- Cavaliers coach Larry Drew is going to ride the team’s first-round pick and he’s told the rest of the team to buy in. Drew has instructed his veterans that they need to allow rookie point guard Collin Sexton to work through his mistakes, according to Chris Fedor of the Cleveland Plain Dealer. “I actually pulled some guys to the side when we were in Orlando (on Monday),” Drew said. “That was my exact point — having to be patient with a 19-year-old kid.”
The Raptors, Nuggets, Bucks, Grizzlies, and Kings are among the NBA teams that have made the strongest impression in the first month of the 2018/19 season, outperforming expectations early in the year. On the other end of the spectrum, the Cavaliers and Mavericks have been among the league’s worst teams, underperforming expectations that weren’t all that high to begin with.
These teams all have something in common — they’ve traded away their 2019 first-round picks, often with protections on them. We still have about 70 games to go in ’18/19, so it’s way too early to determine exactly where those picks will fall, or even whether or not they’ll changes hands in many cases. However, based on what we’ve seen from those teams so far, we have a better idea of what to expect the rest of the way than we did a month ago.
Let’s take a look at how some of those early-season trades may affect 2019’s traded first round picks…
Toronto Raptors (11-1)
First-round pick traded to Spurs (top-20 protected)
Even with top-20 protection, this pick looks like a very safe bet to change hands. If the season ended today, it would be No. 30, since Toronto has the NBA’s best record.
Denver Nuggets (9-2)
First-round pick traded to Nets (top-12 protected)
After a season in which the Nuggets narrowly missed the playoffs, it wasn’t unreasonable for Brooklyn to hope this pick would fall in the mid-teens. Instead, with Denver looking like one of the Western Conference’s best teams so far, it may land well into the 20s.
Milwaukee Bucks (9-2)
First-round pick traded to Suns (top-3 protected; 17-30 protected)
The unusual protections on this pick will likely to prevent it from changing hands for a second consecutive year, since it projects to fall in the 17-30 range. If Milwaukee’s 2019 first-rounder doesn’t convey, the Bucks would owe the Suns their 2020 first-rounder, with top-7 protection.
Memphis Grizzlies (6-4)
First-round pick traded to Celtics (top-8 protected)
After finishing last season with a 22-60 record, the Grizzlies were no lock to take a major step forward in 2018/19. In the early going though, the club looks like a legitimate playoff contender. Assuming Memphis can remain in the postseason mix, even if it’s just on the outskirts, this pick should stay out of the top eight and get sent to Boston.
Sacramento Kings (6-5)
First-round pick traded to Sixers (if it’s No. 1 overall or if it’s less favorable than Sixers’ pick) or Celtics (if it’s more favorable than Sixers’ pick and isn’t No. 1 overall)
The Kings, who were expected to be one of the NBA’s worst teams entering the season, would generate some fascinating drama between the Sixers and Celtics if their pick ends up in play for No. 1 overall. However, Sacramento’s young roster has created more problems than anticipated for opponents so far, with the team occupying a playoff spot for now.
Despite the Kings’ hot start, a finish in the lottery still seems likely, but if Sacramento keeps exceeding expectations, the team’s first-round pick will almost certainly end up in Boston instead of Philadelphia, avoiding that No. 1 spot.
Los Angeles Clippers (6-5)
First-round pick traded to Celtics (top-14 protected)
This could be one to watch all season long — the Clippers currently hold a playoff spot in the West by one game, but teams like the Jazz, Lakers, Pelicans, and Rockets are right on their tail. If the Clips eventually fall out of the top eight in the West, they’ll keep their 2019 pick and would owe Boston their top-14 protected 2020 first-rounder. If L.A. keeps winning, the Celtics have a real shot at ending up with four first-rounders next spring.
Dallas Mavericks (3-8)
First-round pick traded to Hawks (top-5 protected)
After drafting NBA-ready prospect Luka Doncic and signing DeAndre Jordan, the Mavericks hoped to contend for the postseason and expected to lose this pick. Given the way Dallas has struggled so far, that no longer looks like a sure thing. I don’t view the Mavs as a bottom-five team in the NBA, but if they don’t turn things around soon, an aggressive second-half tank is a possibility. The Hawks would love for this pick to land in the back half of the top 10.
Cleveland Cavaliers (1-10)
First-round pick traded to Hawks (top-10 protected)
While Atlanta may luck out with the Mavs’ pick, the Hawks will probably have to wait at least one more year to get anything from the Cavaliers, who have the NBA’s worst record so far and aren’t exactly in position to turn things around. If the Cavs keep their 2019 first-rounder, they’ll owe the Hawks their top-10 protected 2020 pick.
NOVEMBER 9: The Cavaliers have made it official, announcing a press release that they’ve signed Harrison to a two-way contract and waived Holland.
NOVEMBER 8: The Cavaliers plan to sign free agent Andrew Harrison on a two-way contract, tweets Adrian Wojnarowski of ESPN. Harrison was waived by the Grizzlies last week after spending two full seasons with the team.
Wojnarowski also reports the Cavs will waive 30-year-old John Holland, who appeared in just one game with the club. Holland has spent much of his professional career playing overseas and in the NBA G League, and was on a two-way contract.
Cleveland has started the 2018/19 season with a 1-10 record, firing head coach Tyronn Lue and coping with a toe injury to All-Star Kevin Love. The team is beginning to shift its focus from contending to rebuilding, with trades for Kyle Korver and J.R. Smith becoming increasingly likely before the NBA’s trade deadline in February.
In 56 games with the Grizzlies last season, Harrison averaged 9.5 points, 3.2 assists and 23.7 minutes. He shot 42% from the floor and 33% from 3-point range.
After waiving Harrison, Memphis has prioritized signing a free agent center, a league source said. The team has conducted free-agent workouts this week and hopes to sign a player in the near future.
- 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.