Cleveland Cavaliers Rumors | Hoops Rumors

Cavs Allowed To Fill Arena To 10% Capacity

December 30th, 2020 at 9:27am CST by Luke Adams

However, that amount still falls well short of the team’s initial request. According to Fedor, the plan the Cavs originally submitted to government officials asked for an allowance of 4,596 fans, 23.65% of their arena’s capacity.

The Cavaliers received approval from the Ohio Department of Health to increase their crowd capacity for home games at Rocket Mortgage FieldHouse, writes Chris Fedor of Cleveland.com. As Fedor details, the franchise will now be able to host 1,944 fans per game, which is the equivalent of 10% of the arena’s capacity.

Ohio regulations currently limit attendance at indoor sports arena or entertainment venues to 300 people or 15% of the seating capacity, whichever is less. So an exception is being made for the Cavaliers, who will be able to host nearly 2,000 fans.

Poll: Which Team Will Remain Undefeated Longest?

December 29th, 2020 at 3:52pm CST by Luke Adams

We’re one week into the NBA’s 2020/21 season, and just four of the league’s 30 teams have yet to lose a game. A handful of Eastern Conference teams – the Pacers, Magic, Hawks, and Cavaliers – make up that unlikely foursome.

While all four of those clubs are 3-0, they may not be undefeated much longer. This NBA season has been an unpredictable one so far, with unexpected blowouts and upsets taking place on a nightly basis. And as good as these teams have looked so far, I don’t expect any of them to be a powerhouse this season — it seems unlikely that we’ll see a 10-0 run to start the season.

Here are the upcoming schedules for each of the NBA’s four undefeated teams:

Indiana Pacers: vs. BOS (12/29), vs. CLE (12/31), vs. NYK (1/2), at NOP (1/4), vs. HOU (1/6)
Orlando Magic: at OKC (12/29), vs. PHI (12/31), vs. OKC (1/2), vs. CLE (1/4), vs. CLE (1/6)
Atlanta Hawks: at BKN (12/30), at BKN (1/1), vs. CLE (1/2), vs. NYK (1/4), vs. CHA (1/6)
Cleveland Cavaliers: vs. NYK (12/29), at IND (12/31), at ATL (1/2), at ORL (1/4), at ORL (1/6)

We want to know what you think: Which of these four undefeated teams will be the last to lose a game?

While it may be tempting to write off the Magic and Cavaliers, given their modest preseason expectations, the Pacers and Hawks have tough games on tap — Indiana will have to beat a Boston team that it squeaked past by a single point on Sunday, while Atlanta will be facing a rested Kevin Durant and Kyrie Irving in Brooklyn tomorrow.

Of the four undefeated teams, the Cavaliers have the most favorable fourth game (at home vs. the Knicks), but they’re missing power forward Kevin Love. And even if they get past New York, they improbably have games on tap against the other three undefeated clubs.

A year ago, the Sixers were the only team in the NBA to win more than three consecutive games to start the season. Will multiple squads do it this year? And which will remain undefeated the longest?

Vote in our poll, then head to the comment section below to weigh in with your predictions!

Trade Rumors app users, click here to vote.

Kevin Love To Miss At Least 3-4 Weeks With Calf Injury

December 29th, 2020 at 10:59am CST by Luke Adams

Cavaliers power forward Kevin Love has reaggravated a right calf strain that he initially suffered during the preseason, the team announced today in a press release.

According to the Cavs, Love will undergo treatment and rehabilitation for his calf injury, and will be reassessed in about three or four weeks. His status will be updated as appropriate, per the club.

It’s a tough break for a Cavaliers squad that is off to an unexpectedly strong start in 2020/21, having already picked up wins over the Hornets, Pistons, and Sixers. Cleveland is one of just four NBA teams that remains undefeated at 3-0, but will be without its starting power forward for at least the next three or four weeks.

With Love on the shelf, the Cavs figure to lean more heavily on big man Larry Nance Jr., who will presumably take over as the team’s starting four. Reserve power forward Dean Wade should also be a more regular part of the rotation with Love sidelined.

The Cavaliers have a busy schedule in the coming weeks, so even if Love’s recovery progresses quickly, he’ll miss a good chunk of games. A three-week absence would result in 12 missed contests.

Love, Okoro Won't Play Tuesday

December 28th, 2020 at 6:29pm CST by Dana Gauruder

Kevin Love and lottery pick Isaac Okoro are among a handful of Cavaliers players who will miss Tuesday’s game against the Knicks, Chris Fedor of the Cleveland Plain Dealer tweets. Love has a calf strain that kept him out of the team’s opener and limited him to nine minutes against Philadelphia on Sunday. Okoro will sit out for the second straight game with a foot sprain.

Central Notes: Drummond, Holiday, Augustin, Gores

December 27th, 2020 at 8:59am CST by Arthur Hill

A nearly empty arena took away some of the excitement of Andre Drummond‘s return to Detroit on Saturday night, but the experience was still memorable for the Cavaliers‘ center, who spent the first seven and a half years of his career with the Pistons, writes Chris Fedor of Cleveland.com.

“Overwhelming amount of feelings rushed through my body,” Drummond said. “Just being back in this building again, but on the other side, it was a lot of memories that just rushed through my head, hearing my name again in this arena. After that, the moment was over. Came out in the starting lineup, got ready to play and we came out with a great win.”

Drummond was a franchise cornerstone from the time he was taken in the 2012 draft, but he became expendable at the February trade deadline when Detroit decided to shed salary and embrace rebuilding. Pistons coach Dwane Casey has watched Drummond a few times since the trade and has noticed his growth on offense since arriving in Cleveland.

“Different seeing him on the other side,” Casey said. “I loved him. I got close to Andre and I took it as a project to try to work with him and develop him and put him in position to be successful. It was a business decision for us — the direction we were going in and the direction he needed to go in from an individual standpoint. Hated to see him go. (Owner) Tom (Gores) loved Andre. The whole organization loved Andre. He’s the Dennis Rodman of our game as far as rebounding. He has a knack and timing. Tried to develop some other skills and just didn’t have enough time to get there with him. He has a bright future.”

There’s more from the Central Division:

Jrue Holiday is having the impact the Bucks hoped for when they made him the focal point of their offseason, notes Jim Owczarski of The Milwaukee Journal Sentinel. Holiday was a difference maker in the Christmas Day win over the Warriors, contributing to 30% of the offense through the first three quarters and holding Stephen Curry to 6-of-17 from the field. “I just think our spacing we have, the athleticism that we have opens up everything,” Holiday said. “Giannis (Antetokounmpo) and Khris (Middleton) demand so much attention, so just to be able to run in space, to correct spacing and really just go from there.”
Veteran guard D.J. Augustin made his Bucks debut Friday after suffering a calf strain during the preseason, Owczarski adds in the same story. Augustin credits the medical staff for making him take his time to recover.
Gores is rejecting a call to sell the Pistons because of his ownership of a prison telecom company that is accused of charging inmates up to $15 for a 15-minute phone call, according to Eric Woodyard of ESPN.

Love Back In Lineup After Calf Injury

December 26th, 2020 at 3:55pm CST by Dana Gauruder

Kevin Love missed the Cavaliers‘ opener with a calf injury but he’s available for their first road game at Detroit on Saturday, according to The Associated Press. Love hasn’t played since the team’s first preseason game against Indiana on December 12, when he got kicked in the calf.

Dylan Windler Fractures Hand In Cavs’ Season Opener

December 24th, 2020 at 4:19pm CST by Alex Kirschenbaum

Rookie Cavaliers swingman Dylan Windler fractured the fourth metacarpal of his left hand after suffering a fall during the third quarter of Cleveland’s season opener last night, according to Chris Fedor of Cleveland.com. An initial postgame X-ray did not reveal any damage, but the fracture was discovered in subsequent tests.

Windler will be re-evaluated in a week, and a timeline projection for his return to game action could be made after that. The Cavaliers would not divulge whether the fracture was displaced or non-displaced, which can impact recovery time.

Fedor notes that the average amount of time missed due to a fourth metacarpal fracture has been about 15 games since the 2005/06 season.

Last season, Raptors forward Norman Powell suffered the same injury last year and missed about a month of action, while then-Celtics forward Gordon Hayward missed 13 games after incurring the same fracture.

Drafted with the No. 26 pick out of Belmont in 2019, Windler missed the entirety of the 2019/20 NBA season after suffering a left lower leg stress reaction at the beginning of the year. In his first nine minutes NBA action before the injury, Windler made one three-pointer and notched two steals. The Cavaliers went on to beat the Hornets in a 121-114 victory last night.

Latest Details On NBA G League Bubble

December 24th, 2020 at 2:17pm CST by Luke Adams

Seventeen teams have indicated that they plan to participate in the NBA G League bubble, according to Jonathan Givony of ESPN, who notes that the G League Ignite select team will be the 18th squad.

While we don’t yet have a full, official list of the teams participating in the G League bubble, Ridiculous Upside has done a good job passing along reports (including some of ours) and providing new details on which clubs are in and out. Their list includes 13 teams believed to be in, not counting the Ignite, as follows:

Agua Caliente Clippers of Ontario (Clippers)
Austin Spurs (Spurs)
Canton Charge (Cavaliers)
Delaware Blue Coats (Sixers)
Fort Wayne Mad Ants (Pacers)
Lakeland Magic (Magic)
Long Island Nets (Nets)
Memphis Hustle (Grizzlies)
Oklahoma City Blue (Thunder)
Raptors 905 (Raptors)
Salt Lake City Stars (Jazz)
Santa Cruz Warriors (Warriors)
Westchester Knicks (Knicks)

G League expert Adam Johnson says the Greensboro Swarm (Hornets), Iowa Wolves (Timberwolves), and Erie BayHawks (Pelicans) are also expected to take part (Twitter link).

The G League reportedly asked for teams to volunteer to opt out, since bringing 29 franchises to the bubble wouldn’t have been logistically possible, so the clubs passing on the bubble aren’t necessarily doing so because they’re not interested in participating.

Teams opting out of the bubble who signed players to Exhibit 10 contracts before the season will be given the option to loan or “flex” those players to another G League team for the bubble and will be responsible for paying all expenses for those players, Givony explains.

The Wizards, for example, aren’t expected to have the Capital City Go-Go play in the bubble, but will likely use the Pelicans’ affiliate – the BayHawks – as their temporary affiliate for their former Exhibit 10 players, such as Caleb Homesley, Marlon Taylor, and Yoeli Childs, tweets Fred Katz of The Athletic.

A G League draft would take place in January, according to Givony, who reports that players whose returning rights are held by non-bubble teams would temporarily be dispersed to other clubs in that draft. If non-bubble teams don’t want to “flex” their former Exhibit 10 players to G League teams participating in the bubble, those players will also enter the draft pool, says Givony.

Stefan Bondy of The New York Daily News reported earlier this week that the tentative start date for the G League season is February 8. Adam Zagoria of Forbes (Twitter link) shares a more detailed breakdown of the proposed timeline, which would see G League players and staffers begin an “at-home” quarantine period on January 13.

Givony confirms that teams participating in the bubble still expect to play a minimum of 12 games apiece (not including the playoffs), as was reported in November.

Finally, Givony reports that the G League is making adjustments to its roster rules to make it easier for NBA teams to recruit and sign veterans with five or more years of NBA experience. Each team will be able to designate an “NBA Vet Selection” who fits that bill, and won’t have to navigate the NBAGL’s complicated waiver process to add that player, per Givony.

As Johnson tweets, the rule will be a one-off for this season and will allow – for instance – the Warriors to add Jeremy Lin to their Santa Cruz affiliate, like they wanted to.

Cavaliers Pick Up 2021/22 Options On Four Players

December 23rd, 2020 at 12:57pm CST by Arthur Hill

The Cavaliers have picked up the fourth-year option on Collin Sexton, along with the third-year options for Darius Garland, Kevin Porter Jr., and Dylan Windler, the team announced today in a press release.

Sexton, 21, showed improvement in his second NBA season, raising his scoring average from 16.7 to 20.8 PPG and improving his field goal percentage from 43.0% to 47.2%. Sexton’s $6,349,671 salary for the 2021/22 season is now locked in and he will be eligible for a rookie scale extension next offseason. If he doesn’t come to an agreement, he will become a restricted free agent in the summer of 2022.

The 20-year-old Garland was the fifth pick in the 2019 draft. He struggled during his rookie season, shooting just 40.1% from the field, but got better as the year went on. He will make $7,040,880 next season.

Porter, 20, was the 30th pick in 2019 and was acquired in a draft night trade. He averaged 10.2 PPG and 3.2 RPG as a rookie and will earn $1,782,621 in 2021/22.

The 24-year-old Windler missed his entire rookie season due to a stress fracture in his left leg after being taken with the 26th pick in 2019. His 2021/22 salary will be $2,239,200.

We’re watching all the 2021/22 rookie scale team option decisions here.

Love Won't Play Opening Night

December 22nd, 2020 at 9:05pm CST by Dana Gauruder

A strained calf will prevent Kevin Love from playing in the Cavaliers’ opener on Wednesday, Chris Fedor of the Cleveland Plain Dealer relays.