Cleveland Cavaliers Rumors | Hoops Rumors

Jazz Trade Rayjon Tucker, 2027 Second-Round Pick To Cavs

November 28th, 2020 at 10:40am CST by Luke Adams

NOV. 28: The Cavaliers have waived Tucker, per Kelsey Russo of The Athletic (Twitter link). As a result, they’ll only carry his $340K partial guarantee on their cap.

NOV. 27: The Jazz are trading wing Rayjon Tucker to the Cavaliers along with a future second-round pick, according to ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski (Twitter link), who reports that Utah is receiving cash in return.

Bobby Marks of ESPN adds (via Twitter) that the Cavaliers will get the Jazz’s 2027 second-rounder in the swap. The Cavs have issued a press release confirming the deal, making it official.

Tucker, 23, appeared in 20 games as a rookie for Utah last season, averaging 3.1 PPG and 1.0 RPG in a very limited role (8.1 MPG). His $1.52MM salary for the 2020/21 campaign will become guaranteed if the Cavs keep him under contract through November 29, but for now it’s just partially guaranteed for $340K, per Marks.

The Jazz will open up a spot on their projected regular season roster and clear a little money from their salary cap. Meanwhile, if the Cavs don’t intend to hang onto Tucker, they’re essentially just buying a future second-round pick for $340K (his partial guarantee), plus whatever amount of money they sent to Utah in the deal.

Wolves Rumors: Hernangomez, Edwards, Rubio, Beasley

November 27th, 2020 at 1:53pm CST by Luke Adams

Timberwolves restricted free agent forward Juan Hernangomez initially sought an offer in excess of $10MM per year, sources tell Jon Krawczynski of The Athletic. Unwilling to meet that price right off the bat, the Wolves “essentially told” Hernangomez to prove he could get an offer from another club while they went looking for possible alternatives at power forward, writes Krawczynski.

Minnesota ended up reaching out to a number forwards in free agency, including Derrick Jones (as previously outlined), Paul Millsap, Jae Crowder, and JaMychal Green, and inquired on possible trades involving Magic forward Aaron Gordon, Rockets forward P.J. Tucker, and Cavaliers big man Larry Nance Jr., sources tell Krawczynski.

The Timberwolves didn’t have any luck with any of those potential targets, but held firm on their offer to Hernangomez, who mulled the possibility of accepting the one-year qualifying offer worth $4.64MM, per Krawczynski. Ultimately, the two sides came to an agreement on a three-year, $21MM deal that has a third-year team option.

Here’s more out of Minnesota:

The Timberwolves chose Anthony Edwards with the No. 1 pick last week because they believe he has the clearest path of any of this year’s draft-eligible prospects to becoming a multi-time All-Star, says Krawczysnki.
Sources tell The Athletic that the team’s acquisition of Ricky Rubio was partly motivated by seeing what the veteran point guard did for Donovan Mitchell and Devin Booker at his previous stops and a belief that he’ll aid Edwards’ development.
The Knicks told Malik Beasley he’d be their Plan B in free agency if they couldn’t land Gordon Hayward, according to Krawczynski. Recognizing that New York could be a threat to put forth a troublesome offer sheet, the Wolves went in with an aggressive pitch on the opening night of free agency and secured a commitment from Beasley on the spot. Sources tell The Athletic that Beasley has appreciated the support he’s received from the franchise since running into off-court legal problems.
The Timberwolves officially announced Beasley’s new deal today. Keith Smith of Yahoo Sports (Twitter link) has the year-by-year financial breakdown of that contract, which guarantees the swingman $43MM+ over three years.

Eastern Notes: Dellavedova, D’Antoni, Erman, Pistons

November 24th, 2020 at 11:32am CST by Arthur Hill

The Cavaliers are close to finalizing a deal to bring back Matthew Dellavedova for another season, according to Chris Fedor of Cleveland.com, who reports that the veteran guard has agreed to the parameters of a one-year contract. The agreement will give Dellavedova $2.1MM for the upcoming season, along with a one-year Bird restriction and the option to veto any trade.

Dellavedova, 30, is expected to serve as a back-up point guard and a veteran leader on a youthful team. Fedor states that several other teams expressed interest, including the Lakers, but Dellavedova opted for Cleveland, where he has spent most of his seven-year NBA career.

The signing will give the Cavaliers 14 players under contract, and the final roster spot may not be filled right away, Fedor adds. The team will explore potential signings heading into training camp, but may opt for the flexibility of keeping a spot open.

There’s more from the Eastern Conference:

Mike D’Antoni considered retirement after leaving the Rockets following their playoff exit, writes Alex Schiffer of The Athletic. D’Antoni was convinced to keep coaching when he got an offer from the Nets to join the staff of first-time head coach Steve Nash, who orchestrated D’Antoni’s offense when they were together in Phoenix. “He’s going to make it easy for Steve,” said Warriors assistant Leandro Barbosa. “Mike is one of the best coaches that I ever played for. He’s also one of the best from an offensive standpoint. He knows a lot of plays, he knows a lot of tricks, I think he’s going to be awesome for Kyrie (Irving) and (Kevin) Durant.”
Darren Erman, who coached the Celtics’ G League affiliate last season, will join the Knicks as an assistant to Tom Thibodeau, tweets ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski. Erman spent four years as associate head coach with the Pelicans.
The Nuggets will receive $110K from the Pistons in the sign-and-trade that sent Jerami Grant to Detroit, according to Eric Pincus of Bleacher Report (Twitter link). The Pistons shipped $250K to the Jazz in the deal for Tony Bradley, Pincus adds (Twitter link).

Free Agency Rumors: Bogdanovic, McLaughlin, Baynes, More

November 23rd, 2020 at 11:21pm CST by Luke Adams

The Kings will have to make a decision on Bogdan Bogdanovic‘s offer sheet with the Hawks on Tuesday, and as Jason Anderson of The Sacramento Bee writes, there are pros and cons the team must consider as it weighs its options.

Matching Bogdanovic’s four-year, $72MM offer sheet would mean not losing him for nothing, and the contract doesn’t look particularly onerous — it’s unlikely that it will become an albatross within the next year. Bogdanovic would have veto power on any trade for the next year if Sacramento matches his offer, and the deal includes a 15% trade kicker, but there’s a good chance the club could eventually move him for positive value.

Still, while the Kings had originally budgeted for a $15-18MM annual salary for Bogdanovic under former GM Vlade Divac, per Anderson, the financial impact of the coronavirus pandemic and the salary cap coming in $6MM lower than anticipated may make the team nervous about a long-term deal at the upper end of that range.

Additionally, sources have suggested to Anderson that Bogdanovic would prefer a change of scenery and that the swingman feels he has been “de-prioritized” by the Kings. Sacramento already may have to deal with one disgruntled wing in Buddy Hield — carrying two of them, and having them eat into each other’s minutes, may not be an ideal situation for the club.

Here are a few more notes and rumors related to free agency:

The Timberwolves and restricted free agent guard Jordan McLaughlin are engaged in ongoing talks about a new contract, a source tells Chris Hine of The Star Tribune. McLaughlin was on a two-way deal last season as a rookie, but is due for a promotion to a standard contract after averaging 7.6 PPG and 4.2 APG on .489/.382/.667 shooting in 30 games (19.7 MPG).
Before he committed to the Raptors, free agent center Aron Baynes gave serious consideration to joining the Warriors, a league source tells Michael Scotto of HoopsHype.
Alex Len, another center who agreed to a deal with Toronto, generated interest from the Lakers, Sixers, Bucks, and Kings during free agency, according to Scotto. The Raptors used their mid-level exception to give Len slightly more than his minimum salary.
The Hawks and Pistons were among the teams that expressed interest in Damyean Dotson before the free agent guard committed to Cleveland, reports Scotto. Dotson’s two-year, $4MM deal with the Cavaliers is worth more than the minimum and the club is still weighing whether to use its mid-level exception or bi-annual exception to complete the signing, tweets Chris Fedor of Cleveland.com.

Bucks, Cavaliers Complete Minor Trade

November 23rd, 2020 at 5:17pm CST by Luke Adams

The Cavaliers and Bucks have officially completed a minor trade, the Cavs announced today in a press release.

The Cavaliers acquired the Bucks’ 2025 second-round pick in the deal in exchange for the rights to former second-round pick Ilkan Karaman. Additionally, the protections on the Bucks’ 2022 first-round pick – sent to Cleveland in a deal two years ago – have been removed.

Although it’s technically a separate transaction, this deal is related to the Bucks’ Jrue Holiday mega–deal. Milwaukee is sending the Pelicans two future first-round picks in that swap. That wouldn’t have been possible as long as the conditions on the traded 2022 pick (which was protected through 2024) remained in place.

Teams aren’t permitted to leave themselves without first-round picks in back-to-back future drafts or trade picks more than seven years in advance. By removing the protections on the 2022 pick to Cleveland, the Bucks freed up their first-rounders to be dealt starting in 2024 — they’ll send the 2025 and 2027 selections to New Orleans.

As a sweetener for accommodating the Bucks, the Cavaliers will pick up that 2025 second-rounder in exchange for the NBA rights of a player drafted in 2012 who will almost certainly never play in the NBA.

Lakers Trade McGee, Future Second-Rounder To Cavs

November 23rd, 2020 at 4:43pm CST by Alex Kirschenbaum

NOVEMBER 23: The deal is official, according to a press release from the Cavs. Cleveland acquires McGee and the Lakers’ second-round pick in exchange for McKinnie and Bell, as expected.

NOVEMBER 22: The Lakers are set to send center JaVale McGee and a future second-round draft pick to the Cavaliers, according to Adrian Wojnarowski of ESPN (via Twitter). This will create flexibility below the hard cap to allow the Lakers to sign veteran center Marc Gasol.

Chris Fedor of Cleveland.com tweets that the second-round pick will be from the 2026 NBA draft. Fedor reports in a separate tweet that small forward Alfonzo McKinnie and big man Jordan Bell will be headed to Los Angeles in the deal.

McGee has a $4.2MM cap charge for 2020/21, which the Cavaliers have no way to absorb without sending out some salary themselves. McKinnie ($1.76MM) and Bell ($1.76MM) are currently on non-guaranteed deals, but their salaries will have to be at least partially guaranteed to make the deal work. The Cavs have to send out about $2.34MM and non-guaranteed money doesn’t count for salary-matching purposes.

Bobby Marks of ESPN tweets that the likely outcome will see McKinnie being fully guaranteed, while Bell gets about a $600K guarantee. The Lakers could then waive and stretch Bell to create a little extra flexibility.

McGee started at center for most of the Lakers’ 2019/20 championship season, but was supplanted in the starting lineup during the last two rounds of the playoffs by the more mobile Markieff Morris or Dwight Howard most of the time, with Anthony Davis shifting from power forward to center to close out the Heat in Game 6 of the Finals. McGee is a three-time champion thanks to tenures with the Warriors and Lakers.

It doesn’t sound as if the Cavaliers view McGee as a mere salary dump. The team wanted a veteran big man with experience coming off the bench behind Andre Drummond, according to Fedor, so McGee will replace Tristan Thompson on the roster. Cleveland continues to explore possible free agent deals involving the mid-level, with a focus on backup point guard, per Fedor.

Luke Adams contributed to this story. Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.

Southeast Notes: Hayward, Bryant, Wall, Heat

November 23rd, 2020 at 3:32pm CST by Alex Kirschenbaum

The Hornets made one of the biggest and most controversial splashes in free agency, signing injury-prone forward Gordon Hayward to a four-year, $120MM contract. Due to injuries and the development of his Boston teammates, Hayward was never able to return to his All-Star form while with the Celtics.

Although the Hornets’ $120MM commitment to Hayward is widely viewed as an overpay, it didn’t come out of left field. In today’s edition of The Lowe Post podcast, Zach Lowe of ESPN suggests that the Hornets’ offer to Hayward was not significantly higher than that of some competing clubs hoping for his services in free agency.

“You want to clown the contract?” Lowe said (per RealGM). “That’s fine. Just know it’s not like the Pacers and the Celtics were offering $80MM. They weren’t offering $120MM. But my best intel is something like $105MM, $108MM, $102MM, $110MM.”

Rick Bonnell of the Charlotte Observer examines Hayward’s fit with the Hornets, conceding that the deal is probably an overpay. However, he also contends that Hayward can supply veteran leadership to the Hornets’ young core while being by far their best player, if healthy. Hayward will be leaned on to supply multifaceted scoring and is an expert play-maker. He also will be able to convincingly slot into the lineup at small forward, power forward, and even shooting guard.

There’s more out of the Southeast Division:

Wizards general manager Tommy Sheppard said today that the team informed every center it spoke to in free agency that Thomas Bryant would remain the Wizards’ starter, according to Quinton Mayo of NBC Sports Washington (Twitter link). “Certainly probably rubbed some guys the wrong way who thought they could come in here and start,” Sheppard said. The club ultimately signed Robin Lopez to back up Bryant.
Beyond the churning NBA rumor mill, Wizards point guard John Wall has remained active during the offseason. Wall will purchase an ownership stake in the Australian NBL club the South East Melbourne Phoenix, Marc Stein of the New York Times tweets. Los Angeles entrepreneur Romie Chaudhari heads the ownership group for the Phoenix, which also includes and Cavaliers reserve guard Dante Exum, plus retired big men Zach Randolph and Al Harrington and retired swingman Josh Childress.
Point guard Goran Dragic and backup center Meyers Leonard are excited to return to the Heat, according to Joe Beguiristain of Heat.com. Miami prioritized re-signing both players to lucrative two-year contracts with team options for the second year. “When free agency hit, we pretty much made our quick deal,” Dragic commented. “First of all, it felt like there was unfinished business for our team and for me because, obviously, going through the ankle injury was not easy, and I feel like I could have helped in many different ways,” Leonard said.

Cavs Re-Sign Matthew Dellavedova To One-Year Deal

November 23rd, 2020 at 2:52pm CST by Alex Kirschenbaum

NOVEMBER 25: Dellavedova’s contract is now listed in the NBA’s transactions log, making it official.

NOVEMBER 23: Free agent reserve point guard Matthew Dellavedova will return to the Cavaliers, Olgun Uluc of ESPN tweets. The one-year agreement will be for the veteran’s minimum, Adrian Wojnarowski of ESPN adds (Twitter link).

The contract will pay Dellavedova $2.17MM. As the first year of a veteran’s minimum deal it will only count against $1.6MM of the Cavaliers’ salary cap. Since Dellavedova has re-signed on a one-year deal with Cleveland, the guard will be able to veto any potential trade that includes him for the 2020/21 season, Bobby Marks of ESPN tweets.

Dellavedova opted to forgo the Cavaliers’ in-market bubble team workout this fall in anticipation of his free agency. The 6’3″ point guard was first signed in 2013 by the Cavaliers after going undrafted, and became a key role player for the team’s 2016 title run.

The 30-year-old Australian vet is coming off a four-year, $38MM deal he inked with the Bucks in 2016. Cleveland received Dellavedova again when it sent George Hill to Milwaukee in 2018.

Marc Stein of ESPN tweets that the Lakers, led by Dellavedova’s old Cavaliers teammate LeBron James, had interested in adding the veteran to one of their last available roster spots.

Dellavedova’s role with the lottery-bound Cavaliers diminished this past year. He averaged single-season lows in points (3.1 PPG) plus field goal percentage (35.4%) and three-point shooting percentage (23.1%), across a career-low 14.4 MPG.

Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.

Cavs Sign Damyean Dotson To Two-Year Deal

November 23rd, 2020 at 11:25am CST by Luke Adams

NOVEMBER 25: Dotson’s new deal with the Cavaliers has been completed, according to the NBA’s official transactions log. The second year of the contract is non-guaranteed, Chris Fedor of the Cleveland Plain Dealer tweets.

NOVEMBER 23: Free agent guard Damyean Dotson has agreed to sign a two-year deal with the Cavaliers, agent Chris Gaston tells Adrian Wojnarowski of ESPN (Twitter link).

Wojnarowski says the deal will be worth $4MM. Two years at the minimum for Dotson would be worth $3.5MM, so this is either a minimum-salary agreement that has been rounded up or the Cavs will use a small portion of one of their exceptions to complete the deal.

Dotson, 26, had a solid season in 2018/19 as part of the Knicks’ rotation, averaging 10.7 PPG and 3.6 RPG on .415/.368/.745 shooting in 73 games (27.5 MPG). However, his role was significant cut back in 2019/20 and New York declined to tender him a qualifying offer before he reached free agency last week. That made him an unrestricted free agent.

Dotson will provide a little more depth on the wing for the Cavs, who agreed to acquire JaVale McGee on Sunday in an effort to bolster their frontcourt.

Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.

Charles Matthews Signs Exhibit 10 Deal With Cavaliers

November 23rd, 2020 at 11:22am CST by Alex Kirschenbaum

NOVEMBER 29: The Cavaliers have officially signed Matthews to his Exhibit 10 deal, per RealGM’s NBA transactions log.

NOVEMBER 23: Former University of Michigan wing Charles Matthews is set to sign an Exhibit 10 contract with the Cavaliers, according to Chris Fedor of Cleveland.com. The arrangement means that Matthews will get an opportunity to compete for a roster spot during Cleveland’s training camp.

The 6’6″ guard spent one season at Kentucky in 2015/16 before transferring to Michigan, for whom he suited up from 2017-2019. During his second and final year with the Wolverines, he averaged 12.2 PPG, 5.0 RPG, and 1.4 APG in 34 games. Matthews declared early for the draft, but tore his ACL during a team workout. Fedor reports that Matthews rehabilitated his knee in Chicago, all while starting a business and wrapping up his college degree.

Former Michigan and Cavaliers head coach John Beilen lauded the hire in a tweet. “He can become a 3 and D guy that every NBA team loves to have,” Beilen said. “He is also a fabulous teammate and high character young man.” Matthews’ mentor, per Fedor, is future Hall of Famer and fellow native Chicagoan Dwyane Wade, sent him a congratulatory tweet. “[Congrats] on signing with the [Cavaliers] lil bro,” Wade said. “Now the work starts!”

The deal qualifies Matthews for a non-guaranteed, one-year veteran’s minimum salary pact. If Matthews is waived by the Cavaliers but assigned to the Canton Charge, Cleveland’s G League affiliate, for 60 days or more he stands to earn a bonus of up to $50K. The agreement can also be converted to a two-way contract at the start of the regular season, in which case the optional bonus would be pulled. The Cavaliers currently have their two allotted two-way contracts apparently committed to guard Matt Mooney and forward Lamar Stevens.