Community Shootaround

After five days of non-stop Kyrie Irving trade rumors, Cavaliers owner Dan Gilbert tried to slam on the brakes at a press conference this afternoon.

The purpose of the event was to introduce newly appointed GM Koby Altman, but the subject inevitably turned to Irving and the trade demand he reportedly made during a private meeting with Gilbert earlier this month.

Gilbert refused to acknowledge that Irving wants to be traded and wouldn’t say if he and Altman plan to grant the request if it is true. He then threw the media a curveball, saying he expects to have Irving on the floor when training camp opens in September.

“Right now, Kyrie Irving is under contract with the Cleveland Cavaliers for two or three years, depending on the last year,” Gilbert said, as Irving holds a player option for 2019/20. “As of now, he’s one of our best players, and sure, we expect him to be in camp.”

Prepare for an overflow media turnout for the first day of camp if that happens. Irving’s desires to get out of Cleveland and his simmering social media feud with LeBron James have been on public display since the subject of that meeting with Gilbert was made public last Friday.

According to reports, Irving has named the Spurs, Heat, Timberwolves and Knicks as the places he would like to go. The Cavaliers have been inundated with calls inquiring about an Irving deal, and ESPN’s Zach Lowe wrote on Monday that the team is “acting as if a trade is almost inevitable.”

However, Gilbert and the Cavs have no obligation to honor Irving’s request. If they can’t find an acceptable deal, they could hand onto to Irving through the summer and bring him into camp just as Gilbert suggested.

Our question for today is: How do you think that would turn out? Could Kyrie and LeBron bury the hatchet and combine their talents for another trip to the NBA Finals? Or would the inner strife tear the team apart?

Please take to the comments section and share your thoughts on this topic. We look forward to what you have to say.

While most of this year’s top free agents have found new homes – or returned to their old ones – the restricted free agent market still features several interesting names. Nikola Mirotic (Bulls), JaMychal Green (Grizzlies), Mason Plumlee (Nuggets), Alex Len (Suns), and Nerlens Noel (Mavericks) remain unsigned.

A year after 27 teams dipped below the salary cap and used cap space to sign players, less than half the league’s teams did so this year, and many of those clubs have since used up all their cap room. That means that there aren’t many teams left with the spending power necessary to offer the remaining RFAs the sort of contracts they may believe they’re worth.

Clubs like the Nets, Suns, Bulls, and Hawks still have some flexibility to make aggressive offers to restricted free agents if they so choose, but none of those clubs appears to be actively pursuing anyone at the moment.

If no offer sheets are on the table for a given restricted free agent, and his team is unwilling to finalize a deal without letting the market set the price, it could create a holding pattern capable of dragging on through the summer and into the fall.

If an RFA is willing to bet on himself, he could sign his one-year qualifying offer, play out the season, and become an unrestricted free agent a year from now. The deadline for teams to withdraw qualifying offers has passed, so none of these players are in immediate danger of having their QOs pulled. Still, so far this year, no one has been willing to sign that one-year offer.

Of course, the idea of accepting the qualifying offer has varying appeal depending on the player. For instance, Green’s QO is worth a fairly modest $2,820,497, meaning he may be less inclined to sign that one-year offer than someone like Mirotic, whose QO is worth $7,228,063.

What do you think? Are the Nets or Hawks lurking with an offer sheet for any of these restricted free agents? Will they all return to their current teams? Will any of them sign their qualifying offers? Which of these RFAs would you be most inclined to pursue if you were running a team?

Jump into the comments section below to weigh in with your thoughts!

Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.

The Cavaliers haven’t been able to make a significant move this offseason and apparently LeBron James is frustrated about that. According to a story by Jeff Zillgitt of USA Today, James is unhappy that owner Dan Gilbert failed to extend the contract of GM David Griffin and his top assistant Trent Redden, which hampered the team’s trade talks.

Cleveland struck out in the Paul George and Jimmy Butler sweepstakes, while the Celtics got stronger by signing Gordon Hayward. James is partly to blame for the Cavs’ difficulty in acquiring another impact player. He urged the previous front office to re-sign Tristan Thompson and J.R. Smith to big contracts and acquire role players such as Channing Frye, who remains on the payroll.

It’s expected that James will opt out of the final $35.6MM on his contract after next season and become an unrestricted free agent. When James signed up for a second stint with Cleveland, it was generally assumed that he’d finish his career in his home state. Given the rise of the Warriors and his irritation over the Cavs’ front office situation and the team’s stagnant roster, that’s far less certain.

Speculation has James joining up with another All-Star such as Paul George and signing with the Lakers next summer. Of course, that’s predicated on how much George enjoys playing in Oklahoma City with Russell Westbrook. But the Lakers will have plenty of cap room to pursue top free agents, and James could more easily pursue his other business interests and movie career by taking his talents to Tinseltown.

It’s also within the realm of possibility that another team could swoop in and convince James that he’s the missing piece to its title run.

That brings us to our question of the day: Do you think LeBron James will remain with the Cavaliers beyond next season?

Please take to the comments section and share your thoughts on this topic. We look forward to what you have to say.

The NBA’s Board of Governors made a significant decision this week regarding in-season roster moves, as they voted to move the trade deadline 10 days before the All-Star Game. For the 2017/18 season, the deadline will be Feb. 8.

Traditionally, the deadline was set in late February and trade chatter was prevalent during All-Star weekend. Now, teams’ rosters will be virtually set by the break, save for the occasional buyout and 10-day deals with lower-level free agents. The statement issued by the league read in part that the new deadline will allow teams to “avoid the disruptions that result from players joining new teams just as practices and games are beginning to resume following the All-Star break.”

This means that front offices will have to decide earlier rather than later whether to be buyers or sellers on the market. Teams that are struggling will be essentially waving the white flag for over two months if they decide to deal veteran players for salary relief, draft picks and/or unproven players.

There will also be more pressure on teams in mid-season to decide whether to retain impending free agents and players with opt-outs or trade them for assets, rather than lose them during the offseason without compensation.

This leads us to our question of the day: Do you like the NBA’s decision to move the trade deadline to early February or would you rather have it after the All-Star break?

Please take to the comments section and share your opinion on this topic. We look forward to what you have to say.

Some of the biggest names in the game have changed uniforms during this action-packed offseason. Some teams have made bold moves to become contenders or to improve their chances of making the Finals. Others have gone into full rebuild mode.

The Warriors clearly “won” the offseason last summer by signing superstar Kevin Durant, which led to their second championship in three seasons.

There are at least a handful of teams that can lay claim to that title, now that most of the big-name free agents are off the board. Here are some of the teams that obviously upgraded:

• Rockets – The stunning trade by the Clippers that sent Chris Paul gave the Rockets a legitimate All-Star to pair up with James Harden. The also added a defensive-minded veteran forward in P.J. Tucker and re-signed Nene.
• Celtics – Gordon Hayward hemmed and hawed but ultimately decided to ditch the Jazz in favor of the Celtics. The combination of Isaiah Thomas, Al Horford and Hayward gives them a more serious chance to unseat the Cavaliers in the East, even if they had to trade Avery Bradley to make it happen. They also picked up another future lottery pick by moving down from the top spot in the draft and the player they selected, Jayson Tatum, has impressed in summer-league action.
• Timberwolves – The long-awaited Jimmy Butler trade came to fruition, giving Minnesota another star to join the duo of Karl-Anthony Towns and Andrew Wiggins. They also signed Jeff Teague to replace Ricky Rubio, who was traded, and added veteran big man Taj Gibson.
• Thunder – Russell Westbrook will no longer have to carry the entire load, thanks to the addition of Paul George. The Pacers traded away the disgruntled forward, providing Oklahoma City with an All-Star to share the scoring burden with Westbrook. They also fortified their frontcourt with the addition of Patrick Patterson.
• Sixers – They moved up in the draft to snag the player they coveted, point guard Markelle Fultz. They also signed free agents J.J. Redick and Amir Johnson to provide a veteran presence to the locker room without sacrificing cap room for next summer, when they’re expected to pursue high-level free agents.

This leads us to our question of the day: Which team do you feel has improved the most during this offseason and why?

Please take to the comments section and provide your thoughts on this subject. We look forward to what you have to say.