- Cavaliers guard George Hill will miss approximately one to two weeks with a shoulder sprain, the team confirmed. Hill was evaluated at Cleveland Clinic Sports Health on Thursday, where he underwent an MRI that revealed the sprain. He will now undergo a period of treatment and rehabilitation.
- Cavaliers guard J.R. Smith, who has been told twice this season that he was being removed from the rotation, will make his first start of the year tonight, coach Larry Drew says in a video tweeted by Cleveland.com. Injuries to Kevin Love and Sam Dekker have forced the Cavs to adjust their lineup, with Smith getting the starting nod at small forward and Cedi Osman moving to power forward.
The Cavaliers are among the teams with interest in Celtics point guard Terry Rozier, league sources tell Sam Amico of AmicoHoops.net. As we relayed earlier today, there are reportedly at least seven teams around the NBA monitoring Rozier, who is said to be unhappy with his playing time. It sounds like it’s safe to assume that Cleveland is one of those seven teams.
Of course, the Cavs used the No. 8 overall pick in the 2018 draft on Collin Sexton, a player they hope will be capable of developing into their point guard of the future. Sexton’s still very early in his developmental process though, and plenty of teams around the NBA use lineups that feature more than one point guard, so that doesn’t mean that Rozier couldn’t be a fit in Cleveland.
Here’s more on the Cavs:
- During a recent appearance on The Jump (video link; hat tip to AmicoHoops.net), ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski said that he expects trade interest to be much stronger for Kyle Korver than J.R. Smith, but cautions that Korver would be more attractive as a trade chip if he was on a true expiring contract, rather than having a partial guarantee for next season. Wojnarowski expects the Cavaliers to be able to move both players, but suggests they shouldn’t expect more than a second-round pick for either, and may have to take on some money.
- The Cavaliers don’t seem to view Larry Nance Jr. as a potential four, and Channing Frye only works in certain matchups, according to Chris Fedor of Cleveland.com, who suggests that the team may lean more heavily on smaller power forwards with Kevin Love and Sam Dekker sidelined. Cedi Osman, Korver, and Smith are among the candidates.
- Cavaliers veterans are happy that the team agreed to renegotiate Larry Drew‘s contract, creating some certainty at the head coaching position for this season, writes Joe Vardon of The Athletic. “It’s just good to know they made a decision, for me,” Nance said. “It lets you go forward. I think some progress can be made.”
Cavaliers forward Sam Dekker will miss the next two to four weeks with a left ankle injury, the team announced today in a press release. Dekker left Monday’s game with the injury, which was later diagnosed as an ankle sprain.
Dekker, acquired from the Clippers in an offseason trade, didn’t initially project to play major minutes for the Cavaliers, but took on a larger role when Kevin Love went down with an injury of his own last month.
After playing just 44 total minutes in Cleveland’s first five games, Dekker averaged 25.2 MPG in the next five, despite his game on Monday coming to an early end. In total, the 24-year-old has averaged 6.3 PPG and 3.7 RPG in 18.8 MPG for the Cavs, with a .458/.385/.800 shooting line.
With both Love and Dekker sidelined for at least the next couple weeks – and likely much longer in Love’s case – the Cavs find themselves thin at power forward. Larry Nance Jr. could see a bump in playing time, while forwards like Cedi Osman and Kyle Korver may also spend more time at the four.
The Sixers, Thunder or Lakers are the most likely landing spots for veteran sharpshooter Kyle Korver, Jordan Greer of the Sporting News opines. Korver is likely to get traded or bought out by a Cavaliers team that suddenly finds itself in a rebuilding mode. The combination of Korver and J.J. Redick could drive opposing defenses crazy in Philadelphia, while Oklahoma City desperately needs a 3-point shooter. LeBron James and Korver have good chemistry, as displayed by James’ 89 assists to Korver last season, Greer adds.
6:45pm: Drew has officially signed the agreement, according to a team press release.
4:39pm: Larry Drew and the Cavaliers have agreed on a contract for the rest of this season and a partially-guaranteed deal for next season, Adrian Wojnarowski of ESPN tweets.
Drew will remain the team’s head coach through this season. If the team decides to move on from Drew after the season, he will receive a buyout, Wojnarowski adds.
Drew had been the team’s acting coach but didn’t want the interim tag after replacing Tyronn Lue. Drew had been one of the NBA’s highest-paid assistants, but was still earning less than $1MM, well below the going rate for a head coach.
None of the other Cavaliers assistant coaches were given additional security as part of the agreement, Joe Vardon of The Athletic tweets.
Drew had expressed optimism recently over the state of negotiations with owner Dan Gilbert and GM Koby Altman after indicating he was “very disappointed” by the lack of progress in those talks.
After starting the season with ambitions of making the postseason in the post-LeBron James era, the Cavaliers could wind up with the worst record in the Eastern Conference. They’re 1-8 and have lost their best player, Kevin Love, for at least six weeks after he underwent foot surgery last week. Drew’s postseason evaluation will likely be centered on how the team’s younger players, particularly lottery pick Collin Sexton, progressed during the course of the season.
Drew previously coached the Hawks for three seasons and the Bucks for a season.
The Cavaliers are in a state of chaos that stretches from the front office to their first-round draft pick, writes Joe Vardon of The Athletic. The four-time defending Eastern Conference champs dropped to 1-8 last night after their latest lopsided loss, a 32-point blowout in Charlotte, and there seems little chance of righting the ship without a major roster upheaval.
There’s a significant divide in the locker room between players who are holdovers from the LeBron James era and the younger talent that management sees as the team’s future, Vardon adds. The focal point is 19-year-old Collin Sexton, who was taken with the eighth pick in this year’s draft. Any time a veteran talks about someone not knowing their role or where to be on the court, it’s usually a reference to Sexton, Vardon states.
Sexton is shooting 41.3% from the field through his first nine games and has about an equal number of assists and turnovers. However, he still has the backing of owner Dan Gilbert, who wants Sexton to keep playing, according to Vardon. Also, Sexton knows he has a future with the organization, unlike many of his veteran critics.
There’s more out of Cleveland, all courtesy of Vardon:
- A week after firing Tyronn Lue, the Cavs still doesn’t have an official interim head coach. Larry Drew is running the team, but retains his title of associate head coach while trying to negotiate an increase in his salary. The front office offered a modest raise after Lue was dismissed, but Drew is holding out for a contract extension for himself and his assistants. When management refused, Drew went public with his demands. The players support Drew, but they don’t view him as an official head coach because of the contract standoff.
- Through nine games, J.R. Smith has been told twice that he was being taken out of the rotation, then was quickly reinstalled by both Lue and Drew. Earlier this week, GM Koby Altman offered Smith the chance to go on paid leave because he wouldn’t be playing, but he got 24 minutes last night and led the team with 14 points. “As far as I’m concerned, given what our circumstances are, J.R., he’s a member of our team, and if I need him I’m going to call on him,” Drew said.
- When Altman re-signed Kyle Korver to a three-year deal last summer, it came with an understanding that Korver would be traded or bought out if James left in free agency. Korver asked to be dealt after James joined the Lakers, but the front office refused, saying it wanted to keep the veteran core together to compete for a playoff spot. The Cavs would want maximum value if they do move Korver, likely a first-round pick.
Former Cavaliers assistant coach Jim Boylan has filed an age-discrimination lawsuit against the franchise, which the team has labelled “frivolous” and a “shameless cash grab,” according to an Associated Press report. Boylan, 63, worked five seasons under former coaches David Blatt and Tyronn Lue but did not have his option picked up this summer. Boylan contends GM Koby Altman told him owner Dan Gilbert wanted a younger coach.
We have more from around the Eastern Conference:
- The Hornets have used a committee approach at the center spot and that position is likely to remain in flux, Rick Bonnell of the Charlotte Observer reports. Starter Cody Zeller, Willy Hernangomez, Marvin Williams, Michael Kidd-Gilchrist, Nicolas Batum, Frank Kaminsky and Bismack Biyombo have all taken turns in the middle but first-year coach James Borrego isn’t worried. “We’re still searching (but) I like the dilemma I have,” he told Bonnell.
- Sixers coach Brett Brown is allowing forward Dario Saric to work through his shooting slump, Sarah Todd of the Philadelphia Inquirer reports. Saric has scored in single digits in each of the last three games while shooting 2-for-13 from long range. Brown has no plans to reduce Saric’s workload. “If he came to me and said, ‘I need some time,’ I would listen,” Brown said. “But I don’t feel like I’m force-feeding anything, I do not feel like I’m hurting him. In fact, I feel like I’m helping him.”
- Guerschon Yabusele’s option was picked up for next season because his game fits the modern NBA, according to coach Brad Stevens, and the Celtics believe the 22-year-old has high upside, the team’s PR department tweets. Boston’s brass decided to retain Yabusele despite a cap hit of $3,117,240, a figure that could grow if Boston pays the luxury tax. The 6’8” Yabusele has played just 18 minutes this season after seeing action in 33 games in his rookie campaign. But with several players hitting the free agent market next summer, the Celtics felt Yabusele was too valuable to give up, Steve Bulpett of the Boston Herald notes. “Having Guerschon gives us continuity. He knows our system,” GM Danny Ainge said. “He’s loved by everybody. It’s just not easy to find that type of player.”
As if there wasn’t enough drama in Cleveland already this season, the Cavaliers are now the subject of another unusual story. As Dan Feldman of NBC Sports relays, former Cavs assistant Jim Boylan has sued the team, along with owner Dan Gilbert and Koby Altman, for age discrimination.
Boylan’s lawsuit claims that Tyronn Lue left Boylan a voicemail informing him that Altman and the Cavaliers wouldn’t be picking up his option for 2018/19 since they wanted to “go younger.” Boylan subsequently had a conversation with Altman during which the GM confirmed that the Cavs wanted a younger coach, suggesting that the decision to move on from Boylan had nothing to do with his performance, per the suit.
The Cavaliers responded to the lawsuit today, calling it “frivolous” and referring to it as a “shameless cash grab.” Pointing out that Boylan simply had an option declined and wasn’t fired, the Cavs’ statement accused the assistant coach’s lawyers of attempting to shame the franchise into a settlement by releasing Lue’s voicemail.
Kevin Love, who has missed the last four games with a toe injury, underwent surgery on Friday to address “continued left foot symptoms,” the Cavaliers announced today in a press release.
According to the team, Love will now enter an extended period of treatment and rehabilitation for the injury. The Cavaliers says they’ll provide an update on Love’s return to basketball activity in about six weeks.
Word first broke earlier in the week that Love might miss over a month due to his nagging foot issues. The veteran forward confirmed on Tuesday that he’d be sidelined for a little while, but expressed hope that he’d be back on the court within two or three weeks. Based on the wording of the Cavs’ update today, it sounds like Love will miss a minimum of six weeks and may not be ready to return at that point.
Love, 30, was expected to take on the lead role in Cleveland this season with LeBron James no longer on the club. In his first four games, he struggled with his shot (323/.292/.818), but his 19.0 PPG and 13.5 RPG would have been his best marks since he joined the Cavs. With Love on the shelf, Sam Dekker has entered the starting lineup and seen a significant increase in his playing time.
If Love gets healthy sometime in the new year, he could emerge as a trade candidate before February’s deadline, despite signing a long-term extension with the Cavs earlier this year. He’ll become trade-eligible on January 24, with the deadline falling on February 7. Kyle Korver and J.R. Smith are among the other Cleveland veterans viewed as trade candidates.