hire himself as coach. Years later he made R.C. Buford the general manager and the two of them have been a formidable team for a long time, opines Lupica.
  • In addition to working out a contract extension with Kyrie Irving and possibly pursuing LeBron James, another big offseason decision the Cavaliers will have to make is in regards to Tristan Thompson, writes Jason Lloyd of the Akron Beacon Journal. Thompson, like Irving, can be extended this summer. He is under the Cavs’ control for next season at $5.4MM, and any extension he signs would kick in for the 2015/16 season. By then Thompson could be in line to command upwards of $12MM a year and the team will need to decide if he’s worth the investment, writes Lloyd.
  • Tim Bontemps of The New York Post examines the possibility and cap ramifications of the Nets re-signing Shaun Livingston this summer.
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Ford’s Latest: Knicks, Rockets, W’s, Pelicans

February 19th, 2014 at 11:32am CST by Chuck Myron

Chad Ford of ESPN.com takes an Insider-only look at the trade market for a handful of teams with little more than 24 hours remaining before Thursday’s 2:00pm Central trade deadline. We’ll round up the highlights here:

  • The Knicks are shopping Raymond Felton, Iman Shumpert and Beno Udrih as they seek to upgrade their point guard spot. Ford mentions Jeremy Lin as a long shot possibility for New York, but Houston is adamant it doesn’t want to give him up. Trading for Lin or Kyle Lowry would require the Knicks to relinquish Tim Hardaway Jr.
  • The Warriors have been listening to offers for Harrison Barnes, and they’ve gone as far as to counter a few of them, Ford hears. Greg Monroe, Thaddeus Young, Tristan Thompson, Kenneth Faried, John Henson and Amir Johnson all intrigue the W’s as possible targets in exchange for Barnes, Ford writes. Golden State is also enamored with Kevin Love, as most teams around the league are.
  • Ford describes David Lee as available, too, but he notes there isn’t much of a market for him, which makes sense, given his bloated contract.
  • Part of the Pelicans‘ motivation for exploring trades for Eric Gordon and Tyreke Evans is the feeling that they could fall back into position to snag a top-five pick in this year’s draft if both guys are off the roster, according to Ford. Their first-rounder goes to the Sixers if it’s No. 6 or worse. Chris Mannix of SI.com wrote earlier this morning that New Orleans was looking to move either Gordon or Evans, but not both.
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Odds & Ends: Lakers, Kupchak, Silver

February 13th, 2014 at 11:30pm CST by Charlie Adams

Lakers GM Mitch Kupchak told reporters, including Mike Trudell of Lakers.com, that if Los Angeles makes a deal, it’ll be one that address issues in “2014/15 and beyond” (Twitter link). Another tweet from Trudell explains that the club won’t be dealing for a player that can make an immediate impact, and Dave McMenamin of ESPNLosAngeles.com hears from Kupchak that it’s actually been pretty quiet around the office as far as trade talks go (Twitter link). Let’s round up a few more tidbits in our nightly look around the league..

  • Adam Zagoria of Sheridan Hoops looks toward the 2020 Summer Olympics and sees Canada’s potential team as a formidable force. Zagoria hears that college studs Andrew Wiggins and Tyler Ennis are expected to join forces with current NBA players Anthony Bennett, Andrew Nicholson, Kelly Olynyk, Tristan Thompson and Cory Joseph. It’s possible a similar team could assemble for the 2015 Olympic qualifiers, but Zagoria thinks 2020 is when the expected Canadian roster will be able to reach its full potential.
  • Euroleague CEO Jordi Bertomeu revealed he is interested in a potential NBA expansion into Europe. “Adam Silver, the new commissioner, is a great contributor to the sport,” said Bertomeu. “We have met and I think that we have a future together. We want to increase our cooperation and we want to see things realistically.” Lefteris Moutis of EuroHoops.net has the full story.
  • Silver looks even beyond Europe and sees opportunity for the NBA in markets all over the world, he tells Sam Amick of USA Today in an exclusive interview. “To me, the U.S. is less than 5% of the world’s population. So when I look at markets like the billion people in Africa, the over billion people that live in India, the (1.3 billion) that live in China, just those markets alone where we’re just barely scratching the surface, there is so much opportunity out there for us.”
  • Amick’s piece sees Silver address a variety of hot-button issues, including the lottery, the minimum age for draft eligibility, and the latest CBA.
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Amico’s Latest: Lowry, Dragic, Cavs

December 24th, 2013 at 8:49am CST by Chuck Myron

Sam Amico of Fox Sports Ohio leads his latest piece with news about the Bucks making Larry Sanders available in trades, but he passes along plenty more pre-Christmas rumors. Let’s dive in:

  • Amico identifies the Magic and Pelicans as potential Kyle Lowry suitors and hears from one league executive who says he’d be shocked if the Raptors don’t deal the point guard by the deadline.
  • A report yesterday suggested Goran Dragic is the Suns player most likely to be dealt, but Amico hears that while the Suns would listen to offers, they aren’t looking to trade him.
  • The Cavs have been aggressive in their search for “an impact player” on the trade market recently, but they’re not willing to give up Dion Waiters or Tristan Thompson to do so, according to Amico. The team might become more willing to include those players in trades at a later point, Amico speculates.
  • Kings GM Pete D’Alessandro is still talking to other teams about moves that would improve his club, Amico writes, which jibes with earlier reports that suggest Sacramento remains in trade mode.
  • Draft prospect P.J. Hairston could soon wind up in the D-League. The University of North Carolina recently dismissed the swingman, but many around the league think he might head to the D-League to help his draft stock. He’s currently No. 32 on the DraftExpress Top 100 Prospects list.

 

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Cavs Pick Up ’14/15 Options On Four Players

October 23rd, 2013 at 2:50pm CST by Luke Adams

The Cavaliers have exercised their options for 2014/15 on a pair of third-year players and a pair of second-year players, ensuring that all four Cavs remain under contract for at least the next two seasons. The team announced today in a press release that it has picked up its ’14/15 options on Kyrie Irving, Tristan Thompson, Dion Waiters, and Tyler Zeller.

Irving and Thompson, members of the 2011 draft class, will be eligible for extensions next offseason, and Irving at least seems like a good bet to sign one. Even if they don’t sign extensions though, Irving and Thompson can remain with the Cavs through 2015 before becoming restricted free agents. Irving, the former first overall pick, will earn about $7.07MM in 2014/15, while Thompson will make about $5.14MM.

Meanwhile, Waiters and Zeller are each now locked up for a third NBA season, with Waiters set to earn $4.06MM in ’14/15 and Zeller in line for about $1.7MM. The Cavs hold additional options for 2015/16 on both players.

You can follow all of this month’s rookie contract option decisions right here.

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Cavs Notes: Brown, Bynum, Thompson, Oden

August 17th, 2013 at 6:46pm CST by Spencer Lund

During her weekly mailbag, the Cleveland Plain Dealer's Mary Schmitt Boyer theorizes that the vitriol about Andrew Bynum in Philadelphia was stronger than Ohio's reaction  to the repeatedly injured Greg Oden because Oden led the Buckeyes to the 2007 NCAA National Championship game, and Philadelphia lost their gamble on Bynum last season. 

Boyer also predicts the Cavs' starting lineup if the whole roster–specifically Anderson Varejao and Bynum–are healthy. The hypothesis: Bynum, Tristan Thompson, Earl Clark, Dion Waiters and Kyrie Irving. Noticeably absent is Varejao, who could attract interest from other teams if Bynum appears healthy and productive before the the February trade deadline. 

Here's what else is happening with the Cavs, on a lazy NBA Saturday in August:

  • The underlying reason the Cavs brought back head coach Mike Brown was for his defensive acumen. The Plain-Dealer's Terry Pluto writes that Brown is assigning players specific positions in an effort to avoid confusion with a player's role in his new defensive schemes. 
  • One example of strictly following positional assignments is Waiters. He can play either guard position, but Brown says he'll primarily assign him the defensive responsibilities of a shooting guard, with Kyrie Irving defending the helmsman at point. 
  • Pluto also adds that Tristan Thompson's switch from shooting with his left to right hand wasn't a big surprise for the Cavs. He'd been shooting free throws with his right hand last season at practice, and even attempted some right-handed jump shots towards the end of the year because the rotation looked better. 
  • Thompson shoots the ball with either hand near the basket, but throws a ball right-handed and eats with his left hand. The Cavs just want him to improve on his career 58.6 percent mark from the charity stripe.
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Odds & Ends: James, Bobcats, Bucks, Cavs

August 10th, 2013 at 10:59pm CST by Spencer Lund

There are a lot of contenders to the Eastern Conference crown that LeBron James and his Heat teammates have worn the last three seasons. James knows he's got to keep getting better if he wants to remain on top next year and advance to his fourth NBA Finals in his four seasons in Miami.

Shandel Richardson of the South Florida Sun-Sentinel caught up James during his charity event in Akron today to discuss all the wheeling and dealing in the Eastern Conference this off-season. 

James is aware that the Heat face an even harder field in the Eastern Conference next season, and he's doing everything in his power to meet the challenge, telling Richardson, "I've seen what so many teams have done to get better. I've seen the moves that we've made, so I've got to do my part."

Here's what else is happening around the league on Saturday night:

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