- The Cavaliers are brimming with confidence to start the season, Chris Fedor of Cleveland.com writes. The team is coming off a hard-fought victory against the Raptors, winning 102-101 on the road. “There’s something special brewing in that locker room,” said head coach J.B. Bickerstaff, who’s guided the team to a 6-4 record thus far. “Everybody wants to be a part of it.”
- Cavaliers forward Isaac Okoro worked out on the court before the team left for Toronto and joined it on the trip over the border, Chris Fedor of the Cleveland Plain Dealer tweets. There’s still no official word on his availability for Friday’s game against the Raptors, since he needs to be cleared by the medical staff. Okoro appeared in four games before suffering a left hamstring strain.
Cavaliers forward Lauri Markkanen has entered the NBA’s health and safety protocols and has been ruled out for Wednesday’s game against Portland, the team announced today (via Twitter).
According to Shams Charania of The Athletic (Twitter link), Markkanen is expected to miss several games while he remains in the protocols. That could mean he has tested positive for COVID-19, though that hasn’t been confirmed.
Markkanen is the second Cavaliers player to enter the protocols this week, joining teammate Kevin Love.
After being acquired via sign-and-trade this offseason, Markkanen has started all eight of the Cavaliers’ games to open the regular season, joining Jarrett Allen and Evan Mobley in a jumbo-sized frontcourt. Markkanen’s production has been below his usual level as he adjusts to his new team — his 12.9 PPG, .361 FG%, and .280 3PT% would all be career lows.
With Markkanen and Love sidelined, the Cavs figure to lean more heavily on Allen and Mobley up front. Cedi Osman, Dean Wade, and Lamar Stevens are among the club’s backup forwards who could take on increased roles.
Cavaliers power forward Kevin Love has entered the NBA’s health and safety protocols and is expected to miss several games, sources tell Shams Charania of The Athletic (Twitter link). It’s unclear whether Love has tested positive for COVID-19.
Love, 33, is the Cavaliers’ highest-paid player, but is coming off the bench and averaging a career-low 20.7 minutes per game through seven contests this season. He’s contributing 9.9 PPG and 7.3 RPG, but has struggled with his shot so far, making just 35.5% of his field goal attempts, including 20.8% from beyond the arc.
With Love unavailable, the Cavs may lean more heavily on backup forwards Cedi Osman and Dean Wade over the next few games.
Cleveland will visit Charlotte on Monday, host the Blazers on Wednesday, and play in Toronto on Friday.
The Cavaliers have exercised the fourth-year contract options for Darius Garland and Dylan Windler, along with the third-year option for Isaac Okoro, the team announced in a press release. All the option decisions cover the 2022/23 season.
The moves lock in the salaries of $8,920,795 for Garland and $4,037,278 for Windler, who will both be eligible for rookie scale extensions next summer. Okoro will receive $7,040,880 in 2022/23 and will be extension-eligible during the 2023 offseason, assuming Cleveland picks up his fourth-year option as well.
Garland, the fifth pick in the 2019 draft, showed considerable improvement during his second NBA season and is considered to be a cornerstone for the team’s future. He averaged 17.4 points and 6.1 assists last year while shooting 39.5% from three-point range and earned three votes in the Most Improved Player balloting.
Windler has been hampered by injuries at the start of his NBA career as he missed his entire first season and played just 31 games last year. He will need a strong performance this season to show that he’s worthy of a long-term investment.
Okoro, the No. 5 pick in 2020, was a member of the All-Rookie Second Team last season. He led all rookies in minutes per game and ranked in the top 10 in steals, points and assists.
Lakers superstar LeBron James praised Cavaliers rookie Evan Mobley after Los Angeles beat Cleveland 113-101 on Friday night. Mobley finished with 23 points, six rebounds and two steals in just his sixth NBA game, catching James’ eye.
“He’s going to be a damn good basketball player in this league,” James said, according to Mark Medina of NBA.com. “Cleveland has a good one. They’ve done a good job over the years in the draft, I’ll say.”
Cleveland has started Mobley alongside Lauri Markkanen and Jarrett Allen, deploying one of the biggest lineups in the league. The 20-year-old was selected by the team No. 3 overall in July’s draft.
Here are some other notes from the Eastern Conference:
- Chris Forsberg of NBC Sports Boston examines potential trade targets for the Celtics, noting that any acquisition should fit well alongside Jaylen Brown and Jayson Tatum. Boston has opened the season with a 2-3 record, sporting a rotation that includes new additions Dennis Schroder, Al Horford and Josh Richardson.
- The Bucks will visit the White House on November 8, becoming the first team to do so since 2016, Tim Bontemps of ESPN.com reports. Milwaukee will celebrate winning the 2020/21 NBA championship — its first since 1971.
- Raptors guard Goran Dragic received his second straight DNP-CD (did not play, coach’s decision) on Friday, Michael Grange of Sportsnet tweets. “He’s a very approachable guy, very professional guy,” head coach Nick Nurse said of Dragic. “I talk to him everyday and I pretty much just tell him to stay ready… We’ll see where it goes from there.” Dragic is still viewed as a strong candidate to be traded during the season.
- Cavaliers coach J.B. Bickerstaff credits Lauri Markkanen with making the team’s jumbo lineup effective, Kelsey Russo of The Athletic writes. Markkanen has played small forward in lineups with Evan Mobley and Jarrett Allen on the floor. “The biggest shoutout has to go to Lauri Markkanen,” Bickerstaff said of the former Bulls forward. “To me, he’s the reason why it works. His willingness to do that, and again, sacrifice some comfort. He’s the reason why we’ve been able to get away with it so far and why it’s been able to work.”
Outside of the occasional back-of-the-roster transaction – like Orlando signing Mychal Mulder to a two-way contract earlier today – the first few weeks of the NBA’s regular season are generally a fairly quiet time for roster moves.
However, one noteworthy deadline arrives next Monday — teams have until November 1 to exercise the 2022/23 third- and fourth-year rookie scale options for players who were first-round picks in the 2019 and 2020 drafts. For instance, the Cavaliers will have to pick up the fourth-year option for 2019 first-rounder Darius Garland, while the Hornets will have to exercise the third-year option for 2020 first-rounder LaMelo Ball.
Typically, the deadline for these decisions is October 31, but that’s a Sunday this year. When the deadline falls on a weekend, it’s moved to the next business day, per CBA expert Larry Coon.
As our tracker shows, there are still a number of options that have yet to be picked up, including Garland’s and Ball’s. However, there’s no suspense about whether those ones – or most others – will be exercised.
Rookie scale contracts for productive rotation players are among the biggest bargains in the NBA. Most teams even pick up their options on players who haven’t cracked the rotation, since controlling a young player with upside is usually worth the modest cost of his option.
Here’s the list of option decisions that have yet to be announced or reported:
Boston Celtics
- Romeo Langford (fourth year, $5,634,257)
- Grant Williams (fourth year, $4,306,281)
- Aaron Nesmith (third year, $3,804,360)
- Payton Pritchard (third year, $2,239,200)
Charlotte Hornets
- LaMelo Ball (third year, $8,623,920)
- P.J. Washington (fourth year, $5,808,435)
Cleveland Cavaliers
- Darius Garland (fourth year, $8,920,795)
- Isaac Okoro (third year, $7,040,880)
- Dylan Windler (fourth year, $4,037,278)
Golden State Warriors
- James Wiseman (third year, $9,603,360)
- Jordan Poole (fourth year, $3,901,399)
Houston Rockets
- Kevin Porter Jr. (fourth year, $3,217,631)
Indiana Pacers
- Goga Bitadze (fourth year, $4,765,339)
Philadelphia 76ers
- Matisse Thybulle (fourth year, $4,379,527)
- Tyrese Maxey (third year, $2,726,880)
Phoenix Suns
- Cameron Johnson (fourth year, $5,887,899)
- Jalen Smith (third year, $4,670,160)
Utah Jazz
- Udoka Azubuike (third year, $2,174,880)
It wouldn’t be a shock if all 18 of these options are ultimately picked up, but there are a few players who are more at risk than others.
Windler, for instance, has been limited to just 32 games since being drafted in 2019 due to health problems and isn’t a lock to have his $4MM option for 2022/23 exercised.
Azubuike logged garbage-time minutes in just 15 games as a rookie and doesn’t project to have a rotation role in Utah anytime soon. Third-year options are rarely declined and Azubuike’s $2.17MM salary would be very modest, but we saw the Clippers turn down Mfiondu Kabengele‘s option at the same price point a year ago.
Langford, Bitadze, and Smith are among the other players whose option decisions won’t be automatic, though I’d be a little surprised if their teams don’t opt in.
We’ll continue passing along all of these option decisions as they’re reported over the next week, so be sure to keep an eye on our tracker for the latest updates.
- Cavaliers big man Evan Mobley is already a standout in a strong rookie class, according to John Hollinger of The Athletic. The third overall pick has been as good as advertised defensively while adding another perimeter threat to Cleveland’s offense. Mobley looks capable of becoming “The Guy” on a good team, which is something the Cavs had been missing, says Hollinger.
- Jarrett Allen looked worthy of the Cavaliers‘ $100MM investment during Monday’s win at Denver, observes Chris Fedor of Cleveland.com. Allen put up 21 points and 16 rebounds in a virtual standoff against reigning MVP Nikola Jokic. “It’s hard to put in words, but Jarrett Allen has my full trust,” said coach J.B. Bickerstaff. “He has my full trust that what we’re doing as a team is more important than anything that could happen for him individually. And that comes from time spent last year, a lot of conversations, a lot of time over the summer.”
- Cavaliers big man Evan Mobley is already a standout in a strong rookie class, according to John Hollinger of The Athletic. The third overall pick has been as good as advertised defensively while adding another perimeter threat to Cleveland’s offense. Mobley looks capable of becoming “The Guy” on a good team, which is something the Cavs had been missing, says Hollinger.
Pistons point guard Cade Cunningham is set to miss Detroit’s entire early-season road trip due to a lingering ankle injury, but could be ready to make his NBA debut on October 30 against the Magic, per Rod Beard of The Detroit News. Cunningham, 20, is apparently still dealing with some soreness.
“Last week, we made the decision to make sure we bring him back gradually, where he’d get some time with the G League team (the Motor City Cruise), practice with them, and get some reps with them,” head coach Dwane Casey said of the top draft pick out of Oklahoma State. “The medical people are holding back — and rightfully so… You don’t want to rush him back if it’s not 100%. That’s the one thing that they want to make sure of, that it was 100%, because there were certain movements he had that were still sore.”
There’s more out of the Central Division:
- Reserve forward Javonte Green has already endeared himself to the Bulls faithful since coming over to Chicago at the 2021 trade deadline, writes Joe Cowley of the Chicago Tribune. “(Green is) one of the biggest energy guys we have,’’ Bulls starting point guard Lonzo Ball said. “Not only running the lane but playing defense. He can guard a lot of different positions, and he uses his hands very well… We definitely feed off of that when he comes into the game.’’
- Pacers guard Jeremy Lamb and forward Oshae Brissett are proving their mettle as galvanizing scorers off the bench so far this season, according to Akeem Glaspie of The Indianapolis Star. “A lot of the time the starters are not gonna be able to have it completely going and be able to make shots,” starting point guard Malcolm Brogdon said. “But as long as we defend and the second team comes in and gives us some energy and a spark off the bench offensively, we’re gonna be fine.” Indiana is currently 1-2 in this young season.
- Cavaliers head coach J.B. Bickerstaff and his assistants have been showing film of some NBA legends to rookie big man Evan Mobley, per Chris Fedor of Cleveland.com. Mobley, the third pick in the 2021 draft out of USC, was utilized much like Hall of Fame big man Kevin Garnett on defense during a 101-95 Cleveland win over the Hawks. He has also watched game tape of future Hall of Fame power forward/center Dirk Nowitzki, as well as current All-Star bigs Anthony Davis and Giannis Antetokounmpo. “He’s asking me to emulate them but knows I’m still my own player,” Mobley said about Bickerstaff’s strategy. “I try to play my game, take bits and pieces from them, but still be myself and play how I play.” Mobley, already the Cavaliers’ starting power forward, is averaging 15.7 PPG, 8.3 APG, 2.3 BPG and 1.3 APG through three games. Cleveland is 1-2 in those contests.