NBA Rumors - HoopsRumors.com

Southeast Notes: Williams, Hornets Front Office, Hartman, Hawks

May 18th, 2024 at 9:57am CST by Tristan Tucker

Grant Williams had a prolific high school basketball career in Charlotte and was recently named one of the city’s best high school players of the past 40 years. Although he wasn’t drafted by Charlotte in the 2019 draft, he was traded to the Hornets at the 2024 deadline and made an immediate impact.

After being dealt from Dallas to the Hornets, Williams averaged 13.9 points, 5.1 rebounds and 3.2 assists per game on 50.3% shooting. As a Maverick, he had been averaging 8.1 PPG and 3.6 RPG on 41.3% shooting. In a one-on-one interview with The Charlotte Observer’s Langston Wertz Jr., Williams opened up about his exit from Dallas, which was rumored to be related to a rift between him and star Luka Doncic).

“I think it’s a media creation,” Williams said, echoing what Doncic previously said. “I can text Luka today, and me and him are good. … As much as I can say yes, of course, I’ll probably go at Luka a little bit, at the same time, we’ve known each other for four or five years. It’s not something he didn’t expect. He knows I’m a competitive guy and we always compete. So no matter what rumors are out there, we still have a respect for each other and still talk.”

Williams will factor into Charlotte’s offseason planning while on an affordable contract that pays him an average of around $13.7MM annually over the next three years. Charlotte possesses two budding stars in LaMelo Ball and Brandon Miller, and is armed with the No. 6 pick in the 2024 draft.

“You look at the team that ended the season versus the team that started. If you’re a 41-41 team in the West, you’re an 11th seed. In the East, you’re in the play-in,” Williams said. “So it’s only 20 more games for us to win, and I think if everyone is healthy, it’s a chance for us to make an impact and look like Orlando, Oklahoma City, [teams] like that.”

We have more from the Southeast Division:

The Hornets officially announced the hirings of assistant general manager Dotun Akinwale, vice president of basketball operations & strategy Ryan Gisriel, and vice president of basketball insights and analysis Patrick Harrel, according to a team release. Akinwale most recently served as Atlanta’s vice president of player personnel, Gisriel last worked with the Nets for 11 years, and Harrel spent the past eight years with the NBA. All of these hires were previously reported.
The Wizards has brought in Michael Hartman to run the team’s strategy and analytics group, according to The Athletic’s Mike Vorkunov. More front office hires are expected this offseason, according to Vorkunov. Hartman was previously with the Pelicans as the senior director of basketball operations.
The Hawks, holders of the No. 1 overall pick, sent team personnel to watch Zaccharie Risacher in France in the first game of the season’s playoffs, as observed by Eurohoops.net (Twitter link). In attendance were general manager Landry Fields, coach Quin Snyder and assistant general manager Kyle Korver. Risacher, the No. 1 prospect on ESPN’s best available list for the 2024 draft, put up 14 points and six rebounds on 50.0% shooting in the game.

Latest On Knicks’ Injuries

May 18th, 2024 at 8:29am CST by Tristan Tucker

As we relayed on Friday night, the statuses of Knicks forwards OG Anunoby (hamstring strain) and Josh Hart (abdominal soreness) going forward are up in the air, but the outlook for either being able to play and give 100% in Sunday’s Game 7 against the Pacers isn’t great, according to multiple outlets.

According to ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski (Twitter video link; hat tip to Stefan Bondy of The New York Post), the Knicks are preparing to be without Anunoby for Game 7.

“The Knicks are going to have to beat Indiana without OG Anunoby,” Wojnarowski said prior to Game 6. “I’m told he would also be out for a Game 7 with that hamstring.”

The Knicks are 1-3 this postseason and 14-18 in total without Anunoby in their lineup since acquiring him in February — they’ve gone 26-5 when he has been available.

Hart, who has been something of an iron man for the Knicks, motioned to the sideline and asked to come out of Game 6 in the first quarter. As we detailed last night, he eventually came back in, but according to Yahoo Sports’ Jake Fischer, he was clutching his abdomen during every downbeat of the game.

“You never wanna see anybody get hurt, but it’s been our season,” Donte DiVincenzo said. “We have more than enough, whoever’s on the court. I’ve said it 100 times.”

As The Athletic’s Fred Katz writes, during this playoff run alone, the Knicks have lost Mitchell Robinson and Bojan Bogdanovic to season-ending injuries, Anunoby to his current hamstring strain, and Jalen Brunson briefly with a foot issue. Now there’s Hart, who had previously appeared in 81 of 82 regular season games and in all 12 of New York’s playoff games. Spotrac’s Keith Smith points out the Knicks are down to just four healthy players who appeared in the opening postseason game against the Sixers: Brunson, DiVincenzo, Isaiah Hartenstein and Miles McBride (Twitter link).

Reserves Alec Burks and Precious Achiuwa have become key contributors during the latter half of this playoff run and New York may need to go even deeper into its roster if Hart isn’t good to go. Jericho Sims, Shake Milton, DaQuan Jeffries and Mamadi Diakite are New York’s only other healthy roster pieces.

For what it’s worth, several Knicks players seemed optimistic about the chances of Hart playing. As Katz writes, Hart has seen more action than any other player in the league in the postseason and had a stretch of five games where he averaged more than 48 minutes per contest.

“Just knowing him, he’ll do whatever to play. If his leg’s not falling off I can probably say he’ll probably play,” Hartenstein said. “I haven’t talked to him. We’ll see. It’s hard. He’s done so much for us this season.”

In 12 playoff games, Hart has maintained averages of 14.9 points, 11.8 rebounds and 4.5 assists, though he was held to five points, eight rebounds and three assists on Friday.

“There’s a lot of things obviously that physically don’t go our way with our team this year,” Brunson said. “I think our main focus is whoever we have out there, regardless of what you’re dealing with or anything — if you are out there, you are ready to go. Yes, Josh asked to come back out, but he went back in and gives everything he has. What more can you ask for from a teammate? Knowing the situation, we’re just going to have each other’s backs.”

Atlantic Notes: Brown, Bokmeyer, Anunoby, McBride, Hart

May 17th, 2024 at 10:33pm CST by Tristan Tucker

While the Raptors didn’t trade Bruce Brown Jr. again after they acquired him from the Pacers this season, that might change this offseason. The Raptors have until June 29 to exercise Brown’s $23MM team option for next season and, according to Doug Smith of The Toronto Star, a handful of sources think that Toronto will pick up that option and trade Brown quickly, rather than waiting until the 2025 deadline.

Trading Brown would give the Raptors some leeway when it comes to talks with free agent wing Gary Trent Jr. According to Smith, the sentiment is that Toronto won’t start the season with both Brown and Trent on the roster. Trent is still just 25 and his outside shooting ability might make him more appealing in the long run.

The Raptors acquired Brown as part of the trade that sent Pascal Siakam to Indiana. He averaged 9.6 points in 34 games with Toronto after registering 12.1 PPG in 33 games in Indiana. Despite the slight dip in production, Brown is still viewed as a valuable rotation player with defensive prowess and positional versatility.

We have more from the Atlantic Division:

The Nets hired Justin Bokmeyer to their front office as their new director of basketball operations, Mike Vorkunov of The Athletic reports. This move is likely related to the Hornets hiring away Ryan Gisriel, Brooklyn’s former executive director of basketball and business operations. Bokmeyer worked in international basketball operations before going to the NBA. He also helped guide the NBA Academy program and assisted in launching the Basketball Africa League.
OG Anunoby, who is dealing with a hamstring injury, has missed the past four games for the Knicks. According to The Athletic’s Fred Katz (Twitter link), head coach Tom Thibodeau said Anunoby’s health is “basically the same.” The forward is doing some light on-court work, but it remains unclear when exactly he will return.
Miles McBride began the season on the bench, but the Knicks are now calling on him to handle the most important defensive assignments, Newsday’s Steve Popper observes. He was inserted into the starting lineup in Game 5 and was the primary defender against the engine of the Pacers’ offense in Tyrese Haliburton, who scored just 13 points on the night. McBride still thinks he has room for improvement. “I think I’ve got to go up a level,” McBride said. “… Obviously he didn’t go scoreless, and he was still impactful in a way, so my goal is for guys to go scoreless and to make as minimum of an impact on the game.” McBride finished Game 6 as the team’s second-highest scorer, with only Jalen Brunson (31 points) exceeding McBride’s 20 points.
Josh Hart exited Game 6 in the fourth quarter with what the team called abdominal soreness and didn’t return, according to the team (Twitter link). Hart left the game a couple times due to injury, going to the locker room after the first quarter and again later in the game. The severity is unclear — considering the Knicks were trailing significantly at the time, it’s possible this was more of a precautionary move in order to preserve an important role player for Game 7 on Sunday.

Heat Notes: Mitchell, Rozier, Bryant, Robinson

May 17th, 2024 at 9:11pm CST by Tristan Tucker

The Heat‘s 2023 offseason was centered around their pursuit of Damian Lillard, and with the Cavaliers eliminated from the 2024 playoffs after falling to Boston in the second round, it could be a second straight offseason of star hunting in Miami. While Donovan Mitchell may ultimately agree to sign an extension with the Cavs, Miami figures to be among the teams pursuing the All-Star guard if he hits the trade market this offseason.

Recent reporting from The Athletic suggested the Cavs feel optimistic about securing a long-term commitment from Mitchell, but as we noted earlier today, that’s not a sure thing yet. If Mitchell were to ask out of Cleveland, any team acquiring him would need assurances he would commit long-term before sacrificing significant capital. Along with the Heat, the Lakers and Nets are teams frequently mentioned among those with potential interest in Mitchell.

As for the Heat, they may need Mitchell to use his leverage to push for a deal to Miami to have a realistic chance to land him, Anthony Chiang of the Miami Herald writes. Other teams with potential interest could outbid the Heat, who only have one first-rounder available to trade if the situation doesn’t play out before this year’s draft. The Lakers will have three potential firsts and the Nets will have up to seven available to pursue Mitchell in this scenario, with Cleveland still set to owe Utah its first-rounders in 2025, 2027, 2029 and two pick swaps in 2026 and 2028.

Ultimately, there are more questions than answers when it comes to Mitchell’s future. If he does ask for a trade, the Heat would have to get creative in order to acquire him, Chiang writes.

We have more from the Heat:

The Heat moved a first-round pick to acquire Terry Rozier before the 2024 deadline. It was only the third time Miami has done so in the past decade — the team also fave up first-rounders for Goran Dragic and Jimmy Butler. According to Chiang, even though the veteran guard missed the playoffs due to a neck injury, the Heat have no complaints with Rozier and are pleased with what he brought to the team. “I had a great conversation with him about some things,” team president Pat Riley said. “He’s open, he wanted to know from me what I thought about what he can do even at his age, which is still young. I gave him my opinion and I’m sure he’ll work on it, But he was a great addition for us, absolutely.“
Thomas Bryant signed with the Heat last season on a minimum contract with a player option for 2024/25. He wound up only appearing in 38 games with averages of 5.7 points and 3.7 rebounds. While the vision was for Bryant to be the primary backup for Bam Adebayo and perhaps play alongside him at times, that didn’t come to fruition, Ira Winderman of South Florida’s Sun Sentinel writes. Bryant now must make a decision by June 29 on his $2.8MM player option for 2024/25. “The opportunities were not there all the time, but I believed it was things that coach [Erik Spoelstra] had to do,” Bryant said. “He was dealing with everything, as well. We had injuries and there were opportunities there for me, as well. I tried to capitalize as much as I could in those as many I had. But overall, I thought it was a great time.“
Bryant’s decision may very well be the deciding factor for what the Heat do with another depth big in Orlando Robinson, Winderman writes in the same piece. Robinson was promoted from a two-way contract but hasn’t broke into the rotation yet, appearing in just 36 games with averages of 2.8 points and 2.3 rebounds. The Heat have a July 15 deadline to guarantee his $2.1MM salary or to waive him and make him a free agent. Since neither Bryant nor Robinson made it into the rotation, it’s possible Miami looks to move on from one or both.

Kristaps Porzingis Likely Out For Start Of ECF, Could Return In Series

May 17th, 2024 at 7:36pm CST by Tristan Tucker

Celtics center Kristaps Porzingis is expected to remain out for Games 1 and 2 of the Eastern Conference Finals, which will take place on Tuesday and Thursday, according to ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski. However, there is optimism that Porzingis will be able to return later in the series, barring any setbacks.

Porzingis has been out with a calf injury since Game 5 of the first round against the Heat on April 30, missing the entirety of Boston’s second-round series against Cleveland.

Al Horford — who racked up 22 points, 15 rebounds, five assists and three blocks in Game 5 against Cleveland — has been starting in Porzingis’ place.

According to Wojnarowski, Porzingis has been making progress in his recovery and is increasing his on-court activity, but still needs time before he’s considered ready to play.

In 57 regular season games, Porzingis averaged 20.1 points, 7.2 rebounds and shot 51.6% from the field and 37.5% from beyond the arc while helping the Celtics to an NBA-best 64 wins.

Outside of the Porzingis injury, the Celtics have stayed healthy through the first two rounds of the playoffs. The big man was the only player listed on the team’s injury report prior to Game 5 on Wednesday.

Boston will take on the winner of the Knicks-Pacers series, with Game 6 of the series being played on Thursday night. New York leads the series 3-2.

Suns Notes: Budenholzer, Tellem, Big Three

May 17th, 2024 at 6:30pm CST by Tristan Tucker

Mike Budenholzer spoke for the first time since taking over as head coach of the Suns on Friday in his intro presser. According to ESPN, Budenholzer was emotional when talking about his childhood in Arizona.

“It’s mind-boggling to me, like mind-blowing, to think that I’m going to be the head coach of the Phoenix Suns,” Budenholzer said.

A former NBA champion as coach of the Bucks, Budenholzer is tasked with leading a franchise with three super-max players in Kevin Durant, Bradley Beal and Devin Booker. That group went 49-33 last season and was swept in the playoffs under former head coach Frank Vogel.

“I’m excited about working with this roster and these players,” Budenholzer said. “We have great players. And with great players come great expectations. I think we embrace that.”

Budenholzer didn’t coach last year after being dismissed by the Bucks. He has a 484-317 record over a 10-season coaching career.

“This year, for me, was really healthy,” Budenholzer said. “I kind of had a list of priorities, diving into my kids and my family, super important. We’ve been through a lot. So really, the time with my kids was just amazing. My son’s a senior in high school — going to every one of his games — driving home you’re like, ‘Wow, I got a gift.”

We have more from the Suns:

With the Suns maintaining a “championship or bust” mentality, Budenholzer isn’t necessarily safe for the long run despite the hefty five-year, $50MM contract he signed, Duane Rankin of Arizona Republic writes. Rankin lists eight conversations Budenholzer needs to have with Phoenix brass, including why he needs to have more say in the team’s roster construction than his predecessors.
The Suns are closing in on hiring Nets executive Matt Tellem to the team’s front office, according to ESPN’s Tim MacMahon (Twitter link). Tellem began as a basketball information coordinator in 2011 and was promoted to vice president of strategy for Brooklyn in 2023. He also served as general manager of the Long Island Nets from 2019-23.
Appearing on The Burns & Gambo Show, Suns general manager James Jones said there is no scenario in which Beal, Durant or Booker are traded this summer (Twitter video link). “Those guys aren’t going anywhere. Those guys are part of the solution,” Jones said. With Phoenix lacking flexibility and draft assets to make major upgrades to a roster that was swept out of the first round of the playoffs, there has been some speculation about the futures of Phoenix’s star players. However, Jones’ comments this week echo a recent report from ESPN suggesting that the big three aren’t going anywhere.

Draft Notes: Bronny, Combine, Edey, Withdrawals

May 17th, 2024 at 5:30pm CST by Tristan Tucker

Bronny James‘ NBA draft stock continues to be one of the top storylines of the class, and he looked determined to establish himself as more than just a name at the combine. In the second day of scrimmage play, the USC guard led his team in scoring with 13 points in 23 minutes.

Bronny told reporters he’s trying to earn a roster spot individually of who his father is, according to Yahoo Sports’ Krysten Peek.

“Honestly, I feel like this is a serious business,” Bronny said. “I don’t think there would be a thought of, ‘I’m just drafting this kid because I’m going to get his dad.’ I don’t think a GM would really allow that. I think I’ve put in the work and if I get drafted it will be because of not only the player but also the person I am.”

According to The Los Angeles Times’ Dan Woike, the Lakers’ No. 55 pick in the draft appears to be the floor for Bronny’s stock, which would allow him to play next to LeBron. However, there’s a chance he could go even higher than that.

According to Peek, the Jazz have expressed an interest in bringing Bronny in for an individual workout and could look to select him with their No. 32 overall pick. Peek also identifies Miami (No. 43 pick), San Antonio (No. 35) and Oklahoma City (who doesn’t own a pick past No. 12) as potential landing spots, though those appear to be more based in speculation than the Utah report.

ESPN’s Jonathan Givony has moved Bronny up to No. 54 on his best available list (Twitter link). He was previously at No. 98.

We have more notes on the 2024 draft:

ESPN draft experts Givony, Jeremy Woo, Jamal Collier and Bobby Marks teamed up to analyze days two and three of the combine, assessing major takeaways and standouts. Illawara’s AJ Johnson and Colorado’s KJ Simpson were the only two players to make the scrimmage standouts list in back-to-back days. All of ESPN’s analysts agreed it was a general positive for scouts to see more high-level players than usual participate in scrimmages.
Former Purdue big man Zach Edey recognizes there are questions about how his game will translate to the next level, according to The Associated Press’s Andrew Seligman. Seligman writes that, despite Edey’s college dominance (25.2 points, 12.2 rebounds last season), the 7’4″ center is viewed as a slow-footed defender who isn’t much of a floor stretcher. Edey said he knows he needs to reinvent aspects of his game at the next level. “I think I need to show people I can shoot the way I believe I can,” Edey said. “But I think, for the most part, teams kind of know what I’m good at. Teams have tons of film on me. Obviously, I think I’m quicker than teams think I am. I think I can shoot better than teams think I can. I have to show that. I’ve been in college four years. They’ve got a lot of film on me. They kind of know what I can do.” Edey is ranked as ESPN’s 15th-best prospect in the class on its best available list.
Former Tennessee big man Jonas Aidoo is withdrawing from the 2024 draft and will play for Arkansas next season, according to CBS Sports’ Jon Rothstein (Twitter link). He averaged 11.4 points, 7.3 rebounds and 1.8 blocks on 51.5% shooting from the floor last season for Tennessee.
Arizona’s KJ Lewis, a bright, young defender, is withdrawing from the draft and returning to play for the Wildcats next season, Rothstein reports (Twitter link). He averaged 6.1 points, 3.1 rebounds, 1.9 assists and 1.1 steals in 18.3 minutes in his freshman season.
Seton Hall’s Scotty Middleton (transfer from Ohio State) and Notre Dame’s Markus Burton, two impressive freshmen, are also withdrawing from the draft (Twitter links via Rothstein). Middleton was a four-star recruit and averaged 4.4 points in 15.3 minutes at Ohio State. Burton was highly productive in his first season, averaging 17.5 points, 3.3 rebounds and 4.3 assists for the Fighting Irish.

Poll: Who Will Win Nuggets/Timberwolves Game 7?

May 17th, 2024 at 4:01pm CST by Luke Adams

When we discussed the Western Conference semifinals between the Nuggets and Timberwolves back on May 1, we noted that it had the potential to be one of the very best series of the NBA’s 2024 playoffs. Sixteen days later, it seems safe to say that’s exactly what we got.

The Timberwolves surprised everyone by beating the defending champions in back-to-back games on their home court in Denver to open the series, taking a 2-0 lead back to Minnesota. With some media members already writing the obituary for the Nuggets’ season, Nikola Jokic‘s squad responded by reeling off three consecutive wins to reclaim the upper hand. Facing elimination on Thursday, Minnesota submitted arguably the most dominant performance by any NBA team this postseason, defeating the Nuggets by 45 points to force a Game 7.

Jokic (28.2 PPG, 10.2 RPG, 8.0 APG) has played like the Most Valuable Player he is in the series, and rising Timberwolves star Anthony Edwards (29.7 PPG on .551/.415/.838 shooting) has performed like a future MVP. But several of their co-stars have been inconsistent.

Nuggets guard Jamal Murray, who was already dealing with a calf issue before injuring his elbow in Game 6, has averaged just 15.7 PPG on 38.2% shooting through six games, and is coming off a forgettable 4-of-18 night. Nuggets forward Michael Porter Jr. has scored single-digit points in four of six games. Wolves big man Karl-Anthony Towns found ways to contribute as a rebounder, passer, and defender in Game 6, but he scored a series-low 10 points and has now averaged 15.0 PPG on 42.6% shooting in the past four contests.

If Jokic and Edwards are both operating at the peak of their powers in Game 7, the result may ultimately come down to whether Murray or Towns gets going, or which role players come up big at the right time. In Game 5, that was Aaron Gordon (18 points, 10 rebounds, five assists) and Kentavious Caldwell-Pope (16 points, 4-of-5 on three-pointers). In Game 6, it was Jaden McDaniels (21 points on 8-of-10 shooting) and Mike Conley (13 points, five assists, no turnovers).

Even though both teams have 1-2 home records in the series, home court advantage could also be a deciding factor. The Nuggets were 33-8 during the regular season playing in the elevation of Denver and are currently listed as 4.5-point favorites for Sunday’s game, per BetOnline.ag.

Whatever the outcome, it would be great to see Game 7 go down to the wire. As entertaining and as back-and-forth as the series has been so far, none of the first six games featured a possession in which the trailing team could tie the score or take the lead in the final five minutes, notes Zach Kram of The Ringer. Maybe that will happen for the first time on Sunday.

Which team will win Game 7 and advance to the Western Conference Finals? Vote in our poll, then head to the comment section below to share your thinking!

And-Ones: RSNs, Kerr, Curry, 2024 FAs, Media Rights, More

May 17th, 2024 at 3:01pm CST by Luke Adams

Speaking in court on Wednesday, lawyers for the NBA, MLB, and NHL aimed “pointed criticism” at Diamond Sports Group and expressed skepticism about the company’s ability to produce a viable business plan to emerge from bankruptcy, according to reports from Evan Drellich of The Athletic and Alden Gonzalez of ESPN.

Diamond, which controls the “Bally Sports”-branded regional sports networks, has yet to reach a new agreement with Comcast, its third-largest distributor, following the expiration of their previous contract, prompting Comcast to pull the Bally networks off the air earlier this month. Diamond will also need to make a new linear cable and digital rights deal with the NBA after its previous contract expired. Fifteen NBA teams aired their games locally on Bally Sports networks last season.

“We simply cannot afford to have our next season disrupted by the uncertainty as to whether Diamond will or will not have a viable business,” NBA attorney Vincent Indelicato said on Wednesday.

A confirmation hearing is scheduled for June 18. If the hearing isn’t postponed, the court will decide at that time whether to approve Diamond’s restructuring plan.

Here are more odds and ends from around the basketball world:

A pair of Warriors were honored by the Professional Basketball Writers Association this week (Twitter links). Head coach Steve Kerr received this season’s Rudy Tomjanovich Award, which is related to a coach’s “cooperation with the media and fans,” while star guard Stephen Curry won the Magic Johnson Award, given to the player who “best combines excellence on the court with cooperation and grace in dealing with the media and fans.”
Frank Urbina and Raul Barrigon of HoopsHype have ranked this summer’s free agents by position. James Harden tops the list of point guards, with Tyrese Maxey (shooting guards), Paul George (small forwards), Pascal Siakam (power forwards), and Nic Claxton (centers) also at No. 1 for their respective positions.
Ben Koo of Awful Announcing rounds up a handful of reports from various outlets breaking down where things stand in the NBA’s media rights negotiations. As Koo outlines, Warner Bros. Discovery (TNT Sports) has reportedly sought to exercise its matching rights on reported bids by NBC ($2.5 billion) and Amazon ($1.8 billion), but the NBA isn’t recognizing those matching rights because Amazon’s package is a new one and NBC’s includes an over-the-air broadcast network. The league is said to be seeking $2.8 billion from TNT if it wants to match NBC’s offer and get the same package of games. Former Fox Sports Networks president Bob Thompson provides a few more details (via Twitter).
In an in-depth story for The Ringer, Mirin Fader checks in on the NBA’s female coaching pipeline and considers whether the league is any closer to getting its first female head coach.
In the wake of the Jontay Porter betting scandal, David Purdum of ESPN explores how the NBA and other major sports leagues are pushing for U.S. sportsbooks to tweak the betting options and limits they offer, especially for specific players.

Community Shootaround: Cavaliers’ Offseason

May 17th, 2024 at 2:02pm CST by Luke Adams

This year’s Cavaliers became the first Cavs team in over three decades to make the second round of the playoffs without LeBron James on its roster. But as successful as the season was in Cleveland, there’s a sense that major changes could be around the corner.

The Cavs will have to make a decision on head coach J.B. Bickerstaff, whose future with the club is said to be in “serious jeopardy.”

They’ll have to figure out whether or not Donovan Mitchell will sign a long-term extension as he enters a contract year.

If Mitchell is unwilling to extend, he could very well end up in the trade block, whereas if he does re-up with the Cavs, it may be Darius Garland who becomes the offseason trade candidate.

Cleveland will also have to decide on whether Jarrett Allen and Evan Mobley can coexist in the frontcourt going forward as Mobley becomes eligible for a rookie scale extension.

There has been speculation for months – or even years – that Mitchell won’t want to commit to a long-term future in Cleveland and will ultimately have to be traded, but that’s far from a sure thing. In fact, one report following the Cavs’ elimination from the postseason this week suggested there’s a “growing sentiment” Mitchell will sign an extension.

Still, in the latest episode ESPN’s Hoop Collective podcast (YouTube link), Brian Windhorst advised listeners not to assume Mitchell has finalized a decision one way or the other yet.

“I hope to be very careful to not make too much into what the secondary chatter is about what Donovan’s going to do,” Windhorst said. “Because I have heard stuff – from what I would consider reliable sources – all over the board, which leads me to believe that the accurate answer or real answer may not be out there, and that Donovan is doing a great job of keeping everybody in a happy place.

“I will say this, the Cavs organization feels very optimistic he’s going to sign, and maybe that’s the way it’s going to go — I’m not here saying that it won’t. But there’s other people out there saying the opposite.”

Regardless of what happens with Mitchell, Windhorst and his ESPN colleagues Tim MacMahon and Tim Bontemps agreed during their discussion of the Cavs’ offseason that it probably doesn’t make sense to move forward with the team’s four core players, given the overlap between Mitchell’s and Garland’s skill sets, as well as Allen’s and Mobley’s.

While Mitchell will be the focus of the summer in Cleveland for many fans, the frontcourt issue looms large. Mobley had a solid series vs. Boston in the second round of the playoffs with Allen sidelined, and Allen was at his best earlier in the season when Mobley was on the shelf recovering from knee surgery. If the Cavs have to choose one of the two, it seems likely to be Mobley, who is younger, probably has a higher ceiling, and will be under team control for longer if he signs an extension this offseason.

“I would just say that while there’s extreme interest and excitement probably from certain fanbases to go to the trade machine and work out Donovan Mitchell trades, and maybe those will be needed in a month, we’ll see,” Windhorst said. “I would think the Cavs are going to be spending more time in this next month looking at possible Jarrett Allen trades, and what that could bring.”

As Bontemps observed in the Hoop Collective podcast, the Cavs seem unlikely to completely tear things down this offseason. Even if Mitchell doesn’t agree to an extension and ends up being traded, there’s still too much talent on the roster to bottom out, so in any trade discussions, the team would likely seek players who could step in and make an impact right away — or draft assets that could be flipped to acquire those sorts of players.

If the Cavs end up looking to move Allen and/or Garland, one obvious potential trade partner would be the Pelicans, who have been linked to Allen several times in the past and also have a need at point guard. A deal involving rumored trade candidate Brandon Ingram could be the sort of move that would better balance both rosters.

We want to know what you think. Does Bickerstaff need to go or has he earned another year at the helm in Cleveland? Will Mitchell sign an extension? If he doesn’t, what kind of trade should Cleveland be seeking? If he does, will Garland have to go? And what about the frontcourt? Should Allen be on the trade block this summer?

Head to the comment section to weigh in with your thoughts and predictions!

Load More Posts