Cavaliers Rumors

Isaac Okoro, Cole Anthony Sign Rookie Contracts

The Cavaliers and Magic have both signed their first-round picks, the teams announced today.

Cleveland came to terms with Auburn forward Isaac Okoro, who was the fifth overall selection. Orlando reached a deal with North Carolina guard Cole Anthony, who was taken with the 15th pick.

Neither team announced the terms of the deals, but both players are eligible to receive up to 120% of the rookie scale. That would be $6,400,920 for Okoro and $3,285,120 for Anthony.

Raptors, Others To Meet VanVleet Saturday

Free agent guard Fred VanVleet will meet with the Raptors and one or two other teams in Chicago on Saturday, Michael Grange of Rogers SportsNet tweets.

VanVleet is one of the biggest names on the market and arguably the top combo guard available. Toronto is hopeful of retaining him and ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski said earlier on Friday he was likely to re-sign.

However, Grange’s report suggests they’ll have some competition for his services.

Grange offered these other tidbits on the Raptors:

  • They have not reached out to Cavaliers free agent center Tristan Thompson. Toronto had been expected to express interest in Thompson. That could be a sign the Raptors are confident of re-signing another one of their top free agents, Serge Ibaka.
  • There’s also a sense they’ll likely reach an extension agreement with OG Anunoby.

Cavaliers Sign Lamar Stevens To Two-Way Contract

NOVEMBER 28, 2:42pm: Stevens has officially inked his two-way deal, according to a team press release.


NOVEMBER 19, 12:13 am: Undrafted Penn State forward Lamar Stevens has agreed to sign a two-way contract with the Cavaliers, Shams Charania of The Athletic tweets.

Stevens was a four-year starter for the Nittany Lions. In 135 career games, Stevens averaged 16.3 PPG and 6.5 RPG.

Last season, the 6’8” Stevens posted averages of 17.6 PPG, 6.9 RPG and 2.2 APG. His perimeter shot needs work — he made just 27.6% of his 3-point attempts during his college career.

Stevens can be active for up to 50 games in his rookie season.

Draft-Night Rumors: Warriors, Pistons, Avdija, Baynes

Drafting James Wiseman won’t prevent the Warriors from looking to add another big man, according to Monte Poole of NBC Sports Bay Area, who reports (via Twitter) that Golden State is eyeing at least four different bigs. The team has its $17MM+ trade exception and the $5.7MM taxpayer mid-level exception available to acquire veterans later this week.

Here are a few more NBA draft-night notes and rumors:

  • It sounds like Detroit’s long-reported interest in Patrick Williams was legit. The Pistons made an effort to trade up to No. 3 in order to leapfrog the Bulls for Williams, but the Hornets didn’t budge, sources tell Joe Cowley of The Chicago Sun-Times (Twitter link).
  • Deni Avdija has a small buyout to get out of his contract with Maccabi Tel Aviv, as Bobby Marks of ESPN tweets. Avdija and the Wizards – who selected him at No. 9 – will pay that buyout. Kevin O’Connor of The Ringer adds (via Twitter) that he’s surprised by Avdija slipping to ninth — the Bulls and Cavaliers both considered the Israeli forward at No. 4 and No. 5, per O’Connor.
  • NBA executives fully expect Aron Baynes to leave the Suns in free agency, opening the door for No. 10 pick Jalen Smith to fill Baynes’ role as a stretch big, tweets Kevin O’Connor. According to O’Connor, the Pelicans are a potential landing spot for Baynes.

Draft Rumors: Warriors, Smart, Wolves, Thunder, Cavs, More

The Warriors and Celtics had some discussions about a deal that would have involved the No. 2 pick and guard Marcus Smart according to Matt Moore of ActionNetwork.com. Sources tell Moore that those talks didn’t ultimately gain traction and aren’t expected to resume after the Celtics rejected a counter-offer from Golden State.

Michael Scotto of HoopsHype confirms that the Celtics called the Warriors to gauge their interest in moving the No. 2 pick and made Smart available, but talks “didn’t escalate.”

Here’s more on the draft as we prepare for what should be a fun night:

  • Rick Bonnell of The Charlotte Observer (Twitter link) is hearing that the Timberwolves will likely remain at No. 1, barring a “blockbuster” move. However, it sounds like the No. 17 pick is still very much in play. Jeremy Woo of SI.com reports (via Twitter) that the Thunder are exploring a deal for the No. 17 pick.
  • Isaac Okoro is rising on the Cavaliers‘ board, according to Jonathan Wasserman of Bleacher Report (Twitter link), who says if Cleveland trades down to No. 8, it would likely hinge on the team’s ability to land Okoro at that spot.
  • The Clippers are looking to buy a second-round pick and/or trade up from No. 57, league sources tell Scotto.
  • The Suns could still trade down from No. 10 or use the pick in a deal for a veteran player, but they’re unlikely to move up, tweets John Gambadoro of Arizona Sports 98.7.

Could Cavs Ties To Deni Avdija Make Him Their No. 5 Pick?

  • The Cavaliers have deep organizational ties with international lottery prospect Deni Avdija. Chris Fedor of Cleveland.com wonders whether this could ultimately lead to Cleveland using the No. 5 pick in today’s draft to select the 6’9″ wing.

Cavs, Knicks Have Talked About Swapping Picks

  • After packaging the Nos. 27 and 38 picks to the Jazz for the No. 23 pick in this year’s draft, the Knicks may be looking to use the No. 23 pick to help them trade up even further. The Knicks have talked with the Cavaliers about trading their Nos. 8 and 23 for Cleveland’s No. 5 pick. However, Kelsey Russo of The Athletic tweets that Cleveland is holding out for more value.

Cavs Discussing No. 5 Pick With Knicks, Others

The Cavaliers are receiving interest in the No. 5 overall pick in the 2020 NBA draft, according to Chris Fedor of Cleveland.com, who reports that the Pistons (No. 7), Knicks (No. 8), and Celtics (No. 14) are among the teams that have engaged in discussions with Cleveland.

The Knicks just moved up from No. 27 to No. 23 in a trade with Utah and may try to package that pick with No. 8 in an attempt to improve their lottery pick, tweets ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski. The Knicks and Cavs have been the two teams in the top eight most frequently connected to Dayton forward Obi Toppin, so it’s possible he could be the target on New York’s radar in a move up, though that’s not confirmed.

The Pistons, meanwhile, have been linked often to Florida State’s Patrick Williams. If he’s still on the board at No. 5, Detroit may have interest in moving up to land him — or to leapfrog Atlanta at No. 6 for Tyrese Haliburton, Fedor suggests.

According to Fedor, the Cavs have their eye on a number of players in the second tier of the draft, including Toppin, Haliburton, Deni Avdija, and Isaac Okoro, among others. Moving down to No. 7 or No. 8 could allow them to “declutter their options” while picking up an extra asset or two.

It’s unclear how interested the Cavaliers would be in moving all the way down to No. 14, which is Boston’s top first-rounder. Cleveland sees a drop in talent after the top 10 or 11 prospects in this year’s draft class, says Fedor. There has been some speculation about a possible Gordon Hayward trade involving the Cavs and Celtics, but it’s not clear if that’s something the two sides have even discussed.

Trade Rumors: Celtics, Hayward, Kings, Magic, Fournier, More

The Celtics continue to search for potential pathways to get into the top three of tonight’s NBA draft, league sources tell Marc Stein of The New York Times (Twitter link). An earlier report suggested the C’s haven’t had much luck gaining traction on a move into the mid-lottery using their current three first-round picks (Nos. 14, 26, and 30).

It’s unclear if a potential deal involving Gordon Hayward would provide a path for the Celtics to move up in the draft. Adam Himmelsbach of The Boston Globe (Twitter link) hears that the team is “mostly in a holding pattern” with Hayward for the time being.

Following up on a Tuesday report which indicated that the Hawks are eyeing Hayward, Jared Weiss of The Athletic cites a person familiar with the forward’s thinking who says Hayward wants to be a core part of a winning team and may not be interested in a move to Atlanta. Weiss wonders if the report linking Hayward to the Hawks may have been leaked to increase the 30-year-old’s leverage as he weighs his player option decision.

Meanwhile, in his latest Hoop Collective podcast, ESPN’s Brian Windhorst theorized that the Cavaliers, who hold the No. 5 pick, could be a landing spot for Hayward. Cleveland has interest in Hayward, according to Windhorst, who speculated that the Cavs and Celtics could be open to a deal that involves Andre Drummond and a draft-pick swap. Of course, if Hayward is prioritizing playing for a contender, he may try to angle to avoid a move to Cleveland.

Here are a few more trade-related notes and rumors, with the draft around the corner:

  • Also in Windhorst’s latest Hoop Collective podcast, he and colleague Zach Lowe identified the Kings and Magic as two teams that may be looking to get a little younger this offseason rather than being content with competing again for the No. 8 seed. Nemanja Bjelica was identified by Lowe as a possible trade candidate to watch in Sacramento, while Windhorst added that Orlando would likely be open to moving Evan Fournier.
  • Brad Townsend of The Dallas Morning News (Twitter link) wouldn’t be surprised if the Mavericks renew their interest in shooting guard Danny Green, who is being sent to Oklahoma City in a deal for Dennis Schröder. Dallas attempted to sign Green in free agency a year ago, and the rebuilding Thunder are unlikely to be too attached to him.
  • Although the Nuggets had interest in acquiring Jrue Holiday, they were surprised by what it cost Milwaukee to land him and didn’t feel pressure to make as significant an offer as the Bucks did, as Mike Singer of The Denver Post explains.

Draft Rumors: Hornets, Ball, Wolves, Cavs, Achiuwa, Hawks, More

Assuming the Hornets keep the No. 3 pick in tonight’s NBA draft, team owner Michael Jordan has given the “stamp of approval” to select LaMelo Ball, league sources tell Kevin O’Connor of The Ringer. James Wiseman has long been considered to be atop Charlotte’s wish list, but if he and Anthony Edwards are the first two players off the board, Ball may be the top prospect available.

O’Connor suggests that “at this stage” it seems as if USC big man Onyeka Okongwu is no longer in serious consideration for the Hornets at No. 3. It’s worth noting that ESPN’s Brian Windhorst said on his Hoop Collective podcast that there has been some medical-related chatter on Okongwu recently that could affect his stock, though Windhorst cautioned that may just be a smokescreen from a team with interest in him.

Here are several more rumors worth passing along, as we prepare for what should be an eventful 2020 NBA draft:

  • Jonathan Wasserman of Bleacher Report (Twitter link) is hearing that the Timberwolves continue to operate as if they don’t want to pick at No. 1. Sources tell Wasserman that Minnesota is even signaling it could make a pick for another team – such as Wiseman for the Hornets – and try to figure out a deal later.
  • According to O’Connor, the Cavaliers are interested in potentially trading down a little and still selecting Dayton forward Obi Toppin, who has been linked to them frequently as a potential target at No. 5. O’Connor suggests the Pistons (No. 7) could be one potential trade partner for the Cavs if Detroit wants to move up to secure Florida State’s Patrick Williams.
  • Sources tell both O’Connor and Jon Krawczynski of The Athletic that the Wizards (No. 9) are high on Memphis power forward Precious Achiuwa. Krawczynski says the Suns (No. 10) are “fond of” Achiuwa as well.
  • Conversations between the Hawks and Timberwolves about a swap that would send the No. 6 pick to Minnesota for No. 17 and Jarrett Culver have stalled, per Chris Kirschner of The Athletic. Atlanta would be open to the idea, but the Wolves have become hesitant about moving Culver unless it helps them land a star, according to Kirschner and Krawczynski. Kirschner adds that talks between the Hawks and teams looking to move up in the draft have “cooled down” as of late.
  • While the Celtics have explored packaging their three first-round picks (Nos. 14, 26, and 30) to move into the mid-lottery, teams in that range have indicated they’d like to stay there, tweets Adam Himmelsbach of The Boston Globe.