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Cavaliers Were Close To Acquiring Paul George

July 23rd, 2017 at 9:50am CST by Arthur Hill

The Cavaliers nearly landed Paul George in a three-team deal in late June, according to ESPN’s Ramona Shelburne, Dave McMenamin and Brian Windhorst.

The trade would have sent Kevin Love to Denver and Gary Harris and other assets to Indiana, but Pacers president Kevin Pritchard reportedly backed out before everything was finalized.

Prior to the draft, Cleveland made trade offers to the Pacers for George and to the Bulls for Jimmy Butler. Once the Wolves acquired Butler on draft night, the Cavs stepped up their efforts for George, with the Nuggets agreeing to send Harris and the No. 13 pick to Cleveland, which would include those assets in a deal with Indiana. However, the Pacers put the trade on hold as they talked to the Trail Blazers about a deal to acquire all three of Portland’s first-rounders in exchange for George. Both proposals eventually fell through.

The Cavs continued to work on the trade following the draft, and an agreement was reached on June 30th. All three teams tentatively okayed to the deal on a conference call, and Cleveland began targeting free agents to fit with George. However, Pritchard changed his mind and the news broke soon after that George was headed to Oklahoma City.

The failed trade was part of a tumultuous offseason for the Cavaliers, as the ESPN authors examine in a lengthy piece. Cleveland also parted ways with GM David Griffin and was unable to land Chauncey Billups, who interviewed twice as a potential replacement. The team missed out on marquee free agents and had to settle for Jose Calderon and Jeff Green. Then star guard Kyrie Irving held a meeting with owner Dan Gilbert on July 7th where he issued a request to be traded.

Irving was reportedly angry that his name had been included in offers for Butler and George, and has been unhappy for some time with how much James dominates the ball. He also believes the team defers too much to James, noting that LeBron’s friend, Randy Mims, was given a position as executive administrator and flies on the team plane, while none of Irving’s friends has a similar arrangement.

The front office and the players have been aware of Irving’s intentions for two weeks, and there is confidence in the organization that the team can get enough assets for Irving to remain a contender. The Cavs have been inundated with calls from interested teams since the story broke on Friday.

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Irving’s Motivation For Trade Request Explained

July 23rd, 2017 at 9:16am CST by Arthur Hill

Kyrie Irving‘s decision to ask for a trade isn’t a betrayal of LeBron James, writes Adrian Wojnarowski of ESPN.

Irving is aware of the rumors that James might leave for Los Angeles when he becomes a free agent next summer. The All-Star point guard is concerned about the roster he would be left with if that happens, which he explained to team owner Dan Gilbert when they had their meeting.

Wojnarowski explains that the Cavaliers have been making personnel decisions to find players who complement James in a methodical, half-court style. Those players wouldn’t easily transition to an up-tempo approach that would make sense if Irving becomes the focal point. The team has given big-money, long-term deals to Tristan Thompson and J.R. Smith, clients of Klutch Sports like James, that would clog the team’s cap space and slow a potential rebuilding project if James leave.

Irving has two seasons left on his contract, along with a player option for 2019/20. He is worried about being stuck on a non-competitive team if James is suddenly gone and has seen from this summer’s Paul George situation how difficult it can be to trade a player who is close to free agency.

So Irving decided to make his move now, which Wojnarowski notes is a way of exercising the power for NBA stars that James helped to create.

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Submit Your Questions For This Weekend’s Mailbag

July 22nd, 2017 at 10:00pm CST by Luke Adams

We at Hoops Rumors love interacting with our readers. This is why we provide an opportunity for you to hit us up with your questions in our mailbag feature, which is posted on Sundays.

Have a question regarding trades, free agent rumors, the salary cap, the NBA draft, or the top storylines of the week? You can e-mail them here: hoopsrumorsmailbag@gmail.com. Feel free to send emails throughout the week, but please be mindful that we may receive a sizable number of questions and likely won’t get to all of them.

If you missed out on any past mailbags and would like to catch up, you can view the full archives here.

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Rockets Remain Top Choice For Carmelo Anthony

July 22nd, 2017 at 9:02pm CST by Arthur Hill

Kyrie Irving‘s trade request hasn’t affected Carmelo Anthony‘s desire to join the Rockets, according to Frank Isola of The New York Daily News.

The Knicks are among four teams that Irving told Cavaliers owner Dan Gilbert he would like to be traded to, and there is speculation that New York will offer Anthony and a collection of draft picks in exchange for the All-Star guard. However, a source tells Isola that Anthony remains “focused on getting a deal done with Houston.”

Anthony has a no-trade clause in his contract and can block any deal that he doesn’t like. He has reportedly told Knicks management that he would waive the clause to join the Cavaliers or the Rockets, but he might change his mind about Cleveland if Irving is no longer there.

The Knicks and Rockets tried unsuccessfully to work out a deal involving Anthony earlier this month. Houston needs to unload Ryan Anderson, whom New York doesn’t want, so there was a search for a third — and possibly fourth — team to help make it work. The Knicks put a hold on trade talks after hiring Scott Perry as their new GM last week.

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Southeast Notes: Brussino, Crawford, Walker, Reed

July 22nd, 2017 at 8:04pm CST by Arthur Hill

Nicolas Brussino, claimed off waivers today by the Hawks, comes with a $1.3MM cap hit, tweets ESPN’s Bobby Marks. The move leaves Atlanta with $8.6MM in cap space and 14 guaranteed contracts. The waiver claim means the Hawks will receive Brussino’s entire contract, which includes a $1.5MM salary for 2018/19 that becomes fully guaranteed on the final day of the 2018 moratorium (Twitter link).

There’s more news from the Southeast Division:

  • The Hawks‘ roster for next season is nearly complete, according to Chris Vivlamore of The Atlanta Journal-Constitution (Twitter link). Atlanta still hopes to find a third point guard, and will begin that search next week.
  • Jamal Crawford gave up $4MM in his buyout arrangement with the Hawks, tweets Eric Pincus of Basketball Insiders. The Clippers sent Crawford to Atlanta in a three-team deal earlier this month, and he quickly agreed to a buyout that enabled him to sign with Minnesota. Crawford’s contract guaranteed him $14.2MM next season and $3MM for 2018/19, and Pincus says he accepted $10.9MM and $2.3MM.
  • The Hornets should consider making an offer for Cavaliers point guard Kyrie Irving, writes Rick Bonnell of The Charlotte Observer. He lists the pros and cons of offering Kemba Walker as part of a trade package, noting that Irving is a more prolific scorer, has much more playoff experience and is two years younger. However, Walker is a better defender, a proven fit with the current team and has a smaller contract. Irving is signed for nearly $18.9MM next season and more than $20MM in 2018/19, with a player option for more than $21.3MM the following season. Walker will make exactly $12MM in each of the next two years.
  • It was playing time, rather than finances, that ended Willie Reed‘s stay in Miami, according to Ira Winderman of The Sun-Sentinel. Reed signed with the Clippers last week, accepting a $1.6MM veterans minimum offer. With their $4.3MM mid-level exception still available, the Heat could have offered more, but Reed wanted a guarantee of playing time, which Winderman says the Clippers were willing to provide. Miami signed Kelly Olynyk this summer and drafted Bam Adebayo, so Reed would have been in a fight for minutes with the Heat.
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Marreese Speights Meets With Magic

July 22nd, 2017 at 7:02pm CST by Arthur Hill

The Magic held a face-to-face meeting with free agent center/power forward Marreese Speights, tweets international basketball writer David Pick.

Orlando, which has been looking for shooting help, could benefit from the addition of the 6’10” veteran, who played all 82 games with the Clippers last season. He shot 37% from 3-point range while averaging 8.7 points and 4.5 rebounds per night.

The Magic still have their $4.328MM room exception available and could offer Speights a nice raise from the minimum-salary deal he opted out of in L.A.

Speights spent just one season with the Clippers after joining the team as a free agent last summer. A 2008 first-round pick by the Sixers, he has also played for the Grizzlies, Cavaliers and Warriors in his nine-year career.

The meeting with Orlando comes a week after negotiations broke off with Atlanta. The Clippers are also reportedly interested in having him return.

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Latest On Kyrie Irving

July 22nd, 2017 at 5:50pm CST by Arthur Hill

Kyrie Irving‘s request to be traded is the latest story to rock the league during an eventful offseason. The news broke Friday, but Irving’s meeting with Cavaliers owner Dan Gilbert took place about two weeks ago, according to Terry Pluto of Cleveland.com.

The Cavs tried to keep it quiet so they could work on a deal without the distractions that are starting to happen now. Apparently some players learned about the news and started talking, which is how the trade request became public.

Pluto also speculates that Irving’s demand validates rumors last month that former Bulls star Jimmy Butler was warned by Cavaliers players not to push for a trade to Cleveland. They have a close friendship, so Irving may have told Butler that he was planning to leave the team. Butler was subsequently traded to the Timberwolves, one of the teams Irving included on his list of preferred destinations, along with the Spurs, Knicks and Heat.

There’s more today on the Irving trade front:

  • The Wolves have a strong interest in acquiring Irving, even though they just signed former Pacers point guard Jeff Teague, Pluto adds in the same story. Pluto believes the Cavs should ask for Andrew Wiggins, whom the Cavs made the overall No. 1 draft pick in 2014, as part of the deal. Butler and Karl-Anthony Towns are untouchable, but Wiggins will be a free agent next summer if he doesn’t sign an extension before the October deadline.
  • The Knicks have offered Carmelo Anthony and a parcel of draft picks, adds Pluto, who says Cleveland should insist on Kristaps Porzingis. Other teams that have expressed interest include Sacramento, with rookie De’Aaron Fox as part of the offer, and Phoenix, with a package centered around Eric Bledsoe.
  • Pluto also notes that a trade would take away Irving’s opportunity to sign a super-max extension like the one John Wall just agreed to with the Wizards. The move could cost Irving between $50MM and $70MM.
  • Butler and Towns have done some recruiting work with Irving and have made it clear to Wolves management they would like to acquire him, according to ESPN’s Brian Windhorst, who first broke the story of Irving’s trade request. Windhorst believes Teague would likely be included in any Minnesota-Cleveland deal and notes that as a newly signed free agent he can’t be traded until December 15th.
  • The Spurs would be Irving’s first choice if he could pick a team, writes Adam Zagoria of Zagsblog.
  • The Cavaliers had a deal on the table involving Irving before the draft, according to Joe Vardon of Cleveland.com. The trade was put together by former GM David Griffin, but the Cavaliers didn’t pull the trigger because they didn’t know that Irving wanted to leave.
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Hawks Claim Nicolas Brussino Off Waivers

July 22nd, 2017 at 4:31pm CST by Arthur Hill

The Hawks have added Argentinian forward Nicolas Brussino on a waiver claim, tweets Chris Vivlamore of The Atlanta Journal-Constitution.

The-24-year-old was placed on waivers Thursday by the Mavericks, who parted ways with him before his $1.31MM salary for next season became guaranteed. Brussino was set to make $1.55MM in 2018/19, also non-guaranteed.

He signed with the Mavericks last summer and saw modest playing time during his rookie season. Brussino averaged 9.6 minutes in 54 games, scoring 2.8 points per night.

He played for six years in Argentina before coming to the NBA and was reportedly considering offers from Europe before the Hawks claimed him.

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Hoops Rumors Originals: 7/15/17 – 7/22/17

July 22nd, 2017 at 3:55pm CST by Joshua Fischman

Every week, the Hoops Rumors writing team compiles original content to complement our news feed. Here are some of our favorite segments and features from the past seven days:

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Five Key Stories: 7/15/17 – 7/22/17

July 22nd, 2017 at 2:35pm CST by Joshua Fischman

Here are some of the most noteworthy stories from the past week at Hoops Rumors:

Kyrie Irving has requested that the Cavaliers trade him. Irving’s trade request left running mate LeBron James “blindsided and disappointed.” According to the ESPN report, Irving prefers to be the focal point of his team. Irving provided Cleveland with four preferred landing spots: New York, Miami, San Antonio, and Minnesota. The star point guard does not, however, possess a no-trade clause. The Knicks would consider a package involving Carmelo Anthony and future first-round picks.

The Cavaliers will be promoting Koby Altman to general manager. Altman’s promotion from assistant general manager is considered “imminent.” Earlier this summer, general manger David Griffin parted ways with the organization and Chauncey Billups turned down an offer for the vacant position. Altman’s first order of business will almost certainly be handling Irving’s trade request. Since Griffin left the Cavs, Altman has been performing the duties of G.M. Mike Gansey is expected to be named the new assistant general manager following Tony Leotti‘s announced departure.

The Houston Rockets franchise is up for sale. Team owner Leslie Alexander is also putting Clutch City Sports & Entertainment on the market. Ownership prefers the sale occur “sooner rather than later.” While Yao Ming and Daryl Morey reportedly will not seek to purchase the franchise, Dikembe Mutombo is trying to put together a group to buy the team.

"<strongThe Wizards will sign John Wall to a four-year extension. The extension will be worth $170MM and will include both a fourth-year player option and a 15% trade kicker. It will take effect in 2019, when Wall’s current contract is set to expire. In the summer of 2013, Wall signed a five-year max extension.

Pau Gasol will re-sign with the Spurs. The agreement was expected all along, but now contractual details are becoming clear. The veteran big man will sign a three-year contract with the third year being partially guaranteed. Gasol opted out of the final year of his contract earlier this summer to facilitate the team’s offseason, leaving $16.2MM on the table in the process.

Ten More Stories

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