Cleveland Cavaliers Rumors | Hoops Rumors

Central Notes: Pistons, Cavs, Pacers, Craig

July 4th, 2023 at 10:16am CST by Luke Adams

The Pistons didn’t have the “loud and exciting” free agency that some fans were anticipating, but they’ve added veteran depth to their young roster, according to James L. Edwards of The Athletic, who notes that former lottery picks like Marvin Bagley III, James Wiseman, and Killian Hayes project to be low enough on the depth chart that they’ll have to earn their minutes.

Edwards does believe that all three of Bagley, Wiseman, and Hayes are candidates to be traded before or during the 2023/24 season. While more established veterans like Bojan Bogdanovic or Alec Burks could theoretically be moved too, none of the public statements made by general manager Troy Weaver about the team’s roster suggests that’s in the cards at this point, Edwards writes.

Here’s more from around the Central:

The Cavaliers‘ 2023 offseason hasn’t been as splashy as in 2022, when the club acquired Donovan Mitchell. However, the team has accomplished virtually everything it set out to do by lining up deals to add a starting-caliber wing (Max Strus), a frontcourt shooter (Georges Niang), and a reserve center (Damian Jones), says Chris Fedor of Cleveland.com. The club also re-signed its own top free agent, Caris LeVert, and will bring in a player Koby Altman has targeted in the past: Ty Jerome. Cleveland tried to sign Jerome to a two-way contract a year ago, per Fedor, but he joined Golden State instead.
The Cavaliers announced minor some changes within their front office, having promoted Brendon Yu to be the team’s director of scouting. Yu previously held the position of Cleveland Charge general manager, a role that will be taken over by Liron Fanan, the first female G League GM in team history.
Some of the top forwards on the free agent market – including Harrison Barnes and Kyle Kuzma – may have used the Pacers‘ interest as leverage to get better deals with their own teams, notes Dustin Dopirak of The Indianapolis Star. Still, even if it wasn’t Indiana’s Plan A in free agency, Bruce Brown and Obi Toppin represent solid additions who won’t necessarily compromise the team’s financial flexibility beyond 2023/24, as Dopirak details.
Besides being able to play both forward spots and defend multiple positions, Torrey Craig will also bring some much-needed shooting to the Bulls, writes Darnell Mayberry of The Athletic. As Mayberry observes, Chicago has ranked dead last in the NBA in each of the two seasons. Craig, who agreed to a two-year deal with the team, made a career-best 39.5% of his attempts from beyond the arc last season.

Cavs Sign Isaiah Mobley, Craig Porter To Two-Way Deals

July 4th, 2023 at 8:56am CST by Luke Adams

The Cavaliers have filled two of their three two-way slots for the 2023/24 season by signing forward Isaiah Mobley and guard Craig Porter to two-way contracts, per NBA.com’s official transaction log.

Neither move comes as a surprise. Mobley was on a two-way deal last season and received a two-way qualifying offer last week that made him a restricted free agent. As for Porter, his agreement with Cleveland was reported shortly after he went undrafted on June 22.

Mobley, the older brother of rising Cavs star Evan Mobley, appeared in just 12 games and logged 84 total minutes at the NBA level last season after being drafted 49th overall out of USC. He played a much bigger role for the Cleveland Charge, the Cavs’ G League affiliate, averaging 21.0 points, 8.6 rebounds, and 4.0 assists with a .517/.353/.730 shooting line in 33.2 minutes per game across 22 regular season contests.

Porter, who went undrafted out of Wichita State, was a fifth-year senior who played three seasons with the Shockers after transferring from Vincennes. He had by far his best year in 2022/23, averaging 13.5 points, 6.2 rebounds and 4.9 assists in 31 games (33.6 MPG) and earning third-team All-AAC honors.

The Cavs have one open two-way slot left and it’s not yet clear who will fill it. Last season’s other two-way player, Mamadi Diakite, didn’t receive a qualifying offer, so No. 49 pick Emoni Bates looks like the leading candidate, unless he earns a spot on the standard 15-man roster.

Free Agency Notes: Collison, Suns, Jerome, White, Cap Room, Joseph

July 2nd, 2023 at 11:52pm CST by Luke Adams

Free agent guard Darren Collison didn’t play in the NBA at all last season and has appeared in just three games since 2019, but he hasn’t given up on earning a spot on an opening-night roster this fall. According to Chris Haynes of TNT and Bleacher Report (Twitter link), Collison worked out last week for the Suns and had a “great showing.”

The Suns, who entered free agency with eight players under contract, have reached deals with seven free agents, so they project to have a full 15-man roster. However, Haynes says the club continues to be “aggressive” in seeking role players.

One way Phoenix could open up a roster spot is by waiving or trading Isaiah Todd, whose inclusion in the Bradley Beal trade seemed to be more about Washington moving off his guaranteed 2023/24 salary than the Suns specifically targeting him. Still, any form of salary dump will be costly for a Suns team that projects to be well over the tax line and doesn’t have any future draft picks left to trade.

Here are a few more notes related to free agency:

The Warriors withdrew their qualifying offer to Ty Jerome, while the Nuggets did the same with Jack White, per RealGM’s transactions log. Reports on Saturday indicated that Jerome had reached a contract agreement with the Cavaliers and that White is poised to sign with the Thunder. With those qualifying offers no longer on the table, the two players are no longer restricted free agents, clearing the path for them to freely join their new teams as unrestricted FAs.
Once coveted for its power to attract a top free agent, maximum-salary cap room no longer has the cachet it once did, according to John Hollinger of The Athletic, who notes that the Rockets were the only team this summer to use a significant chunk of cap space to sign a marquee free agent (Fred VanVleet) to a huge, multiyear deal. Most other teams with room have used it for trades, renegotiations, or smaller (and/or shorter-term) signings. As Hollinger observes, the new contract extension rules in the 2017 CBA have resulted in fewer stars reaching the open market, with 2019 standing out as the last big summer of free agent movement.
Warriors guards Chris Paul and Stephen Curry are 38 and 35 years old, respectively, and have each dealt with injuries over the years. The addition of Cory Joseph, who agreed to a one-year deal with Golden State on Sunday, will help ensure that those veteran stars get the rest they need during the regular season, according to Dalton Johnson of NBC Sports Bay Area, who takes a closer look at what Joseph will bring to the team.

Heat Rumors: Strus, Robinson, Herro, Bouyea

July 2nd, 2023 at 6:29pm CST by Dana Gauruder

The Heat didn’t go beyond their initial offer to Max Strus, according to Ira Winderman of the South Florida Sun Sentinel (Twitter link).

Strus attracted plenty of attention on the free agent market and Miami eventually agreed to a sign-and-trade with the Cavaliers that turned into a three-team swap. Strus wound up with a four-year, $63MM contract, far more than the Heat were willing to pay him. The Heat will get a traded player exception worth approximately $7MM in the deal.

Miami did make a counter-offer for Gabe Vincent, Winderman adds, but it couldn’t stop him from agreeing to a three-year contract with the Lakers for more money.

We have more on the Heat:

Orlando Robinson has signed a standard minimum-salary contract but he has some work to do to earn the full value for 2023/24, Winderman tweets. There are conditional elements to the contract, including guarantee dates. One of those stipulations is that he must make the opening-night roster.
The Nets have been contacted regarding the possibility of acquiring Tyler Herro in order to facilitate a Damian Lillard deal between the Trail Blazers and Heat, Barry Jackson of the Miami Herald tweets. This confirms another report that the Nets were interested in Herro, whose four-year, $120MM extension kicks in next season.
Herro may be weary of hearing his name in trade rumors. For what it’s worth, Herro has removed “Miami Heat Guard” from the header on his Twitter feed and replaced it with “Slow motion,” NBA Central relays (Twitter link).
Jamaree Bouyea, recently signed to a two-way contract, believes he can become the next Heat success story among undrafted players, Anthony Chiang of the Miami Herald tweets. Bouyea played on separate 10-day contracts with the Heat and Wizards as an undrafted rookie last year. “I like how they just invest, they invest in their young guys,” he said. “Obviously, they have a bunch of undrafted talent that got paid this offseason and offseasons before this, as well.”

Stein’s Latest: Mavs, Thybulle, J. Allen, Maxey, D. Powell

July 2nd, 2023 at 5:45pm CST by Luke Adams

In addition to their previously reported interest in Grant Williams, the Mavericks have their eye on another restricted free agent, Matisse Thybulle of the Trail Blazers, league sources tell veteran NBA reporter Marc Stein (Substack story).

It’s unclear if Dallas has a real shot at either player — according to Stein, the Celtics and Blazers have been sending “behind-the-scenes signals” that they plan to match any offer sheet on their respective RFAs, and the over-the-cap Mavericks will be limited to the mid-level exception.

Besides pursuing another wing, the Mavericks would still like to upgrade their center spot. They explored trades for Clint Capela and Deandre Ayton and would have been interested in Naz Reid if he had reached free agency, Stein writes. For now, Dwight Powell and Richaun Holmes appears poised to vie for the starting job as lottery pick Dereck Lively adjusts to the NBA.

Here’s more from Stein’s latest look around the league:

There have been some “whispers” this week that Cavaliers center Jarrett Allen may be more available via trade than the team is letting on, says Stein. Allen was an All-Star in 2021/22 and had another solid season in ’22/23, but struggled to make an impact during Cleveland’s first-round playoff loss to New York.
Stein, like some other reporters, has heard that the Sixers have essentially made Tyrese Maxey untouchable in trade discussions. A team source tells Stein that Philadelphia views Maxey as an integral part of the club’s future and is adamant that he won’t be available in any trade.
According to Stein, Dwight Powell received “serious” interest from the Rockets before deciding to remain with the Mavericks. Houston pivoted to Jock Landale after Powell chose Dallas, Stein explains.

Ty Jerome Joins Cavaliers On Two-Year Deal

July 1st, 2023 at 7:06pm CST by Arthur Hill

JULY 6: The Cavaliers have officially signed Jerome, the team announced today in a press release.

Golden State withdrew its qualifying offer to Jerome, making him an unrestricted free agent and clearing the way for him to sign with Cleveland.

JULY 1: The Cavaliers will sign shooting guard Ty Jerome to a two-year, $5MM contract, tweets ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski.

Jerome received a minimum-salary qualifying offer from the Warriors this week, making him a restricted free agent. However, Cleveland was able to put together a package that Golden State doesn’t plan to match, according to Anthony Slater of The Athletic (Twitter link).

Jerome spent one season with Golden State after signing a two-way contract last October. He appeared in 45 games, averaging 6.9 points, 1.7 rebounds and 3.0 assists in 18.1 minutes per night.

The former Virginia standout was the 24th overall selection in the 2019 draft and started his career with the Suns. He also played two seasons with the Thunder, but spent much of his time in the G League.

There were rumors late in the season that the Warriors might convert Jerome to a standard deal so he could be eligible for the playoffs, but Golden State opted to make that move with Anthony Lamb instead.

Jerome will add depth to a Cleveland backcourt that features Donovan Mitchell, Darius Garland, Ricky Rubio and the newly acquired Max Strus.

Free Agent Rumors: Lopez, Banton, T. Davis, Strus

June 30th, 2023 at 10:17pm CST by Alex Kirschenbaum

Multiple NBA clubs are awaiting word on the future of unrestricted free agent center Brook Lopez, who has spent his past five seasons with the Bucks, per Jake Fischer of Yahoo Sports (Twitter link).

Fischer reports that “increasing word” on Friday suggests the Rockets may bid in excess of the two-year, $40MM deal that has been floated as a possibility.

Lopez, 35, has enjoyed a fruitful relationship with Milwaukee. The seven-footer has been named to two All-Defensive Teams and won his first championship during his Bucks tenure, while totally transforming his game, from being a fringe All-Star post scorer while with the Nets to the gritty 3-and-D role player he is now.

In 78 regular season games for the 58-24 Bucks last season, the former Stanford big man posted averages of 15.9 PPG on .531/.374/.784 shooting splits, in addition to 6.7 RPG, 2.5 BPG and 1.3 APG. He was the runner-up for Defensive Player of the Year honors.

Here are further free agent rumors:

Free agent point guard Dalano Banton met with the Celtics on Friday, according to Rafael Barlowe of NBA Big Board (via Twitter). The 6’9″ vet out of Nebraska had spent both of his NBA seasons to date with the Raptors. In 31 contests, last year, he averaged 4.6 PPG, 1.5 RPG and 1.2 APG.
The Celtics, Suns, Bucks, Mavericks and Raptors are among the teams with some level of interest in free agent former Kings shooting guard Terence Davis, according to Mark Jones of ESPN and Michael Scotto of HoopsHype (Twitter links).
According to Fischer (Twitter link), the Spurs have emerged as a possible third team in a rumored sign-and-trade deal that would send Heat free agent shooting guard Max Strus to the Cavaliers. Sources tell Fischer that Cleveland has been looking to offload the contract of swingman Cedi Osman, whom Miami presumably has no interest in taking on. Barry Jackson of The Miami Herald reports (via Twitter) that the Heat are aiming to create a trade exception and a future second-round draft selection in any sign-and-trade involving Strus.

Cavaliers Sign Georges Niang To Three-Year Contract

June 30th, 2023 at 5:46pm CST by Luke Adams

JULY 6: Niang is officially a Cavalier, having formally signed his new contract with the team, per a press release.

JUNE 30: The Cavaliers and forward Georges Niang have agreed to a three-year contract worth $26MM, agents Mark Bartelstein and Andy Shiffman tell Adrian Wojnarowski of ESPN (Twitter link). The deal will be fully guaranteed, tweets Jake Fischer of Yahoo Sports.

Niang is one of the NBA’s best shooters, having made at least 40% of his three-point attempts in each of the last five seasons. While he’s not a great defender or rebounder, the 30-year-old will help space the floor for the Cavaliers, who had been in the market for frontcourt shooting.

Unless the Cavs work out a sign-and-trade agreement with Philadelphia, Niang’s former team, this signing will come out of Cleveland’s non-taxpayer mid-level exception and will hard-cap them at $172.3MM for the 2023/24 season.

As Bobby Marks of ESPN tweets, the Cavs – who also reached a contract agreement with Caris LeVert, are still projected to be about $13.5MM below the tax and $20.5MM below the first apron, so they have some flexibility to continue making moves. They’re still looking into the possibility of acquiring free agent swingman Max Strus via sign-and-trade, tweets Jake Fischer of Yahoo Sports.

Cavaliers Re-Sign Caris LeVert To Two-Year Deal

June 30th, 2023 at 5:08pm CST by Luke Adams

JULY 6: LeVert’s new deal with the Cavaliers is now official, the team confirmed (via Twitter).

JUNE 30: The Cavaliers have reached an agreement to re-sign free agent swingman Caris LeVert, according to ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski (Twitter link). Agent Austin Brown tells Wojnarowski that it’ll be a two-year, $32MM deal.

Chris Fedor of Cleveland.com had reported in the days leading up to free agency that LeVert would be offered a contract in the range of $15-18MM annually, so the terms come as no surprise. At that price, Cleveland still has the flexibility to continue adding to to its roster while remaining below the luxury tax line.

When the Cavaliers first traded for LeVert in 2021, they envisioned him as a scorer and play-maker who would frequently have the ball in his hands. Following the emergence of Darius Garland and the acquisition of Donovan Mitchell, Cleveland asked him to play off the ball more in 2022/23, an adjustment which was reflected in his statistics — LeVert’s 18.7% usage rate was easily his lowest since his rookie year, and his 12.1 points per game were well below the 18.5 PPG he averaged across the three previous seasons.

However, LeVert adjusted to his new role without complaint and expanded his game. His .392 3PT% last season was a career high and he took on more challenging defensive assignments to alleviate the pressure on Garland and Mitchell.

LeVert’s new deal puts him on track to return to unrestricted free agency in 2025 at age 30.

Pre-FA Updates: Toppin, Cavs, Niang, Strus, Draymond, Warriors, More

June 30th, 2023 at 4:55pm CST by Luke Adams

With just minutes before free agency begins and a flurry of contract agreements are reported, we have a few items to pass along:

The Pacers have emerged as the leading candidate to trade for Knicks forward Obi Toppin, league sources tell Marc Stein (Twitter link). Ian Begley of SNY.tv, who confirms that the two sides have recently been in contact about a potential Toppin deal, says New York is seeking draft compensation and notes that Indiana could potentially acquire the forward and his $6.8MM expiring contract using cap room, so the Knicks wouldn’t have to take a player back.
A scenario in which the Cavaliers sign Georges Niang and acquire Max Strus – either via sign-and-trade or by signing him outright – is being viewed as “increasingly likely,” according to Stein (Twitter link).
The latest whispers Stein from has heard from his sources suggest Draymond Green may get a four-year, $100MM deal to re-up with the Warriors (Twitter link).
Former No. 2 overall pick Jabari Parker is back with the team that drafted him, at least for a few games in July. The Bucks announced today that Parker is on their Las Vegas Summer League roster.
The Timberwolves have hired former NBA forward Corliss Williamson as an assistant coach, they announced today in a press release. Williams was previously a member of coaching staffs in Sacramento, Orlando, and Phoenix.