- Forward Cedi Osman is considered part of the Cavaliers’ future core, Chris Fedor of the Cleveland Plain Dealer reports in his latest mailbag. The team could sign Osman to an extension this summer but there hasn’t been any talk of doing that yet, Fedor continues. However, he’s a front-office favorite and has made positive strides in recent months. He’s shown signs of being more than just a bench rotation player and his 3-point shooting has improved, Fedor adds.
Cavaliers rookie Collin Sexton has learned from his mistakes during his first NBA season, adjusting as the year progresses and becoming more comfortable in late-game situations.
As noted by Chris Fedor of Cleveland.com, Sexton had several teachable moments earlier in the season that included getting his shot blocked late in Chicago, having a couple scoreless fourth quarters and more.
However, since the beginning of March, Sexton has managed to raise his play to a different level. By scoring 25 points in the team’s win over Milwaukee on Wednesday, he became the first rookie to score 23 or more points in seven consecutive games since Tim Duncan in 1998. No other rookie in Cavaliers history has ever achieved the feat.
“I think that has been a big help to him,” coach Larry Drew said, according to Fedor. “I think failure can be one of your best teaching tools. I really believe that with Collin because he has had the opportunity to sit over there and watch late in the game and also been in situations where he has been out there late, and it’s not always going to turn out positive, but the most important thing is you learn from it. I think as we have progressed through this season he has done that. Think he has learned a great deal being out there, whether it comes up positive or negative at the end.”
The Cavs have mostly been hammered with injuries this season, holding the second-worst record in the Eastern Conference at 19-53. Nevertheless, the impressive late-season play from Sexton has been viewed as a positive for the young team focused on its future, bringing a different level of tenacity on both ends of the floor as the campaign winds down.
There’s more out of the Eastern Conference tonight:
- Kawhi Leonard has been everything the Raptors could’ve hoped for when they traded for him last summer, Doug Smith of the Toronto Star opines. Leonard has averaged a career-high 27.0 points, 7.5 rebounds and 1.8 steals in 52 games, shooting 49.6% from the floor and 37.0% from deep with his usual stellar defense. His production on both ends is a key reason why the Raptors have already clinched a playoff berth with a 51-21 record this season.
- Bulls forward Otto Porter Jr. won’t shy away from recruiting free agents to Chicago in the summer, Joe Cowley of the Chicago Sun-Times writes. “Of course,’’ Porter Jr. said. “Like I said, we’re going in the right direction, and once we continue to build and continue to grow here, I think when the league sees what we’re trying to do, people will want to join, for sure.’’ Chicago sports a talented young core alongside Porter that includes Kris Dunn, Zach LaVine, Lauri Markkanen and Wendell Carter Jr.
- The sudden turnaround of the Pistons might be Dwane Casey‘s greatest coaching job yet, Sean Deveney writes for Sporting News. Casey, who was named the NBA’s Coach of the Year last season, joined the Pistons in the summer and is in his first season with the franchise. Detroit is 14-6 since the start of February, working with the star tandem of Blake Griffin and Andre Drummond to generate success.
- Turkish native Cedi Osman is excited about the chance to face Team USA — and possibly Cavaliers teammate Kevin Love — in this year’s FIBA World Cup, relays Chris Fedor of Cleveland.com. Turkey has been slotted in Group E along with the United States, the Czech Republic and Japan. “We are going to shoot our shot and, of course, it’s going to be tough, but we’re going to try to do our best,” Osman said. Love is considering the tournament, but hasn’t committed yet after missing most of the season because of foot surgery.
Every week, Hoops Rumors takes a closer look at players who will be free agents or could become free agents next offseason. We examine if their stock is rising or falling due to performance and other factors. This week, we turn our attention to the Central Division:
Wayne Selden, Bulls, 24, SG (Down) – Signed to a two-year, $2.86MM deal in 2017
Selden was part of the Justin Holiday deal with the Grizzlies in January. He could be a restricted free agent if Chicago chooses to extend a $1.93MM qualifying offer. Selden hasn’t done anything to convince the front office to retain his rights. He had an 18-point game in a blowout loss to Detroit on Sunday but he’s mostly been a non-factor off the bench. He’s posted a minus 4.5 Box Plus/Minus Rating, according to Basketball-Reference, which runs parallel to his career rating.
David Nwaba, Cavaliers, 26, SG (Down) – Signed to a one-year, $1.5MM deal in 2018
Injuries and a lack of production have made this a ho-hum season for Nwaba, who is playing for his third team in three years. He’s had occasional outbursts, such as a 22-point outing against Brooklyn this month, but has otherwise done little to dent the stat sheet. He can be a restricted free agent if the front office extends a low-cost $1.89MM qualifying offer. The cash-strapped Cavs will probably decline that option unless they see him as a rotation piece going forward.
Jose Calderon, Pistons, 37, PG (Down) – Signed to a one-year, $2.39MM deal in 2018
Calderon has carved out a nice, long NBA career that began in the 2005/06 season with Toronto. He rejoined his former Raptors coach, Dwane Casey, in Detroit as a third-string point guard after some good moments in Cleveland last season. It hasn’t gone well. Father Time has clearly caught up to Calderon, who was exposed when primary backup Ish Smith was sidelined by a adductor injury. This is likely Calderon’s last hurrah, though he could remain in the league as a coach if he so chooses.
Thaddeus Young, Pacers, 30, PF (Up) — Signed to a four-year, $54MM deal in 2015
A steady, durable big man, Young has been a consistent contributor throughout his career. This year might be best, reinforcing his value in a walk year. His Box Plus/Minus rating on Basketball-Reference is a career-best 3.1 and coach Nate McMillan has flowed with praise over Young’s play and leadership. Young doesn’t post big numbers, but he fills the stat sheet and provides intangibles that endears him to teammates and coaches. He should receive another pricey, multiyear offer this summer.
Malcolm Brogdon, Bucks, SG (Up) – Signed to a three-year, $3.78MM deal in 2016
An unlikely Rookie of the Year recipient after getting drafted in the second round, Brogdon has taken his play up a level or two after an injury-marred sophomore campaign. Starting for the current top seed in the East, Brogdon is averaging 15.6 PPG on 50.5% overall shooting. He’s a 42.6% shooter from distance and is virtually automatic at the free throw line (92.8%). He also rebounds well for his position and facilitates the offense (3.2 APG). Brogdon will be a restricted free agent and the Bucks may have to match a big offer sheet to retain him.
Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.
The idea that Lakers head coach Luke Walton is on the “hot seat” implies that he still has a chance to keep his job if things turn around, but that doesn’t appear to be the case, according to Martin Rogers of USA Today (video link).
Rogers hears from multiple sources that the Lakers are expected to move on from Walton at the end of the season, suggesting that president of basketball operations Magic Johnson and controlling owner Jeanie Buss are prepared to make a change.
Johnson and the Lakers have insisted for months that Walton will finish out the season with the team, but barring major unexpected developments in the coming weeks, it doesn’t look like the head coach’s stint in Los Angeles will last much longer than that.
Here’s more on Walton and the Lakers:
- Sean Deveney of Sporting News – who agrees that Walton “appears to be on a countdown to the end of his tenure in L.A.” – hears from a source that the Lakers’ head coach is viewed as a potential replacement in Phoenix if the Suns elect to move on from Igor Kokoskov this spring. It would be a little surprising if Kokoskov is fired just a year after joining the Suns, but the team is 16-53 and the GM who hired him (Ryan McDonough) is no longer with the organization, so stranger things have happened.
- The Cavaliers will be seeking a permanent head coach this spring and are expected to target a coach capable of developing their young prospects, per Deveney. Walton has some ties to Cleveland, having finished his playing career with the team when GM Koby Altman first joined the front office, so it’s possible he’d get a look from the Cavs, Deveney writes.
- Here’s what one source with knowledge of the situation said about Walton to Deveney: “He wants to stay in the game. For most front offices, I think you look at what he did in Golden State, what he did in L.A. before LeBron came, and you have to say he has a good, solid résumé developing players, dealing with stars. Have to think Phoenix would jump on him, if everything falls into place, but he might get a better offer.”
- As for Walton’s potential replacement in Los Angeles, Deveney suggests that LeBron James, Johnson, and Buss may all have different views on what kind of coach the Lakers should hire. Buss figures to support a “reasonable, qualified head coach who can please multiple factions,” according to Deveney, who cites former Pelicans coach Monty Williams as one example.
Even though J.R. Smith hasn’t played for the Cavaliers or been with the team since November, he still technically remains under contract with Cleveland. The Cavs explored possible trades before the deadline but couldn’t find anything to their liking. Rather than buying out Smith’s contract after the deadline though, the Cavs held onto him, indicating that they’d try again to move him in the offseason.
There are some good reasons for the Cavaliers to believe they can move Smith this summer, despite the fact that he didn’t look good to start the season and hasn’t appeared in a game in nearly four months. However, there are also a couple reasons why a deal might not be viable that have nothing to do with Smith’s on-court performance.
Let’s take a closer look at the situation…
Smith is a 33-year-old outside shooter who wasn’t shooting particularly well this season (.308 3PT%). He’s also earning $14.72MM. Why would he have positive trade value?
Ironically, the contract that made Smith difficult to move at this year’s trade deadline is the thing that could clear a path to an offseason deal. Once this season ends, a team with interest in trading for Smith wouldn’t have to worry about paying his $14.72MM salary for 2018/19. That club would only have to consider his $15.68MM salary for 2019/20.
How is that better?
That ’19/20 salary is only partially guaranteed for $3.87MM, meaning whichever team ends up with Smith wouldn’t be on the hook for the entire thing. If he’s waived by the end of June, a team could either leave the $3.87MM charge on its cap for 2019/20 or stretch it, spreading it across three years at a rate of $1.29MM annually.
What would be the point of trading for Smith just to waive him?
For teams that don’t necessarily project to have as much cap flexibility as they’d like this offseason, acquiring Smith in exchange for a player with a sizable guaranteed 2019/20 salary represents a fast track to creating that flexibility.
Between the day that the Cavaliers beat the Warriors to win the 2016 NBA Finals and the day Kevin Durant opted to sign with Golden State, Cleveland’s then-GM David Griffin gathered his staff and instructed them to look into possible paths to landing Durant, writes ESPN’s Zach Lowe. As Lowe explains, there was a fear after the Finals that KD would head to the Dubs, and even though the Cavs recognized they had little chance of securing a meeting with him, they wanted to do all they could to explore the possibility.
“I don’t believe you can dream big enough in the NBA,” Griffin told Lowe recently, looking back on that 2016 offseason. “You have to go through the exercise.”
Of course, Durant ultimately signed with the Warriors and the Cavaliers didn’t get a meeting. That second part, at least, came as no surprise, since Cleveland was one of just three clubs during the summer of 2016 that ended up staying over the salary cap despite a huge cap spike that created room for 27 other teams. It would have been extremely difficult for the Cavs to create space to sign Durant, and a sign-and-trade with Oklahoma City would have been a long shot, even if the star forward had considered Cleveland.
It’s hard to even view the Cavs’ failed run at Durant an intriguing what-if scenario, since it never got off the ground at all. Still, it’s a reminder that even the league’s most successful teams will do their due diligence to find ways they can add another star and become even more dangerous — even if the road to an acquisition seems improbable.
Here’s more from out of Cleveland:
- While many NBA observers and fans questioned the league’s decision to suspend Marquese Chriss for a game after he defended himself from a physical attack from Serge Ibaka, Cavs head coach Larry Drew thought it was the right call, as Chris Fedor of Cleveland.com relays. “Punches were thrown by both guys and I thought the ruling the league made was the right decision,” Drew said.
- When the Cavaliers acquired Brandon Knight from the Rockets at last month’s trade deadline, he was viewed as the salary dump necessary for Cleveland to secure Houston’s first-round pick. Since his arrival though, Knight has been a regular part of the club’s rotation and has showed flashes of his old self, Fedor writes for Cleveland.com. “He’s the Brandon that I remember,” Drew said. “Probably not as explosive as he’s been in the past, prior to the injury, but still a guy who has a tremendous work ethic and he competes. That’s the thing I admire about him and respect about him. He’s a team player and he’s going to give you everything he has when he’s on the floor.”
- Former Kings and Raptors swingman Malachi Richardson signed a G League contract and has been claimed off waivers by the Canton Charge, Cleveland’s NBAGL affiliate, a league source tells Adam Johnson of 2 Ways & 10 Days (Twitter link). Richardson was traded from Toronto to Philadelphia at last month’s deadline and was subsequently waived by the Sixers.
Raptors center Serge Ibaka has been suspended for three games for his involvement in an on-court altercation on Monday night, reports Shams Charania of The Athletic (Twitter link). Cavaliers big man Marquese Chriss, who was also involved in the incident, will get a one-game suspension, according to Charania. The NBA has confirmed the news in a press release.
The incident in question occurred at the end of the third quarter in Monday’s Raptors/Cavs matchup. After Ibaka and Chriss got tied up going for an inbounds pass, Ibaka fell to the floor and Chriss said something to him as he walked away. Ibaka immediately got to his feet and went after Chriss, grabbing him by the neck and pushing him into the basket stanchion. Both players threw punches – though none really connected – before the fight was broken up.
According to the NBA’s announcement, Chriss received a one-game ban for throwing a punch, while Ibaka received the longer suspension because he instigated the fight and has a history of similar incidents. Ibaka has received a pair of one-game suspensions in the past for separate altercations with Heat forward James Johnson and Bulls center Robin Lopez.
Ibaka, who will begin serving his suspension on Thursday night vs. the Lakers, will also miss Sunday’s game at Detroit and next Monday’s game vs. New York. His suspension will cost him approximately $448K – 3/145ths of his $21,666,667 salary – and will save the Raptors about $560K in luxury-tax penalties at season’s end, notes ESPN’s Bobby Marks (via Twitter).
As for Chriss, he’ll serve his one-game suspension tonight when the Cavs play in Philadelphia. His lost wages will equal $22,111 — 1/145th of his $3,206,160 salary.
- The Cavaliers should take a hard look at retaining guard David Nwaba, according to Chris Fedor of the Cleveland Plain Dealer. Nwaba will be a restricted free agent this summer if the Cavs extend a qualifying offer of approximately $1.9MM this summer. Given his injury-riddled season and the fact the team was able to sign him to a minimum contract last summer, it’s hard to envision another team prying him away, Fedor notes. But Nwaba has the second-best plus-minus rating on the team behind only Kevin Love, Fedor adds.
- During the Cavaliers‘ four-year run as Eastern champs, they ultimately gave up on Joe Harris, who has since evolved into an important contributor in Brooklyn. Now that they’re in the midst of a rebuild themselves, the Cavs are looking to find “value in the margins” by identifying players like Harris, who may slip through the cracks elsewhere, writes Jason Lloyd of The Athletic.