FEBRUARY 7: The Cavaliers have officially acquired LeVert from the Pacers, the team announced today in a press release. The full terms of the deal are outlined below.
“We are very excited to add a dynamic young player of this caliber and experience,” Altman said in a statement. “Caris LeVert fits uniquely into our culture and his Ohio roots brings an immediate connection to our community. We look forward to seeing what type of impact he can make on this roster. We also want to send our best wishes to Ricky Rubio and his family. Ricky has been the consummate professional and his leadership both on and off the court was invaluable and we respect everything he brought to this franchise.”
FEBRUARY 6: The Cavaliers are acquiring Caris LeVert and Miami’s 2022 second-round pick from the Pacers in exchange for Ricky Rubio, Cleveland’s 2022 lottery-protected first-round pick, Houston’s 2022 second-round pick, and Utah’s 2027 second-round pick, according to ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski (all Twitter links).
LeVert is in Cleveland ahead of Sunday’s game between the Pacers and Cavs and was discussing the trade with Cleveland’s president of basketball operations, Koby Altman, per Joe Vardon of The Athletic (via Twitter). Pacers coach Rick Carlisle confirmed to reporters that the terms of the trade have been agreed to in principle, Vardon tweets.
LeVert, a native of Columbus, is excited to return home to Ohio and join the rising Cavaliers, Wojnarowski reports (via Twitter). LeVert will be eligible for an extension this summer. He’s making $17.5MM this season and $18.8MM in 2022/23.
Rubio, who unfortunately suffered a torn ACL in his left knee at the end of December and is out for the season, was involved for salary-matching purposes. He’s on an expiring $17.8MM contract and will become an unrestricted free agent this summer. The disabled player exception the Cavaliers received after Rubio’s injury, which is worth $8.9MM, will be voided upon completion of the trade, as ESPN’s Bobby Marks tweets.
Cleveland has been scouring the trade market for guard help after season-ending injuries to Rubio and Collin Sexton, who suffered a torn MCL in November which required surgery. The Cavs were later granted a disabled player exception for Sexton, which they still hold. It’s worth $3.17MM, half of Sexton’s salary this season. They previously made a minor trade to acquire Rajon Rondo from the Lakers, but were still in pursuit of a younger player who could play a bigger role.
The Cavs had been rumored to be interested in LeVert for weeks, but one recent report said they were resistant to Indiana’s high asking price. Obviously the Cavs value LeVert highly to give up their protected 2022 first-round pick and Houston’s second-rounder, which figures to be in the early 30s.
LeVert, 27, is averaging 18.7 PPG, 3.8 RPG, and 4.4 APG on .447/.323/.760 shooting through 39 games this season (31.1 MPG). His last outing in a Pacers uniform was a stellar one, putting up 42 points, five rebounds, and eight assists on 19-26 shooting in Indiana’s 122-115 loss to Chicago Friday.
For the Pacers, it’s a significant haul for a player with one additional year remaining on his contract. Although LeVert is a talented shot creator and scorer, he has his share of weaknesses. He’s more of a shoot-first, pass-second type of player and isn’t a great shooter. He’s also a subpar defender. Apparently the Cavaliers think they will be able to cover some of LeVert’s defensive limitations with their third-ranked defense, anchored by Jarrett Allen and Evan Mobley.
It will be interesting to see if the Pacers continue to make deals ahead of the February 10 trade deadline. They are reportedly willing to listen to offers for several players, including Domantas Sabonis, Myles Turner, Justin Holiday, and Jeremy Lamb.
The Cavs currently hold a 32-21 record, fourth in the East, while the Pacers are 19-35, 13th in the East.
For what
Rubio, 22 first, and two 2nd’s.
Cleveland overpay; Rubio is gonna be on a vets min and if he is as good as he was this season, it is a steal contract. A first is almost too much, but it’s fine. A second swap is okay, but the ‘27 second doesn’t mean anything, but I don’t know why you would give it up
How is a late first rounder for a guard who averages 18ppg an overpay?
I wasn’t thinking more like fast-replying. Now that I look at it, I really like the trade for them
Here’s a suggestion: don’t bother replying at all. You’d save yourself some ridicule.
That’s mean. The dude has the integrity to admit he was wrong, and you still take a swing at him? Damn, people are mean on this site. I might talk some ish about players who are public figures, but you dudes straight talk nasty to people you don’t even know. It’s weird. Is this what social media is like? Glad I don’t have twitter or any of that stuff. This is harsh enough as it is, damn.
Cleveland can re-sign Rubio if he is that cheap and have both players next year
Rubio is on an expiring $17MM contract and was included to make the money work. He won’t ever take the court for the Pacers. The deal is essentially LeVert for a late 1st (currently #23 overall), 2nd round pick swap (currently #33 overall) and future 2nd.
Way to relax me Trog— I worry about the CLE FO blowing their advantage!
The HOU 2nd will be close to a first.
I hope they get back Rubio.
Sync will be key. Garland will have less responsibility but he might think he had too much before this trade.
CL can play team defense, I think he did on the Nets, and the Pacers go for that. CL can be a wing defensively though not strong. I predict better than Okoro.
CL’s biggest asset is his takeover ability but that should not be held against him… it should help the Cavs and relieve Garland. A solo attacker is not perfect; a 3pt shooter might have been better; but that is up to Garland to balance up and he must have agreed to this.
Altman must “know of” Lavert’s more personal level and approved.
Relief! I grade this: Altman is not blowing it.
Now for CL to get healthy & stay there.
Rubio is a free agent after season and was traded to match salaries….not sure how a guy who is out for season and a lottery protected 1st and two 2nds is an overpay
Confused what you are saying about Rubio. He is FA after this season, so even if Cavs didn’t trade him there was a chance he would sign somewhere else. He also hasn’t been with the Cavs team since like a week after his injury, so really his contract was just taking up roster space for this season. And if he really wants to be in Cleveland, he can sign back here again if he wants.
The first rounder isn’t overpay. Caris is a solid player and was drafted 20th couple years ago, the Cavs pick is bound to be lower than that. The second round pick is a high one, but the Cavs still have the Spurs second rounder this year. Cavs didn’t need both.
Why would Rubio be on a vet min? He’ll never play for Indy as he’s a FA this summee.
Rubio is worth more than vet minimum. But he has to get healthy first. He had a serious injury.
That’s why I value him at vet min because of the injury
The 2022 first round picks from top 8 teams have little trade value
Reigning MVP was drafted in the second round. You want to try again…?
Exception not the rule. Dray was also a second rounder, but the frequency that second rounders hit is still quite low for anything other than basic bench guys.
link to cbssports.com
This article calls the Cavs defense “ferocious” and credited Okoro with the talls for the the #3 rank. I would have said “tall” as the cause, along with, they care. No criticism of Lavert on defense, nice to see.
Lol
WOW!!! Caris is gonna really help Cleveland! Funny how the article literally only says this so far: “The Cavaliers are acquiring Pacers Guard Caris Levert according to NBA reporter Adrian Wonnaroski”
Caris just put up 26 on Magic and 42 on Bulls. Both loses. He’s a team player who will avg 20 on Cavs. They got him cheap.
@Knicks
I like the trade but curious…. what about him makes him a “team player”? He shoots first (not at a high level) and passes second.
im happy they didn’t move Sexton tho.
He played for Nets. So I watched him a lot. He plays off team offense. He’s not an iso guy. Who goes one on one and always looking for his shot. Like Sexton. And he does play team D. He’s coming back from serious injury. So his best is yet to come. Just watch him and see.
Cavs don’t give up any active players, and only give up 2 picks that probably won’t amount to a player like Caris. Huge W for Cavs
Great deal for the Cavs. They now have an elite wing, which was the premium piece they didn’t have.
Not elite wing, but productive. He’ll be with team has solid interior defense and that’ll help Laverts defense. I like this move
I would say he’s more elite, than he has been productive. He gets hurt a bunch, and hasn’t yet (even at 27) lived up to his potential. But at this ridiculously low price, it’s no risk.
He’s not elite, he’s a solid scorer who can create his own shot though something the cavs lack outside garland and kinda love.
20 mil is considered starter money though so yeah he’s on a good deal for being in his prime.
Good deal for cle. Good deal for Indy considering they got him for the remnants of olodipo
You keep saying that word. I do not think it means what you think it means.
What word Orien??
I think “more elite than productive” (or durable) applies to Lavert pretty well.
One thing about him… when healthy, he seems to want to make up for lost time, making reinjury more likely.
Considering starters around the league, I would rank Levert’s “elitism” roughly fourth in the EC, behind Harden, JBrown, and whoever the Bulls are calling their 2 (Derozan/Caruso/Lonzo… points for depth at any rate). Some top 2s are not having a good year, or are less flexible, or just less talented to begin with.
*Bulls… yeah Lavine and Dosunmu too at the 2. Derozan is presumably an allstar 2 but is a 4 on Bas.Ref. Dosunmu, Caruso & Ball are more like 1s, but anything they put out there wins!
@Dxc
he’s too weak to play SF imo. good fit at SG tho.
a descendant of the great Gerald Levert (rip).
He played 1-3 in BKN, and even small 4. But, yes, his strength is not ideal for a full time 3 across all matchups. I imagine in CLE he starts at 2, but plays backup on the point and floats to the 3 in smaller lineups. However he’s used, he’s still a guy with size and the full complement of perimeter skills. Most guys with his skill set who are better are superstars. He’s underachieved in his career, but he’s 27 and can put up 20-5-5 per 36 min without breaking a sweat, while reducing the number of people in the perimeter rotation.
Great trade by the Cavs Allen and Caris reunited!
Pacers blowing it up it’s time
That’s not 2 1st rounders lol
Great trade for Cavs. They needed a real 2 and they got one. A big young one at that. How Dumb are Rockets to have passed on both Allen and LeVert. This is cheap imo. Great move
link to bleacherreport.com
Does this mean Turner is gone too ????
Now this seems like the start of TD ……
here we go
And not drafting Mobley @#2
Great move by the Cavs. Lavert was a good deal for Oladipo. Indy blowing it up.
That Houston 2nd rd is a solid pick. High 2nd rd pick. There will be a nice player there.
Good news for Cavs though is that they also have Spurs second rounder too, which is currently only 4 spots lower atm.
Cavs pick is #22
Spurs is #37
15 spots lower
My prediction
1 Bucks
2 Cavs
3 Heat
4 Bulls
5 76ers if no trade
Cavs will be high, but 2 seed!!??!!
I have it looking like this
1 Heat
2 Bucks
3 Bulls (If they get ppl back and healthy)
4 Cavs
5 Nets
6 76ers
Great deal for the Cavs.
Exactly what they needed
Garland LeVert Okoro Mobley Allen
Rondo Osman Markeneen Love
If Sexton can return from injury that would also be a huge bonus.
Sexton may have played his last game with the cavs
Pacers clearly trying to get under that tax, huh. Poor return.
This does nothing for that. They on basically same cap hit.
Next year though. LaVert needed to be extended while Rubio will be gone. Pacers gonna start over and clear everything they can for some major free agents in a couple years. Good luck with that Pacers: You play in Indianapolis not L.A. or Miami.
They barely save any money this year lol. Its about getting something for a player with value. And it’s not like LeVert is a missing piece to the Pacers puzzle, they basically need a full teardown if they want to be a legit contender again. If they kept LeVert (plus Turner, Brogdan, and Sabonis) they would’ve had roughly $80m in cap tied to those four alone. Not exactly a championship core.
Lineups:
Cavaliers:
Garland/Rondo
LeVert/Osman
Markkanen/Okoro
Mobley/Love/Wade
Allen/Davis
Pacers:
Brogdon/Sykes
Duarte/Stephenson
Holiday/Lamb
Craig/Perry
Taylor/Bitadze
Injuries:
Cavs: Collin Sexton
Pacers: Brogdon(Day to day), McConnell
Warren, Turner, Jackson, Rubio
Sabonis?
Sorry I missed him; I think he is still in the protocols
Will Indy buy out Rubio?
No
Yeah there is zero reason for Rubio to take a buyout since he cant sign anywhere else with the injury so he has no incentive.
The second major trade the week before the TD, and both have been very one sided in favor of the buyers. Historically, the TD has been a harsh seller’s market. Maybe, with all the tanking and other pathologies, there are more teams looking to get worse than better.
If the trend continues, maybe rebuilding teams (like NYK) should consider making trades at the deadline to help next year’s team. Insane concept, you’d think.
Interesting point. NBA draft has become more valuable lately. Considering all these 19 yr olds that come out. You can find a future starter from 10-16. Look at picks 10-20 last yr.
link to nba.com
Picks have been getting more valuable. I wasn’t crazy about last year’s draft 10-20, but I did like the area where the Knicks got Grimes and McBride. Other than injury concern (if there is any), I’d have preferred to have pursued LeVert to Reddish (even if it cost a few 2nd’s in addition to CHA’s 1st). But let’s see where it all winds up.
10. Pelicans draft Ziaire Williams (officially traded to Grizzlies)
11. Hornets draft James Bouknight
12. Spurs draft Joshua Primo
13. Pacers draft Chris Duarte
14. Warriors draft Moses Moody
15. Wizards draft Corey Kispert
16. Thunder draft Alperen Sengun (officially traded to Rockets)
17. Grizzlies draft Trey Murphy (officially traded to Pelicans)
18. Thunder draft Tre Mann
19. Knicks draft Kai Jones (officially traded to Hornets)
20. Hawks draft Jalen Johnson
Some good talent here. Some young but got plenty of upside. Considering we got Fournier we gotta ride him out. Cam can work his way. Knicks trade is coming lol
Look at transactions from the Suns from like 10 years ago and they were giving picks away for next to nothing to get out of minimal money and stuff.
Hopefully a lot on Wednesday and a like more then 20 on Thursday with big names moved/a lot after Buzzer.
Ya, I know it’s not gonna happen, but I hope we see like 10 more trades before deadline and like 20 on the deadline
That Houston pick was valuable. Indiana played hardball.
Cavs may be best team in East. Almost certainly deepest.
Uh, no, not the deepest by a long shot. When healthy, that would be the Bulls. Then the Bucks. Then the Sixers. Then, maybe, the Cavs or Hornets.
Makes the Powell Rocco trade even worst now
Pacers got Levert for Oladipo in thé Harden trade and now is in Cavs for good values so it’s a good move for them + 25M$ in cap space next off season to rebuild around Sabonis
I think that’s exactly what I predicted 2 weeks ago-
1 1st 1 2nd for Rubios expiring
Love it for Cle
2x2ND and cavs 1st
Cancelled the one they are sending themselves out
So net 1+1
Does Levert fit into this scenario?
Funny if the Cavs re-sign Rubio rather than Sexton… Cavs could tell the FA Sexton, we would love it if you came off the bench for us, and he might say, I am going for starting see ya.
Basically a move we all expected. Some guard for a 1st and Rubio. Solid move. The 2nd round picks could have been done on draft night tbh but whatever.
Good return for Cavs. Hopefully Sexton doesn’t go Full Schroeder and signs an extension. Take the bag young man, you aren’t a max player on any team, maybe he can play his way into a CJ size contract or extension his 2nd go around. Wonder if they’ll do a S&T with him. I could see them being in on a S&T taking someone back for Loves expiring contract and a 1st or two.
Sexton is a trade chip now. You don’t mess with this chemistry. Even Love has found new life. Sexton can bring back a good piece. A shooter wing, 3 n D type.
A role player yes, you don’t get much in a S&T. They should get a nice trade exception though out of it.
GSW gave up a top 20 protected first to BRK in the DLo trade along with a lightly protected first to send out Iggy for nothing to get under the hard cap. So its not nothing teams will do for a sign and trade. Although that was more born from the team needing to preserve the KD salary slot and Kuminga is probably far better than a late first in 24 or the second BRK got after Stephs injury auto tanked the team.
Go out and swap Sexton for Dinwiddie and we’re looking at the Cleveland Nets
Trade Dee lo for Love
Amazing deal for Cleveland. Literally exactly what they needed, even going back a couple of years. Definitely fills the spot I was talking about this offseason
Ahh yes, now cavs have two of the best players not named James Harden that were apart of the James Harden trade.
Houston still showing no player of value yet.
Almost 10% of the 2016 draft class has now been a member of the Cavs at some point.
This is a steal of a trade for Cleveland, LeVert is a phenomenal scorer who was not used in the best way he could be in Indiana. I think this makes Cleveland a viable competitor in the East. I would say that MIA,PHI,MIL,and now CLE are the top 4 teams in the Eastern conference now. Charlotte is another player or two away, Boston is missing chemistry and some talent outside of Tatum,Brown,Smart,(which they may have in younger players Nesmith, Pritchard, Williams, etc., but I don’t think that the coaching has helped much. Stevens may need to be back on the sideline.
LeVert us a tease. He’s injury prone and his career 3pt numbers below expectations. That said, Cleveland needs a 2 guard.
LeVert is clutch! I remember a game last year when he dropped 50 something in a game, and he hit about 4 clutch 3s in the final couple minutes, and then hit a few more in OT to win the game. I think they were down about 24 in the 2nd half and he basically carried the team offensively to the comeback