Cleveland Cavaliers Rumors | Hoops Rumors

Eastern Notes: Bledsoe, Cavaliers, Ross

December 4th, 2018 at 10:56pm CST by ChrisCrouse

The Knicks are expected to target superstar free agents this summer with Kevin Durant atop their wish list. Yet, they could be looking at the second tier of free agents if they miss out on one of the top stars and, according to Marc Berman of the New York Post, the team’s front office likes Eric Bledsoe‘s game.

The 28-year-old point guard is enjoying a career year for the Bucks and he would fill a major void for the Knicks should he sign with them in the offseason. New York has lacked stability at the position over the last few years.

Emmanuel Mudiay has shown flashes of potential this season, averaging 14.1 points per contest since becoming the starter 11 games ago. Still, the 22-year-old has flashed potential before, leading him to become the No. 7 overall pick in 2015, and it’s likely New York will at least consider upgrades once the season ends.

Here’s more from the Eastern Conference.

The Cavaliers aren’t interested in trading Kevin Love unless they are blown away by an offer, Chris Fedor of Cleveland.com writes. The franchise wants Love around for the long-haul when Collin Sexton is more seasoned and the team adds other young prospects.
Cedi Osman is still viewed as part of the Cavaliers‘ future, Fedor relays in the same piece. Osman has started 20 games for Cleveland this year and is averaging 11.2 points per game. However, he is shooting just 36.6% from the field.
Terrence Ross, who will be a free agent after the season, has evolved into a consistent threat for the Magic, John Denton of NBA.com details. Steady production has always been the shooting guard’s weakness, though this season, he’s been able to contribute on a nightly basis.

Alec Burks Hopes To Remain With Cavs

December 4th, 2018 at 9:00pm CST by ChrisCrouse

Alec Burks, who was shipped to Cleveland in the Kyle Korver deal, has only played three games with the Cavaliers so far, though he hopes to remain with his new team.

“Hopefully,” Burks responded when asked if Cleveland is where he wants to be (via Chris Fedor of Cleveland.com). “That’s not up to me. We will see what happens.”

Burks has an $11.5MM expiring contract and he may be one of the Cavs’ better trade chips. Instead of worrying about his upcoming free agency or the possibility of another trade, he’s viewing the new situation as an opportunity to showcase his ability. The team feels Burks is a good fit thanks to his play-making skills and athleticism.

“That’s his game. He attacks the basket,” coach Larry Drew said. “Because he’s so athletic, he can maneuver to the basket and get a shot off.”

Kevin Love Targeting Mid-January Return

December 4th, 2018 at 10:10am CST by Luke Adams

Kevin Love, who underwent foot surgery just over a month ago, is aiming to return to the court for the Cavaliers in mid-January, according to Joe Vardon of The Athletic.

While the team hasn’t issued a formal update on Love’s recovery timeline, the veteran power forward had a consultation with Dr. Martin O’Malley in New York on Monday, Vardon notes. Scans on his foot during that consultation came up clean, and he’s expected to begin ramping up his workouts in about three or four weeks.

Once Love gets healthy, the Cavaliers will face a series of decisions related to how to handle his playing time and whether to consider trading him. As Vardon details, the Cavs and Love entered the season hoping to be competitive, but his absence has helped cement the team’s place in the lottery so far.

Cleveland intends to have Love reclaim regular minutes when he returns, and he wants to play, per Vardon, but the equation won’t be that simple. A healthy and effective Love may compromise the Cavs’ odds of landing a top 2019 draft pick, so management will have to find the right balance between its short- and long-term goals.

For his part, head coach Larry Drew expects the Cavs to improve significantly with Love back on the floor.

“I think we’ll be a lot better,” Drew said, per Vardon. “Kevin has been our go-to guy, and we haven’t had that all season long. … And then Kevin gives us, not taking anything away from our other big guys, but he’s our No. 1 post priority and we haven’t had that all year. That makes it tough. With a healthy Kevin Love in our lineup, we’re a much better basketball team.”

If they really want to bottom out to finish the 2018/19 season, the Cavs could consider trading Love, but team officials tell Vardon that there has been no discussion of that scenario so far. The club still envisions Love and young point guard Collin Sexton as foundational pieces and wants to see them play together. Plus, executives around the NBA believe that the 30-year-old’s injury history and his new contract, which runs through 2022/23, would diminish his value on the trade market anyway.

We’re still more than two months away from this season’s February 7 trade deadline, so there will be time for Love to return and show he’s healthy before then, and time for the Cavs to reconsider their stance if they so choose. For now though, it appears the team intends to keep the five-time All-Star in their long-term plans.

Larry Drew Not Focused On Player Development At All Times

December 2nd, 2018 at 6:48pm CST by Eric Spyropoulos

In the Cavaliers‘ recent loss to the Raptors, Larry Drew focused more on getting the win than player development. As Chris Fedor of Cleveland.com writes, the balance between player development and going for wins will be one to watch moving forward.

Alec Burks Excited For New Opportunity In Cleveland

December 2nd, 2018 at 2:45pm CST by JD Shaw

New Cavaliers guard Alec Burks played his first game with the team on Friday, scoring 15 points in 26 minutes off the bench. He followed this performance with a 13-point game on Saturday against the Raptors, proving his worth since being part of a Jazz-Cavs trade from last week. “Opportunity is everything in this league,” Burks said, according to Chris Fedor of Cleveland.com. “I feel like I have a great one here. Just trying to take advantage of it and help my new team win.”

New Cavaliers guard Alec Burks played his first game with the team on Friday, scoring 15 points in 26 minutes off the bench. He followed this performance with a 13-point game on Saturday against the Raptors, proving his worth since being part of a Jazz-Cavs trade from last week. “Opportunity is everything in this league,” Burks said, according to Chris Fedor of Cleveland.com. “I feel like I have a great one here. Just trying to take advantage of it and help my new team win.”
Joe Cowley of the Chicago Sun-Times believes the Bulls should follow the Cavaliers’ lead and explore trading players, explaining his thoughts in a new piece. Players such as Justin Holiday, Jabari Parker and Robin Lopez could register interest on the trade market.

Cavaliers Waive Preston, Harrison, Sign Blossomgame, Jones

December 2nd, 2018 at 11:15am CST by Arthur Hill

The Cavaliers have replaced both of their players on two-way contracts, according to Chris Fedor of Cleveland.com. Cleveland waived Billy Preston and Andrew Harrison and signed Jaron Blossomgame and Jalen Jones.

Blossomgame, a second-round pick by the Spurs in 2017, was recently acquired in a trade by Cleveland’s G League affiliate in Canton. The 25-year-old averaged 17.2 PPG in five games with the Charge while shooting 49% from the floor and 38% on 3-pointers.

Jones, also 25, played 16 games last season with the Pelicans and Mavericks. He started the year as a two-way player in New Orleans, then was claimed off waivers by Dallas in January. Fedor speculates that he may remain with the Cavs for a few games, rather than being sent to the G League right away, because David Nwaba is sidelined with a sore knee.

Preston signed a two-way deal with Cleveland in July, but hasn’t advanced above the G League. Fedor states that the Cavaliers talked about calling him up as insurance with the recent rash of injuries, but management decided he wasn’t ready to contribute at the NBA level.

The Cavs signed Harrison on November 9 to provide an extra ball-handler with George Hill hurt. Hill returned to the lineup last night and Alec Burks, acquired in a trade with the Jazz this week, will help run the offense, which eliminates the need to keep Harrison. He had played in 10 of the team’s past 11 games and was averaging 4.3 PPG.

Cavaliers Notes: Korver, Burks, Hill, Sexton

December 1st, 2018 at 6:21pm CST by Arthur Hill

The Cavaliers‘ decision to trade Kyle Korver to the Jazz on Wednesday was made because the team wanted to move him while he was still healthy and productive, according to Terry Pluto of Cleveland.com. Korver has a history of foot issues, most recently causing him to miss two games last month. Korver has been on the market for a while and the Cavs didn’t want to take the chance of another injury derailing a deal.

Cleveland had been hoping to get a first-round pick in exchange for the 37-year-old sharpshooter, Pluto adds, and although several teams were interested in acquiring Korver, no one was willing to part with a first-rounder. Several Cavaliers teammates were upset to lose Korver, who had a 22-point game on Monday.

There’s more news today out of Cleveland:

Alec Burks, whom the Cavs acquired in the Korver deal, is thrilled about the chance for more playing time, relays Chris Fedor of Cleveland.com. Burks already has a connection to Rodney Hood and George Hill, his former teammates in Utah, and to coach Larry Drew, who played against Burks’ father. “Opportunity is everything in this league,” Burks said. “I feel like I have a great one here. Just trying to take advantage of it and help my new team win.” However, Fedor points out that Burks’ stay in Cleveland might be brief. He has an $11.5MM expiring contract that could make him attractive to a contender before the February 7 trade deadline.
Hill is returning to action tonight after missing more than three weeks with a sprained shoulder, tweets Joe Vardon of The Athletic. Drew confirmed that Hill is ready to go, adding that rookie Collin Sexton will remain in the starting lineup as the shooting guard.
The Cavaliers made a couple of housekeeping moves this week, according to the Real GM transactions page, renouncing their free-agent exception rights to Shawn Marion and James Jones. Marion retired in 2015, while Jones called it quits in 2017 and serves as interim GM of the Suns.

Cavaliers Trade Kyle Korver To Jazz

November 29th, 2018 at 11:35am CST by clarkcrum

NOVEMBER 29: The Cavaliers and Jazz have officially issued press releases confirming the trade.

NOVEMBER 28: The Jazz have agreed to trade Alec Burks and two future second-round picks to the Cavaliers in exchange for sharpshooting veteran Kyle Korver, according to Adrian Wojnarowski of ESPN (Twitter links). Wojnarowski adds that the picks being sent to Cleveland are Utah’s 2020 second-round pick and a 2021 second-round pick via the Wizards.

Korver, 37, is averaging 6.8 points on 46.1% shooting from the field and 46.3% from beyond the arc in 15.7 minutes per game so far this season. The 15-year veteran previously played three seasons in Utah, from 2007-10, before signing with the Bulls in the summer of 2010.

Burks, meanwhile, is averaging 8.4 points on 41.2% shooting from the field and 37.2% from beyond the arc in an almost identical 15.8 minutes per game. The 27-year-old guard has spent his entire seven-year career in Utah after being drafted 12th overall in 2011.

The Jazz, who have stumbled out of the gate to a disappointing record of 9-12 and currently sit as the 14-seed in the Western Conference, rank 29th in 3-point shooting. The trade for Korver will likely improve upon that figure and open things up for Donovan Mitchell, who has yet to show much improvement upon his scintillating rookie campaign.

As Bobby Marks of ESPN notes, Korver has a $7.56MM cap hit this season and will earn $7.5MM in 2019-20. But, his salary for next season is only guaranteed for $3.44MM before July 7, 2019. Burks is in the final year of his contract with a cap hit of $11.54MM.

Under NBA trade rules, the Cavaliers are able to absorb a player whose salary is up to $5MM more than Korver’s salary (i.e. $12.56MM), meaning Burks’ salary of $11.54MM will fit nicely and still keep the Cavs over $4MM under the luxury-tax level. Moreover, the Cavs create an additional $3.44MM in cap space for next season, the amount of Korver’s 2019/20 guarantee, thanks to Burks being on an expiring contract.

The Jazz, meanwhile, will create a $3.98MM trade exception, that figure representing the difference between the two players’ salaries. They’ll have one year from the date of the trade to use that exception to acquire another player, if they so wish.

Earlier today, we relayed how the Cavs were willing to take on long-term salary in exchange for other assets, so being able to get two draft picks and an expiring contract for Korver must feel like a real win for Cleveland’s front office.

Suns Among Teams With Interest In Fultz

November 29th, 2018 at 10:48am CST by Luke Adams

The Suns are among the teams with some level of interest in Sixers point guard Markelle Fultz, a source tells Keith Pompey of Philly.com. The Cavaliers were also eyeing Fultz, though it’s not clear whether they remain interested now that they’ve agreed to trade Kyle Korver in another deal.

Although Fultz’s trade value has slipped precipitously in the last year and a half, teams would still be interested in acquiring him under the right circumstances, according to Pompey, who suggests that the 20-year-old’s camp would need to be truthful potential suitors. A team with interest in Fultz doesn’t want to be told that his shoulder and wrist are bothering him if his problems are actually mental, a source tells Pompey — in other words, clubs would simply want to know what they’d be getting into.

According to Pompey, the Suns had interest in Fultz leading up to the 2017 draft, with their analytics people believing that his upside was substantial. However, Phoenix also had concerns about the young guard’s support system, Pompey adds.

If the Suns and Sixers were to engage in discussions on Fultz, Philadelphia would likely target veteran forward Trevor Ariza, whose outside shooting and perimeter defense would make him an ideal fit in the 76ers’ lineup.

Ariza is on a one-year deal, so getting something in return for him could appeal to the Suns, who won’t be contenders this season and have been seeking a point guard for months. Ariza’s contract would also be favorable for the Sixers, who could significantly increase their projected cap room for 2019 by moving Fultz for a player on an expiring deal.

The salaries for Ariza ($15MM) and Fultz ($8.4MM) don’t quite match up, but adding – for instance – Justin Patton‘s expiring contract ($2.7MM) would make a deal legal.

Reactions, Notes On Trade Sending Korver To Jazz

November 29th, 2018 at 8:48am CST by Luke Adams

The Cavaliers and the Jazz struck a deal on Wednesday, agreeing to a trade that will send Kyle Korver to Utah in exchange for Alec Burks and a pair of second-round picks. The move isn’t technically official yet, but Korver has already weighed in on it, speaking to Joe Vardon of The Athletic about his impending return to the Jazz.

“I’m thankful that (Cavaliers GM) Koby (Altman) and management were upfront and mindful of my family through this process and are sending us to a great city and organization,” Korver said. “We have lots of friendships there, which will soften the landing.”

As Vardon notes, the Cavaliers aren’t in a particularly good spot by now, and the organization’s image figures to take a hit this season as the losses pile up. However, players inside and outside of the organization will take notice that Cleveland kept Korver in the loop as they explored the trade market, ultimately moving him to a place where he and his family can be comfortable.

Here’s more on the swap between the Cavaliers and Jazz:

Although Cavaliers players recognize the team’s situation this season and will appreciate that the franchise sent Korver to a favorable destination, multiple players are a little upset by the trade, according to Vardon. Those players still want to win, and know that the Cavs’ outside shooting will take a big hit with Korver gone. Chris Fedor of Cleveland.com has a handful of quotes from Cavs players reacting to the deal.
In the view of Jordan Greer of The Sporting News, the Korver swap is a win-win for the Cavaliers, who received an A- grade from Greer, and the Jazz, who got a B+.
Chris Fedor of Cleveland.com hears that the Cavaliers weren’t confident that Sixers guard Markelle Fultz would have been a strong enough return for Korver, since his shooting issues and possible shoulder problems made it difficult his true value.
Tony Jones of The Athletic and Eric Woodyard of The Deseret News explored the impact of the Korver deal from the Jazz‘s side.