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Poll: Biggest Eastern Conference Threat To Cavs?

February 2nd, 2017 at 4:07pm CST by Luke Adams

While oddsmakers – and most NBA fans – still expect to see a rematch of last season’s NBA Finals this June, there’s no guarantee that the Warriors and Cavaliers will come out of their respective conferences once again. The Cavs, in particular, looked ordinary in January, finishing one game below .500 for the month, with a 7-8 record.

Last spring, it was the Raptors who battled the Cavs in the Eastern Conference Finals, pushing LeBron James and company to six games before eventually losing the series. And for most of the first half of this season, Toronto appeared to be Cleveland’s top challenger in the conference once again.

However, the Raptors’ January struggles (8-9) mirrored the Cavs’, and Toronto has already compiled an 0-3 record this year against the defending champions. Injuries to Patrick Patterson and DeMar DeRozan have played a part in the Raptors’ swoon, but there’s still reason to question whether they’ll be the biggest threat out of the East to the Cavs in the postseason.

Led by Eastern Conference Player of the Month Isaiah Thomas, the Celtics have moved into second place in the East, pulling within just two and a half games of the Cavs. The Wizards have also surged in recent weeks — the team is 26-12 since its 2-8 start, and has matched the Celtics’ current five-game winning streak.

Behind those top four teams in the standings, the Hawks have continued to play well even after trading Kyle Korver, and the Pacers have looked very impressive at times, including on their current four-game winning streak.

The Cavs may ultimately make it out of the East once again, but these clubs – and others – will look to give the champs all they can handle in the series leading up to the Finals. Teams like the Raptors and Celtics also have plenty of assets available to potentially fortify their rosters in the coming weeks, making them even more dangerous.

What do you think? Which of the Eastern Conference contenders has the best chance to knock off the Cavs this spring?

Trade Rumors app users, click here to vote.

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Timberwolves Facing Decision On Nikola Pekovic

January 31st, 2017 at 3:07pm CST by Luke Adams

Nikola Pekovic last appeared in an NBA game on January 31, 2016, which means that as of today, the Timberwolves are eligible to move forward with removing the veteran center from their books. In the event that a player like Pekovic – or fellow big man Chris Bosh – is deemed medically unfit to continue his basketball career, his team has the opportunity to take his salary off its cap, one year after his last game.

There are a few aspects to take into account as the Wolves consider their next move with Pekovic. For one, the determination on Pekovic’s health must be made by a doctor who is jointly approved by the NBA and the players’ union, so the team’s own doctor won’t be able to make that judgment.

If that independent doctor indeed rules Pekovic medically unfit to continue playing, Minnesota would immediately be able to eliminate his cap charges for the rest of his contract. The Wolves are currently on the hook for $12.1MM this season for Pekovic, and $11.6MM in 2017/18. The team would still have to pay that money, and it would continue to count toward the salary floor, but it would free up cap room, creating some spending flexibility for the franchise.

Before the Wolves move forward on this front, however, they’ll have to consider Pekovic’s stance. In Miami, Bosh has said he’ll do everything he can to return the court, despite blood clot concerns — if the Heat were to wipe his cap hits from their books and he’s eventually medically cleared and plays 25 games for another club, those salary charges would go back onto Miami’s cap, potentially creating major problems.

In Pekovic’s case, things look a little simpler. The big man is only under contract for one more year beyond 2016/17, and his cap hit isn’t as substantial as Bosh’s, so the financial risk of the move wouldn’t be as great for Minnesota. Additionally, Pekovic himself has acknowledged that his career may be over due to ankle and Achilles issues that have plagued him in recent years.

“For two years I have struggled with this injury,” Pekovic said last month. “I have been mentally exhausted. This year I went to Minneapolis for two months and I did everything possible to return to the court, but there are times when you simply can’t. I can’t run without pain.”

The Wolves are currently almost $13MM below the 2016/17 cap, so it’s not as if they need the extra space this season. But if Pekovic is prepared to accept medical retirement, it’s probably in the best interest of both sides to go down that road — he would still get paid, while Minnesota would gain significant financial flexibility for the coming summer. We should find out soon whether that’s the plan for the Wolves.

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Cavaliers Notes: Thompson, Love, Griffin

January 30th, 2017 at 5:31pm CST by Milo Taibi

Now in the second year of a five-year, $82MM pact, Cleveland big man Tristan Thompson balked at criticisms that he hasn’t lived up to his contract. “I earned my money,” Thompson told Dave McMenamin of ESPN. “LeBron’s not my agent. I earned my money doing what I do; you can ask anyone around the league. I opened doors for other guys. It’s a business, and you get paid what the market value is for you. I got my money and opened up doors for other guys that play hard and do the little things.”

While Thompson certainly hasn’t been a hindrance to the 32-14 Cavs, his numbers aren’t what they were in 2012 and 2013. Thompson has averaged 7.5 points with 9.7 rebounds through 46 games while shooting a career-worst 49.3% from the free-throw line. For what it’s worth, Thompson still has LeBron James‘ stamp of approval. “He’s the one rim protector that we have, and we need him to continue to do that,” James said. “You know he’s going to clean glass, but when he’s active like that — trying to get shots blocked and things of that nature, it helps us a lot.”

Other goings-on in the ‘Land…

  • Kevin Love was removed from the second half of Cleveland’s 107-91 win over OKC on Sunday, and did not make the trip for tonight’s match-up with Dallas. Love, who suffered lower-back spasms in a 12-minute outing, will remain in Cleveland to undergo an MRI. “It’s nothing to play with,” James told Dave McMenamin of ESPN. “It’s a terrible feeling when your back is hurt. It just limits you more than anything. I know it’s very frustrating for him because he puts in a lot of work. He’s in the weight room all the time, and he’s doing his thing to keep his body in shape, then this is happening to him, so it’s very frustrating.”
  • Cleveland will use their “next man up” mentality without Love against the Mavericks tonight. “Guys have got to step up. This has been our mantra since we first all came together, ‘The Next Man Up,'” Thompson told Matthew Florjancic of WKYC. “We hope Kevin gets well, takes care of his body because we’re going to need him for the long haul. Whatever he has to do to get to 100 percent, that’s the most important thing because we need Kev for the long haul. Everyone wants to push it through, but if you’re hurt or you’re not well, get right because we’re going to need the big fella.”  With Love sidelined, Channing Frye appears to be the most logical candidate to receive a bump in court time.
  • The Cavaliers were among the teams featured in Bobby Marks’ NBA trade guide on The Vertical. To their detriment, Cleveland has only $750K to offer in a trade, and just one second-round pick over the next four years. GM David Griffin has displayed an aggressive nature on the trade market, Marks notes, having completed three January trades since joining the team in 2014. Marks predicts Cleveland will swoop in to sign veterans bought out after the trade deadline.
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Six NBA Teams Still Below Salary Floor For 2016/17

January 30th, 2017 at 10:12am CST by Luke Adams

With the NBA’s 2017 trade deadline fast approaching, it’s worth taking a look at which teams around the league remain below the salary floor for the 2016/17 season. Each NBA club is required to spend at least 90% of the cap in each league year — if a team doesn’t meet that requirement, it will have to make up the difference at year’s end by paying it out to its players.

While teams will make up the shortfall at year’s end if they have to, it makes more sense to find a way to reach the floor in the coming weeks. It’s why multiple teams below the salary floor acquired – or re-acquired – Mo Williams earlier this month, as I explained last week. It’s also why some of these teams may get involve in deadline deals to take on unwanted salary in exchange for a future draft pick or another asset.

Last February, for instance, the Trail Blazers reached the salary floor after agreeing to take on Anderson Varejao‘s contract from Cleveland, giving the Cavaliers a significant trade exception and allowing the Cavs to substantially reduce their luxury tax bill. In return, Portland secured a first-round draft pick for 2018 that the team later turned into a first-round pick for 2017. So, in exchange for taking on a contract and paying some money that they would’ve been on the hook for anyway, the Blazers ended up with an extra first-round pick in a strong ’17 draft.

The teams listed below will likely be on the lookout for that sort of opportunity in the coming weeks, and some of them will also be active in taking a look at various players on 10-day contracts.

Here’s the full list of teams that remain below the salary floor ($84.729MM), along with their accompanying cap data:

Brooklyn Nets
Team salary: $76,507,540
Amount below salary floor: $8,221,460
Note: Quincy Acy‘s new two-year deal, which is expected to move the Nets about $1.7MM closer to the floor, is not yet included in this total.

Philadelphia 76ers
Team salary: $76,986,092
Amount below salary floor: $7,742,908

Denver Nuggets
Team salary: $77,117,054
Amount below salary floor: $7,611,946

Utah Jazz
Team salary: $80,498,192
Amount below salary floor: $4,230,808

Phoenix Suns
Team salary: $80,921,006
Amount below salary floor: $3,807,994

Minnesota Timberwolves
Team salary: $81,427,199
Amount below salary floor: $3,301,801

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Following Specific Players On Hoops Rumors

January 30th, 2017 at 9:00am CST by Luke Adams

Hoops Rumors lets you keep up with your favorite teams as they plot their moves, and we also provide ways to easily follow the latest on all of your favorite players and trade candidates. You can get news about players wherever you go with our Trade Rumors app, available for iOS and Android devices. The app is free and allows you to add a feed for any player and set up notifications that will alert you whenever we write about him.

Every player we’ve written about has his own rumors page. You can find any player by using our search box (located in the right sidebar); by clicking his tag at the bottom of a post in which he’s discussed; or, by simply typing his name in your address bar after hoopsrumors.com, substituting dashes for spaces. For example, Kevin Durant’s page is hoopsrumors.com/kevin-durant.

You can also set up an RSS feed for any of our player pages by adding /feed to the end of the page URL, like this: hoopsrumors.com/demarcus-cousins/feed. Entering that URL into the reader of your choice will enable you to get updates whenever we write about DeMarcus Cousins. It works for teams, too. If you’re a Kings fan, you can enter hoopsrumors.com/sacramento-kings/feed into your reader and stay on top of all the latest from Sacramento.

In addition to players and teams, there are a number of other subjects you can track by clicking on the tags that we use at the bottom of posts. For example, you can keep tabs on our 2017 draft stories right here. Items about the NBA D-League can be found on this page. You can simply scan our top stories here. Again, you can set up a feed with any of these pages by adding /feed to the end of the URL.

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Hoops Rumors Originals: 1/21/17 – 1/28/17

January 28th, 2017 at 1:28pm CST by Austin Kent

In addition to our news coverage, the Hoops Rumors team has been active publishing original content as well. Here are some of the best posts from this week.

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Community Shootaround: How Far Can The Wizards Go?

January 27th, 2017 at 11:20pm CST by Milo Taibi

It’s no small task for the Wizards to have compiled a 26-20 record, sitting on the fifth seed in the Eastern Conference, after getting off to a 2-8 start in 2016/17. Who would have thought that the Wizards – who were called out by John Wall earlier this year for showing a lack of effort – would have the confidence to “bury” the Celtics in a rivalry game?

Now riding a 14-game home winning streak, the Wizards find themselves in position to go on a playoff run. Wall, who has posted a career-best 23.1 points per game on 46.4% shooting, was not shy when asked about the team’s ceiling.

“I see ourselves getting to the Eastern Conference Finals. That’s our goal,” Wall told TNT’s “Inside The NBA” panel on Thursday. “We just figured it out. We all looked ourselves in the mirror and said we all got to do better individually. Our coach held us accountable, and when I lock in on the defensive end, everyone else follows my lead.”

The Wizards have received contributions beyond Wall. Bradley Beal‘s 21.9 points per game are a career-high, and Otto Porter has blossomed into one of the game’s premier long distance shooters (45.6% from beyond the arc).

Friday’s victory was indicative off Washington’s recent progress, as the team earned a 112-86 win over the Hawks, having led by as much as 30 points. What we want to know…

How far can the Wizards go in 2016/17? Are the Eastern Conference Finals far-fetched? Can they surpass Boston or Toronto in the standings? Should they add additional pieces at the trade deadline?

Let us know what you think in the comments section!

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Community Shootaround: Cavaliers Controversy

January 26th, 2017 at 5:12pm CST by Dana Gauruder

LeBron James has never shied away from publicly criticizing team management if he feels something needs to be fixed.

With the Cavaliers enduring their worst stretch of the season — losing six of their last eight — their franchise player has gone of the offensive once again. James has openly questioned the front office for not surrounding the team’s Big Three with enough quality pieces. Most recently, he has lobbied for another playmaker to take some of the pressure off him and point guard Kyrie Irving.

Cavs GM David Griffin has tried to confront James’ criticisms head on, not only meeting with him but also telling the media that James’ recent comments were inappropriate and misguided.

According to an ESPN report today, James is not only upset with the current state of the roster but also at odds with owner Dan Gilbert over the payroll. James doesn’t believe the luxury tax bill should influence roster decisions, and even the recent acquisition of sharpshooter Kyle Korver to take the place on injured J.R. Smith has failed to appease The King.

Griffin stated this week that the club is willing to increase payroll if that move will make it “appreciably better.”

Cleveland has certainly been spending money since James rejoined the organization. As Hoops Rumors’ Luke Adams points out, the Cavs paid $107MM in team salary and $54MM in luxury tax last season. Those numbers are currently at about $127MM+ and $27MM+ for the current season.

That brings us to today’s topic: Was LeBron James out of line for his comments criticizing Cavs management and the state of the roster? Has the Cavs front office done enough to win another championship or should they keep spending, regardless of luxury-tax implications, to upgrade the roster?

Please take to the comments section and share your thoughts on this topic. We look forward to hearing your voice.

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Community Shootaround: Rising Stars Snubs

January 25th, 2017 at 4:05pm CST by Luke Adams

The NBA will announce the full rosters for 2017’s All-Star Game this Thursday, but in the meantime, the league has revealed which players will participate in the weekend’s Rising Stars Challenge. This year’s 20 participants were confirmed by the NBA today in a press release.

Here are 2017’s Rising Stars rosters:

U.S. Team:

World Team:

Some of this year’s choices are no-brainers — players like Embiid, Porzingis, and Towns have made strong cases to play in the All-Star Game itself. However, some of the picks are up for debate — Chriss, Ingram, and Exum are among the players whose contributions this season have been modest.

The rosters for the Rising Stars Challenge won’t necessarily inspire the same sort of passion and fervor that the All-Star starters and reserves will. But we’re still curious to know what you think of this year’s picks. Are there any players on these rosters that you think should be replaced? Any guys that should be participating in this game that you’re surprised not to see on either list above?

Jump into the comments section below and let us know what you think!

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Trade Rumors App For iOS/Android

January 25th, 2017 at 2:35pm CST by Luke Adams

If you enjoy Hoops Rumors on your smartphone or tablet, be sure to check out our free Trade Rumors app!

Trade Rumors, available for iOS and Android, is the best way to consume our content on a mobile device. Here’s what it delivers, all for free:

  • All the articles from Hoops Rumors, MLB Trade Rumors, Pro Football Rumors, and Pro Hockey Rumors in an easy-to-navigate, eye-catching format. Swipe through stories to quickly consume all the news and rumors from our four sites. Not into all four sports? No problem – any sport can be easily removed.
  • Customize what you see. You can create feeds for any team or player across any of our sites.
  • Notifications! For any team or player, you can set up push notifications to ensure you always get breaking news instantly. Notifications can also be set up at the sport level.
  • Commenting! You can now read and contribute comments on the app seamlessly.
  • Customer service! If you find a bug, we’ll fix it. If you have a feature request, we’ll consider it. The app is continually evolving and improving.
  • Did we mention Trade Rumors is a free app? What do you have to lose? Download it now!
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