- Discussing his decision to ask the Cavaliers for a trade, Kyrie Irving called it the “best thing” he’s done. Howard Beck of Bleacher Report has that quote and much more in an in-depth feature on the Celtics‘ starting point guard.
Three days after being waived by the Nuggets, rookie forward Emanuel Terry has signed a second NBA contract. The Cavaliers issued a press release today announcing a deal with Terry.
Terry, who went undrafted in the 2018 NBA draft, spent four years playing college ball at Division II school Lincoln Memorial. In his senior year, he averaged 16.9 PPG, 10.3 RPG, and 2.2 BPG in 27.6 minutes per contest, leading the program to a South Atlantic Conference championship. He joined the Nuggets for Summer League play in July.
The Nuggets gave Terry a $35K guarantee when they signed him, and presumably hoped to make him a G League affiliate player. However, by signing him after he cleared waivers, the Cavaliers will now have Terry’s G League rights if he goes unsigned after he’s released again.
Cleveland may represent a better G League opportunity for Terry than Denver, since the Nuggets don’t have their own NBAGL affiliate. The rookie likely signed an Exhibit 10 contract with the Cavs, which allows for a bonus worth up to $50K if a player spends at least two months with an NBA team’s G League affiliate after being cut by that team. The Nuggets weren’t permitted to include an Exhibit 10 bonus in their deal with Terry due to their lack of G League affiliate.
The 2018/19 NBA regular season will get underway in just five days, which means it’s time to get serious about predictions for the upcoming campaign. With the help of the lines from Bovada and the Westgate Las Vegas SuperBook, we’re running through the predicted win totals for each of the NBA’s 30 teams, by division, to have you weigh in on whether you think those forecasts are too optimistic or too pessimistic.
Having started with the Atlantic and Southwest divisions this week, we’re moving onto the Central today…
Indiana Pacers
- 2017/18 record: 48-34
- Over/under for 2018/19: 47.5 wins
- Major offseason moves:
(Trade Rumors app users, click here for Pacers poll)
Milwaukee Bucks
- 2017/18 record: 44-38
- Over/under for 2018/19: 47.5 wins
- Major offseason moves:
- Added: Ersan Ilyasova, Brook Lopez, Donte DiVincenzo, Pat Connaughton
- Lost: Jabari Parker, Jason Terry, Brandon Jennings
(Trade Rumors app users, click here for Bucks poll)
Detroit Pistons
- 2017/18 record: 39-43
- Over/under for 2018/19: 38.5 wins
- Major offseason moves:
(Trade Rumors app users, click here for Pistons poll)
Cleveland Cavaliers
- 2017/18 record: 50-32
- Over/under for 2018/19: 30.5 wins
- Major offseason moves:
- Added: David Nwaba, Channing Frye, Collin Sexton, Sam Dekker
- Lost: LeBron James, Jeff Green, Jose Calderon, Okaro White
(Trade Rumors app users, click here for Cavaliers poll)
Chicago Bulls
- 2017/18 record: 27-55
- Over/under for 2018/19: 29.5 wins
- Major offseason moves:
(Trade Rumors app users, click here for Bulls poll)
Previous voting results:
- Boston Celtics (59.5 wins): Over (53.63%)
- Toronto Raptors (55.5 wins): Over (56.95%)
- Philadelphia 76ers (54.5 wins): Under (51.19%)
- Brooklyn Nets (31.5 wins): Under (56.04%)
- New York Knicks (28.5 wins): Under (54.13%)
- Houston Rockets (56.5 wins): Over (69.33%)
- New Orleans Pelicans (45.5 wins): Under (53.4%)
- San Antonio Spurs (44.5 wins): Under (60%)
- Dallas Mavericks (34.5 wins): Over (55.16%)
- Memphis Grizzlies (34.5 wins): Under (60.87%)
The Cavaliers have trimmed their offseason roster by one, announcing today in a press release that they’ve waived camp invitee Levi Randolph. He’ll become an unrestricted free agent on Friday, once he clears waivers.
Randolph, who went undrafted out of Alabama in 2015, played in the G League and in international leagues to start his career, spending time with the Maine Red Claws and with clubs in Italy and France.
Before joining the Cavs for camp, the 6’6″ shooting guard played for the Pacers’ Summer League team in July. He finished the 2017/18 campaign with French club SIG Strasbourg, averaging 8.6 PPG and 2.5 RPG in 22 French League games (19.5 MPG). Randolph appeared in two preseason games for Cleveland.
The Cavs now have 19 players under contract and will need to make a couple more cuts to get down to the regular season roster limit by next week.
- Speaking to Chris Fedor of Cleveland.com, Rodney Hood acknowledged that it was tough to watch many of his fellow restricted free agents receive big-money deals this offseason while those lucrative offers didn’t materialize for him. “Jabari [Parker] is like a brother to me and I know Marcus [Smart] — we came in the league together,” Hood said. “So I’m happy for them getting money and stuff like that. But I had to understand restricted free agency. At first, it was hard because I really didn’t. And I was thinking, ‘Alright, he got paid and I was supposed to.'” As Hood prepares for the biggest year of his career, the Cavaliers still want him to be part of their future beyond 2019, writes Terry Pluto of Cleveland.com.
- Joe Vardon of The Athletic takes a closer look at the camp invitees vying for a roster spot with the Cavaliers, a group that includes Kobi Simmons, John Holland, Isaiah Taylor, and others.
Despite Kyrie Irving‘s verbal commitment to re-signing with the team next summer, the Celtics have explored a potential contract extension for Terry Rozier, a source tells Brian Robb of BostonSportsJournal.com. The two sides have until next Monday to complete a deal. If they don’t, Rozier will remain on track to reach restricted free agency in 2019.
While Robb describes the Celtics as having been engaged and “active” in extension negotiations, it’s hard to imagine the two sides reaching an agreement in the coming days. With Irving expected to stick around long-term and Marcus Smart already locked up to a long-term deal, the Celtics would be committing a ton of money to point guards if they were to extend Rozier as well. Additionally, it’s not clear whether Rozier would be comfortable accepting a bench role for the next several years of his career by re-upping with the C’s.
“That’s something I’m really going to have to sit down and think about,” Rozier told Robb on Tuesday.
Here’s more out of Boston:
- The NBA hit Marcus Smart with a $25K fine earlier this week for his role in an on-court altercation with J.R. Smith, the league announced in a press release. The incident, which resulted in Smart’s ejection, occurred during Saturday’s game against the Cavaliers. Smith was fined $15K.
- The Celtics continue to work on figuring out their rotation for the regular season, as head coach Brad Stevens acknowledged after that Saturday loss to the Cavs. Taylor C. Snow of Celtics.com has the story.
- Asked about the Celtics’ struggles during the preseason, Kyrie Irving said that he and his teammates “have to be a lot smarter,” as Chris Forsberg of NBC Sports Boston details. “We have to be a lot more diligent in what we’re doing out there, a lot more communicative,” Irving said. “And it’s going to take some time for us to figure that out because we don’t have 1-2-3-4-5 set in stone. Like 2, 3, and 4 is like up in the air for us so you can see that our wings are having somewhat of a struggle just figuring out, ‘OK, who is the 4, who is the 3 here?'”
- In a separate piece on Irving, Adam Himmelsbach of The Boston Globe passes along some of the point guard’s observations on his time in Cleveland and what he learned from playing with LeBron James.
Hoops Rumors is breaking down the 2018 offseason for all 30 NBA teams, revisiting the summer’s free agent signings, trades, draft picks, departures, and more. We’ll evaluate each team’s moves from the last several months and look ahead to what the 2018/19 season holds for all 30 franchises. Today, we’re focusing on the Cleveland Cavaliers.
Signings:
Standard contracts:
- Rodney Hood: One year, $3.47MM. Accepted qualifying offer as restricted free agent.
- Channing Frye: One year, minimum salary. Signed using minimum salary exception.
- David Nwaba: One year, minimum salary. Signed using minimum salary exception.
- Two-way contracts:
- Non-guaranteed camp contracts:
- Bonzie Colson: One year, minimum salary.
- Levi Randolph: One year, minimum salary.
- Kobi Simmons: One year, minimum salary.
- Isaiah Taylor: One year, minimum salary.
- Note: Isaac Hamilton, Scoochie Smith, and JaCorey Williams also signed non-guaranteed camp contracts, but were later waived.
Trades:
- Acquired Sam Dekker, the draft rights to Renaldas Seibutis, and cash ($1,247,494) from the Clippers in exchange for the draft rights to Vladimir Veremeenko.
Draft picks:
- 1-8: Collin Sexton — Signed to rookie contract.
Contract extensions:
- Kevin Love: Signed four-year, $120.4MM extension. Starts in 2019/20.
Departing players:
Other offseason news:
- Discussing contract extension with Larry Nance Jr.
Salary cap situation:
- Remained over the cap.
- Carrying approximately $115.7MM in guaranteed salaries.
- Full mid-level exception ($8.64MM) still available.
- Full bi-annual exception ($3.38MM) still available.
Check out the Cleveland Cavaliers’ full roster and depth chart at RosterResource.com.
Story of the summer:
In a move that was neither as shocking or as heartbreaking as the first time he left Cleveland, LeBron James walked away from the Cavaliers this summer for the bright lights of Los Angeles. James’ departure put the Cavs in a precarious position, one in which they could have shifted their long-term plan to a rebuild centered around first-round draft pick Collin Sexton.
Instead, the team extended Kevin Love and focused on retaining or adding young role players around him in the form of Rodney Hood, David Nwaba and Sam Dekker. However, the Cavaliers also brought back veteran forward Channing Frye, signaling their desire to stay competitive in the Eastern Conference.
LeBron’s departure is even more damaging for the Cavaliers as a result of their roster being constructed around his playmaking abilities. In recent seasons, the Cavaliers have focused on adding shooters and players who thrived as off-ball contributors around James. Those players will now face more pressure to create their own shots and initiate the offense.
George Hill, Sexton, Hood, and Cedi Osman figure to increase their usage on offense and shoulder the burden of offensive creation when the ball isn’t in Love’s hands. Speaking of Love, this will be his first opportunity to be the featured offensive player since he was routinely averaging 20 points and 10 rebounds per game with the Timberwolves.
How the rotation shapes up around Love and the role players will be interesting, as the Cavaliers don’t have a plethora of intriguing young talent. Instead, the roster is heavy on veterans who are either in their prime or exiting their prime in the near future. Will the emphasis be placed on player development? Or will the Cavaliers look to make the playoffs at all costs and avoid a rebuild for at least another season? The Cavs’ intentions aren’t clear, making them an intriguing team to watch in the upcoming season as they navigate the post-LeBron waters for the second time.
Tensions from the 2018 Eastern Conference Finals boiled over to the Cavaliers’ game against Boston on Saturday, with J.R. Smith in the middle of the preseason altercation between the teams.
Smith got tangled up with Celtics center Aron Baynes while going for a rebound in the first quarter, leading to Smith pushing the 6-foot-10 Baynes. Baynes’ teammate, Marcus Smart, quickly sprinted towards Smith and attempted to take a shot at him. The two have history, and mayhem ensued.
“For a guy who wants to be so tough in this situation, he leads the league in flops,” Smith said after the game, according to Joe Vardon of The Athletic. “You can’t flop as much as you do and then be tough. How does that even work? And then you start slinging your teammates. Like, you didn’t come to play basketball today. Your coach told you you gotta play and you was frustrated, and then you try to take it out on somebody else.
“At the end of the day, I’m not going to sit here and lose money over trying to fight Marcus Smart. I’m not going to lose money over my tattoo, so why would I lose it over him.”
Smart was ejected from the game, Smith received a technical foul, and each could face additional penalties from the league office. The two teams don’t meet again until November 30 at TD Garden.
There’s more out of Cleveland:
- Rodney Hood is determined to prove himself this season with the Cavs, Vardon writes. Hood is set to become an unrestricted free agent at season’s end.
- Collin Sexton impressed in his debut at Quicken Loans Arena, writes Chris Fedor of Cleveland.com. Sexton finished with 13 points in 19 minutes of work, shooting 4-of-6 from the floor.
- The Cavaliers are focused on scoring by committee this season, Basketball Insiders’ Spencer Davies relays. “When we’re playing that way—playing fast, moving the basketball, moving bodies—I think everyone can be effective in that situation,” coach Tyronn Lue said. “So we’ve got to score by committee where we need five, six guys in double figures.”
Kevin Love, the only remaining member of the Cavaliers’ former Big Three, met with GM Koby Altman in June after the team was swept in the NBA Finals, writes Chris Mannix of Yahoo Sports. Love said he made it clear that he wanted to stay in Cleveland no matter what else happened to the organization.
“We went over every scenario,” he said. “The first was if [LeBron James] came back and we compete for a championship. Then it was trying to build with the young guys that we have.”
Love also wanted assurances that the Cavs wouldn’t tank and he wouldn’t be traded. The meeting helped convince him to accept a four-year, $120MM extension and a new role as the number one star on a team that has made four straight Finals appearances.
“It’s definitely going to be a challenge,” Love said. “It’s definitely going to be a growth year for us. We feel like if we’re in shape, if we play physical, if we shoot the ball well, we’re going to give ourselves a chance.”
There’s more today from Cleveland:
- Coach Tyronn Lue‘s plan to pick a starting center based on each night’s matchup is a hit with Larry Nance Jr., relays Chris Fedor of Cleveland.com. Lue plans to start Nance against smaller, quicker opponents and use Tristan Thompson against larger, more physical centers. “Having him start one night and I start the next, not having a definitive, ‘You’re a bench guy and you’re a starter,’ I think is going to be great for our team chemistry,” Nance said, “and I think we’re both deserving of the position. I think it’s a great idea.”
- Lue has responded to the loss of James by installing an up-tempo offense, and so far the players are enjoying it, Fedor adds in a separate story. Veteran forward Channing Frye explained that the whole team is now approaching the game the way the reserves always did. “True basketball people are going to like the fact that we’re using the corner, we’re using the elbow, we’re using the top of the key,” he said. “It’s not just a lot of one-on-one stuff, it’s a lot of good actions, it’s reads and it’s going to be fun.”
- Bucks coach Mike Budenholzer believes James’ departure has changed the focus of the Eastern Conference playoff race, tweets Malika Andrews of ESPN. “I think Boston, Philly, Toronto, Indiana, Miami, Washington — you just keep on going down, Detroit — everybody feels like they have a chance,” he said. “Maybe more so because LeBron is in the West now.”
So far this offseason, two players have signed rookie scale extensions: Devin Booker got a new deal from the Suns, and the Timberwolves locked up Karl-Anthony Towns to a new long-term pact.
In each of those instances, the player received a maximum salary extension. Max deals, which require little negotiation, typically get done well before the mid-October deadline for rookie scale extensions. But with that deadline now just two weeks away, we may start seeing progress on a few other deals around the NBA.
Besides Booker and Towns, 21 players are eligible for rookie scale extensions this offseason, though some of the players on that list assuredly won’t get new deals. The Cavaliers aren’t about to give Sam Dekker a long-term contract, for example. And it’s safe to assume that the Bulls aren’t looking to lock up Cameron Payne early.
Still, there are several names on that list who are intriguing candidates for new deals. Here are 12 of them:
- Rondae Hollis-Jefferson (Nets)
- Stanley Johnson (Pistons)
- Frank Kaminsky (Hornets)
- Trey Lyles (Nuggets)
- Larry Nance Jr. (Cavaliers)
- Kelly Oubre (Wizards)
- Bobby Portis (Bulls)
- Kristaps Porzingis (Knicks)
- Terry Rozier (Celtics)
- Myles Turner (Pacers)
- Justise Winslow (Heat)
- Delon Wright (Raptors)
Not all the players on this list will sign rookie scale extensions within the next two weeks. In fact, most of them probably won’t. There are plenty of reasons for teams to wait — maybe the asking prices are too high, maybe their financial situations aren’t conducive to more long-term investments at this point, or maybe they simply want another season to take a closer look at their extension candidates.
[RELATED: Recent NBA Rookie Scale Extension History]
Still, it’s safe to assume that at least a couple players on this list will receive new deals. Typically, at least four players per year sign rookie scale extensions, and the numbers in previous seasons have often been much higher than that — in 2014, 2015, and 2016, a combined 24 players signed rookie scale extensions, for an average of eight per year.
With that October 15 deadline fast approaching, we want to know what you think. Which of this year’s extension candidates will receive new deals? Which deserve them, and at what price point? Which should be put off until they reach restricted free agency next summer?
Head to the comment section below to share your two cents on this year’s rookie scale extension candidates!