Cleveland Cavaliers Rumors | Hoops Rumors

Rondo Inching Closer To Return; Bickerstaff Fined 20k After Ejection

March 4th, 2022 at 9:00pm CST by Rory Maher

Cavaliers coach J.B. Bickerstaff was fined $20K by the NBA for inappropriate language directed at officials and refusing to leave the court in a timely manner during Wednesday’s 119-98 loss to the Hornets, writes Chris Fedor of Cleveland.com. Bickerstaff was ejected after receiving two technical fouls early in the third quarter. The Cavs have dropped six of their past seven games after Friday’s 125-119 loss to the Sixers.

Cavaliers coach J.B. Bickerstaff was fined $20K by the NBA for inappropriate language directed at officials and refusing to leave the court in a timely manner during Wednesday’s 119-98 loss to the Hornets, writes Chris Fedor of Cleveland.com. Bickerstaff was ejected after receiving two technical fouls early in the third quarter. The Cavs have dropped six of their past seven games after Friday’s 125-119 loss to the Sixers.
Cavaliers point guard Rajon Rondo was upgraded from out to doubtful for Friday’s contest after participating in the team’s shootaround, but ultimately missed the game against Philadelphia. A source tells Fedor (Twitter link) that Rondo is “getting close” to a return, but isn’t quite ready yet. Rondo is eight days removed from suffering a sprained big toe which was expected to sideline him for about two weeks, so he’s apparently a little ahead of schedule in his recovery.

Lakers Rumors: Westbrook, Vogel, Pelinka, LeBron

March 2nd, 2022 at 11:24am CST by Luke Adams

The Lakers‘ struggles in 2021/22 will have ramifications beyond this season, according to Jake Fischer of Bleacher Report, who says that point guard Russell Westbrook, head coach Frank Vogel, and head of basketball operations Rob Pelinka all have uncertain futures in Los Angeles.

The Lakers didn’t like any of the deals available for Westbrook at this year’s trade deadline, but the two sides have mutual interest in finding the former MVP a new home in the offseason, sources tell Fischer.

Of course, Westbrook’s $47MM salary will make it challenging to find a taker, with one team strategist telling Fischer that his club wouldn’t trade for the veteran guard unless the Lakers were willing to include two first-round picks. However, other team personnel around the league are more confident that Los Angeles will have better luck shopping Westbrook once he’s on an expiring contract this summer, Fischer adds.

According to Fischer, Westbrook gave an “impassioned” speech to Lakers players prior to All-Star weekend, stressing the need to be unified in their push for the postseason. Fischer notes that Westbrook tried to motivate the Wizards in a similar manner last year and it paid off, as the team finished strong and claimed the No. 8 seed in the East. The Lakers haven’t shown signs of turning their season around so far — they’re 1-4 since the All-Star break.

Here’s more from Fischer on the Lakers:

Few people in coaching circles that Fischer has spoken to expect Vogel to hang onto his job with the Lakers for the 2022/23 season. Assuming Vogel is replaced, the expectation is that the franchise would focus on finding an experienced replacement rather than a first-timer, Fischer notes.
While some league insiders aren’t convinced Pelinka will keep his job atop the Lakers’ basketball operations department, Fischer says the team’s general manager still has strong support from key decision-makers within the organization. “His relationship with Kurt [Rambis] and Linda [Rambis] and Jeanie [Buss], it is very much a mom-and-pop shop,” one assistant GM told Bleacher Report.
According to Fischer, there has been “growing speculation” about Omar Wilkes of Klutch Sports emerging as a candidate to replace Pelinka as the Lakers’ GM. However, some of Fischer’s sources dismissed that idea, with a few suggesting that those rumors are being fueled by Wilkes’ competitors at Creative Artists Agency, since Wilkes is competing with CAA to represent top college prospects such as Duke’s Paolo Banchero.
Some rival front offices have griped about the way Pelinka operates in his trade talks with other teams, according to Fischer. Last offseason, the Kings were irritated to learn via media reports – rather than from Pelinka himself – that the Lakers were passing on Buddy Hield to acquire Westbrook, and one GM tells Bleacher Report that Pelinka wasn’t returning some teams’ calls at last month’s trade deadline. “He was an a–hole as an agent,” one assistant GM said to Bleacher Report. “He had the most powerful players and if he wanted the player moved, he would’ve eviscerated you as a staff to get whatever he wanted. You can’t do that to people, and then expect them to work with you when you join their side.”
Addressing the possibility of LeBron James eventually leaving the Lakers to return to Cleveland, Fischer echoes Marc Stein’s belief that the Cavaliers aren’t itching to pursue that scenario. While the Cavs might be open to the idea, they probably wouldn’t want to break up their young core to accommodate LeBron and wouldn’t want to have him “co-piloting personnel decisions,” Fischer writes. James said during All-Star Weekend that “the door’s not closed” on a return to Cleveland, but later stated that he wants to remain with the Lakers for “as long as I can play.”

Cavs Notes: Garland, Point Guards, LeVert, Sexton, Pangos

March 1st, 2022 at 9:43am CST by Luke Adams

After playing in the last two games before the All-Star break, Darius Garland has missed the Cavaliers‘ first three games since the break due to lower back soreness. The player and team have faced some scrutiny for Garland’s participation in the All-Star festivities in Cleveland, but general manager Mike Gansey said on Monday that it wouldn’t have made sense for the point guard to skip All-Star weekend, given how he was feeling at the time.

“No, because he played in Philly and Atlanta and was feeling good,” Gansey said, according to Chris Fedor of Cleveland.com. “The Skills Competition was like getting some shots up or playing H-O-R-S-E. The shooting stuff for him was fun. Then the team had a practice which wasn’t a practice and he played in the All-Star Game, and I don’t even know if he tried to defend or even touch someone.

“You watch him run around and see him in pregame and he’s fine. It’s a bone bruise. A day-to-day thing. Nothing long term. He needs rest. Obviously, rest is not on our side right now.”

Garland’s back soreness is an issue he’ll likely have to deal with off and on for the rest of 2021/22. However, according to Gansey, the Cavaliers are hopeful that the rest Garland has gotten since the All-Star break will help him stay on the court for the final stretch of the season.

“I think with him, like, it’s just like a day-to-day thing,” Gansey said, per Kelsey Russo of The Athletic. “And, we just hope we can get through it, with him here taking a week. Who knows, maybe Wednesday, he’ll wake up and feel good. I don’t know. I just think this proper rest here will only help him. There’s nothing structural or anything there. It’s just something he’s got to deal with the rest of the year, unfortunately.”

Here’s more on the Cavs:

Cleveland finds itself shorthanded at point guard with Garland, Rajon Rondo, and Caris LeVert all sidelined, but Gansey doesn’t think the team made a mistake by not acquiring more depth at the position at the trade deadline. “I don’t think we regret (not adding another) because I didn’t think we would see doomsday with our point guard situation,” Gansey said, according to Fedor. “Brandon Goodwin has been awesome for us. A great find. He’s keeping us afloat right now. Gotta give him credit for that.”
Gansey, who acknowledges the Cavaliers have exceeded expectations this season, would consider it a “huge success” if the team even gets a single playoff series, as Russo relays. “If you would have told us (prior to the season), I guess with just the way we’re progressing, if we were in the play-in game, I think we’d be very, very happy with that,” Gansey said. “And I guess you could say we’re ahead of schedule. But the exciting thing is we’re so young. Everyone talks about Darius, Evan (Mobley), and Jarrett (Allen), but, like, Lauri (Markkanen)‘s 24. Isaac (Okoro)‘s 22. Collin (Sexton)‘s (23). Like, there are six guys under 25 that hopefully are our core moving forward. … Hopefully, with the young guys we have, they’re just only going to get better like they’ve shown and see what we can do.”
There has been some speculation that acquiring LeVert means Sexton’s days in Cleveland could be numbered, but Gansey believes there’s room for both guards on the roster going forward, according to Russo. “I mean, based on what we’ve seen this year, you can’t have enough playmakers and ballhandlers,” the GM said. Sexton will be a restricted free agent this offseason, while LeVert is under contract through 2023.
Waived on February 19, Kevin Pangos is one of four NBA players who has reached a buyout agreement since the trade deadline, per ESPN’s Bobby Marks (Twitter link). Marks tells Hoops Rumors that Pangos gave up $100K in his deal with the Cavs. The 29-year-old could afford to sacrifice a little money because he had an agreement in place with CSKA Moscow, though he still hasn’t traveled to Russia since signing his new contract due to the ongoing war in Ukraine, according to a Mundo Deportivo report (hat tip to BasketNews.com).

2022’s Most Valuable Traded Second-Round Picks

February 28th, 2022 at 9:01am CST by Luke Adams

Fans of lottery-bound NBA teams will be keeping a close on the league’s reverse standings down the stretch because of the effect they’ll have on the draft order and lottery odds for the 2022 first round.

However, it’s not just the first round of the draft that’s worth keeping an eye on. Those reverse standings will also dictate the order of the draft’s second round, and an early second-round pick can be nearly as valuable as a first-rounder.

Traded first-round selections will ultimately be more valuable than any second-rounder, but it’s still worth taking a closer look at some traded 2022 second-rounders that project to be quality picks.

Here are a few of those traded picks:

From: Detroit Pistons
To: Toronto Raptors
Current projection: No. 32

Back in 2018, the Bulls gained the right to swap 2022 second-round picks with Detroit in a trade involving Jameer Nelson. Chicago eventually transferred that right to San Antonio as part of last summer’s DeMar DeRozan‘s sign-and-trade, and the Spurs transferred it to Toronto as part of the Thaddeus Young/Goran Dragic trade at this month’s deadline.

The Pistons are currently on track to finish the season with a bottom-three record, so the Raptors are a good bet to be picking the No. 31-33 range this June.

From: Houston Rockets
To: Indiana Pacers
Current projection: No. 33

The Cavaliers first acquired Houston’s 2022 second-round pick in a 2019 deadline deal involving Alec Burks and Iman Shumpert, then sent it to Indiana this month in the Caris LeVert trade.

Like the Pistons, the Rockets comfortably hold a bottom-three spot in the NBA right now, so the Pacers will likely have a top-three pick in the second round of the 2022 draft to aid their retooling efforts.

From: Indiana Pacers
To: Orlando Magic
Current projection: No. 35

Although the Pacers control Houston’s second-rounder, they won’t have a second pick near the top of the round, having traded away their own 2022 second-rounder to Milwaukee in their 2019 sign-and-trade deal for Malcolm Brogdon. The Bucks flipped that pick to Orlando during the 2020 draft in a package for the No. 45 pick in the ’20 draft, which they used to select Jordan Nwora.

The Magic’s own 2022 second-rounder currently projects to be the No. 31 pick, so Orlando could control two of the top five picks in the second round this year.

From: San Antonio Spurs
To: Cleveland Cavaliers
Current projection: No. 37

The Spurs traded their 2022 second-round selection to Utah all the way back in 2016 as part of a Boris Diaw salary dump. The Jazz controlled that pick up until December 2019, when they flipped it to Cleveland as part of their deal for Jordan Clarkson — the Cavaliers have held it since then.

The Cavs have traded away their own 2022 first-round pick (top-14 protected), so San Antonio’s second-rounder could end up being the best pick Cleveland owns in this year’s draft.

Cavaliers Looking To Re-Establish Defensive Identity

February 27th, 2022 at 8:35pm CST by JD Shaw

The Cavaliers are looking to re-establish their defensive identity entering March, Kelsey Russo of The Athletic writes. Cleveland most recently put forth a strong defensive performance against Washington, winning the contest 92-86. “To be honest with you, I was less concerned about the results and more concerned about the effort and the performance,” coach J.B. Bickerstaff said. “If we do the things and play the way that we play, I can live with whatever the results are. I just thought that our past two games, we weren’t ourselves. So win or loss, if we’re ourselves, and the best version of ourselves, we can live with that.”

Cavaliers May Not Embrace A Potential LeBron James Return

February 26th, 2022 at 8:28pm CST by Arthur Hill

LeBron James hinted at a potential return to the Cavaliers last week, but Marc Stein of Substack is skeptical that owner Dan Gilbert and president of basketball operations Koby Altman want to go through that experience again. Stein states that James and Rich Paul of Klutch Sports virtually ran the team during the last four years that LeBron was in Cleveland, and the Cavs will be reluctant to break up the core of young talent that they’ve assembled.

Tim Frazier Signs 10-Day Contract With Cavaliers

February 26th, 2022 at 4:55pm CST by Dana Gauruder

FEBRUARY 27: Frazier has officially signed his 10-day contract with the Cavaliers, per a team press release.

FEBRUARY 25: The backcourt-depleted Cavaliers are signing veteran point guard Tim Frazier to a 10-day contract, Shams Charania of The Athletic tweets.

The team announced on Thursday that Caris LeVert would miss one to two weeks due to a foot sprain while All-Star Darius Garland is battling lower back soreness. Neither played in the team’s loss to Detroit Thursday night. On Friday, Rajon Rondo was diagnosed with a sprained toe that will sideline him at least two weeks.

Frazier was signed to 10-day contracts with the Magic this season under the hardship exception during the COVID crisis in late December. He wound up playing 10 games for Orlando, including three starts.

Frazier, 31, has also played for Philadelphia, Portland, New Orleans, Washington, Milwaukee, Detroit and Memphis is his journeyman career. He’s averaged 4.9 PPG and 4.0 APG in 17.7 MPG in 287 NBA games.

Cleveland had a roster spot available and won’t have to make a corresponding move.

Rajon Rondo To Miss Approximately Two Weeks

February 25th, 2022 at 3:55pm CST by Luke Adams

Cavaliers point guard Rajon Rondo will be sidelined for approximately the next two weeks, according to a press release from the team.

Rondo has been diagnosed with a sprained right big toe after getting an MRI and will now undergo a period of treatment and rehab, the team said in its announcement. The injury occurred late in the fourth quarter of Thursday’s loss to Detroit.

After being traded from the Lakers to the Cavaliers earlier this season, Rondo has averaged 7.5 PPG, 5.0 APG, and 3.4 RPG in 14 games (21.7 MPG) with Cleveland. He has been Cleveland’s primary backup point guard in recent weeks and started on Thursday in place of injured guard Darius Garland, who has been battling back soreness that complicates his availability from game to game.

Cleveland’s backcourt has been hit hard in 2021/22 by health problems, with Collin Sexton and Ricky Rubio suffering season-ending knee injuries earlier in the season. Caris LeVert is also currently unavailable due to a sprained foot.

Having waived Kevin Pangos last weekend, the Cavs will have to lean heavily on two-way player Brandon Goodwin at the point guard spot if Garland remains on the shelf. Once Garland is able to play, Goodwin figures to remain in the rotation as his backup.

Central Notes: LeVert, Garland, Williams, Caruso, Haliburton, Brogdon

February 24th, 2022 at 10:19pm CST by Dana Gauruder

Cavaliers guard Caris LeVert will be out at least a week or two after spraining his right foot during Tuesday’s practice, Chris Fedor of the Cleveland Plain Dealer relays.

LeVert underwent an MRI on Wednesday, which confirmed the sprain. All-Star point guard Darius Garland also missed Thursday’s loss at Detroit due to lower back soreness. He’ll undergo a period of treatment and rehabilitation, according to a team press release.

Garland’s injury is muscular and will need to be managed throughout the remainder of the season, according to Fedor.

We have more from the Central Division:

Patrick Williams is getting closer to returning from wrist surgery but the 2020 lottery pick won’t automatically return to the Bulls’ starting lineup, according to Joe Cowley of the Chicago Sun-Times. “Staff-wise, as players get closer and closer to coming back, I think Javonte [Green] has done a really good job with that group in terms of how he’s fit in, what he’s been able to bring to the table in Patrick’s absence,’’ coach Billy Donovan said. “I’m not opposed to bringing Patrick off the bench and I’m not opposed to starting him. I think a lot of it is going to be once he can get back to practice, is there a minutes restriction on him, how many minutes can he play at a time, and what’s the best role for him to help our team?’’
Alex Caruso underwent surgery to repair a fractured right wrist on January 24th and had an six-to-eight week reevaluation timeline. The Bulls guard appears to be on schedule, according to Rob Schaefer of NBC Sports Chicago. “We’re hoping by the end of this week, certainly early next week, that he’ll have a ball in his hands and be able to do things,” Donovan said. Williams has begun doing some dribbling and shooting work but Donovan said he needs to strengthen the wrist further before facing live contact.
Pacers coach Rick Carlisle believes the backcourt pairing of Tyrese Haliburton and Malcolm Brogdon will produce big results, Wheat Hotchkiss of Pacers.com writes. “I think they’re perfect compliments to one another,” Carlisle said. “They both have had their share of playing with and without the ball so both positions come naturally to them. I’m looking forward to it. Really with those two guys and their knowledge of the game, feel for the game, I should never have to call a play. “

Cavaliers Notes: Markkanen, Garland, LeVert

February 23rd, 2022 at 10:20pm CST by Rory Maher

After several weeks of rehabbing his injured right ankle, Lauri Markkanen is eager to help the Cavaliers make a playoff push, as Chris Fedor of Cleveland.com relays. Markkanen suffered a high ankle sprain on Jan. 22 against Oklahoma City and has missed Cleveland’s last 11 games.

Markkanen was a full participant in practice Wednesday and is listed as probable for the team’s game Thursday. A source told Fedor that the Cavs are preparing as if the forward will return Thursday at Detroit. Markkanen said he was relieved that the injury wasn’t as serious as he initially thought and is excited to be back.

“I’m excited,” Markkanen said when asked about his impending return. “We always talk about playing meaningful games after the All-Star break and it’s definitely every game matters. I just love doing it with these guys and can’t wait to get out there.

“We have a great group of guys and we’re a great team. We just have to bring it every night, no matter who we are playing and we gotta play Cavaliers basketball every night. I think we’re going to be fine if we do that and play together. We definitely need everybody at this point of the year. Going to need everybody’s contribution on the court. Have to be focused, especially with Eastern Conference being so tight. Every game matters. Have to be locked in.”

The Cavs currently hold the fourth seed in the East with a 35-23 record.

Here’s more from Cleveland:

While the team received good news with Markkanen’s return appearing imminent, Cleveland will be without Darius Garland and Caris LeVert on Thursday, Fedor writes in a separate article for Cleveland.com. Garland continues to have lower back soreness, while LeVert suffered a sprained right foot after he stepped on a teammate’s foot during Tuesday’s practice.
Sources tell Fedor that LeVert’s injury isn’t serious and he’s considered day-to-day. He did not practice on Wednesday. During the All-Star break, coach J.B. Bickerstaff had been contemplating starting the newly-acquired LeVert alongside Garland in the backcourt. Bickerstaff is still trying to figure out where LeVert is most comfortable on the court. “Had some conversations about where he’s comfortable, where he likes the ball, places where he’s had most success in his past,” Bickerstaff said. “I think we have a great understanding of how we can get it done. The next thing becomes actually going out and doing it. That involves the other four guys that are on the floor with him, and understanding how they build that chemistry. Our picture is clear, we just need the experience and the minutes together to make it successful.” Developing that chemistry will have to wait with LeVert sidelined.
Garland’s situation is much trickier, Fedor details. He was able to participate in All-Star weekend, where he was named to the team for the first time, but his lower back will need to be managed for the remainder of the season, sources tell Fedor. Garland has been dealing with the soreness since Jan. 9, and the pain can pop up during any type of contact. With the nature of his injury, in most cases Garland would need two weeks of rest to allow for proper healing, treatment and recovery, per Fedor’s sources. However, Garland doesn’t want to miss that much time, and the Cavs need him to win games. They will continue to closely monitor how he’s feeling and try to give him rest days during the season so he’s in good shape for the playoffs — assuming they make it.