- Jaron Blossomgame‘s non-guaranteed deal with Houston doesn’t feature an Exhibit 10 clause, Chris Fedor of Cleveland.com hears. That may be a hint that the Rockets don’t expect Blossomgame to play for their G League team. His NBAGL rights are still held by the Canton Charge, the Cavaliers‘ affiliate.
The Cavaliers are expected to be without one of their three 2019 first-round picks to start the season. According to a press release issued today by the team, rookie guard Dylan Windler experienced discomfort in his lower leg and was diagnosed with a left tibial stress reaction. He’s expected to return in about four to six weeks after undergoing treatment and rehab.
Windler, who turned 23 last Sunday, was the 26th overall pick in this year’s draft, joining Darius Garland (No. 5) and Kevin Porter (No. 30) in the Cavs’ rookie class. He’s coming off an impressive senior season at Belmont, in which he averaged 21.3 PPG and 10.8 RPG with a .540/.429/.847 shooting line in 33 games.
A source tells Chris Fedor of Cleveland.com that the Cavs are “not overly concerned” about the injury and that it just needs some time to heal. It doesn’t sound like an issue that should linger and derail Windler’s rookie season.
With Windler out, the Cavs find themselves somewhat thin at small forward behind Cedi Osman. As Fedor notes, the injury may create an opportunity for Porter to play regular minutes at the three in the preseason and at the start of the regular season.
The Cavaliers have made a change to their 20-man offseason roster, signing former first-round pick Timothe Luwawu-Cabarrot and waiving Alex Robinson to create the necessary roster spot. Joe Vardon of The Athletic first reported (via Twitter) the Cavs’ agreement with Luwawu-Cabarrot, while RealGM’s transactions log confirms both moves are official.
The 24th overall pick in the 2016 draft, Luwawu-Cabarrot spent his first two seasons in Philadelphia before being traded from the Sixers to the Thunder in the Dennis Schroder three-team trade in July 2018. After suiting up for Oklahoma City for the first half of 2018/19, the 24-year-old forward was traded again to Chicago in February.
In 171 total games for his three NBA teams, TLC has averaged 5.7 PPG and 1.9 RPG with a .387/.320/.820 shooting line. While he has yet to develop into a fully reliable NBA rotation player, he’ll get a chance to compete for a roster spot on the rebuilding Cavs, who only have 13 players on guaranteed contracts.
As for Robinson, he may be ticketed for the Canton Charge as an affiliate player unless another team scoops him up before the season begins. The undrafted guard out of TCU would be eligible for a bonus of up to $50K if he spends two months in the G League with the Charge.
- Joe Gabriele of NBA.com examines Cedi Osman‘s mindset entering his third season with the Cavaliers. Osman, 24, is looking to build off an international experience with Turkey in the FIBA World Cup this summer. The young forward, who is extension-eligible, averaged 13 points, 4.7 rebounds and 32.2 minutes in 76 games with Cleveland last season.
Possible extensions for Malik Beasley and Juancho Hernangomez are the last pieces of business the Nuggets may address before the opening of training camp, writes Mike Singer of The Denver Post. Denver’s front office acted quickly to give Jamal Murray a max extension, but the others aren’t clear-cut decisions, and Singer examines the positives and negatives of reaching deals with both players before the October 21 deadline.
Beasley emerged as a valuable bench player last season after injuries to Gary Harris and Will Barton. He averaged 15.9 PPG and shot 55% from the field as a starter, including 50% on 3-pointers. He enters this season as Harris’ primary backup, but still needs to improve on defense before coach Michael Malone will be comfortable playing him late in games. Singer speculates that based on last year’s performance, Beasley may want to skip an extension and try his luck as a restricted free agent next summer.
Hernangomez is coming off an injury-plagued season that saw him fall out of the rotation by the second half of the season. He had core surgery after the season ended and is coming off a strong performance with Spain’s gold medal-winning World Cup team. Hernangomez doesn’t have an established role and figures to compete for playing time with Barton, Torrey Craig, Michael Porter Jr. and Jerami Grant.
There’s more today from Denver:
- It may be time for the Nuggets to move some of their depth in exchange for an established star, suggests Nick Kosmider of The Athletic. If the Wizards decide to part with Bradley Beal, for example, Kosmider believes Denver could put together a competitive offer involving Harris, Porter and a future first-rounder or possibly Hernangomez, Monte Morris, Beasley and a future pick. Other possible targets could include Kevin Love, Jeff Teague or one of the Raptors‘ veterans.
- Bol Bol may spend his entire rookie season in the G League, Kosmider states in a mailbag column. Bol was a highly touted college prospect before injuries cut his season short, and the Nuggets view him as a project that will take time to develop, Kosmider adds, which is why he was signed to a two-way contract. Bol’s progress may be complicated because Denver doesn’t have a direct G League affiliate, which means much of the work will be done by another organization.
- Vlatko Cancar may be in the same position, but his standard contract gives him a better chance to win a role in training camp, Kosmider notes in the same piece.
Hoops Rumors is breaking down the 2019 offseason for all 30 NBA teams, revisiting the summer’s free agent signings, trades, draft picks, departures, and more. We’ll evaluate each team’s moves from the last several months and look ahead to what the 2019/20 season holds for all 30 franchises. Today, we’re focusing on the Cleveland Cavaliers.
Signings:
- Standard contracts:
- None
- Two-way contracts:
- Dean Wade
- Non-guaranteed camp contracts:
- Marques Bolden: One year, minimum salary (Exhibit 10).
- Daniel Hamilton: One year, minimum salary (Exhibit 10).
- J.P. Macura: One year, minimum salary (Exhibit 10).
- Jarell Martin: One year, minimum salary (Exhibit 10).
- Alex Robinson: One year, minimum salary (Exhibit 10).
- Sindarius Thornwell: One year, minimum salary (Exhibit 10).
- Malik Newman: One year, minimum salary (Exhibit 10) (Waived).
- Levi Randolph: One year, minimum salary (Exhibit 10) (Waived).
Trades:
- Acquired the draft rights to Kevin Porter Jr. (No. 30 pick) from the Pistons in exchange for the Jazz’s 2020 second-round pick, the Trail Blazers’ 2021 second-round pick, the Trail Blazers’ 2023 second-round pick, the Heat’s 2024 second-round pick (top-55 protected), and cash ($5MM).
Draft picks:
- 1-5: Darius Garland — Signed to rookie contract.
- 1-26: Dylan Windler — Signed to rookie contract.
- 1-30: Kevin Porter Jr. — Signed to rookie contract (worth less than 120% of the rookie scale).
Departing players:
- Deng Adel (two-way)
- Jaron Blossomgame (two-way)
- Marquese Chriss
- Channing Frye (retired)
- David Nwaba
- J.R. Smith (waived)
- Nik Stauskas
Other offseason news:
- Parted ways with head coach Larry Drew.
- Hired John Beilein as head coach.
- Hired J.B. Bickerstaff as associate head coach.
- Hired Lindsay Gottlieb as assistant coach.
- Team owner Dan Gilbert hospitalized with stroke symptoms.
Salary cap situation:
- Remained over the cap.
- Carrying approximately $129.77MM in salary.
- Taxpayer mid-level exception ($5,718,000) still available.
- Note: The Cavaliers are below the tax apron ($138.93MM) and could theoretically use the non-taxpayer mid-level exception and/or bi-annual exception, but wouldn’t be able to use those exceptions in full while staying below the apron.
Story of the summer:
LeBron James hasn’t suited up for the Cavaliers since June of 2018, but the franchise remains very much in transition mode following his departure. Most of the team’s expensive contracts for veteran players who were acquired to play alongside James won’t expire until after the 2019/20 season, meaning they were still clogging the cap this summer.
With all those contracts on the books, the Cavs had little flexibility to do anything in free agency. And since most of those vets on expiring deals don’t have positive trade value, the club also didn’t have much leverage to get anything done on the trade market.
As such, the Cavs had essentially completed their offseason work by the end of draft night. The team hired a new head coach in the spring, then added three first-round prospects at the draft. One of those three first-rounders – Kevin Porter Jr. – was acquired in Cleveland’s only trade in the offseason, and the cap-strapped club didn’t sign a single veteran free agent to a guaranteed contract.
While the Cavs may have liked to make a few more moves and accelerate their rebuild a little, their cap situation necessitated patience. The organization will be in a better position to be more active at this year’s trade deadline or in the 2020 offseason.
- Jordan Clarkson and Tristan Thompson are the Cavaliers veterans with the most trade value beyond Kevin Love, according to Chris Fedor of the Cleveland Plain Dealer. Matthew Dellavedova, John Henson and Brandon Knight rank next in terms of trade value, as all have expiring contracts, Fedor notes, but none are core pieces.
- Kevin Love is organizing a minicamp for his Cavaliers teammates in New York next week, Chris Fedor of Cleveland.com reports. Cedi Osman and Matthew Dellavedova won’t be able to make it, since they are participating in the FIBA World Cup. Most of the other team members are expected to show up, including first-round picks Darius Garland, Kevin Porter Jr. and Dylan Windler.
Training camps are still several weeks away from opening, but a number of NBA teams have already reached their 20-player offseason roster limits, either officially or unofficially.
Offseason rosters are fairly fluid. Teams will often sign a player to an Exhibit 10 contract to ensure he’ll receive a bonus if he spends time with their G League affiliate, then waive him days later. So the clubs with full 20-man rosters now won’t necessarily bring those specific 20 players to training camp. Still, it appears that at least a handful of teams may be done making roster moves until camps open.
With the help of our roster count tracker, here’s a breakdown:
Officially full 20-man rosters:
- Cleveland Cavaliers
- Indiana Pacers
- Los Angeles Clippers
- Los Angeles Lakers
- Memphis Grizzlies
- Milwaukee Bucks
- Utah Jazz
While the Cavaliers are carrying 19 players on standard contracts and just one on a two-way deal, the six other teams listed here have an 18/2 split and probably won’t have their camp invitees compete for a two-way slot.
Still, a few roster decisions are likely in store for some teams on this list. The Grizzlies, for instance, are carrying 17 players with full or partial guarantees, and probably won’t still have Andre Iguodala on their roster by the time they set their 15-man regular season roster.
Unofficially full 20-man rosters:
- Charlotte Hornets
- Detroit Pistons
- Minnesota Timberwolves
Each of these three teams technically has 19 players under contract, with one roster spot still open. However, Kobi Simmons is expected to fill that final spot for the Hornets, Michael Beasley will do so for the Pistons, and Tyus Battle will be the Timberwolves‘ 20th man.
Very unofficially full 20-man rosters:
- New Orleans Pelicans
- New York Knicks
The Pelicans have 18 players under contract, but various post-draft reports in June indicated that they’d sign Jalen Adams, Aubrey Dawkins, and Javon Bess at some point. It’s possible one or more of those reports was erroneous, or the agreements fell apart. For now though, we’re assuming some combination of those players will fill out New Orleans’ 20-man roster.
The Knicks are in a similar boat, with 16 players officially signed and five other contract agreements reported. Deals with Kris Wilkes, V.J. King, and Amir Hinton were reported in June, while July and August reports indicated that New York would also sign Kenny Wooten and Lamar Peters. We’re still waiting to see if the team finalizes all those signings.
There have been conversations between Cavaliers general manager Koby Altman and agent Jeff Schwartz about a possible contract extension for Cedi Osman, writes Chris Fedor of Cleveland.com. However, Fedor cautions that those have been “just initial talks.”
As Fedor details, the Cavaliers wanted to allow Osman to focus on his World Cup commitment before more seriously exploring a potential extension. Turkey was eliminated from medal contention earlier today following a loss to the Czech Republic, so Osman’s FIBA run will come to an end once the Turkish squad finishes its classification-round play.
Osman, 24, enjoyed a breakout season for the Cavs in 2018/19, starting 75 games and averaging 13.0 PPG, 4.7 RPG, and 2.6 APG with a .427/.348/.779 shooting line.
Although he’s not technically eligible for a rookie scale extension, having been a second-round pick, Osman qualifies for a veteran extension since it has been over two years since he signed his first NBA contract. Such an extension could be worth up to approximately $51MM over four years.
According to Fedor, Cleveland isn’t necessarily in any rush to extend Osman now, since he’ll be a restricted free agent next summer when the team will have a ton of salary coming off its books. Still, if the numbers discussed between the two sides make sense, the Cavs wouldn’t be averse to locking up one of their long-term building blocks sooner rather than later.