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Heat Notes: Cap Space, Tyler Johnson, James, Wade

April 8th, 2017 at 6:47pm CST by Arthur Hill

The Heat are looking at a potential salary crunch in the 2018 offseason, writes Ira Winderman of The Sun-Sentinel. The NBA informed teams this week that the salary cap is projected to rise to $101MM next season, an increase of about $7MM, but will only go up to $102MM the following year. That’s a concern to the Heat because of the offer sheet they matched for Tyler Johnson last summer. Johnson’s cap hit will increase from $5.9MM next season to $19.2MM in 2018/19 and 2019/20. That will not only squeeze the Heat’s cap room next summer, it may affect their strategy for this offseason.

Miami expects to have roughly $36MM available once Chris Bosh‘s $25.3MM salary is removed for medical reasons. The Heat have $49.4MM committed to four players for next season, and Josh McRoberts has a $6MM player option that could push that figure to $55.4MM. In addition, there are team options that will probably be exercised on Josh Richardson, Rodney McGruder and Okaro White, which would increase the total salary to $59.5MM. Four cap holds will add $3.3MM, and possibly more depending on where the team drafts. Miami also has a $6.3MM team option on Wayne Ellington that could cut into cap space, as could the desire to keep free agents Dion Waiters and James Johnson.

  • Tyler Johnson is trying to prove he’s worth his four-year, $50MM deal, relays Barry Jackson of The Miami Herald. In his first season under the new contract, the third-year combo guard is posting career highs in points (13.6 points per game), rebounding (4.0) and assists (3.2). His scoring average is second to to the Thunder’s Enes Kanter among players who haven’t started a game. “I’m trying to find that consistent balance of being a dependable player every single game,” Johnson said. “I know where I want to get to as a player and this is just a stepping stone of where I can be at. I know there is a huge ceiling I can get to. This year, what I’m most proud of is trying to figure out ways to try to get there. Before, it was just a dream. Now I understand how to get there.”
  • LeBron James was reportedly working on the 2014 Sports Illustrated piece announcing his return to Cleveland as then-Miami teammate Dwyane Wade sat just a few feet away. Details of that incident are part of a new book, “Return of the King” by Brian Windhorst and Dave McMenamin and were shared by Anthony Barstow of The New York Post. According to the authors, James was revising the article as the two stars were flying from Las Vegas to Miami on a Nike-owned jet.
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Irving's Knee Flares Up; Williams Adapts To New Role; Jefferson Masters Asthma

April 8th, 2017 at 10:38am CST by Austin Kent
  • The Cavaliers may not be using free agent addition Deron Williams to his full potential but don’t fault them for it. Williams was the best and cheapest option available to the team when he was signed but often requires the ball in his hands to be his most dominant, Joe Vardon of Cleveland.com writes. For the most part, the Cavs would prefer to keep the ball in the hands of LeBron James or Irving.
  • A flare-up in his surgically repaired left knee had Kyrie Irving limping off the floor in Friday night’s loss to the Hawks, Joe Vardon of Cleveland.com writes. “It just, I don’t want it to feel sore anymore but it’s just the realization of it,” the Cavaliers guard said. “I’m doing everything possible to take care of my body, I’ve got a clear conscience with that. But also understand that sometimes it’s gonna hurt. And I gotta be able to deal with it.”
  • The Cavaliers may not be using free agent addition Deron Williams to his full potential but don’t fault them for it. Williams was the best and cheapest option available to the team when he was signed but often requires the ball in his hands to be his most dominant, Joe Vardon of Cleveland.com writes. For the most part, the Cavs would prefer to keep the ball in the hands of LeBron James or Irving.
  • Veteran Cavaliers forward Richard Jefferson has struggled with asthma throughout his life and changes to how he combated the condition have led to his prolonged career, AJ Neuharth-Keusch of USA Today writes.
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NBA D-League Assignments/Recalls: 4/5/17

April 5th, 2017 at 5:00pm CST by Luke Adams

With the NBADL playoffs now underway, here are Wednesday’s D-League assignments and recalls from around the NBA:

  • The Cavaliers assigned Larry Sanders to the D-League on Tuesday, presumably intending to have him play for the Canton Charge in their first playoff game tonight. However, Cleveland has since recalled Sanders to the NBA roster. With Tristan Thompson out for at least the next two games, the Cavs may need Sanders on their active roster for frontcourt depth purposes.
  • The Celtics have recalled Jordan Mickey from the D-League, according to the team (Twitter link). Mickey played a major role for the Maine Red Claws’ on Tuesday night, racking up 26 points and 16 rebounds in a Game 1 overtime win over Fort Wayne. I’d expect Mickey to return to the Red Claws in time for Game 2.
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Korver Back, Thompson Out For Cavaliers

April 5th, 2017 at 1:49pm CST by Luke Adams

Meanwhile, on the other side of tonight’s matchup, there’s some some good news and bad news for the Cavaliers. In the positive column, Kyle Korver returned to the team’s lineup on Tuesday night after missing 11 games with a foot injury. However, another key rotation player, Tristan Thompson, left that game with what has since been diagnosed as a sprained right thumb.

Thompson has appeared in 447 consecutive games, but that streak will come to an end this week, as he has officially been ruled out for the Cavaliers’ next two games against Boston and Atlanta. The veteran big man will continue to undergo treatment and be re-evaluated, with the team presumably hoping he can return in time for the playoffs.

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NBA D-League Assignments/Recalls: 4/3/17

April 3rd, 2017 at 9:24pm CST by ChrisCrouse

Here are Monday’s D-League assignments and recalls from around the NBA:

  • The Raptors have assigned Bruno Caboclo and Pascal Siakam to the Raptors 905, the team’s D-League affiliate, according to their Twitter feed. Siakam is one of the many 2016 first-round picks who have seen action in the D-League this season, as Luke Adams of Hoops Rumors detailed.
  • The Cavaliers have assigned Kay Felder to the Canton Charge, according to the team’s Twitter feed. The rookie has appeared in 11 games for Cleveland’s D-League affiliate, scoring 29.9 points per contest.
  • The Clippers have recalled Brice Johnson from the Salt Lake City Stars, Brad Turner of the Los Angeles Times relays (Twitter link). Los Angeles doesn’t have its own D-League affiliate, so Johnson played for the Stars via the flex assignment rule.
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LeBron Endorses Extension For David Griffin

April 3rd, 2017 at 2:56pm CST by Arthur Hill

GM David Griffin, who built the Cavaliers into a championship team, isn’t signed beyond this season but has a powerful advocate in the organization, writes Dave McMenamin of ESPN.com.

LeBron James, who returned to Cleveland under Griffin’s watch, is among many supporters he has in the locker room. James said Griffin “has tried to make every move happen” to raise the talent level in Cleveland.

“He went out, we needed some interior help, he went out and got Timo [Timofey Mozgov],” James said. “We needed some perimeter defense, some perimeter shooting, he made a trade to be able to get Swish [J.R. Smith] and Shump [Iman Shumpert]. And that was the start of it. We needed more interior depth, he got Perk [Kendrick Perkins]. We got guys. We brought guys in. We needed some more athletic wings, he made a move, I don’t know how he finagled it to get RJ [Richard Jefferson] here. And so on and so on …”

“I mean, all the guys that are here. We wanted a stretch-4 to help [Kevin Love] out, we make a trade to get Channing [Frye]. I mean, I can name all the pieces that he’s been able to [acquire].”

Griffin is working on the final year of his contract after extension talks failed last summer. He joined the organization in 2010 as vice president of basketball operations, was named acting GM in 2014 and got the job on a full-time basis later that year.

In addition to acquiring on-court talent, Griffin made the decision to fire coach David Blatt midway through last season and replace him with Tyronn Lue. Griffin rewarded Lue with a five-year, $35 million extension in July.

James understands that many outsiders believes he really runs the franchise, which causes Griffin to get less respect than he deserves.

“Obviously they always want to bring my name into it and say that obviously, it’s easier because guys want to be here because I’m here,” James said. “But at the end of the day, he still has to press the right buttons because I’m not in the war room, I’m not in the draft room with those [front office] guys. I don’t know how much we may be over the luxury tax or if we have a trade exception here or how that’s going to work there or how many days we got to do this. So, it wouldn’t, seriously, I don’t know why it would make any sense to bring in a new GM. That don’t make no sense.”

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LeBron: “Concentration” Wasn’t There In Loss To Bulls

March 31st, 2017 at 4:57pm CST by Milo Taibi

While the Cavs have long clinched a postseason spot, LeBron James wasn’t happy with the team’s focus (or lack thereof) in Thursday’s 99-93 loss to the Bulls. James spoke to reporters after the game, emphasizing the importance of finishing the regular season strong.

“We’re just in a bad spot right now,” James told Joe Vardon of Cleveland.com. “I think the effort was there. I just don’t think the concentration for as close to 48 minutes is there yet. Which is unfortunate. Tomorrow’s another day. It’s another opportunity, but we’ve got some work to do. We don’t have a lot of time.”

Indeed, with just eight games left before the playoffs, the Cavs have a limited timeframe to overtake Boston for the first seed in the Eastern Conference. Now 4-6 over their last 10, Cleveland’s late-season struggles have been much  publicized.

According to a recent report from Joe Vardon of Cleveland.com, veteran James Jones addressed the team following a recent loss, asking his teammates what they wanted out of the season. Additionally, a source told Vardon that a difficult road schedule combined with losing has resulted in “frayed nerves.”

“To be perfectly honest, we’re probably all over the place,” Irving added after last night’s road loss. “It’s no time to kind of back up into the wall and panic. I’m not panicking and I don’t think anyone in this locker room should panic. We’re going to be just fine. It’s ugly right now. It’s real, real ugly. But we’ll get out of this, we’ll be fine.”

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Cavalier Notes: Jones, Irving, LeBron

March 30th, 2017 at 6:43pm CST by ChrisCrouse

Discontent marinates within the Cavaliers‘ locker room and veteran James Jones recently spoke to the team to try to sort out the issues, sources tell Joe Vardon of Cleveland.com. After the team’s loss to the Spurs, Jones rhetorically asked players what they wanted out of the season. Vardon adds that neither Kyrie Irving nor LeBron James addressed the team, but a source told the scribe that the losing and travel have “frayed nerves.”

Cleveland owns a record of 6-9 during the month of March and the team has the eighth worst Plus/Minus over that stretch, as I recently mentioned.

Here’s more from The Land:

  • Irving holds himself accountable for the Cavaliers‘ struggles, Ramona Shelburne of ESPN.com writes. “I had to face it, had to face the music,” Irving said of his performance against the Spurs earlier in the week. “I think we all had to do it. But me more importantly, I had to look in the mirror and just wasn’t doing enough. I need to demand more out of myself and do it at a high level.”
  • Irving and James had an extended and emotional conversation after the Spurs loss, Shelburne adds in the same piece. Irving declines to comment on the nature of the meeting, calling it “private.”
  • Irving believes getting J.R. Smith and Kevin Love back up to speed has been problematic, but the Olympian said it’s his job to help them, Chris Fedor of Cleveland.com relays. “I have to do my best as a point guard to integrate J.R. and K-Love and get our starting five back to having the continuity,” Irving said. “It hasn’t been perfect, to say the least. There’s definitely been some ups and downs and disagreements. But as adults and professionals we just have to figure it out.”
  • The Cavaliers have nine games left in the season, including tonight’s tilt with the Bulls, and coach Tyronn Lue feels it’s enough time to right the ship, Fedor adds in the same piece. “I feel like we can get it right,” Lue said. “We’re right anyway. We’re still right there.
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