Collin Sexton

Jazz Notes: Sexton, Conley, NAW, Bolmaro, Strong Start

October 31st, 2022 at 4:01pm CST by Rory Maher

Jazz point guard Mike Conley has taken new teammate Collin Sexton under his wing and is helping him see the game in a new way, according to Eric Walden of The Salt Lake Tribune. With 16-year veteran Conley held out of the second game of a back-to-back set, Sexton received his first start of the 2022/23 season in Saturday’s win over Memphis, recording 19 points on 7-of-12 shooting and four assists in nearly 32 minutes.

“We’ll walk through, and he’ll be like, ‘Alright, what are you doing in this situation?’ And I’ll let him know, and then he’ll be like, ‘Well, in this situation, I think you should do this. Just try it,’” Sexton explained. “During the game, he’ll be like, ‘OK, you got to the basket — now let’s see if you can pitch [the ball] behind two or three times.’ And I’ll do it. And then he’s like, ‘Alright, now the next time, try to see if you can get all the way there [to the rim].’ It’s opening my mind to multiple ways of playing, and also multiple ways of seeing the game, too. I know he sees it from a different angle than I do.”

As Walden writes, the Jazz have been cautious not to overextend Sexton after he only played 11 games last season with a torn meniscus, which required surgery. He’s technically not on a minutes restriction, but that’s partly why he’s only averaging 19.0 MPG.

Sexton is eager to prove his worth after inking a four-year, $71MM deal as part of the Donovan Mitchell sign-and-trade with Cleveland, but he recognizes he’ll have more opportunities as the season goes on, per Walden.

“Just giving [it all in] the time that I’m out there and just making an impact. And I might play four-minute spurts, so in those four minutes, giving it all I can, whether it’s pressuring the ball or pushing the ball and changing the pace of the game, whether it’s on the defensive side or offensive side,” Sexton said. “Just trying to use the little time that I’m given just to make sure that they know I’m out there, you know what I mean? Because I know once the season continues to go, more minutes, more time [will come].“

Here’s more on the Jazz:

Little-used guard Nickeil Alexander-Walker got an opportunity for extended run with Conley sidelined against the Grizzlies, and he showed that he can be a positive player when given the opportunity, writes Sarah Todd of The Desert News. Alexander-Walker played solid defense against Desmond Bane and Hardy was pleased with his effort, as Todd relays. “He came in with such a fire,” head coach Will Hardy said of Alexander-Walker. “He really got into the ball with Desmond Bane and I think he got two steals on the ball, just taking the dribble. He has really good instincts and really long arms and he did a good job of just trying to speed up their ball handlers, which I thought was great…It’s a difficult situation. He hasn’t played that much and he got thrown into a big game with Mike out, and I thought he handled himself great.”
Second-year guard Leandro Bolmaro, who recently had his third-year option declined by Utah, has entered the NBA’s health and safety protocols and is out for Monday’s game against Memphis, tweets Tony Jones of The Athletic. Rudy Gay and Simone Fontecchio are still in the protocols. Rookie center Walker Kessler (non-COVID illness) has also been ruled out for the contest, according to Jones (Twitter link).
How have the Jazz gotten off to a 5-2 start? Tony Jones tackles that topic for The Athletic, concluding that the team’s depth, offensive pressure, floor spacing, and key adjustments from head coach Will Hardy have been instrumental to the surprising seven-game stretch.

Northwest Notes: Dozier, Murray, McCollum, Lillard, Sexton, Gobert

October 20th, 2022 at 10:42pm CST by Dana Gauruder

PJ Dozier will start the season with the Timberwolves’ NBA G League affiliate, the Iowa Wolves, Darren Wolfson of KSTP tweets. Minnesota waived Dozier, who was on an Exhibit 10 contract, on Saturday as the team pared its roster to the 15-man limit. The former Denver wing tore his ACL last December and didn’t appear in any preseason games prior to being waived. Iowa’s opener is in two weeks.

We have more from the Northwest Division:

The Nuggets lost in their opener and Jamal Murray had only 12 points and one assist in 26 minutes but he was just thrilled to be in action again after missing all of last season while rehabbing an ACL tear, Mike Singer of the Denver Post writes. “I know I’m smiling,” he said. “We lost. I’ve never smiled in a loss before.”
Trail Blazers star Damian Lillard signed a two-year, super max extension over the summer and former teammate CJ McCollum believes Lillard wants to establish a lasting legacy in Portland, as he told Michael Scotto of HoopsHype. “I think that’s one of the reasons why he’s been so committed to being in Portland to break all the records, show his loyalty to win, and to continue to try and build a lasting legacy,” McCollum said. “I think he’s done all those things. People will say what they want about him, but he really works on his game, and he really cares about the game of basketball.”
Collin Sexton had 20 points in his Jazz debut after his final season in Cleveland was cut short by a knee injury. Utah surprised Denver in the opener and Sexton feels his new teammates will continue to open some eyes, according to Tony Jones of The Athletic. “We’ve heard a lot about what we are supposed to be,” said Sexton, who received a four-year, $72MM contract in the sign-and-trade transaction. “But, we all have a lot to prove and we all want to embrace the role of being the underdog. We want to come out and surprise some people.”
Rudy Gobert said it will be “weird” to face his former Jazz teammates on Friday, Chris Hine of the Minneapolis Star Tribune writes. “It’s all love for me,” the Timberwolves center said. “You know, I want to see these guys succeed and I’m sure they want to see me succeed, too.”

Jazz Notes: Sexton, Kessler, Azubuike, Conley, Clarkson, Zeller, Lee

September 26th, 2022 at 1:00pm CST by Luke Adams

New Jazz guard Collin Sexton has been fully cleared following last year’s knee injury that sidelined him for all but 11 games, per Eric Walden of The Salt Lake Tribune (Twitter link). Newly acquired rookie big man Walker Kessler has also received clearance from his toe injury, Walden adds.

While Sexton and Kessler should be good to go for training camp, former Jazz first-rounder Udoka Azubuike isn’t quite there yet. According to Walden, Azubuike continues to progress from the ankle surgery that ended his 2021/22 season early, but has yet to be cleared for 5-on-5 work.

Here are a few more updates on the Jazz:

Following an offseason fire sale in Utah, Mike Conley and Jordan Clarkson look like obvious candidates to be traded at some point in the coming weeks or months. But general manager Justin Zanik said today that there has been “nothing but total buy-in from those guys,” so it doesn’t sound as if either Conley or Clarkson is pushing to be dealt (Twitter link via Walden).
Conley told reporters today that he’s “10 toes in” with the Jazz, even as he acknowledged the possibility of a trade. He’s conflicted about the idea of being moved, since he could end up with a contending team but would likely have to finish the season away from his family (Twitter links via Walden and Andy Larsen of The Salt Lake Tribune).
After undergoing eight surgeries in nine years, Cody Zeller wants to show in Utah that he’s finally healthy, telling reporters today that he believes he can bring value to a young roster as an experienced veteran (Twitter link via Walden). The Jazz have a roster logjam to clear in the next few weeks, but Zeller should have a shot at a 15-man roster spot due to the team’s lack of veteran frontcourt depth.
Tony Jones of The Athletic sounds unconvinced that Saben Lee is part of the Jazz’s plans going forward, tweeting that he believes the newly acquired guard will need to have “a hell of a camp” in order to stick.

Collin Sexton “100 Percent” Heading Into Season

September 13th, 2022 at 6:52pm CST by Dana Gauruder

Collin Sexton considers himself 100% healthy heading into his first season with the Jazz, Joe Coles of the Deseret News writes.

Sexton agreed to a four-year contract worth $71MM while getting dealt to Utah in the Donovan Mitchell blockbuster trade with the Cavaliers.

Sexton, 23, missed all but 11 games in 2021/22 due to torn meniscus in his left knee, which required surgery. The previous season, he averaged 24.3 PPG and 4.4 APG on .475/.371/.815 shooting in 60 games (35.3 MPG).

Sexton was in limbo as a restricted free agent much of the summer, as negotiations between his reps and the Cavaliers dragged on. He tried not to get frustrated by the situation.

“I just know my agent was pretty much just telling me just to stay patient and everything will work out now we be playing whether it was in Cleveland or another team, I will be wearing an NBA jersey,” he said. “So that was pretty much my mindset. I just wanted to just continue to work on the things that I needed to improve on and I let the rest take care of itself.”

Sexton spoke to new coach Will Hardy this week and was excited about his positive energy.

“He’s understanding that we’re going to be young, but he also understands like it’s going to be fun and I can’t wait to just be coached by him just because his energy and how he talks to us and how he’s so uplifted and how he has high spirits each and every day,” Sexton said. “That rubs off on everybody in the building as well.”

Danny Ainge: Jazz Players “Really Didn’t Believe In Each Other”

September 12th, 2022 at 1:58pm CST by Arthur Hill

The Jazz tore down their foundation by trading Rudy Gobert and Donovan Mitchell this summer, and CEO Danny Ainge and general manager Justin Zanik explained why during a press conference today, writes Andy Larsen of The Salt Lake Tribune.

Ainge, who was hired last December, said he was “curious and optimistic” when he joined the organization, but he was surprised by the atmosphere he encountered.

“What I saw during the season was a group of players that really didn’t believe in each other,” he said. “Like the whole group, I think they liked each other even more than what was reported. But I’m not sure there was a belief.”

He later explained, “I think individually they have resolve. I just don’t believe that collectively they did. So we saw a lot of players trying to do it on their own, as the belief in one another wasn’t as great as other teams I’ve been on and around.”

Ainge thought it might have been a result of a veteran team going through the motions of the regular season, so he waited for the playoffs to make any decisions. Once Utah got eliminated by Dallas in the first round, he decided to act.

“It was clear to me that the team did not perform well in the playoffs again,” Ainge said. “That was just me coming in from the outside, but that was a little bit of what the view was internally even before, you know, I made those assessments.”

There’s more from today’s press conference:

Remaining veterans, such as Mike Conley, Bojan Bogdanovic, Jordan Clarkson, Rudy Gay and Malik Beasley, are reportedly on the market as well, with Utah hoping to add to its collection of first-round picks. The team has 17 players with fully guaranteed contracts, so more moves are likely to happen before the start of the regular season. Age will be a consideration as Gay (36), Conley (34) and Bogdanovic (33) don’t fit the team’s rebuilding timeline. “Those conversations continue to evolve, we’ve continued to be in touch with them directly and their representation,” Zanik said. “Obviously there’s been a lot of change this summer, so it’s natural for us to have those conversations.”
Utah had extensive talks with the Knicks before the Cavaliers emerged as a surprise destination for Mitchell. Zanik said the Jazz were intrigued by the chance to acquire Collin Sexton and believed Cleveland’s offer was the best one available. “I think for them, they saw an opportunity to add to their team and open up a window with Donovan and a young group, I think they are going to be very good,” Zanik said. “And, you know, to get a good return, you have to give up something good as well. They certainly gave up a lot.”
Ainge said one of the reasons Utah is stockpiling picks is the expected quality of the draft classes in 2023 and 2024. Zanik also suggested the draft assets will be useful if the Jazz want to speed up their rebuilding process. “What those picks represent is not necessarily, oh, you’re going to keep them and just select them,” he said. “It just opens up multiple opportunities and conversations, the flexibility to acquire players, or move them to speed up the process, or to slow it down,” he said. “I look at it as a lot of different cards that you have a chance to play and be involved in these conversations — where if we didn’t have these picks … you’re just not simply part of any of those conversations.”

Jazz Notes: Bogdanovic, Clarkson, Beasley, Sexton, Conley

September 10th, 2022 at 1:18pm CST by JD Shaw

The Jazz believe Bojan Bogdanovic, Jordan Clarkson and Malik Beasley are each worth first-round picks in a potential trade, ESPN’s Zach Lowe said on his podcast, The Lowe Post (hat tip to HoopsHype). Utah acquired Beasley as part of this offseason’s Rudy Gobert trade, while Bogdanovic and Clarkson have spent multiple seasons with the team.

While all three players have value, it’s unclear if Utah will be able to net first-round picks for each. It also remains to be seen whether the Jazz will make another trade before the season starts, but since the team has moved Gobert and Donovan Mitchell, other veterans may eventually be dealt. Utah also has Mike Conley and Rudy Gay under contract.

Here are some other notes from Utah today:

Speaking of a potential Jazz fire sale, Eric Pincus of Bleacher Report examines which players may be traded next. As mentioned, Utah has a group of veterans that could be acquired for a slightly cheaper price now that the team is rebuilding, though it’s unknown who may be dealt and when.
Sarah Todd of the Deseret News explores why fans should be excited about Collin Sexton. The 23-year-old agreed to a four-year, $71MM deal as part of a sign-and-trade with the Jazz, who added him to a young nucleus of players and draft picks.
In a separate article for the Deseret News, Sarah Todd takes a look at whether the team could move forward with Conley remaining on the roster. Conley will turn 35 years old next month and appeared in 72 games last season, averaging 13.7 points and 5.3 assists per outing.

Jazz Notes: Mitchell Trade, Knicks Talks, Conley, Bass

September 9th, 2022 at 9:11am CST by Luke Adams

Within their Thursday press release officially confirming the trade that sent Donovan Mitchell to Cleveland, the Jazz‘s top decision-makers explained why they felt it was necessary to move the club’s leading scorer, a three-time All-Star who just turned 26.

“It was clear that in order to optimize our opportunity to create a team that could truly contend and establish sustained success, we needed to transition our roster,” Jazz CEO Danny Ainge said in a statement. “In trading Rudy (Gobert) and now Donovan, it was a rare opportunity to maximize our ability to get quality talent and picks to best position us moving forward. We have a plan in place to help us assemble the championship team our fans deserve. It will take time to craft our roster. We all understand the work ahead and are committed to our vision.”

General manager Justin Zanik, meanwhile, referred to Collin Sexton, Lauri Markkanen, and Ochai Agbaji as three “exciting young players,” suggesting the front office views the trio as part of the Jazz’s long-term plan.

“We believe that they fit the Jazz culture and hard-nosed, competitive brand of basketball we’ve built here in Utah,” Zanik said. “They give us versatility and athleticism on both ends of the floor as we grow toward the future. We look forward to our fans getting to know them.”

Here’s more out of Utah:

Previous reports suggested there was some level of “animus” between the Jazz and Knicks, due in part to Knicks executives sitting courtside at Utah’s first playoff game vs. Dallas in the spring, as well as to New York’s decision to extend RJ Barrett while the two teams were negotiating his possible inclusion in a Mitchell trade. However, ESPN’s Zach Lowe said on his Lowe Post podcast that any hard feelings between the Jazz and the Knicks weren’t the reason why Utah made a deal with Cleveland instead of New York.
“Emotions can play into this,” Lowe said, per RealGM. “I’ve been assured by the Utah side that ‘No, look, we’re mature people. Yes, we were upset with particularly the Mavs’ game incident, but we’re not going to make decisions based on those kind of things that now happened four months ago or whatever. We’ve made the best deal possible.'”
In a column for The Salt Lake Tribune, Robert Gehrke focuses on the off-court impact of the Mitchell trade, arguing that Utah has lost a “conscience of our community.”
Nekias Duncan of BasketballNews.com considers what Mike Conley can still bring to a contending team and explores which clubs might be realistic trade suitors for the veteran point guard. Meanwhile, Eric Walden of The Salt Lake Tribune weighs where Conley, Bojan Bogdanovic, and Jordan Clarkson could land if they’re traded.
The Salt Lake City Stars – Utah’s G League affiliate – acquired the returning rights to Paris Bass and Elijah Cain in a trade with the South Bay Lakers, per a press release. Bass is reportedly signing an Exhibit 10 deal with the Jazz, so the team clearly intends to have him play for the Stars — it remains to be seen whether Cain is also in SLC’s plans for 2022/23.

Jazz Trade Donovan Mitchell To Cavaliers

September 8th, 2022 at 2:40pm CST by Luke Adams

SEPTEMBER 8: The Jazz officially confirmed the trade of Mitchell in a press release. “Our entire organization wishes him every success in his future,” team owner Ryan Smith said in the release. “Once a Jazzman, always a Jazzman.”

SEPTEMBER 3: The Mitchell trade is now official, tweets Chris Fedor of Cleveland.com.

“The acquisition of Donovan Mitchell presented us with an incredible opportunity to bring one of the NBA’s most dynamic young All-Stars to Cleveland,” general manager Koby Altman said in the press release announcing the move. “Already a special and proven talent at just 25 years old, Donovan brings a competitive mentality that organically fits with the core group of this team.”

SEPTEMBER 1: The Cavaliers have agreed to a trade with the Jazz and will acquire star guard Donovan Mitchell, sources tell Adrian Wojnarowski of ESPN.

According to Wojnarowski (via Twitter), Cleveland is sending three unprotected first-round picks and two pick swaps to Utah as part of the deal. Lauri Markkanen, first-round pick Ochai Agbaji, and Collin Sexton are also headed to the Jazz in the blockbuster trade, reports Chris Haynes of Yahoo Sports (Twitter link).

Sexton is a restricted free agent, so he’ll need to be signed-and-traded as part of the agreement. His new deal with the Jazz will be worth $72MM over four years and will be fully guaranteed, according to Shams Charania of The Athletic (Twitter links).

The three first-round picks going to Utah will be in 2025, 2027, and 2029, since Cleveland already owes its lottery-protected 2023 first-rounder to Indiana, as ESPN’s Bobby Marks tweets. The Jazz will have the ability to swap first-rounders with the Cavs in 2026 and 2028, tweets Wojnarowski.

John Gambadoro of Arizona Sports 98.7 first identified the Cavaliers last week as a team with interest in Mitchell, and Ian Begley of SNY.tv subsequently reported that Cleveland had “touched base” with Utah about the three-time All-Star guard.

Still, today’s news comes as a major surprise. Begley reported last Friday that the Cavs were removing themselves from the Mitchell negotiations, while Brian Windhorst of ESPN said Cleveland had made it clear to the Jazz in their earlier discussions that Darius Garland, Evan Mobley, and Jarrett Allen weren’t on the table. That seemingly made it difficult for the Cavs to meet Utah’s asking price.

However, the Cavs’ package will include most of the other noteworthy assets at their disposal, including all their tradable first-round picks, this year’s No. 14 overall selection (Agbaji), and Sexton, who is just one year removed from averaging 24.3 PPG and 4.4 APG on .475/.371/.815 shooting in 60 games (35.3 MPG).

As good as Sexton was in 2020/21, Mitchell represents an upgrade at the shooting guard position in Cleveland. In his last two seasons, he has averaged 26.1 points, 5.3 assists, and 4.3 rebounds per game in 120 appearances (33.6 MPG), with a shooting line of .444/.368/.849 shooting line. He’ll earn a $1.68MM trade bonus as part of the deal, Marks notes (via Twitter).

With a core of Mitchell, Garland, Mobley, and Allen, the Cavs will be led by a pair of star duos — an offensively-minded pairing in the backcourt and a rim-protecting duo in the frontcourt.

All of those cornerstone players will be under contract for at least the next three years. Garland signed a new five-year extension this offseason, Mobley’s rookie contract runs through 2025, Allen is in the second year of a five-year contract, and Mitchell is locked up through at least the 2024/25 season (he has a player option for ’25/26).

With their three-for-one trade, the Cavs no longer have to worry about a logjam on their 15-man roster and should, in fact, have one open spot to fill. Once the deal is official, they’ll have 12 players on fully guaranteed contracts, with Lamar Stevens and Dean Wade on non-guaranteed deals. They’ll also create a $3.9MM trade exception in the swap and remain $2.47MM below the tax line, according to Marks (Twitter link).

The Knicks had long been viewed as the frontrunners for Mitchell, but they were never willing to offer more than two unprotected first-round picks (in addition to other protected first-rounders), per Jake Fischer of Bleacher Report (Twitter link). Unprotected first-round picks and swaps had been the trade chips that Danny Ainge and the Jazz coveted most, as was the case when they acquired a similar return in exchange for Rudy Gobert earlier this summer.

The Knicks and Jazz reportedly reached an impasse earlier this week when the Knicks set an informal Monday night deadline to either agree to a Mitchell trade or extend RJ Barrett, who was being discussed as a possible centerpiece in several permutations of a Mitchell deal. New York ultimately decided to sign Barrett to an extension, which complicated salary matching in a potential trade due to the poison pill provision and brought those trade talks to a temporary halt.

While there was an expectation that the Knicks and Jazz would reengage in the coming weeks, their stalemate opened the door for Cavs general manager Koby Altman to circle back to Utah general manager Justin Zanik, according to Wojnarowski, who says (via Twitter) the two teams “reassembled” a deal they’d been discussing in previous weeks.

The Jazz are now in full rebuilding mode, having traded their two All-Stars in the two most significant deals of the NBA offseason. Taking into account the trades for Mitchell, Gobert, and Royce O’Neale, Utah has acquired eight future first-rounders this summer, and all but one of those picks is unprotected (the eighth is top-five protected). The Jazz also acquired three pick swaps and a pair of players who were drafted in the first round this June (Agbaji and Walker Kessler).

While the Jazz appear to be in teardown mode, their four-year investment in Sexton suggests he’s a major part of their long-term plans. Fischer had reported back in July that Utah was exploring a possible sign-and-trade for the 23-year-old, so he has been on the club’s radar for some time.

Sexton is coming off a lost season due to a torn meniscus, but should be fully healthy this fall and has shown in his first four NBA seasons that he’s capable of becoming one of the league’s highest-scoring guards. Utah also views Markkanen and Agbaji as keepers going forward, tweets Wojnarowski.

Once the trade is official, the Jazz will have 17 players on fully guaranteed contracts, so more roster moves – either cuts, trades, or both – will be coming before opening night. Veterans like Mike Conley, Bojan Bogdanovic, Malik Beasley, and Jordan Clarkson could still be on the trade block.

While it shouldn’t have much of an impact on their roster moves, it’s also worth noting that the Jazz will face a hard cap of $156.98MM for the rest of the 2022/23 league year once they formally sign-and-trade for Sexton. For now, they’re $1.7MM below the tax line ($150.27MM), tweets Marks.

Central Notes: Mitchell, Sexton, Luxury Tax, Duren

September 6th, 2022 at 8:30pm CST by Dana Gauruder

The blockbuster for Donovan Mitchell abruptly ended the Cavaliers’ rebuilding project while amping up expectations, according to Chris Fedor of the Cleveland Plain Dealer.

For a majority of the offseason, the Cavaliers were seemingly banking on internal improvement via a few minor tweaks. The trade changes that outlook. Lauri Markkanen is the player who will be the most difficult to replace since he was the team’s best option at small forward, Fedor adds.

We have more from the Central Division:

Trading Collin Sexton to Utah was the best case scenario for both him and the Cavaliers, Joe Vardon of The Athletic writes. He deserved better from the franchise considering the growing pains they endured. However, the team also earned the right not to overpay for him on his rookie scale extension. He wound up getting a four-year, $72MM contract.
The Cavaliers remain in good shape regarding the salary cap since Kevin Love’s contract expires next summer when Darius Garland’s extension kicks in, Jason Lloyd of The Athletic notes. The timing of these deals will allow them to decide when they enter the luxury tax and begin the repeat offender clock.
The Pistons traded into the lottery to snare center Jalen Duren but he’ll likely spend a majority of the season with the G League’s Motor City Cruise, Keith Langlois of Pistons.com writes. The roster includes several veteran big men and GM Troy Weaver and head coach Dwane Casey are proponents of developing young talent in the G League. Duren at 18 is the youngest player in the league, Langlois notes.

Cavaliers Rumors: Mitchell, Love, Rubio, LeBron

September 6th, 2022 at 12:51pm CST by Arthur Hill

The Cavaliers‘ trade for Donovan Mitchell came together quickly last week after the Knicks decided to give an extension to RJ Barrett, Chris Fedor of Cleveland.com says in a HoopsHype discussion with Michael Scotto. The Cavs and Jazz held unproductive talks regarding Mitchell in July at the Las Vegas Summer League, but president of basketball operations Koby Altman reached out again after news leaked of Barrett’s extension, asking if Utah would accept a package that didn’t include Darius Garland, Jarrett Allen or Evan Mobley.

The resulting deal gives Cleveland four potential All-Stars who are under contract for the next three seasons, along with $2.5MM in remaining cap room to fill out the roster. Fedor notes that the Cavaliers have a history of keeping a roster spot open for flexibility, so the next move may not happen right away. He suggests Cleveland may try to package Caris LeVert or Cedi Osman along with second-round picks in an effort to trade for a reliable small forward.

Scotto points out that Collin Sexton was a big winner in the trade because he had to be re-signed before he could be sent to Utah. Scotto hears that Sexton’s new four-year, $72MM contract is far beyond what Cleveland would have offered to keep him. The Cavs had been unwilling to exceed the luxury tax threshold to re-sign Sexton or to attach assets in an Osman trade to clear more room below the tax to increase their offer to Sexton.

There’s more on the Cavaliers from Fedor and Scotto:

Kevin Love‘s expiring $28.9MM contract could be used for another major trade, but Fedor believes the team is more likely to keep Love and take advantage of the cap relief after the season. Love accepted a reserve role under coach J.B. Bickerstaff last season and is well-liked in the locker room. Scotto can see him re-signing next summer for roughly the mid-level exception.
The Cavs brought back Ricky Rubio on a multiyear contract because they aren’t certain how much he’ll be able to play this season, according to Fedor. Rubio was examined by the team’s medical staff recently, and there’s still no timetable for him to return from the ACL tear he suffered last December. Fedor hears that Rubio might be ready in January or February, but the Cavaliers are mostly focused on getting a fully healthy season from him in 2023/24.
Cleveland wouldn’t turn down a LeBron James return after his current contract expires, but it would be on much different terms than when he came back in 2014, Fedor adds. Management feels good about the roster it has put together and wouldn’t be willing to give James the power that he typically demands.

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