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Cavs GM Altman Talks Osman, Love, Next Moves

November 4th, 2019 at 2:11pm CST by Luke Adams

While the Cavaliers didn’t reveal any specific details about the contract extension general manager Koby Altman signed on Friday, Chris Fedor of Cleveland.com says Altman’s new deal is believed to run through the 2023/24 season, matching head coach John Beilein‘s contract.

According to Fedor, internal dialogue about extending Altman’s contract began shortly after the Cavs’ 2018/19 season ended. When the two sides finalized that deal on Friday, Altman became the first Cleveland general manger to receive a contract extension since Dan Gilbert assumed ownership of the franchise in 2005.

As Fedor writes, Altman and Gilbert have been in “lockstep” when it comes to expectations and organizational philosophies since LeBron James left as a free agent in 2018. Gilbert hasn’t pushed the front office to make the Cavs as competitive as quickly as possible or set any specific dates for a return to contention, and has been entirely on board with the club’s approach to its rebuild.

“Where we are now we have a pretty clear direction and vision, and I think Dan aligns well with a big-picture, three-to-five-year plan. I think our vision is very, very clear,” Altman said, adding that Gilbert is “super excited” about the future draft picks the Cavs have acquired and the flexibility the team has going forward.

Fedor’s article provides an in-depth look at where things stand with Altman and the Cavs, and is worth reading in full — especially for Cleveland fans. Here are a few more of the most noteworthy comments from the Cavs’ GM, via Fedor:

On the Cavaliers’ rebuilding philosophy:

“We’re trying to build this thing with great attitude, great work ethic, and guys who really want to be in Cleveland. Me and Coach Beilein really align on those values. We’ve started to see some of that. Cedi Osman clearly could have gone into the open market next year and tried free agency, but this is where he wants to be. He feels this is home for him. Same thing with Larry Nance Jr. and Kevin Love. Those are meaningful things for us and those are true Cavaliers.”

On potential next moves:

“We are still in evaluation mode with our team, with the new parts, the staff, the offense, and we like our guys. There’s no sense of urgency to rush to do anything. Last year I think was a little bit different in terms of we knew we wanted to recoup a lot of different draft assets. Where we are now: We have great flexibility, we’re one of four teams that has over $20MM in cap space next summer, so we’re not in any rush to do anything drastic.”

On Kevin Love and his four-year contract extension:

“He knew this was going to be a process,. He knew we were going to bring in some younger guys. He knew we were going to build. He was all-in for that. … For a guy that is a five-time All-Star, loves it here, wants to help us grow, I don’t know how you replace a player that caliber. He’s been great and meaningful to our guys. We are a much better team with him on the floor. The city has embraced him, he’s embraced the city and so it would be really, really tough to move on from him.”

On whether there’s any interest in trading Love:

“No. Not at all.”

Cavaliers Notes: Osman, Love, McKinnie

October 26th, 2019 at 6:34pm CST by Arthur Hill

The four-year, $31MM extension that Cedi Osman signed today was always his preference instead of trying his luck in free agency, writes Chris Fedor of Cleveland.com. It’s a team-friendly contract, Fedor notes, starting at $8.75MM and decreasing each year, with a non-guaranteed final season at $6.65MM. Although Osman might have found a better offer on the open market, he likes the security of having a long-term deal in Cleveland.

“I really feel like I’m home,” he said after today’s shootaround. “I just really wanted to stay where I belong. I love being here, I love the organization. I’m just happy here, with the coaches, with the organization, with my teammates, we have a great brotherhood in here. It’s a great opportunity for myself to grow and to learn during those extra four years I’m going to have here. I’m just really happy that I’m going to be here for the long term.”

Osman’s role with the team has expanded since he made the decision to leave Turkey in 2017. His first Cavs team still had LeBron James and was headed to its fourth straight NBA Finals. Osman got into 61 games as a rookie, but only averaged 11 minutes per night and barely saw the court in the postseason. He moved into the starting lineup last year and became a double-figures scorer.

“He’s just the type of young man that works hard every single day in practice, very low maintenance and he’s young and growing as a player,” said coach John Beilein. “That’s been the biggest thing. Takes a business-like approach to his career.”

There’s more out of Cleveland:

Getting more shots for Kevin Love will be a priority, Fedor relays in a separate story. The former All-Star shot the ball just nine times in a season-opening loss, and Beilein said it would be “crazy” if he doesn’t have a larger role in the offense. Beilein, who was coaching his first NBA game, apologized to Love afterward for playing him 20 minutes in the first half and has given his assistants the power to make substitutions for tired players.
In another piece, Fedor predicts that Love will remain with the Cavaliers throughout the season, even though he’s the team’s most valuable trade asset. Fedor notes that the team’s record was far better with Love in the lineup last season, and the front office has stated that it has no regrets about giving him a four-year, $120MM extension last summer.
Beilein and general manager Koby Altman see Alfonzo McKinnie as an asset to the team culture, which is among the reasons Cleveland claimed him off waivers this week, notes Sam Amico of SI.com.

Kevin Love: I Want To Stay With Cavaliers

October 9th, 2019 at 9:43am CST by Luke Adams

Since the day LeBron James announced that he was leaving the Cavaliers to sign with the Lakers, few players have been cited as trade candidates more frequently than Kevin Love. Those trade rumors persisted even after Love signed a four-year contract extension with the rebuilding Cavs last summer, but the five-time All-Star insists he has no desire to leave Cleveland for a team closer to title contention, as he tells Chris Fedor of Cleveland.com.

“I do want to be here. I always have,” Love said. “I say that knowing it’s the NBA and it’s a business. I think especially after seeing last year, the summer leading up to last year and this summer, the changeover is like unprecedented so you don’t know what is going to happen.

“If they decide to go completely young … and that could be the case, but it’s funny, my agent didn’t call me one time this summer to say, ‘Hey, you’re getting traded, there’s talks that this is happening.’ Of course, somehow it’s still out there and people are talking about, ‘Oh, Kevin would be great here or great there.’ I just keep it moving and try to do right by these guys because we have a good group.”

Love, who turned 31 last month, missed most of the 2018/19 season due to a foot injury. He appeared in just 22 games, averaging 17.0 PPG and 10.9 RPG in 27.2 minutes per contest with a career-worst .385 FG%. As he enters the first season of his four-year extension, he’s hoping for a bounce-back year and has raved about new head coach John Beilein, whom Love believes has “breathed new life into us,” per Fedor.

Meanwhile, the Cavs’ stance on Love hasn’t changed, according to Fedor. Cleveland would consider moving the veteran if the right offer comes in, but sources tell Fedor the club would have to be “blown away” by a package of young players and draft picks.

Love, who says he feels comfortable in Cleveland and has “embraced” the city and its fans, knows that his four-year contract doesn’t offer any guarantees and that it’s entirely possible he won’t be a Cavalier by this year’s trade deadline. However, he vowed to continue giving the team his best effort, whether he’s in Cleveland for another four years or just another four months.

“If they do decide (to move on), then at least I would have laid a really, really great foundation and done right by the whole team,” Love said. “Hopefully people will see that, know that no matter what goes down, how it goes down, I will always do right by the city of Cleveland. They’ve done right by me and stuck with me.”

Eastern Notes: Carter, Clarkson, Fall, Tyndall

September 13th, 2019 at 7:22pm CST by Dana Gauruder

Bulls second-year center Wendell Carter will be the foundation of the team’s defense, Mark Strotman of NBC Sports Chicago writes. Carter will do most of the dirty work, along with being used as an offensive facilitator. The Bulls will rely on him for shot-blocking as well as to mask some of his teammates’ defensive shortcomings, Strotman adds.

We have more from around the Eastern Conference:

Jordan Clarkson and Tristan Thompson are the Cavaliers veterans with the most trade value beyond Kevin Love, according to Chris Fedor of the Cleveland Plain Dealer. Matthew Dellavedova, John Henson and Brandon Knight rank next in terms of trade value, as all have expiring contracts, Fedor notes, but none are core pieces.
Celtics rookie center Tacko Fall suffered a mild knee sprain in a collision going up for a block during a workout, Jared Weiss of The Athletic tweets. He’s expected to be sidelined for only a week, Weiss adds. Fall, an undrafted 7’6” center, was signed to an Exhibit 10 contract in July.
Donnie Tyndall has officially been named head coach of the Pistons’ G League affiliate, the Grand Rapids Drive, the NBAGL team tweets. The Pistons’ plan to hire Tyndall was first reported in July. Tyndall has spent the past three seasons as an assistant coach with the Raptors 905, helping win a league championship under Jerry Stackhouse in 2017.

Central Notes: Rose, Hutchison, Bledsoe, Love

September 6th, 2019 at 7:27pm CST by Dana Gauruder

Derrick Rose signed with the Pistons this summer in pursuit a championship, he said in a Sirius XM NBA Radio interview (Twitter link). Rose, who inked a two-year, $15MM contract, feels the Pistons can contend in the Eastern Conference behind the big man duo of Blake Griffin and Andre Drummond. “While I’m in the game, I want to win a championship,” he said. “That’s what I really want to do. I’ve got all the accolades I wanted. Now it’s time for me to get the one I really, really want. I’ve won at every level except for this level.”

We have more from around the Central Division:

Bulls swingman Chandler Hutchison suffered a left hamstring strain while working out this week, according to a post on the team’s website. While the injury doesn’t appear serious, it’s a reminder of the team’s lack of depth along the wings, K.C. Johnson of the Chicago Tribune tweets. Hutchison is slated as a backup to Otto Porter at small forward while Antonio Blakeney and Denzel Valentine, who was injured all of last season, are the top options behind shooting guard Zach LaVine.
Trade restrictions on Bucks guard Eric Bledsoe lifted this week, as ESPN’s Bobby Marks tweets. Bledsoe couldn’t be dealt for six months after he signed a four-year, $70M extension on March 4. However, there are no indications Milwaukee, one of the favorites to win the championship, is looking to move Bledsoe.
Kevin Love is organizing a minicamp for his Cavaliers teammates in New York next week, Chris Fedor of Cleveland.com reports. Cedi Osman and Matthew Dellavedova won’t be able to make it, since they are participating in the FIBA World Cup. Most of the other team members are expected to show up, including first-round picks Darius Garland, Kevin Porter Jr. and Dylan Windler.

Team USA Updates: Millsap, Plumlee, Harrell, Select Team

July 25th, 2019 at 12:21pm CST by Luke Adams

USA Basketball has issued a press release announcing a series of updates relating to the team it’s putting together for the 2019 World Cup in China, as well as the training camp that will take place in August before that event. Here are the highlights of that announcement:

More withdrawals:

Nuggets big man Paul Millsap has joined the ever-growing list of players from Team USA’s initial 20-man roster who have decided not to participate in this year’s World Cup. As expected, Cavaliers power forward Kevin Love has also withdrawn from Team USA’s 2019 roster.

Millsap and Love join Bradley Beal, Anthony Davis, Eric Gordon, James Harden, Tobias Harris, Damian Lillard, and CJ McCollum among the original invitees who have removed their names from World Cup consideration.

New invitees:

Team USA confirmed that Thaddeus Young, Marcus Smart, Julius Randle, and Jaylen Brown will join the training camp roster for next month, as previous reports indicated.

In addition to those four players, two big men will join the roster as well, with Clippers center Montrezl Harrell and Nuggets center Mason Plumlee have received invitations from USA Basketball. Assuming the remaining 11 players from the original 20-man roster remain committed, that would bring the roster back up to 17.

[UPDATE: Harrell may turn down his invitation]

Those 11 other players are Harrison Barnes, Andre Drummond, Kyle Kuzma, Brook Lopez, Kyle Lowry, Khris Middleton, Donovan Mitchell, Jayson Tatum, P.J. Tucker, Myles Turner, and Kemba Walker.

Select Team:

For the first time, USA Basketball confirmed the players who will make up the Select Team at next month’s training camp in Las Vegas. The members of the 13-man Select Team will practice and scrimmage with Team USA’s training camp invitees, and will be coached by Jeff Van Gundy.

It’s possible that a player could be elevated from the Select Team to the primary roster and eventually find his way onto the 12-man squad that will play in China, but that’s probably a long shot.

The 13 players who will play for the Select Team are as follows:

Jarrett Allen (Nets)
Marvin Bagley III (Kings)
Mikal Bridges (Suns)
Jalen Brunson (Mavericks)
John Collins (Hawks)
Pat Connaughton (Bucks)
De’Aaron Fox (Kings)
Joe Harris (Nets)
Jonathan Isaac (Magic)
Mitchell Robinson (Knicks)
Landry Shamet (Clippers)
Derrick White (Spurs)
Trae Young (Hawks)

Team USA’s training camp will take place during the week of August 5, while the World Cup itself is scheduled to run from August 31 to September 15.

Kevin Love Expected To Withdraw From World Cup; Kyle Lowry To Remain

July 24th, 2019 at 10:29am CST by Arthur Hill

Cavaliers power forward Kevin Love is expected to be the next NBA star to pull his name out of consideration for the FIBA World Cup, tweets Shams Charania of The Athletic.

Raptors point guard Kyle Lowry remains committed to play despite recent thumb surgery, Charania adds. Lowry is still recovering from the procedure to repair a tendon injury, but he is expected to be ready for action midway through training camp.

Love battled his own injuries last season, being limited to 22 games because of toe surgery. He remained at his normal level when he played, averaging 17.0 points and 10.9 rebounds for the season.

Love would be the eighth Team USA player to decide against participating in the World Cup since the original list of invitees was announced. Damian Lillard and DeMar DeRozan both announced yesterday that they won’t be part of the team, joining Anthony Davis, James Harden, Bradley Beal, CJ McCollum and Eric Gordon.

Charania notes that their absence will provide greater opportunity for young players such as Donovan Mitchell, De’Aaron Fox, Jayson Tatum, Kyle Kuzma and Myles Turner, along with lower-profile veterans like Lowry, P.J. Tucker and Thaddeus Young (Twitter link).

A source tells Eric Woodyard of The Deseret News that there’s “no question” Kuzma will participate in the camp (Twitter link).

Harris Withdraws From Team USA This Summer

July 22nd, 2019 at 5:28pm CST by Dana Gauruder

Add Tobias Harris‘ name to the growing list of USA Basketball players pulling out of consideration for this year’s FIBA World Cup. Harris, who re-signed with the Sixers for five years and $180MM this summer, has decided to focus on the upcoming NBA season, Keith Pompey of the Philadelphia Inquirer tweets.

Anthony Davis, James Harden, Bradley Beal, CJ McCollum and Eric Gordon have also withdrawn from Team USA participation this summer, starting with training camp in Las Vegas early next month. Two other players, Damian Lillard and Kevin Love, are also undecided and will announce their decisions in the next few days, Joe Vardon of The Athletic reports.

Team USA will bring 12 players to the FIBA tournament. Among the players under consideration to replace the stars who have withdrawn, according to Vardon, include Marcus Smart, Jaylen Brown, D’Angelo Russell, Mike Conley, Josh Richardson, Thaddeus Young and Julius Randle. Select Team members could also be considered for the final 12-man roster, including Trae Young, Vardon adds. Top pick Zion Williamson has withdrawn from the Select Team this summer.

The original list of 20 invitees to the USA Basketball camp can be found here.

Cavaliers Notes: Love, Smith, Iguodala, Bolden

July 14th, 2019 at 11:42am CST by Arthur Hill

The Cavaliers aren’t making an effort to deal Kevin Love, according to Chris Fedor of Cleveland.com. On the surface, Love appears to be a prime trade candidate. He’s nearly 31 on a rebuilding team, is coming off toe surgery that limited him to 22 games last season and has a four-year, $120MM extension that’s about to kick in.

However, Cleveland doesn’t view Love’s contract as burdensome. A five-time All-Star, he’s easily the team’s best player if he can stay healthy and provides a positive role model for a young roster. New coach John Beilein wants to keep Love around because he’ll take pressure off his teammates to develop quickly.

Cavs management will listen to offers for Love, but it would take a formidable deal to move him anytime soon. Fedor sees the Heat as a possibility because they are searching for a second star to team with Jimmy Butler and have both young players such as Tyler Herro, Meyers Leonard, Bam Adebayo and Justise Winslow who would interest Cleveland, plus big contracts in James Johnson, Goran Dragic and Dion Waiters to help match Love’s $28.9MM salary. Fedor expects the front office to hold onto Love for a while and reassess its options closer to the trade deadline.

There’s more out of Cleveland, all courtesy of Fedor:

Tomorrow is the new guarantee date for J.R. Smith, but it can be pushed back to August 1 if the Cavs can’t work out a trade. The original date had been June 30, but Smith agreed to an extension last month in exchange for an increase in guaranteed money from $3.9MM to $4.37MM. Smith’s trade value can be counted at the full $15.68MM because he signed his contract before that rule was changed, but Cleveland hasn’t been able to find any takers for the 33-year-old guard. Management has been surprised by the lack of interest in Smith, Fedor adds, believing its offers in salary-dump situations were better than the ones that were accepted. The Cavs have also been “shocked” by some of the bad contracts teams are trying to get them to take.
The Cavaliers tried to obtain Andre Iguodala from the Warriors, and sources tell Fedor they asked for less than the future first-rounder and cash that Memphis received for taking on Iguodala’s $17.1MM contract. However, Golden State wanted to create a large trade exception and saw that as more valuable than the cap relief Smith would have provided. Cleveland was also involved in talks to facilitate the Butler trade by taking Maurice Harkless from the Trail Blazers, but he wound up with the Clippers, who received a 2023 first-rounder from Miami.
Former Duke big man Marques Bolden is receiving strong consideration for a two-way contract. The Cavaliers believe he never got a full chance to display his talents in college and can develop into an effective NBA center. “In college you don’t have space,” said Summer League head coach Antonio Lang. “Here you have space and he can create space if he continues to roll hard. Everything you look for in a big he has, he just has to be more efficient with his footwork and learn the game more. That comes with practice and time. He’s more suited for the NBA game.”

Cavaliers Notes: Love, Smith, Nwaba

June 28th, 2019 at 1:31pm CST by ChrisCrouse

There’s a belief within the league that the Cavaliers will receive trade inquiries for Kevin Love this offseason, as Joe Vardon of The Athletic writes.

“Yes, one of the big-market teams that fail to land a big fish are going to make an offer for Kevin,” an executive told Vardon. Another source said that if Love was a free agent this summer and coming off of an injury-free year, he would be in line for a massive deal.

“He would get four years and $120MM in this marketplace,” the other executive said. “I mean, Al Horford might get a similar deal.”

Love will make slightly under $29MM during the 2019/20 season and has approximately $91MM on his deal in the ensuing three years. The opinion that Love’s contract allows him to be a positive asset isn’t unanimous throughout the league.

“His contract is hard to digest unless he’s clearly the missing piece,” a separate league executive told Vardon.

Love has been the subject of trade rumors ever since the Cavaliers acquired him during the 2014 offseason. He signed an extension with the club last offseason and the team has resisted trade overtures. GM Koby Altman won’t deal Love unless the return makes the Cavs a better squad, and Vardon writes that it’s unlikely that the kind of deal that Altman is looking for will surface.

Here’s more from Cleveland:

Trading J.R. Smith appears unlikely at this point, Vardon adds in the same piece. The team will need to waive him by June 30 to avoid paying his full contract. Only $3.9MM of his deal is guaranteed for next season.
Vardon (same piece) hears that the Cavs are likely to do David Nwaba “a favor” by not tendering him a qualifying offer, thus allowing him to hit the market as an unrestricted free agent.
Free agency in Cleveland should be quiet with the franchise currently over the salary cap, Vardon explains. It’s unlikely the team uses a “significant” portion of its mid-level exception or the trade exception the franchise netted when it dealt away Rodney Hood this past season.
While cutting Smith loose will get the Cavaliers below the luxury tax threshold, it’s unlikely the team will consider going back over that line to fill their last couple open roster spots. Vardon expects Cleveland to fill those spots with minimum salary players.