- When Derrick Rose signed a minimum contract with the Cavaliers, he did so as a bet on himself. “I get a chance to reintroduce myself back to the league. I get to bet on myself. That was one of the reasons I came here, I get to bet on myself. And I’m from Chicago, I’ve got that hustling side; it’s in me, man,” he told Dave McMenamin of ESPN.
- The announcement that Dwyane Wade would be the Cavaliers‘ starting shooting guard didn’t go over well with J.R. Smith. “We talked about it,” Smith told Joe Vardon of Cleveland.com. “It wasn’t the most positive conversation, but we talked about it and we’ll get through it together.“
Shortly after opening up a spot on their roster by waiving Edy Tavares, the Cavaliers have filled that spot again, announcing today in a press release that they’ve signed undrafted rookie guard Isaac Hamilton. Cleveland’s roster is now back up to 20 players.
Hamilton, 23, played his college ball at UCLA, averaging 14.1 PPG with a shooting line of .453/.366/.825 during his final year with the Bruins. He was one of the squad’s top threats from outside, making 2.1 three-pointers per game.
Hamilton figures to get a non-guaranteed deal from the Cavs, and won’t be on the club’s regular season roster. By signing him to an NBA contract now, Cleveland will have the opportunity to have him join the Canton Charge in the G League as an affiliate player.
The Cavaliers have begun making roster cuts in advance of the regular season, announcing today in a press release that they’ve waived center Edy Tavares.
Signed by the Cavs at the very end of the 2016/17 regular season, Tavares’ season came to a premature end when he fractured his hand in May, sidelining him for the rest of the playoffs. Prior to joining Cleveland, Tavares began the season with the Hawks, then spent time with the Raptors’ G League affiliate, which continues to hold his returning rights.
Tavares’ release had been expected, since the Cavaliers still had 19 players on NBA contracts, including 16 on fully guaranteed deals. Tavares was one of three players without full guarantees, along with Kendrick Perkins and Kay Felder. Cleveland will need to remove at least three more players from its NBA roster via release or trade before the regular season begins.
Assuming Tavares clears waivers, he could be a candidate to rejoin the Cavs as a two-way player, since the team still has one two-way slot open.
After a wild summer that saw him sent from the Celtics to the conference-rival Cavaliers, Isaiah Thomas tells Lee Jenkins of SI.com that 2017 has been the best year of his career, but the worst year of his life. Thomas posted historic regular season numbers and was the unquestioned leader of a Boston team that won two playoff series in the spring, but a hip injury sidelined him toward the end of the postseason, and he has had to adjust to a new team and city while recovering from that injury.
Thomas, who is expected to be sidelined through at least the end of December, admits to Jenkins that he made his hip injury worse by playing in the postseason. However, the standout point guard remains confident that he can make a full recovery, and the Cavaliers share that view much more than they did when they first acquired him, says Jenkins. For his part, Thomas says he intends to play until he’s 40.
While Jenkins’ in-depth feature on the former Kings, Suns, and Celtics guard is worth reading in full, here are a few more quotes of interest from Thomas:
On his reaction to the blockbuster deal that sent him to Cleveland:
“None of it made any sense. It still doesn’t make any sense. I’m still asking, ‘What the hell happened?’ It’s a trade you make in NBA2K. It’s not a trade you make in real life.”
On whether he’s seeking revenge on the Celtics after their decision to trade him:
“Boston is going to be all love, [but] I might not ever talk to Danny [Ainge] again. That might not happen. I’ll talk to everybody else. But what he did, knowing everything I went through, you don’t do that, bro. That’s not right. I’m not saying eff you. But every team in this situation comes out a year or two later and says, ‘We made a mistake.’ That’s what they’ll say, too.”
On not rushing back from his hip injury to get in the Cavs’ lineup:
“The nice thing about the Cavs is nobody is in a rush. Most places are trying to get you back, which isn’t always best for you. These guys know they’re going to play in June. It’s a given.”
Newest Cavalier Dwyane Wade will open the 2017/18 season in the team’s starting lineup, head coach Tyronn Lue confirmed today. As Joe Vardon of Cleveland.com details, J.R. Smith will come off the bench with Wade taking over as the starting shooting guard, and Lue said today that Smith handled the news well.
“He was fine,” Lue said. “It’s tough, you’ve been in position where you went to three straight Finals and you’ve been the starting two guard. But like I said, it’s about sacrifice if you want to win. J.R. was great about it. Just knows he has to have a different role right now so we’ll see how it works.”
Although Derrick Rose will join Wade in the starting lineup, Lue said today that Rose will head to the bench early in games and then return to run the second-team offense. In that scenario, the former MVP would likely lead a lineup that features Smith, Kyle Korver, and Jeff Green, though we’ll see what adjustments the team makes when the season officially gets underway.
Here’s more on the Cavs:
- One player who likely won’t see many minutes in the Cavs’ rotation – barring injuries – is Channing Frye, Vardon writes in a separate piece. Lue told Frye that he probably won’t play a whole lot this season, and the head coach said the veteran forward responded admirably. “That’s the type of vet you want around,” Lue said. “Unbelievable character guy. He understands it’s a long season. There’s going to be opportunities.”
- Sam Amico of AmicoHoops.net hears that the Cavs already know which player with a guaranteed salary they’ll waive, assuming they can’t trade anyone. The Cavs haven’t identified that player, of course, but Richard Jefferson has been the candidate mentioned most frequently. Cleveland’s initial cuts may begin on Tuesday, Amico adds.
- According to Amico, the Cavaliers continue to explore possible trades involving Iman Shumpert, but they’ve had trouble finding a taker all offseason, and Shumpert’s foot injury isn’t helping matters.
- We rounded up a few Cavs notes on Sunday as well, including news on Isaiah Thomas‘ change in representation.
Isaiah Thomas has hired a new agent in preparation for next summer’s free agency, relays Joe Vardon of Cleveland.com. Aaron Goodwin will represent the 28-year-old point guard, who is expected to be out of action until January with an injured right hip. Goodwin served as the first agent for LeBron James and has other high-profile clients such as DeMar DeRozan and Damian Lillard. Thomas, an All-Star last season, has been open about his desire for a maximum contract. The Cavs own Thomas’ Bird rights because he came to the team in a trade.
There’s more today out of Cleveland:
- The battle for the final roster spot may come down to veterans Richard Jefferson and Jose Calderon, writes Terry Pluto of Cleveland.com. The Cavaliers may not want to part with Calderon after signing him in July, so that could signal the end for the 37-year-old Jefferson, who has spent the past two seasons in Cleveland. Pluto notes that Jefferson’s salary is only $2.5MM, and 11 teams could accommodate him with trade exceptions, so the Cavs may try to make a deal rather than waiving him. Trading Jefferson could save the team roughly $10MM in luxury tax payments.
- Former GM David Griffin tried for years to acquire Jae Crowder, whom the Cavs picked up in the Kyrie Irving deal, Pluto adds in the same story. James likes Crowder’s propensity to cut to the basket and score, and only Orlando’s Aaron Gordon ranked ahead of him in that category last season.
- James will see his first preseason action Tuesday, according to Dave McMenamin of ESPN. The Cavs have been careful with their star since he sprained his ankle on the second day of training camp, and coach Tyronn Lue wants to give his rotation players two games to get used to playing together. “If it was the season or the playoffs, he would have definitely been back by now, but it’s just being cautious,” Lue said of James’ status. “To start the season, you don’t want something like this to linger throughout the whole course of the season. So it was just smart for him to take some time off, get healthy and now he feels pretty good and we’ll try to give it a go on Tuesday.”
With 16 players on guaranteed contracts for 2017/18, the Cavaliers will have to trade or waive one of those players within the next 10 days. A report earlier this week indicated that Richard Jefferson‘s hold on a roster spot may be the most tenuous, and Joe Vardon of Cleveland.com confirms that the team has held “early talks” with Jefferson’s agent about the possibility that the veteran forward will be the victim of the roster crunch. Still, no decision has been finalized yet, says Vardon.
Here’s more on the Cavs:
- Second-year point guard Kay Felder, whose salary is only partially guaranteed, almost certainly won’t make Cleveland’s 15-man roster. However, he’s hoping to become one of the club’s two-way players, Vardon writes.
- Within his latest mailbag for Cleveland.com, Vardon explains why Jose Calderon‘s roster spot appears safer than Jefferson’s. Vardon also discusses Koby Altman‘s performance as GM so far, Cleveland’s early impressions of Derrick Rose, and more Cavs-related topics.
- Veteran big man Kendrick Perkins, who is in camp with the Cavaliers in the hopes of resuming his NBA career, admits that he let himself go and developed bad habits during his previous stint in the league. According to Jason Lloyd of The Athletic, Perkins weighed 309 pounds when he left the Pelicans in 2016, but is back down to 267 now. “I couldn’t blame anybody but myself,” Perkins said. “It was a humbling situation being out and not getting a call last season. It was my fault for letting myself just drift off like that.”
Shumpert’s absence comes at a critical time for the Cavaliers, who will be hard-pressed to trim down their roster after the addition of Dwyane Wade last week. While Shumpert has been reassured of his role with the club, Cavs fans will be eager to see what the veteran is capable of producing in 2017/18.
The Cavaliers will be without swingman Iman Shumpert for the next seven-to-10 days, Joe Vardon of Cleveland.com writes. The 27-year-old sprained his left foot in a preseason game this week and could be sidelined until the regular season begins.
Shumpert’s absence comes at a critical time for the Cavaliers, who will be hard-pressed to trim down their roster after the addition of Dwyane Wade last week. While Shumpert has been reassured of his role with the club, Cavs fans will be eager to see what the veteran is capable of producing in 2017/18.
Shumpert, owed $11MM in 2017/18, saw his role with the Cavaliers decrease toward the end of last season and averaged just 7.5 points and 2.9 rebounds per game for the team on the year.
This year, with considerably more depth in the mix in Cleveland, it will be interesting to see what sort of role the perimeter defender carves out for himself with the Cavaliers. Missing the duration of preseason won’t help him make a solid impression.
After 10 seasons in the NBA, Jeff Green couldn’t pass up an opportunity to play for a championship contender, relays Joe Gabriele of NBA.com. Green took a substantial pay cut to join the Cavaliers, dropping his salary from $15MM last season to the veterans minimum of $2.3MM. He is also relegated to a reserve role, with LeBron James cemented as the team’s starting small forward, but Green said the shot at a ring makes the sacrifices worthwhile.
“That was what I was looking for and that’s what came to my sight – that there was an opportunity here,” said Green, who is with his sixth NBA team. “So I was thankful for it and I couldn’t pass it up; the opportunity was there and I jumped on it. It wasn’t a matter of timing or when it happened. It was just when I got the call and thought about it. And I didn’t have to think long. I wrote down the pros and cons of what I wanted. And this situation fit every ‘pro’ on that list.”
There’s more news out of Cleveland:
- Coach Tyronn Lue reassured Iman Shumpert about his future with the team following an offseason filled with trade rumors, writes Chris Fedor of Cleveland.com. The Cavaliers came close to shipping Shumpert to Houston in early July, but the Rockets pulled out of the deal after signing P.J. Tucker. Cleveland continued to search for a trade, but the right partner never emerged. Shumpert was frustrated by the reports and shared that sentiment with Lue in a pre-camp meeting. He was also upset about the way his role diminished late in the season and into the playoffs. Shumpert has a player option on his $11MM salary for next season and could become an unrestricted free agent next summer.
- Shumpert needs to become more reliable on offense before the Cavs will trust him against the Warriors, according to Jason Lloyd of The Athletic. Shumpert was a non-factor as Cleveland’s season ended in Game 5 of the NBA Finals, getting off the bench for less than four minutes. He has vowed to contribute more on the offensive end of the court, but with a turnover rate of 19% in transition, Lloyd cautions that might not be best for the team.
- Andrae Patterson, formerly with Utah’s front office, will join the Cavaliers as director of basketball administration, relays Joe Vardon of Cleveland.com. The 41-year-old had a brief NBA career with the Timberwolves and played nine seasons in Europe.
Richard Jefferson‘s hold on a roster spot in Cleveland appears somewhat tenuous, according to reports from Jason Lloyd of The Athletic and Sam Amico of AmicoHoops.net.
After signing Dwyane Wade last week, the Cavaliers are now carrying 16 players on fully guaranteed contracts, plus 2016/17 holdovers Kay Felder and Edy Tavares. Even if Cleveland cuts Felder and Tavares, the club will need to trade or waive one more player from a group of candidates that likely includes Iman Shumpert, Channing Frye, Jose Calderon, and Jefferson.
Calderon has been solid for the Cavs so far, according to Lloyd, who suggests that the veteran point guard should be safe, given the uncertainty on the depth chart ahead of him. Shumpert and Frye are considered trade candidates, but their salaries ($10.34MM and $7.42MM respectively) will make them difficult to move.
That leaves Jefferson as the potential odd man out. Unlike Calderon, Jefferson is trade-eligible now, and unlike Shumpert and Frye, his salary is modest, at just $2.5MM. The Cavaliers are exploring smaller-scale trades involving Jefferson, according to Amico, and finding a taker for the veteran forward would be preferable to cutting him, since it would reduce the Cavs’ projected tax bill substantially.
However, Cleveland has gotten no traction on a deal so far, and may end up having to outright release Jefferson or another player, since rivals won’t be eager to help out the defending Eastern Conference champs. If the Cavs do find a team willing to take on Jefferson or someone else, the salary dump would likely cost Cleveland at least one draft pick and/or cash.