Jared Cunningham Rumors | Hoops Rumors

Cavaliers To Retain Jared Cunningham

January 7th, 2016 at 2:09pm CST by Chuck Myron

The Cavaliers have decided to keep Jared Cunningham past 4:00pm Central today, when his non-guaranteed contract would become fully guaranteed, league sources told Chris Haynes of the Northeast Ohio Media Group and the Cleveland Plain Dealer. That means his full $981,348 salary will stick on Cleveland’s books, unless the team trades him between now and the February 18th trade deadline. It would cost the Cavs about four times as much in tax penalties if they don’t offload salary by the final day of the regular season.

Cleveland was already in line to pay more than $170MM in payroll and taxes before they decided to keep Cunningham for opening night. He’s already incurred about 43% of his salary by virtue of sticking around to this point, causing the estimated bill to rise, and keeping Cunningham for a full season would entail an outlay of about $175MM if the Cavs don’t make any more moves this season. That would be the second highest amount any team has ever spent in a single season, behind the Nets, who shelled out about $190MM in 2013/14.

An injury to Joe Harris that’s poised to keep him out two to three months, as Dave McMenamin and Haynes reported, seems likely to foil the team’s apparent attempt to clear his fully guaranteed salary via trade. The Cavs made Harris available on the market in part because they wanted to keep Cunningham, according to Jason Lloyd of the Akron Beacon Journal, but it appears that Cunningham will stick anyway. The former 24th overall pick impressed during the preseason, and he’s developed a tight bond with LeBron James off the court, as Lloyd noted.

And-Ones: D-League Showcase, Cavs, Terry

January 5th, 2016 at 10:42pm CST by Dana Gauruder

Former Nuggets point guard Erick Green heads the list of free agents at the D-League Showcase event that begins on Wednesday, Marc J. Spears of Yahoo Sports opines. Shooting guard Elliot Williams, who was with the Pelicans, Hornets and Jazz last season, is second on Spears’ list, followed by point guard Lorenzo Brown, shooting guard Orlando Johnson and power forward Perry Jones. Brown saw action for the Timberwolves last season, Johnson played for the Pacers and Kings from 2012 to 2014 and Jones appeared in 43 games with the Thunder last season. Players at the Showcase are angling for opportunities to sign 10-day contracts.

In news around the NBA:

The Cavaliers are leaning toward retaining combo guard Jared Cunningham, a source informed Dave McMenamin of ESPN.com. Unless Cleveland waives Cunningham by the close of business Thursday, his $981,348 salary for the remainder of the season is guaranteed. It’s a bigger money commitment than that, since his salary would cost the Cavs approximately $3.8MM in luxury tax if no other changes are made to the roster. Cunningham will accompany the Cavs on their upcoming road trip, McMenamin continues, and is viewed by them as a young, versatile bench player who has endeared himself to his teammates. Joe Harris‘ potentially season-ending injury will not influence Cleveland’s decision, McMenamin adds.
Jason Terry could be closing out more games for the Rockets, considering the way interim coach J.B. Bickerstaff gushed about him to Jonathan Feigen of the Houston Chronicle. Terry, who has shared the point guard spot with Ty Lawson and Patrick Beverley, made a key basket and assist that lifted Houston to a two-point win over the Jazz on Monday. “Jet is clutch,” Bickerstaff said. “He’s been that way since I can remember, since he was in college at Arizona. In the big moments, when a big shot is needed, Jet makes those plays.”
The Thunder assigned small forward Josh Huestis to their D-League affiliate, the Oklahoma City Blue, according to the team’s website. Huestis has already appeared in 10 games for the Blue.

Eastern Notes: Cunningham, Celtics, Sixers

January 3rd, 2016 at 7:15pm CST by Will Joseph

The Cavs have not decided yet if they will keep combo guard Jared Cunningham after this week, Chris Haynes of The Northeast Ohio Media Group and the Cleveland Plain Dealer reports, citing league sources. Unless Cleveland cuts Cunningham by the close of business Thursday, his $981,348 salary for the remainder of the season is guaranteed, as Haynes points out.

Cunningham was a preseason surprise for the Cavs, the 24-year-old’s fifth team in four years. While Cunningham had streaks of consistent playing time this season, he has not seen more than 15 minutes in a single game since December 11th, and that includes four games in which he didn’t even appear. Cunningham, whom coach David Blatt used in a variety of ways, has seen his minutes deteriorate because the Cavs are healthier, Haynes writes. Making the decision more interesting is Cunningham’s salary would cost the team approximately $3.8MM in luxury tax dollars if the Cavs maintain their current roster, Haynes adds.

Here’s more from around the Eastern Conference:

If the Celtics continue to struggle, there will be increased pressure on the front office to consider making a move to alleviate Boston’s frontcourt logjam, Chris Forsberg of ESPN.com details. Jared Sullinger, Amir Johnson, Kelly Olynyk, David Lee and Tyler Zeller are each part of the Celtics’ big man rotation. Boston, as Forsberg points out, also tends to utilize Jae Crowder and Jonas Jerebko at the power forward spots. The large crowd has been a roadblock for rookie Jordan Mickey, who is thriving in the D-League, Forsberg adds.
Ish Smith, whom the Sixers acquired in a trade with the Pelicans last month, doesn’t seem fazed by playing for nine organizations in his career and having been included in 19 different transactions, Brian Seltzer of Sixers.com writes.
The Heat recalled Josh Richardson and Jarnell Stokes from the D-League, the team announced on its website.

Cavs Want Second-Round Pick For Joe Harris

December 16th, 2015 at 8:28am CST by Chuck Myron

The Cavs are making Joe Harris available for a trade, a source tells Jason Lloyd of the Akron Beacon Journal, and they would like to obtain a second-round pick in exchange, Lloyd writes. It appears they’re looking for more than a token, top-55-protected selection, as Lloyd adds that they haven’t explored the option of simply dumping Harris for one of those. Cleveland is showcasing the swingman in the D-League, according to Lloyd, having assigned him to Canton for the fourth time this season on December 2nd.

Fueling the motivation to explore trades for Harris are the emergence of Jared Cunningham and the team’s looming luxury tax bill, as Lloyd explains. Cunningham, who has a non-guaranteed contract, won his way onto the regular season roster with an impressive preseason and has crept onto the fringes of the rotation in the regular season, averaging 13.4 minutes per game in 20 appearances. Harris has seen only 15 total minutes of playing time all season at the NBA level. Trading Harris for a pick and no salary in return would remove his entire, fully guaranteed $845,059 salary from the team’s payroll and roughly four times that amount from the team’s projected tax payment.

The Cavs could also reduce their payroll and tax risk if they waive Cunningham before the end of January 7th so that his salary doesn’t become guaranteed, but it appears they’d like to keep him instead of Harris. LeBron James and Cunningham have become tight off the court, as Lloyd observed earlier this month, though Lloyd posited that it wouldn’t have an effect on whether the Cavs kept Cunningham.

Harris was the 33rd overall pick in 2014 but has yet to make much of an impact in the NBA. He’s averaging 17.3 points and 4.8 rebounds in 33.9 minutes per game with 31.7% 3-point shooting in nine D-League appearances so far this season. His contract runs through next season, when his salary of about $980K is non-guaranteed.

Central Notes: Hill, Cunningham, Antetokounmpo

December 11th, 2015 at 11:30am CST by Chuck Myron

Solomon Hill is one of Pacers coach Frank Vogel‘s favorite players because of his versatility and work ethic, writes Candace Buckner of the Indianapolis Star. That’s in spite of a report last week that Indiana has made the swingman available for a trade and the lack of playing time Hill has seen since the team declined his rookie scale option for next season.

“He knows the fact that he’s not in the rotation to start the season does not mean his days are numbered here,” Pacers coach Frank Vogel said. “We made that very clear that we’re going to give some other guys looks at that position to give us an offensive boost. We’re trying to improve on the offensive end this year and he’s got to stay ready. There are going to be times when he’s needed and he’s going to have an opportunity to get back into the rotation at some point.”

Hill’s best work comes on defense, so the notion that at least some of the Pacers braintrust isn’t sold on him is another sign of the team’s shift toward more offense, Buckner posits. Here’s more from the Central Division:

LeBron James has quickly formed a bond with Jared Cunningham off the court, but it’s unlikely to play much of a role when the Cavs must decide next month whether to guarantee Cunningham’s salary for the rest of the season, writes Jason Lloyd of the Akron Beacon Journal.
The Bucks gave Greg Monroe a max deal and Khris Middleton a new five-year, $70MM contract, but the executives and scouts who spoke to Gery Woelfel of The Journal Times are higher on Giannis Antetokounmpo than any other player on the Milwaukee roster. Antetokoumpo, making slightly less than $1.954MM this season, becomes eligible for a rookie scale extension in the summer ahead.
Bulls management basically said this summer that they believe they have a roster with a real chance to win the championship this year, as K.C. Johnson of the Chicago Tribune writes in a mailbag column, one in which he says he doesn’t think the team will make a trade this season.

Central Notes: Parker, Cunningham, Butler

December 9th, 2015 at 7:32pm CST by Eddie Scarito

Bulls swingman Jimmy Butler says the team is dealing with frustration differently under new coach Fred Hoiberg than it did under former coach Tom Thibodeau, Scoop Jackson of ESPN.com relays. “The frustrating moments last year was kinda like, Thibs just being a hard-nosed guy,” Butler told Jackson. “He’s gonna yell, he’s gonna say some curse words, he’s going to let you know. With right here, [Hoiberg] is going to be like, “Hey, guys, you gotta do this, you gotta do that,” and then that’s the end of it.”

“It’s two totally different coaching styles,” Butler continued. “Some works for some guys, some works for others. Some guys on this roster can’t take getting yelled at, some guys on this roster getting yelled at gets them going, you know what I mean? And there’s nothing wrong with that. But at the end of the day, we as players know what we are capable of and what we have to do. We’re all grown men, and we’ve been playing this game for so long a coach shouldn’t have to tell us, ‘Hey, this is what you have to do to win this game.’”

Here’s more from out of the Central Division:

The early season changes in the Bucks starting lineup indicate that the team believes its core players can’t shoot or defend well enough as a unit to remain on the floor for long stretches together, Zach Lowe of ESPN.com writes. Milwaukee envisions 2014 lottery pick Jabari Parker evolving into a stretch four, but the team understands it will take him time to adjust to the NBA, Lowe adds. “Jabari will be a really good stretch four in three years,” coach Jason Kidd said. “Right now, he’s not that. And that’s OK. He’s basically a rookie.“
The Cavaliers have benefited from Jared Cunningham‘s strong perimeter defense when matching up against smaller lineups this season, writes Jason Lloyd of the Akron Beacon Journal. “Jared is a guy that can defend people and we needed his intensity, his one-on-one defending capability,” coach David Blatt said. “If you’re a young player or if you’re a player that doesn’t normally get a lot of minutes or is looking for a chance to play, you go out there and you defend your man and you hold your ground, then you’re going to earn minutes. And he’s playing because he earned minutes because he was able to do those things for us. And I think that’s a very positive thing.”
The Pistons have recalled Spencer Dinwiddie and Darrun Hilliard from their D-League affiliate in Memphis, the team announced. This was the second stint in Grand Rapids this season for both players.

Cavaliers Rumors: Cunningham, Jefferson, Mozgov

November 8th, 2015 at 9:00am CST by Arthur Hill

The early-season success of journeyman Jared Cunningham may show how much Cavaliers owner Dan Gilbert is willing to spend to chase an NBA title, writes Jason Lloyd of The Akron Beacon Journal. Cunningham, who is with his fifth NBA franchise in four seasons, signed in September for the minimum salary of $981,348. However, Cleveland’s luxury tax situation means Cunningham will cost the team nearly $5MM if he remains on the roster through January 10th, when all contracts become guaranteed. If coach David Blatt and GM David Griffin want to keep Cunningham, Lloyd believes Gilbert would approve it. Lloyd notes that Cunningham has passed Joe Harris in the rotation, although Harris’ roster spot seems secure because this season’s contract is guaranteed for $845,059. However, if the roster gets back to full health, it’s unlikely either will see much playing time.

There’s more this morning out of Cleveland:

Cunningham has found a supporter in NBA veteran Richard Jefferson, according to Spencer Davies of Amicohoops.net. The 35-year-old Jefferson, who signed with Cleveland as a free agent in August, is now with his seventh team. “There’s a mentality that’s involved in the NBA,” Jefferson said. “There’s a mentality of a guy who’s trying to survive. There’s a mentality of a guy who’s comfortable and is just a vet and works consistently.”
Jefferson, who came close to NBA titles with the Nets and Spurs, tells Davies in the same piece that his decision to join the Cavs offers his best shot at a ring before he retires. Jefferson said the disappointment of losing to the Warriors last season is driving the team to get back to the NBA Finals. “You’ve been to the mountaintop without accomplishing your goal,” he said. “I think the next year that allows everyone to kind of focus a little bit more.”
If the trend continues, Timofey Mozgov will have to make his contract push three quarters at a time, according to Chris Haynes of The Northeast Ohio Media Group and The Cleveland Plain Dealer. With the Cavaliers employing a smaller lineup late in games, the starting center has gotten playing time in the fourth quarter in just one of the team’s first six contests. Mozgov, who is making $4.95MM in the final season of his three-year deal, is trying to be patient with the situtation. “It’s still hard for you win or lose,” he said of his fourth-quarter absences. “You want to play anyway, but it’s a long season and we have a lot of things to do so you’ve got to be smart about it.”

Eastern Notes: Fournier, Cunningham, Hardaway Jr.

October 27th, 2015 at 10:22pm CST by Eddie Scarito

Swingman Evan Fournier wants to remain with the Magic for the long-term, but he is not stressing the November 2nd deadline for an extension to be worked out between himself and Orlando, Josh Robbins of the Orlando Sentinel writes. “I don’t even think about it, because in my mind I know we have a game tomorrow, and that’s all that matters,” Fournier said. “A contract, if it happens, that’s great, man. If it doesn’t, it’s going to be next summer. It’s that simple.” If the Magic and Fournier don’t reach an agreement prior to the deadline, then the 22-year-old would be eligible to hit restricted free agency next summer, provided the team tenders him a qualifying offer worth $3,278,998. The two sides are still engaged in discussions, Robbins notes.

Here’s more from the Eastern Conference:

Jared Cunningham fought hard to secure the Cavaliers‘ final regular season roster spot on a non-guaranteed deal, and now the team is looking for him to add defense and energy to the second unit, Spencer Davies of AmicoHoops.net writes. “He was aggressive from day number one,” said coach David Blatt. “He played the game with a lot of passion on both ends. He did not shy away from responsibility, and obviously, he performed really well. He earned that spot without question, and he should help us this year.”
Tim Hardaway Jr. is excited to be a member of the Hawks, a franchise that has enjoyed much more recent success than the Knicks, the swingman’s former team, writes Rod Beard of The Detroit News. “It’s a different vibe; everybody is about their business and moves at their pace. It’s not too fast and everybody is serious about their work,” Hardaway said. “I’m coming to a team that made it to the playoffs last year and got deep into the playoffs; they have high expectations of themselves and it’s great to come into an environment like that.” Atlanta announced that it had picked up Hardaway’s fourth-year option earlier this evening.
The unveiling of the Bucks‘ new arena will be delayed by a year, and it is now scheduled to open in time for the 2018/19 season, the Associated Press reports. The team had hoped to have the arena ready by the start of the 2017/18 campaign, but team spokesman Jake Suski said that the earlier date “simply isn’t realistic,” according to the report.

Cavs Notes: Roster, Christmas, Cunningham

October 16th, 2015 at 10:19pm CST by Eddie Scarito

The Cavaliers are planning to have only 14 players on opening night instead of the maximum 15, reports Chris Haynes of the Northeast Ohio Media Group and the Cleveland Plain Dealer. It would take an overwhelming performance from one of the players on the roster bubble to convince the team to carry a 15th man, Haynes hears. Jared Cunningham has a non-guaranteed deal, but he’s the team’s leading scorer in the preseason and “by far” the favorite to join 13 other players with full guarantees, according to Haynes. Cavs coach David Blatt said late Thursday that the team’s 14th spot would likely go to a guard because of point guard Kyrie Irving‘s injury, as Chris Fedor of the Northeast Ohio Media Group relays (Twitter link), and Cunningham plays shooting guard.

See more on the Cavaliers below:

The contract that Dionte Christmas, another shooting guard, signed with the Cavs last week is non-guaranteed for two years at the minimum salary, reports Eric Pincus of Basketball Insiders (Twitter links).
The Cavs will likely release a few of their camp invitees after their preseason schedule ends Monday and briefly add replacements for practice purposes, Haynes adds in the same piece. Those replacements would only be on the roster for a few days, since they’ll have to be off the books by October 26th, the day the roster limit shrinks from 20 to 15. In any case, Cleveland intends to keep the roster at 20 players as long as possible, team sources tell Haynes.
Blatt wasn’t familiar with Cunningham’s game prior to this year’s training camp, but the coach is certainly a fan of the shooting guard’s game now, writes Dave McMenamin of ESPN.com. “Honestly, coming in I did not have direct experience with Jared,” Blatt said. “I hadn’t really seen him play in the league. I didn’t see him play in college. I know his history and looked into what he had done in the NBA and in the D-League. But this is the first time I’ve had a chance to work directly with him and see him on the floor, and he’d done nothing but acquit himself well in every way. He’s playing good basketball. He’s playing two-way basketball, and he’s making a serious run to try and make this team. He’s doing a good job.”

Chuck Myron contributed to this post.

Cavs Notes: Williams, J.R. Smith, Blatt

September 29th, 2015 at 8:59am CST by Chuck Myron

Mo Williams is a client of Mark Bartelstein but said Monday that he represented himself in free agency, tweets Dave McMenamin of ESPN.com. The point guard who simply wanted to return to the Cavaliers signed a two-year deal for nearly $4.295MM after trying and failing to get the team to lift the value of the deal, as McMenamin relays. Williams also said he rooted for the Cavs even when he wasn’t playing for them, as George M. Thomas of the Akron Beacon Journal writes.

“I didn’t see me [being] over here because I said they’re pretty good at point guard,” Williams said. “[Matthew Dellavedova] was coming out of his shell and turning into a player. I didn’t see that then. Obviously once the conversation started with [GM David Griffin], I saw a bigger role for me and listening to him, I thought it was a good place for me to be.”

Williams was coy when asked about his relationship with LeBron James, Thomas notes in the same piece, pointing to tweets Williams made in the past criticizing the four-time MVP. However, James embraced the idea of Williams’ return to the team, as Chris Haynes of the Northeast Ohio Media Group and the Cleveland Plain Dealer reported this summer. See more from Cleveland here:

J.R. Smith will make $5MM with the Cavs on his new deal this year after declining a player option worth about $6.4MM, but he expressed no regret over that decision Monday, Haynes notes (Twitter link). “I’m a gambler,” Smith said. “I’ll take a gamble on myself any day.”
Michael Dunigan was the last of the Cavaliers camp invitees to be reported, but he was the first to sign, according to Eric Pincus of Basketball Insiders (All Twitter links). Cleveland ordered its transactions thusly so that it could sign Jared Cunningham, Chris Johnson, Austin Daye, D.J. Stephens, Quinn Cook and Nick Minnerath to Exhibit 9 contracts that cover one season at the minimum salary with no money guaranteed and limited injury protection, Pincus reports. Teams have to have 14 players signed to non-Exhibit 9 contracts before they can sign anyone to an Exhibit 9, and Dunigan was the 14th player, as Pincus reveals. Dunigan is on a one-year, non-guaranteed contract for the minimum salary with standard injury protection, according to Pincus, so the Cavs would be on the hook for his salary for as long as he’s sidelined if he were to get hurt while playing for them.
One of the best ways for David Blatt to show he’s learned after his first year in the NBA will be to cut down the minutes for LeBron to keep him fresh, opines Terry Pluto of the Cleveland Plain Dealer.
We looked at the latest involving Tristan Thompson right here.