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Cavaliers Notes: Thompson, Monroe, Crowder, Smith

November 12th, 2017 at 12:09pm CST by Arthur Hill

The Cavaliers should offer Tristan Thompson to the Suns for Greg Monroe, suggests Sam Amico of AmicoHoops. Amico reported last night that Cleveland is interested in Monroe, who was traded from Milwaukee to Phoenix this week and apparently has no long-term future with the Suns. The 27-year-old has averaged 14.0 points and 8.7 rebounds throughout his career, but fell out of the rotation in Milwaukee and has appeared in just five games this season.

Their salaries are similar, with Monroe making $17.8MM this year compared to Thompson’s $16.4MM, but Monroe has an expiring contract while Thompson is owed more than $36MM over the next two seasons. Acquiring Monroe would provide immediate help as Thompson is out for the next few weeks with a strained calf. Amico also notes that Thompson’s romantic involvement with actress Khloe Kardashian could bring an unwanted distraction to the Cavs’ locker room.

There’s more news out of Cleveland:

  • Jae Crowder had a lot of adjustments to make during his first few weeks in Cleveland, notes Dave McMenamin of ESPN. One of the key pieces in the Kyrie Irving trade, Crowder has seen his role change several times in 13 games, starting at small forward and power forward and coming off the bench at both positions. Teammates have noticed how well Crowder has been able to handle all the different roles being thrown at him. “He’s such a huge X factor for us and can do so many things, it’s just tough because we’ve been asking him to play the 4, play the 3, guard the other team’s best player, score the basketball,” said Kevin Love. “He just has to find a way to go out there and play and compete because tonight that’s what he did and he was great for us.”
  • J.R. Smith seems comfortable in the starting lineup again, writes Chris Fedor of Cleveland.com. Smith started the season in a reserve role after the signing of Dwyane Wade, but was reinserted as a starter after Wade asked to come off the bench. Smith struggled with his shot throughout October, but has strung together three straight games in double figures. “I’m shooting the same shots, it’s just, they’re starting to fall,” Smith said. “For whatever reason it is, just happened earlier. Being aggressive earlier, trying to put the ball on the floor, get to the basket. Trying to get to the free-throw line. Just trying to be more aggressive, as opposed to waiting for it to come to me.”
  • Kyle Korver, who re-signed with the Cavs for $22MM over three years, is providing more than just his play on the court, writes Joe Vardon of Cleveland.com. He is also serving as a shooting coach, helping Crowder and others with their mechanics.
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Wolves Considered Mike James Before He Signed With Phoenix

November 11th, 2017 at 9:53pm CST by Arthur Hill
  • The Timberwolves aren’t surprised by the success of Suns point guard Mike James, tweets Darren Wolfson of 5 Eyewitness News. Minnesota considered signing the 27-year-old before he agreed to a two-way contract with Phoenix in July.
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Cavaliers Have ‘Strong Interest’ In Greg Monroe

November 11th, 2017 at 4:55pm CST by Arthur Hill

With a shortage of big men, the Cavaliers have turned their attention toward Greg Monroe and are considering an offer to the Suns, according to Sam Amico of AmicoHoops.

The veteran power forward/center was shipped from Milwaukee to Phoenix this week as part of the Eric Bledsoe trade. The Suns reportedly don’t have any long-term plans for Monroe and would consider a buyout if they can’t move him in another deal.

The 27-year-old is in the final year of his contract with a $17.8MM salary. In addition to providing an inside presence, Monroe is a “team-first player,” according to Amico, who would be willing to sacrifice his stats for the chance to rejoin a contender.

Monroe appeared in just five games with the Bucks before the deal and had his minutes cut sharply to 15.8 per night. However, he is a proven scorer and rebounder who averaged 11.7 points and 6.6 rebounds in 81 games last season, then raised those numbers to 13.2 and 7.3 in the playoffs.

The Cavaliers need inside help after losing starting center Tristan Thompson to a strained left calf in a November 1 game. He was projected to miss three to four weeks, which puts him out for most of the month.

It’s not clear what the Suns might ask in return for Monroe, but Iman Shumpert [$10,337,079] and Channing Frye [$7,420,912] provide an almost perfect salary match. Shumpert, who was on the trading block throughout the offseason, has a player option for next year worth slightly more than $11MM, while Frye, who spent three seasons with Phoenix early in his career, has an expiring deal.

Amico adds that the Spurs and Nuggets have also expressed interest in Monroe.

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NBA G League Assignments/Recalls: 11/10/17

November 10th, 2017 at 10:58pm CST by Austin Kent

Here are the G League moves from around the basketball world today:

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Woj: Suns Had Been Seeking Young Player And First-Rounder(s) For Bledsoe

November 10th, 2017 at 2:21pm CST by Luke Adams
  • According to Wojnarowski, the Suns were initially seeking a good young player and a first-round pick – or two – in exchange for Eric Bledsoe. Of course, the return Phoenix got from Milwaukee in exchange for Bledsoe didn’t come close to that. Bledsoe’s value had taken a hit because of the public nature of the situation, but Marks points out that most teams already have solid point guards and weren’t ready to make a major trade so early in the season, further limiting the Suns’ options.

    [SOURCE LINK]
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Community Shootaround: Best Fit For Greg Monroe

November 10th, 2017 at 12:40pm CST by Luke Adams

Veteran center Greg Monroe, who continues to recover from a calf injury, reported to his new team on Thursday, but he admits he doesn’t know whether he’ll actually suit up for the Suns, per Scott Bordow of The Arizona Republic. Monroe said yesterday that he – along with agent David Falk – spoke briefly to Ryan McDonough, acknowledging to the Suns’ general manager that he recognizes he may not fit into the team’s plans.

“I just told them I understand the plan they have in place and how they want to approach the season,” Monroe said. “I told them, ‘If you want me to play, I’ll always play. I’ll never be one not to want to play. If not, we’ll just work together and find the best option for everyone.’ But I’m more than happy to play here.”

Although Monroe says he was “blindsided” by the trade that sent him from Milwaukee to Phoenix in exchange for Eric Bledsoe, he’s unlikely to be caught off guard a second time. The Suns have a logjam at center and a report on the heels of this week’s trade indicated that the club likely won’t keep Monroe through the 2017/18 season.

Still, as I noted on Thursday, even though Monroe has an expiring contract, his $18MM salary won’t be easy to move, particularly if the Suns don’t want to take any future salary back. The Bucks had reportedly been exploring the trade market for Monroe off and on for the last year and hadn’t had much luck until this week, so there’s little reason to expect Phoenix to be able to find good value for the big man right away.

If the Suns don’t find a viable deal soon for Monroe, they’ll probably hang onto him for a little while rather than jumping right into buyout talks, but buying him out remains a possibility. In that event, Monroe would certainly clear waivers and then would be free to sign with any team except the Bucks.

What do you think? Is there a team out there that makes sense as a trade partner for the Suns in a Monroe deal? If he’s bought out, which club do you think would be the best fit for Monroe?

Jump into the comment section below to weigh in!

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Five Trade Candidates Who May Be Difficult To Move

November 9th, 2017 at 12:54pm CST by Luke Adams

While trade rumors generally don’t gain a ton of steam until a little closer to the deadline, several candidates to be moved have emerged in the opening weeks of the 2017/18 season. Eric Bledsoe was the first to be dealt, with the Suns finding a taker for him more than three months before this season’s trade deadline.

However, with Bledsoe off the board, teams may find it difficult to find viable deals involving several of the other players on the trade block around the NBA. Several of the most noteworthy current trade candidates either have undesirable contracts or haven’t shown enough on-court value to make them worthwhile investments — or both.

Here’s a breakdown of five players who teams may have trouble moving – or at least finding fair value for – in advance of the 2018 trade deadline:Luol Deng vertical

  1. Luol Deng, Lakers: Deng is in the second year of a four-year contract worth $72MM, one of the least team-friendly deals in the league. Deng is unhappy with his lack of a role in Los Angeles, and the Lakers – who want to clear enough cap room to make a run at multiple maximum-salary free agents in 2018, would love to accommodate a change of scenery for the veteran forward. As we heard earlier this week, the two sides are exploring trade or buyout possibilities. But trade interest is unsurprisingly “non-existent” and Steve Kyler of Basketball Insiders suggests the Lakers don’t want to go the buyout route at this point unless Deng takes a huge discount, which his camp seems unwilling to do. So this situation remains in a holding pattern for now.
  2. Greg Monroe, Suns: Although Monroe can still be a productive player, he wasn’t a part of this week’s Bledsoe trade because of his on-court abilities — he was included because of his expiring contract. The Suns are reportedly unlikely to keep him through the season, but flipping him won’t be easy. Monroe is earning nearly $18MM this season, and it’s tricky to move a salary of that size without taking back a multiyear contract, something Phoenix isn’t all that interested in doing. There simply aren’t many teams that have a need for a player like Monroe and would have the ability to match up with what the Suns would want out of a deal.
  3. Tyson Chandler, Suns: If the Suns can’t find a viable deal for Monroe, finding one for Chandler won’t be any simpler. Chandler is a little more affordable than Monroe, at $13MM this season, but he has one more guaranteed year on his contract for 2018/19. A team desperate for rim protection and veteran leadership could be willing to take on his contract, but the Suns may need to sweeten the deal with a draft pick or another asset. Considering Chandler isn’t unhappy in Phoenix, it may make more sense to just be patient and wait until the offseason to seriously attempt to move him.
  4. Nikola Mirotic, Bulls: Forced to take sides in the Mirotic/Bobby Portis altercation, the Bulls’ locker room and front office appear to be united — they’re with Portis. It may seem counter-intuitive that the player on the receiving end of a punch that caused multiple facial fractures is now on the outs, but Portis has seemingly said and done all the right things since delivering that blow, and his dedication and work ethic are highly valued in the Bulls’ locker room. Understandably, Mirotic no longer wants any part of the situation, but he can’t be traded until January 15. And even when he becomes trade-eligible, the 26-year-old may not have a lot of value — he’s earning $12.5MM, and has provided inconsistent production throughout his first three NBA seasons. Plus, if he’s truly as culpable in the incident with Portis as the Bulls have suggested, suitors may have personality concerns.
  5. Jahlil Okafor, Sixers: Unlike the other players on this list, Okafor isn’t expensive — he’s earning just $5MM this season. He also isn’t past his prime, like Deng and Chandler. In fact, at age 21, he almost certainly hasn’t reached his prime yet. For those reasons, Okafor may not be difficult to trade, but the Sixers will have a very hard time extracting what they perceive to be fair value for 2015’s third overall pick. Okafor can’t crack Philadelphia’s rotation, and there are serious concerns about his defensive ability, limiting his appeal. Because the Sixers declined his $6.3MM option for 2018/19, Okafor also can’t receive a contract offer worth more than $6.3MM from the team that acquires him, and he’ll be an unrestricted free agent, meaning he may just end up being a rental. A club is unlikely to surrender much for that.

Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.

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Suns Notes: Chandler, Triano, Monroe, Jones

November 9th, 2017 at 11:41am CST by Luke Adams

In the wake of Eric Bledsoe‘s now-infamous “I don’t wanna be here” tweet on the first weekend of the 2017/18 season, Suns general manager Ryan McDonough received a call from Jeff Schwartz, Tyson Chandler‘s agent, and admitted to ESPN’s Zach Lowe that he was expecting the worst when he got that voicemail.

“Given the way our season had started, it wouldn’t have been shocking if Tyson wanted to be moved,” McDonough said.

However, Schwartz expressed the opposite sentiment, assuring McDonough that his client was “fine” and enjoys mentoring the young players in Phoenix. “It was a breath of fresh air,” the Suns GM said. Chandler remains a trade candidate, since he probably doesn’t fit into the team’s long-term plans, but unlike Bledsoe, he’s in no rush to leave.

Lowe’s deep dive into the Suns – which is worth checking out in full – includes several more tidbits out of Phoenix, including some details on the changes that Jay Triano has made since replacing Earl Watson. Triano, who has been focused on accountability, has impressed the Suns so far and has a chance to earn the head coaching job on a permanent basis, per McDonough.

Here’s more on the Suns:

  • Scott Bordow of The Arizona Republic passes along more comments from McDonough, who said after Tuesday’s Bledsoe trade that the move could speed up the team’s timeline. As Bordow details, even though McDonough suggested that Phoenix has the flexibility to make a major roster addition in 2018, he said multiple times that the club is “more likely” to pursue a top free agent in 2019.
  • Within Bordow’s piece, McDonough also talks about the newest Sun, Greg Monroe, indicating that he’s open to a trade but that a buyout is less likely. The Suns GM intends to discuss all the possibilities with Monroe’s agent, David Falk.
  • The Suns’ vice president of basketball operations, James Jones, is taking many of the lessons he learned during his years as a player in Miami and applying them to his new job in Phoenix, writes Ira Winderman of The South Florida Sun Sentinel.
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McDonough: Bledsoe Trade Could Speed Up Timeline

November 8th, 2017 at 8:27pm CST by ChrisCrouse

The Suns got off to wretched start to the season and they didn’t wait long at all to make changes with an eye on turning the franchise’s fortunes around. Phoenix fired coach Earl Watson, something that upset Eric Bledsoe, and just weeks later, the team dealt the point guard to the Bucks.

GM Ryan McDonough believes the Bledsoe trade put the team in position to make a “compelling offer for a superstar,” as Greg Moore of the Arizona Republic passes along. The executive adds that if the organization wants “to be a player in 2018 and speed up our timeline a little bit, we’re able to do that as well.”

The Suns have could have as many as three first-round picks in the 2018 draft. They will receive Milwaukee’s 2018 first if it falls between No. 11 and No. 16, and they possess Miami’s first-rounder from the Goran Dragic, though the selection is top-seven protected.

If recent history is any indication of the trade market, dealing for a star does not require the kind of haul it has in previous years. Outside of the Kyrie Irving trade, one can argue that nearly every All-Star that switched teams over the past year via trade did so at a discounted price.

The Pelicans brought in DeMarcus Cousins for a lottery pick and a young prospect. The Bulls landed Jimmy Butler for a pair of guards with potential and the ability to move up nine slots in the 2017 draft. The Rockets only had to surrender a few solid NBA players in addition to a first-rounder in the Chris Paul trade. The Thunder landed Paul George for two players who each may never make an All-Star team (though, if Victor Oladipo‘s hot start continues, he’ll make a case for one this season) and they reeled in Carmelo Anthony from the Knicks for an Enes Kanter-headlined package.

Each of those deals had various circumstances to why the price was so low. However, had each of those players not been in their respective situations, the top talent would have likely never even been on the market.

Phoenix had the assets to make competitive offers for each of those stars and stood pat. After the Bledsoe deal, they maintain the ability to get involved should another star become available. However, it’s possible that the string of deals were more situation-based coincidences than a sign that new trend is emerging in the market for stars.

The trade adds to the Suns’ cupboard, though the increased flexibility doesn’t guarantee that the team is any closer to competing for a playoff seed in the West. McDonough’s talk of an improved timeline may be legit or it could simply be him masking a one-sided trade.

Do you buy what McDonough is selling? Let us know your thoughts and opinions in the comment section below and let us know how you would proceed if you were sitting in the GM’s chair. We look forward to what you have to say!

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