- With the Suns exploring potential trades involving Eric Bledsoe, Steve Kyler of Basketball Insiders notes (via Twitter) that Phoenix “looked hard” at Cavaliers swingman Iman Shumpert over the summer, but Shumpert’s player option is a problem for the club.
Dwyane Wade will come off the bench for the Cavaliers and J.R. Smith will take his place as the starting 2-guard, Joe Vardon of Cleveland.com writes. Vardon notes that Wade made the request for the change.
“I just decided, earlier than later, just to get to the unit where I’d be more comfortable in and can probably better with this team in that lineup,” Wade said. “Why wait? Three games in, why wait? Wanted to get in there with those guys.”
The future Hall-of-Famer is averaging a career-low 8.3 points per game over his first three contest with the club. Part of the reason is that the 35-year-old isn’t getting enough touches and coach Tyronn Lue envisions him getting more opportunity with the second unit.
“He saw that it would be better for him with him in the second unit because he can be featured and have the ball in his hands more than he was in the first unit. Class act for him to come to me and say, ‘You know what, I’m ready to make that change,'” Lue said.
Wade and Lue previously discussed a reserve role when the shooting guard signed with the team back in September, though they wanted to first evaluate the fit in the starting lineup. While Wade will likely be more involved in the offense as a member of the second unit, scoring is not his primary objective.
“I came here for one reason,” Wade said. “I didn’t come here to shoot 20 shots or average 20 points. I came here to be a part of winning and to bring what I can to this team and I want to do that. I feel that my best opportunity to do that is in that unit, so it just came down to that.”
Wade agreed to a buyout with the Bulls late in the summer, which was a decision fueled by Chicago’s desire to get younger and go forward with a rebuild. He was set to make approximately $23.8MM during the 2017/18 season, though he gave up roughly $8MM of that amount as part of the agreement with the Bulls. He’s currently on a one-year, minimum salary contract with the Cavs.
The Suns are ready to fully commit to rebuilding after firing coach Earl Watson and that includes trying to obtain the Nets’ unprotected first-rounder that currently belongs to Cleveland, writes Sam Amico of AmicoHoops.
Phoenix plans to explore trades involving veterans Eric Bledsoe and Tyson Chandler, among others, Amico adds. The organization sees Devin Booker, Josh Jackson and T.J. Warren as the building blocks for its future and would like to add other young talent to the mix.
Brooklyn’s pick has been seen as one of the league’s most valuable trade assets for several years. The Celtics obtained it in a 2013 trade involving Paul Pierce and Kevin Garnett and shipped it to the Cavaliers in the offseason deal for Kyrie Irving.
Cleveland hasn’t committed to keeping the pick, but a source tells Amico the asking price will be extremely high and that Bledsoe and another player probably won’t be enough. The Cavs had offseason discussions with the Suns about obtaining Bledsoe in exchange for Irving and could use help at point guard with Isaiah Thomas expected to be sidelined until January.
Three Suns assistants were fired Sunday along with head coach Earl Watson, reports Adrian Wojnarowski of ESPN. Nate Bjorkgren, Mehmet Okur and Jason Fraser were all dismissed after a meeting with management Sunday night. Bjorkgren served as a bench coach, while Okur and Fraser were part of player development.
Bjorkgren is a former G League head coach and an original member of Watson’s staff. Okur, who played 10 years in the NBA, joined the Phoenix staff at the start of last season. Fraser had been with the team since 2015.
Tyrone Corbin will be promoted to lead assistant under interim coach Jay Triano. A former head coach with the Jazz and Kings, Corbin is in his second season on the Suns’ staff.
There’s more news this morning out of Phoenix:
- Watson had a tumultuous relationship with GM Ryan McDonough during his two and a half seasons as head coach, Wojanarowski writes in the same story. They clashed frequently over a variety of topics, and owner Robert Sarver ultimately sided with McDonough. Watson, who leaves with an 87-142 record, offered a farewell message to the team and his fans. “Thank you to my Suns family, the Phoenix community and everyone who has supported me through this journey,” he said. “Life has unpredictable pivots that I embrace humbly and with great purpose.”
- Suns star Eric Bledsoe received a lot of attention for Sunday’s tweet that read, “I don’t wanna be here,” but it wasn’t the first time he expressed a desire to get out of Phoenix, according to John Gambadoro of Arizona Sports 98.7 (Twitter link). The eighth-year guard met with with management before the season started to tell them he wanted to be dealt. On top of the losing, Bledsoe was unhappy when the team decided to shut him down because of soreness in his knees last March.
- Bledsoe was excited about the possibility of being traded to Cleveland over the summer as part of a rumored deal for Kyrie Irving, according to Sam Amico of AmicoHoops. The teams were close to completing the trade and Bledsoe was “depressed” when it fell through, a source tells Amico.
- The Suns’ problems stem more from the roster McDonough put together than Watson’s coaching, writes Mitch Lawrence of Forbes. Phoenix is trying to compete with four rookies and four second-year players, including a 19-year-old in Dragan Bender and three 20-year-olds. Lawrence states that Bledsoe and fellow veteran Tyson Chandler aren’t pleased with the youth movement. He also notes that McDonough hasn’t been able to find a franchise player despite picking fourth twice, fifth and eighth in the past five drafts.
- Former Suns stars Steve Nash and Dan Majerle are among the potential replacements for Watson suggested by Jordan Greer of The Sporting News. Others are Adrian Griffin, Ime Udoka, Monty Williams, Sean Miller, Jerry Stackhouse, Mark Jackson and Brent Barry.
- Derrick Rose is unconcerned about his left ankle injury that kept him out of the Cavaliers’ 21-point loss against the Magic on Saturday night, relays Chris Fedor of Cleveland.com. In fact, Rose seems more concerned about the effect his absence may have on his conditioning level rather than the ankle itself. “It’s a mild sprain, nothing too serious,” Rose said. “Been getting lot of treatment since this morning, actually (Friday) night. They’re staying on top of it. Like I said, I just don’t want to lose my conditioning because I feel like I’m in great shape right now.”
- While Rose looks to make his return to the court in the near future, teammate Dwyane Wade is still trying to find his rhythm on the court with the Cavaliers, reports Joe Vardon of Cleveland.com. Wade is averaging a mere 5.7 PPG on 28% shooting in his first three games with the Cavaliers. “I’m trying to find it, man,” Wade said. “It’s very different, different than I’ve ever played. Just trying to find my way, as we go on, see how I can be best for this team. Everything’s happened so fast.”
- Friday’s matchup between the Bucks and Cavaliers was the latest opportunity for Giannis Antetokounmpo to show he’s on LeBron James‘ level, notes Vincent Goodwill of Bleacher Report. Although Antetokounmpo outscored James, 34-24, the Cavs claimed a decisive victory. The “Greek Freak” is posting MVP numbers through the first week of the season, and at age 22 he seems destined to someday become the best player in the league. “You understand the magnitude of it, and you still wanna claim your throne as well,” said Cleveland guard Dwyane Wade. “You don’t want them to push you off it. It was a great matchup watching those two guys do everything that’s needed for their team.”
- J.R. Smith believes offseason moves have given the Cavaliers the league’s deepest team, relays Dave McMenamin of ESPN. “You can go around from 6 through 12 or whatever and mark it up against anybody else’s bench, and by far, we got the best bench,” said Smith, who became part of that reserve unit when the Cavs signed Wade. “And we have more experience too.”
3:36pm: The Cavaliers have officially signed Perrantes to a two-way contract, the team announced today in a press release.
1:22pm: The Cavaliers are in the midst of finalizing an agreement on a two-way contract with free agent guard London Perrantes, reports Shams Charania of The Vertical (Twitter link). Once the deal becomes official, Perrantes would join John Holland as the two-way players under contract with Cleveland.
Perrantes, a 6’2″ point guard, averaged 12.7 PPG, 3.8 APG, and 3.0 RPG in his senior year at Virginia last season, along with a solid shooting line of .453/.374/.813. His performance earned him a look from the Heat in Summer League action this year, and a training camp invite from the Spurs.
San Antonio waived Perrantes last week during the roster cutdown period, and he initially appeared to be a good bet to land in Austin as an affiliate player for the Spurs’ G League team. However, a two-way deal with the Cavs will give the rookie a little more financial security. He’ll join the Canton Charge rather than the Austin Spurs once the G League season gets underway.
[RELATED: Hoops Rumors Glossary: Two-Way Contracts]
Once Perrantes finalizes his deal with the Cavs, only the Hawks, Rockets, Bucks, Timberwolves, Knicks, and Trail Blazers will still have open two-way slots. Our full list of two-way players can be found right here.
After an offseason packed with trades, free agent signings, and other roster moves, the NBA’s 30 teams set their 15-man squads for the regular season on Monday. We’ll be taking a closer look at those rosters today, starting with the average age of the players on each team.
As a general rule, the league’s older, more veteran teams are the ones we expect to contend for a championship, and that’s mostly the case this year too. The Cavaliers, with an average age of 30 years and four days, are the NBA’s oldest team by a significant margin. No other team has an average age above 29. However, the teams that join the Cavs at that end of the spectrum are title contenders — the Rockets, Warriors, and Spurs all have an average team age above 28.
It’s not always the case that contending teams skew older. The Celtics, for instance, have an average age of just 25 years and 17 days, making them the sixth-youngest team in the NBA. For the most part though, the younger clubs are the ones in the midst of a rebuild or having gone through “The Process” of a rebuild — the Sixers, Lakers, and Bulls are among the NBA’s five youngest teams, with the Suns (24 years, 173 days) topping the list.
For comparison’s sake, while the Cavs’ average age exceeds 30 years, the division-rival Bulls don’t have a single player in his 30s.
The average ages for all 30 NBA teams are listed below, sorted from youngest to oldest. Our list is based on players’ ages as of Tuesday, and we’re separating years and days by a decimal, so Phoenix would be 24.173.
These figures don’t include a team’s two-way players, and don’t include transactions reported or completed since opening-night rosters were set on Monday. So the Hawks‘ signing of 23-year-old Isaiah Taylor isn’t included, and neither is the Nuggets‘ reported swap of 35-year-old Jameer Nelson for 37-year-old Richard Jefferson.
Here’s the full list:
- Phoenix Suns: 24.173
- Philadelphia 76ers: 24.232
- Chicago Bulls: 24.293
- Portland Trail Blazers: 24.317
- Los Angeles Lakers: 24.320
- Boston Celtics: 25.017
- Toronto Raptors: 25.130
- Denver Nuggets: 25.246
- Orlando Magic: 25.311
- Charlotte Hornets: 25.353
- Brooklyn Nets: 25.355
- Sacramento Kings: 26.018
- Detroit Pistons: 26.021
- Milwaukee Bucks: 26.038
- Memphis Grizzlies: 26.079
- Atlanta Hawks: 26.108
- Indiana Pacers: 26.125
- New York Knicks: 26.234
- Miami Heat: 26.274
- Los Angeles Clippers: 26.296
- Utah Jazz: 26.330
- Minnesota Timberwolves: 27.080
- Washington Wizards: 27.098
- Oklahoma City Thunder: 27.139
- New Orleans Pelicans: 27.285
- Dallas Mavericks: 28.114
- Houston Rockets: 28.148
- Golden State Warriors: 28.262
- San Antonio Spurs: 28.298
- Cleveland Cavaliers: 30.004
Information from Basketball-Reference was used in the creation of this post.
Kyrie Irving posted a double-double with 22 points and 10 assists in Tuesday’s season opener against his former team, the Cavaliers. However, before playing his first game in Celtics green — against the Cavaliers on the road no less — Irving refused to give a straightforward answer on why he demanded a trade, Jeff Zillgitt of USA Today writes.
“I kind of want to put that to rest in terms of everyone figuring out or trying to continue to dive into a narrative they have no idea about and probably will never, ever be divulged because it’s not important,” Irving said. “This was literally just a decision I wanted to make solely based on my happiness and pushing my career forward. I don’t want to pinpoint anything. I will never pinpoint anything because that’s not what real grown-ups do. They continue to move on with their life and continue to progress and that’s what I’m going to continue to do.”
Irving, 25, has avoided divulging specifics about his trade demand. Instead, he has reiterated his desire to evolve as a basketball player and be happy. Many have wondered why Irving wanted to leave a team that he helped lead to three straight NBA Finals along with LeBron James. But if Tuesday’s season-opener was any indication, Irving’s motives will remain private.
Read more notes surrounding the Cavaliers below:
- ESPN’s Kevin Pelton examines the trade that sent Irving to Boston in exchange for Isaiah Thomas, Jae Crowder, Ante Zizic and rights to the Nets’ 2018 first-round draft pick. After a thorough examination, Pelton determined that Cleveland won the deal due to the team “improving their depth this season in obtaining an All-Star guard — assuming Thomas returns close to last season’s performance — and a high-level role player in Crowder.”
- Cavaliers’ general manager Koby Altman joined Cleveland.com’s Joe Vardon to discuss his real estate background, how that job prepared him for NBA GM and working for former GM David Griffin.
- Earlier today, we passed along some noteworthy comments from both James and Dwyane Wade.
Dwyane Wade believes he’d be on the Cavs even if the team didn’t trade away Kyrie Irving, but he adds that the addition of Jae Crowder had an impact on his decision to come to Ohio, as he tells Joe Vardon of Cleveland.com.
“I definitely feel that the trade, for me, one of the most important parts of the trade was getting Jae Crowder as a defender,” Wade said. “Somebody who can guard multiple positions, that was huge for Bron, myself, J.R. Smith), guys like that. Because if you look at it when Kyrie was here and you’re looking at the roster, I was like if you go there who’s gonna guard, you don’t want to be a 35-year-old having to guard everybody every night? And you don’t want Bron to do it. I definitely think with Jae coming here, it was a bigger nudge.”
Cleveland started it’s offseason with controversy, failing to retain GM David Griffin and having Irving’s trade request dominate the news for weeks. While these events were happening, Wade was stuck in Chicago, as he didn’t reach a buyout agreement with the Bulls until just late last month. Would Wade be elsewhere had he been a free agent earlier in the summer? The 15-year veteran isn’t sure.
“I don’t know. I think it definitely came together at the right time,” Wade said. “I think if I would have gotten bought out then, I don’t know. Things could’ve been different for me, so, you’re right. This wasn’t nothing I always said to myself, ‘oh, if I get bought out I’m going to Cleveland.’ It was not predetermined. To me it was the best situation. Maybe at a different time other situations might’ve looked a little bit more appealing.”
Wade added that his longtime friend LeBron James isn’t carrying over any of the negative energy from the team’s offseason events into the upcoming campaign. The 35-year-old continued on the topic of LBJ, telling Vardon how the duo’s current stint will be different than the one in Miami.
“The hardest thing with him coming to Miami maybe that first year was coming to a team that was my team,” Wade said. “And he didn’t want to step on toes in a sense. Obviously his greatness as a player and everything he brought to the table gained him an unbelievable amount of respect from everybody. But just vocally at first, he kind of, you know, didn’t say much and kind of let myself and (Udonis Haslem) lead until we let him know that we needed his voice more. And he got comfortable then.
“Here, this is LeBron James’ show. As Cleveland goes, whatever it’s been the last three years it’s been obviously Kyrie and LeBron, it’s been LeBron coming back here to put this organization where it is right now. This is his comfort and he understands and knows what his voice means to each guy here, to the coaching staff, to everybody. He doesn’t stay quiet, he uses it. In Miami he understood that sometimes it’s a little different culture, his voice may not be impactful. Once he realized that he didn’t say as much all the time.”