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World Cup Notes: Exhibition, Australia, Free Agency, Clarkson

August 22nd, 2019 at 1:33pm CST by Arthur Hill

Team USA got the test it was hoping for in today’s exhibition matchup with Australia, writes Tim Reynolds of The Associated Press. Playing before more than 51,000 fans in Melbourne, the Americans trailed briefly in the second and third quarters before pulling away for a 102-86 victory.

“One of our big mantras has been ‘composure and poise,’” coach Gregg Popovich said. “Things are going to go the other way in some games. And the way you respond to that is really the measure of how you’re going to do.”

Popovich put together a challenging exhibition schedule to test his team before World Cup play officially starts at the end of the month. After facing second-ranked Spain last week, Team USA is playing a pair of games against Australia, then taking on Canada.

There’s more World Cup news to pass along:

Before the game, Popovich told reporters he sees Australia as a legitimate threat for the gold medal, per an Associated Press story. The Boomers feature several NBA players and have a core that has been together for a long time. “They are one of the teams that can win the whole thing, without a doubt,” Popovich said. “I’m not saying that because I’m here. It’s just a fact. They’ve been close for several years, and they are hungry. They are talented. They have the toughness and physicality to go with it. I think they are one of the top contenders.”
International play has frequently set up future free agent moves, notes Douglas Farmer of Basketball Insiders. He singles out Jayson Tatum and Donovan Mitchell as two players who could work well together, although both are expected to sign rookie scale extensions with their current teams, so that partnership may not be formed until 2027. Among 2020 free agents, Mason Plumlee and Joe Harris are both role players who could be valuable in the right situation. Farmer expects the four Celtics on the World Cup team to talk to Plumlee about coming to Boston, while Khris Middleton and Brook Lopez may sell Harris on the Bucks.
Cavaliers guard Jordan Clarkson won’t be part of the Philippines team, relays Emiliano Carchia of Sportando. The nation included Clarkson’s name on the 19-man pool it submitted to FIBA just in case he was declared eligible, but head coach Yeng Guiao announced Wednesday that the team is moving on without him.

Former Coach Blatt Battling M.S.

August 19th, 2019 at 8:45pm CST by Dana Gauruder

Former Cavaliers coach David Blatt is battling multiple sclerosis but plans to continue coaching, according to an Associated Press report. He’s currently the coach of the Greek team Olympiacos Piraeus. “I am a coach and my job is to lead and teach and inspire a lot of people,” Blatt wrote in the statement. “Not being as agile or active doesn’t affect my ability to do those things.”

Peers Choose Zion, Morant As Top Rookie Of Year Candidates

August 19th, 2019 at 5:36pm CST by Dana Gauruder

Top pick Zion Williamson of the Pelicans is considered the favorite to win the Rookie of the Year award by his peers, but he’s not a clear-cut choice. The second pick in the draft, point guard Ja Morant of the Grizzlies, finished a close second in the voting. However, that might not be such a good thing for either player.

For the 11th time in 13 years, John Schuhmann of NBA.com got the opportunity to ask the NBA’s incoming crop of rookies a series of questions related to their fellow draftees.

Historically, the NBA rookies haven’t been soothsayers. They haven’t accurately identified a Rookie of the Year winner since Kevin Durant in 2007/08. Last season, Deandre Ayton and Collin Sexton were considered the co-favorites. Luka Doncic ended up winning the award with Trae Young finishing a solid second.

Here’s some of the highlights from the survey:

Williamson got 35% of the vote for the Rookie of the Year prize, while Morant received 27% backing. No one else got more than 5%.
Nuggets second-round pick Bol Bol and Cavaliers’ late first-rounder Kevin Porter Jr. were considered the steals of the draft, with each getting 19% of the vote.
Two players stood out to their peers as being the best defenders in the draft — the Sixers’ Matisse Thybulle and the Hawks’ De’Andre Hunter. Thybulle collected 37% of the votes in that category, while Hunter received 29% backing.
By a wide margin, Williamson was chosen as the most athletic rookie, garnering 87% of the votes. Morant was selected as the best ball-handler, receiving 40% of those votes.
The Heat‘s Tyler Herro (33%) edged out the Kings’ Kyle Guy (29%) as the best shooter.
LeBron James (38%) got the highest total in the ‘Favorite player in the league’ category with Kevin Durant (20%) finishing second.

Cavaliers Sign Jarell Martin

August 16th, 2019 at 3:31pm CST by Luke Adams

The Cavaliers have signed free agent forward Jarell Martin to a one-year, non-guaranteed deal, reports ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski (Twitter link). According to Chris Fedor of Cleveland.com (Twitter link), Martin will get the opportunity to compete in training camp for one of the team’s open roster spots.

Martin, 25, was selected out of LSU with the No. 25 overall pick in the 2015 draft. He spent the first three seasons of his NBA career with the Grizzlies before being dealt to the Magic in July 2018.

Martin didn’t play much of a role in Orlando in 2018/19, averaging 2.7 PPG and 1.7 RPG in 42 games (7.8 MPG). His best season came in Memphis a year earlier when he recorded 7.7 PPG and 4.4 RPG in 73 contests (22.8 MPG) for the Grizzlies.

Currently, the Cavaliers have 16 players under contracts, including 13 on guaranteed deals and one on a two-way contract. However, the club has also reportedly agreed to sign Sindarius Thornwell, J.P. Macura, and Marques Bolden. Assuming those deals – and Martin’s – are finalized, Cleveland would be at its 20-man offseason roster limit.

Malik Newman and Levi Randolph are already on non-guaranteed contracts with the Cavs, so they’d presumably compete with Thornwell, Macura, Bolden, and Martin for the open roster spot(s) and possibly a two-way contract slot.

Central Notes: Bender, Thompson, Clarkson, Beasley

August 11th, 2019 at 10:30am CST by Arthur Hill

The Cavaliers decided not to make a stronger play for Dragan Bender because he would have required too much guaranteed money, according to Chris Fedor of Cleveland.com. Bender signed a two-year, $3.5MM deal with the Bucks last month that includes a partial guarantee of about $600K. Cleveland was hesitant to give that much to a player who wouldn’t have been a sure thing to make the roster.

After being selected with the fourth pick in the 2016 draft, Bender put up three uninspiring years in Phoenix, including averages of 5.0 points and 4.0 rebounds in 46 games last season. He was an unrestricted free agent because the Suns declined his fourth-year option in October.

Instead of giving money to Bender, the Cavs opted for former Clippers guard Sindarius Thornwell, who will come to camp on a non-guaranteed minimum contract. With Cleveland less than $3MM away from the luxury tax line, guaranteeing money for a player like Bender would have been risky.

There’s more from the Central Division:

Tristan Thompson and Jordan Clarkson would have been available for trades earlier this summer, Fedor adds in the same story. Both will be free agents next July, and moving their salaries ($18.5MM for Thompson and $13.4MM for Clarkson) could offer the chance for cap relief. With training camp about six weeks away, Fedor doesn’t expect the Cavaliers to move either player soon, but their names should resurface closer to the February deadline.
Michael Beasley‘s agreement with the Pistons is expected to be non-guaranteed, according to Vince Ellis of The Detroit Free Press. Beasley will battle Christian Wood, who was claimed off waivers last month, for the final roster spot. With the signing of Derrick Rose, Detroit has added the top two picks in the 2008 draft this summer.
Better ball movement will be an emphasis for the Bulls this year, writes Mark Strotman of NBC Sports Chicago. The team ranked near the bottom of the league last season in assist ratio, effective field goal percentage and several other key offensive categories. Chicago is counting on several offseason additions, such as the signing of Thaddeus Young, to help improve in those areas.

Six NBA Players On Australia’s World Cup Roster

August 7th, 2019 at 9:59am CST by Luke Adams

Team Australia has formally announced its 12-man roster for the 2019 World Cup, and the group features six NBA players.

Aron Baynes (Suns), Joe Ingles (Jazz), Patty Mills (Spurs), Matthew Dellavedova (Cavaliers), and Jonah Bolden (Sixers) are part of the 12-man squad. So is former No. 1 pick Andrew Bogut, who is technically back under contract with the NBL’s Sydney Kings, but was part of the Warriors team that appeared in the NBA Finals this spring.

Australia’s roster is rounded out by NBL players Cameron Gliddon, Chris Goulding, Nathan Sobey, and Nicholas Kay, along with Jock Landale and Xavier Cooks. Landale currently plays for Lithuanian club Zalgiris Kaunas, while Cooks is a member of SIG Strasbourg in France.

Although Team Australia has a strong roster, there are no guarantees that the squad will make a deep run in next month’s event. The Boomers finds themselves in Group H, which features a handful of tough competitors — Lithuania, Canada, and Senegal. Only the top two teams will advance to the second round.

Cavs Sign Levi Randolph, Malik Newman

August 6th, 2019 at 2:55pm CST by Luke Adams

The Cavaliers have signed a pair of G League players, Levi Randolph and Malik Newman, to standard contracts, per RealGM’s log of official NBA transactions. RealGM classifies them as one-year deals, so they’re likely Exhibit 10 contracts.

Randolph, 26, is a 6’6″ guard who spent the 2018/19 season playing for the Canton Charge. He averaged 14.6 PPG, 4.1 RPG, and 2.0 APG with a .478/.451/.765 shooting line in 50 games (31.4 MPG). Assuming Randolph returns to Canton for the coming season, he’ll likely be in line for a bonus worth $50K, assuming his deal is in fact an Exhibit 10 contract.

Meanwhile, the Cavs probably also view Newman as a returning-rights player for the Charge. After going undrafted out of Kansas in 2018, the 6’3″ guard briefly signed a two-way contract with the Lakers, then caught on with the Heat for training camp. He eventually made his way to the G League, appearing in 17 games for the Sioux Falls Skyforce before Miami’s affiliate traded him to Canton for the rest of the season.

In 25 games off the bench for the Charge, Newman averaged 12.0 PPG, 3.0 RPG, and 2.1 APG in 24.5 minutes per contest. He also suited up for Cleveland’s Summer League squad last month in Las Vegas.

The Cavs now have 16 players under contract, including 13 on guaranteed standard deals and one on a two-way pact. Marques Bolden, J.P. Macura, and Sindarius Thornwell are also expected to sign non-guaranteed contracts with the club.

Sindarius Thornwell To Sign With Cavaliers

August 3rd, 2019 at 6:09pm CST by Arthur Hill

6:52pm: Thornwell’s new contract will be non-guaranteed, according to Chris Fedor of Cleveland.com.

6:09pm: The Cavaliers will sign Sindarius Thornwell to a one-year contract, tweets Shams Charania of The Athletic. The agreement was confirmed by Thornwell’s agent, Andy Shiffman of Priority Sports.

The 24-year-old shooting guard spent his first two NBA seasons with the Clippers after being taken with the 48th pick in the 2017 draft. Thornwell played 15.8 minutes in 73 games as a rookie, but those numbers dropped to 4.9 minutes in 64 games last season. He averaged 2.5 PPG during his time in L.A.

He became a free agent when the Clippers waived him last month before his $1,618,520 salary for next season would have become fully guaranteed on July 20.

The signing will bring Cleveland to 14 players officially under contract, along with one two-way player, plus the expected additions of Marques Bolden and J.P. Macura. Teams can bring 20 players into training camp.

David Griffin Clarifies Comments On LeBron

August 2nd, 2019 at 6:08pm CST by Dana Gauruder

Pelicans executive VP David Griffin clarified on Friday his comments in a Sports Illustrated article that indicated he was miserable running the Cavaliers when LeBron James was there, according to an ESPN report.

During an appearance on ESPN’s The Jump, Griffin said he didn’t have any issues with James and that his problems in Cleveland were centered around the pressure of building a championship team.

In the SI story, Griffin was quoted as saying it was frustrating working for an organization where “LeBron is getting all the credit and none of the blame. And that’s not fun for people. They don’t like being part of that world.”

Griffin and a confidant of James spoke after the SI story was published, according to ESPN, and Griffin claimed some statements were taken out of context.

“The fact that there was so much scrutiny in everything that we did, when I was speaking about being uncomfortable and being miserable, it was my inability to deal with that media scrutiny,” Griffin said. “It wasn’t the man himself. It was everything that came with a team led by LeBron James. It had nothing to do with being miserable with LeBron. We had and have a very positive relationship.”

Another controversial part of the SI piece was that Griffin seemingly questioned the future Hall of Famer’s desire to win after the Cavaliers won the championship.

Griffin put the blame on himself during the TV interview for failing to instill a sense of urgency following the title run.

“My fear at that time was that [James] wouldn’t have that same animal-like desire to win. And what we’ve seen is he’s gone to multiple Finals since, so it was an unfounded fear,” Griffin said.

You can watch some of the Griffin interview here.

David Griffin: I Was “Miserable” During Time With Cavs

August 1st, 2019 at 9:10pm CST by Luke Adams

David Griffin enjoyed a successful run as the Cavaliers‘ general manager, winning a championship in 2016 and guiding the team to three consecutive appearances in the NBA Finals until his departure in 2017. However, he tells Jake Fischer of SI.com that the pressure he was under in Cleveland and his fixation on winning made him “miserable” and caused him to lose his love of the game during his time as the Cavs’ GM.

“Everything we did was so inorganic and unsustainable and, frankly, not fun. I was miserable,” Griffin said of building the Cavaliers into a contender. “Literally the moment we won the championship I knew I was gonna leave. There was no way I was gonna stay for any amount of money.”

Fischer’s story paints LeBron James‘ return to Cleveland and his year-to-year contracts as major factors that contributed to Griffin’s stress. The current Pelicans head of basketball operations acknowledged that James’ larger-than-life presence could contribute to what Fischer calls “combustible” conditions in the workplace.

“The reason is LeBron is getting all the credit and none of the blame. And that’s not fun for people,” Griffin said. “They don’t like being part of that world.”

Griffin also theorized that after the Cavaliers knocked off the Warriors to win the 2016 NBA Finals, James’ hunger to win championships may have waned to some extent.

“There wasn’t a lot else for him,” Griffin told Fischer. “I don’t think he’s the same animal anymore about winning.”

While Griffin’s quotes appear somewhat incendiary on the surface, it’s worth noting that James himself has said multiple times since 2016 that he feels he has nothing left to prove as a basketball player. In one interview, he referred to any future accomplishments as “icing on the cake,” and Fischer notes that many people around the league believe LeBron’s top priorities now are to eventually play in the NBA with his son and to own a franchise. That doesn’t mean that he’s no longer driven to win championships, but it provides some added context for Griffin’s comments.

Additionally, a source familiar with Griffin’s thinking tells Dave McMenamin of ESPN that the Pelicans executive had no intention of blaming James for creating an unfavorable atmosphere in Cleveland — he was instead referring to the “media machine” surrounding the four-time MVP. ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski adds (via Twitter) that the joylessness Griffin felt during the Cavs’ title run was related to “the scrutiny and unforgiving pressure” of the job — not to LeBron.

Still, sources close to James told ESPN that they were “shocked” by Griffin’s characterization of the Lakers star. According to McMenamin, a person close to LeBron spoke to Griffin after the SI story was published and Griffin said in that conversation that some context was missing from his comments. Sources tell ESPN that James’ camp encouraged the Pelicans’ top executive to issue an on-the-record clarification.

Here are a few more items of note related to Griffin, the Cavs, and the Pelicans:

Referring to the roster-building process and the culture in Cleveland, Griffin offered the following assessment, via Fischer: “We won despite our culture to a huge degree. And I knew it. I knew what we weren’t doing. There were so many things during that period of time that I wanted to do differently. If you make everything about, ‘It’s a destination. Damn the torpedoes, I gotta get there,’ that might be the only time you get there.”
Pivoting to his current team, Griffin told Fischer that the Pelicans – despite being perceived as a rebuilding club – are ready to potentially be a buyer at the 2020 trade deadline if the playoffs are within sight. “People are gonna be like, ‘What the f— are they doing?'” Griffin said. “We’re trying to win basketball games!”
According to Fischer, some members of the Pelicans’ scouting department had Nickeil Alexander-Walker ranked as high as fourth on their boards entering the 2019 draft. New Orleans selected him with the No. 17 overall pick.