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Chauncey Billups Talks Kyrie, Turning Down Cavs Job

July 25th, 2017 at 5:11pm CST by Joshua Fischman

Chauncey Billups says that he knew Kyrie Irving was unhappy when Billups interviewed for the Cavaliers‘ GM position last month, passes along Brian Windhorst of ESPN. On Tuesday, Billups gave an interview on the Vic Lombardi Show on Altitude Sports 950 AM in Denver, in which he provided his opinion on Irving’s trade request and explained why he turned down an offer to be Cleveland’s general manager.

Billups, on Irving:

“[Irving’s trade request] didn’t surprise me. I knew as [the Cavs] were doing their due diligence on me I was doing the same thing on them. I knew so much about the situation that the rest of the world doesn’t know. But it’s unfortunate, man, because [Irving is] a special talent. So much of what he’s been able to accomplish on and off the floor has been as the beneficiary of having LeBron James. You’re getting everything you want. You get all the shots you want, you’re playing for a great coach who’s letting you go to work, when the game is on the line they’re coming to you, you’re playing on TV every week. To me, I don’t get it. Everybody has their own desires. Maybe he wants to be Russell Westbrook and go try to win the MVP and get all the shots. That’s the only sense I can make of it, and to me that doesn’t make sense.”

Billups, on turning down the Cavaliers GM offer:

“The whole [possibility of] LeBron leaving the next year, to be honest that didn’t bother me that much. Here’s why: When you have an opportunity to really put something together and put your imprint on it — rebuilding is a beautiful thing if [they’re] going to have the patience with you. What bothered me more than if LeBron left or not was that I didn’t think they had great assets if you have to do a rebuild. It was more that than Bron. Bron and I have always had an amazing relationship.

Billups, on where things stand for him now:

“It was a great process. That team is a great team, a lot of expectations, lot of pressure involved with that team. But I didn’t mind that. That’s kind of been my entire career, the stress and pressure. At the end, in my spirit, it just didn’t quite feel like it was the right time at the end. It was one of those gut things. So I took myself out of consideration. I felt good about it. Dan and I talked afterwards and I thanked him for giving me such a good opportunity. … We will remain friends. I don’t need the job. I love my life. I love this ESPN thing; it’s been fun. And I’ll just wait until it feels right.”

Latest On Kyrie Irving

July 25th, 2017 at 12:35pm CST by Luke Adams

The Suns were “very” close to acquiring Kyrie Irving on draft day, reports John Gambadoro of Arizona Sports 98.7 (via Twitter). Irving’s trade request reportedly didn’t happen until early July, but it appears the Cavaliers were having discussions about their star point guard as they explored ways to upgrade their roster in June, before he formally asked to be moved.

According to Gambadoro (Twitter links), the Suns still have the pieces to land Irving, but any deal would require the team to part with Eric Bledsoe, Josh Jackson, and more. Gambadoro isn’t sure exactly what else the Cavs would ask for in addition to Bledsoe and Jackson, but the price may be too steep for Phoenix.

Here’s more on Irving:

According to ESPN’s Zach Lowe and Brian Windhorst on The Lowe Post podcast, the Pacers offered Paul George for Kyrie Irving around the time of the draft (hat tip to Dan Feldman of Pro Basketball Talk). Cleveland likely wouldn’t have accepted George straight up for Irving even after he made his trade request, given George’s expiring contract, but if they’d known Kyrie wanted out at that time, it could have made those discussions with Indiana much more interesting.
The Cavaliers have heard from virtually every team in the league in some capacity, though some are more interested in Irving than others, a source tells Steve Kyler of Basketball Insiders. According to Kyler, the situation is unlikely to get resolved quickly.
Kyler also suggests that Cleveland would like to reduce its projected tax bill in an Irving deal, with one source predicting that any team acquiring Irving will have to take on at least Iman Shumpert‘s contract.
Joe Vardon of Cleveland.com suggests that LeBron James is “eager to see [Irving] off,” but the four-time MVP denied that report in a tweet, suggesting that it needs “another source.”
Appearing on The Rich Eisen Show on Monday, NBA commissioner Adam Silver suggested that the Irving drama in Cleveland is “not necessarily the kind of drama that the league wants.” Chris Fedor of Cleveland.com has the details and the quotes from Silver, who called the situation “upsetting.”
Here are several of Monday’s Irving-related notes and updates.

LeBron James Unwilling To Waive No-Trade Clause

July 23rd, 2017 at 7:02pm CST by Austin Kent

The Cavaliers will have their work cut out for them sorting through the drama of Kyrie Irving‘s recent trade request. The All-Star point guard is reportedly concerned about the roster he might be left with if LeBron James leaves the team next summer.

Simply getting ahead of the issue and trading James before he could possibly bolt via free agency, however, isn’t a realistic option. Per Chris Haynes of ESPN, James has no intention of waiving his no-trade clause to facilitate a rebuild.

James, one of three players in the NBA with such a clause, has signed a series of short contracts ever since he returned to the Cavaliers in the summer of 2014, a strategy that has helped him maximize his earning potential while applying consistent pressure to the team’s front office.

Given that 2017/18 is the last guaranteed year on his current deal, James could technically opt out of his 2018/19 player option, hit free agency and potentially join another club in less than a year, something that has been speculated about over the course of the last month.

While there’s no substantive indication that he will leave for the Lakers (or any other franchise), the fact that it’s a possibility is apparently concerning to Irving, who doesn’t want to be left out in the cold, alone with a roster built around James’ playing style.

That limits team owner Dan Gilbert and recently appointed Koby Altman in what they can do to resolve Irving’s concerns, if they do in fact decide to react at all.

Irving’s Motivation For Trade Request Explained

July 23rd, 2017 at 9:16am CST by Arthur Hill

Kyrie Irving‘s decision to ask for a trade isn’t a betrayal of LeBron James, writes Adrian Wojnarowski of ESPN.

Irving is aware of the rumors that James might leave for Los Angeles when he becomes a free agent next summer. The All-Star point guard is concerned about the roster he would be left with if that happens, which he explained to team owner Dan Gilbert when they had their meeting.

Wojnarowski explains that the Cavaliers have been making personnel decisions to find players who complement James in a methodical, half-court style. Those players wouldn’t easily transition to an up-tempo approach that would make sense if Irving becomes the focal point. The team has given big-money, long-term deals to Tristan Thompson and J.R. Smith, clients of Klutch Sports like James, that would clog the team’s cap space and slow a potential rebuilding project if James leave.

Irving has two seasons left on his contract, along with a player option for 2019/20. He is worried about being stuck on a non-competitive team if James is suddenly gone and has seen from this summer’s Paul George situation how difficult it can be to trade a player who is close to free agency.

So Irving decided to make his move now, which Wojnarowski notes is a way of exercising the power for NBA stars that James helped to create.

Kyrie Irving Requests Trade; LeBron Blindsided

July 21st, 2017 at 10:54pm CST by Dana Gauruder

10:52pm: The Knicks would consider a package involving Carmelo Anthony and future first-round picks, sources tell Ian Begley of ESPN.

4:24pm: Irving has provided a short list of four teams that he would like the Cavaliers to consider dealing with, Chris Haynes of ESPN tweets, although it’s worth noting that he doesn’t have a no trade clause. Those teams, Haynes says, are Knicks, Spurs, Heat and Timberwolves.

3:09pm: Kyrie Irving asked the Cavs to trade him during a meeting with owner Dan Gilbert last week, Brian Windhorst of ESPN.com reports. Irving no longer wants to play alongside LeBron James, as he prefers to be more of the focal point of his team, Windhorst adds.

Irving’s bombshell request just adds to a disjointed offseason for the three-time Eastern Conference champions.

Irving’s agent Jeff Wechsler would not confirm the request to Windhorst’s ESPN colleague Adrian Wojnarowski.

“Kyrie and I had a meeting with Cavs leadership where we discussed many different scenarios in reference to Kyrie and his future with the team,” Wechsler told Wojnarowski. “The basis of those discussions and what went on in those discussions are between the Cavs and us. We are respectfully going to keep those private.”

James was ‘blindsided and disappointed’ by the request, sources told Windhorst. Other members of the team became aware of Irving’s request, Windhorst adds.

Irving, who cannot become a free agent until the summer of 2019, had said in a recent interview that the franchise is “in a peculiar place.” It’s hard to imagine the Cavs dealing their second-best player, but it may not have a choice if the relationship between the team’s two best players is irreparably damaged.

Cleveland has been negotiating a one-year contract with a free agent point guard, Derrick Rose, and will meet with him in the coming days, according to Chris Haynes of ESPN (Twitter link).

Cleveland’s offseason got off to a bad start when Gilbert couldn’t come to an extension agreement with former GM David Griffin.

The Cavs also were unable to add another star like Jimmy Butler or Paul George via a trade this offseason, though they added a few minor reinforcements to their bench.

LeBron James Concerned With Cavs’ Offseason

July 17th, 2017 at 2:08pm CST by Luke Adams

Four-time MVP LeBron James is concerned with the Cavaliers’ offseason moves, or lack thereof, a source tells Jeff Zillgitt of USA Today. According to Zillgitt, the team’s decision to part with its top two front office executives right before free agency left James “frustrated and concerned” about the Cavs’ ability to build a roster capable of beating the Warriors.

While the Cavaliers were linked to big-name trade targets such as Paul George and Jimmy Butler, those players ultimately ended up being sent elsewhere. Instead, Cleveland has made modest moves to attempt to fortify its bench. Jose Calderon and Jeff Green were signed to minimum salary contracts, and part of the taxpayer MLE was used on Cedi Osman, though the 22-year-old is unlikely to have a major impact in Cleveland this season.

While James is realistic about the Cavaliers’ cap- and tax-related limitations, he wonders why the club entered the offseason “without veteran front-office execs in place to execute complicated moves,” writes Zillgitt.

According to Zillgitt, the Cavs appeared to be getting close to a deal for Butler before owner Dan Gilbert decided to part ways with GM David Griffin and VP of basketball operations Trent Redden. Having been unable to secure top GM candidate Chauncey Billups, Gilbert continues to evaluate the club’s front office structure, with assistant GM Koby Altman running the show for now.

There’s still time this offseason for the Cavs to make roster additions, and it’s possible the team’s minor moves to date will turn out better than expected. However, team ownership and management will certainly need to take LeBron’s concerns seriously, since he’s eligible for free agency in 2018, and a return to Cleveland isn’t considered a lock.

Heat Notes: LeBron, Free Agency, Adebayo, White

July 16th, 2017 at 10:10am CST by Arthur Hill

LeBron James caused some excitement in Miami on Saturday with Instagram posts featuring photos of himself in front of American Airlines Arena, writes Barry Jackson of The Miami Herald. Even though James expressed a fondness for the city in a caption that read, “A ton of great memories riding past her today!! #AAA #striveforgreatness,” the Heat have no expectations that he will consider returning to Miami when he becomes a free agent next summer. Like most of the league, Jackson notes, Heat officials believe James will either go to Los Angeles or stay in Cleveland.

Jackson adds that there are no obvious free agents for Miami to chase next summer, even if the team could create cap room. He says they wouldn’t pay max money to Carmelo Anthony, Los Angeles seems like the destination for Paul George, and other stars such as Chris Paul, Russell Westbrook, DeMarcus Cousins and DeAndre Jordan play positions where the Heat are already set. They may have more interest in the 2019 free agent class, but will have limited cap room unless Goran Dragic, Tyler Johnson or Hassan Whiteside opt out of their contracts.

There’s more today out of Miami:

With 11 games in two leagues, the Heat got a good look at candidates for two-way contracts this summer, notes Ira Winderman of The Sun-Sentinel. However, it’s not certain that the players who get those deals will come from the summer league squads. Among those who made a positive impact, according to Winderman, are Virginia’s London Perrantes, Central Florida’s Matt Williams, Monmouth’s Justin Robinson and Colorado State’s Gian Clavell.
The Heat were happy with the performance of first-round pick Bam Adebayo this summer, Winderman writes in a separate story. The power forward out of Kentucky was held out of the final three games in Las Vegas, but showed enough to give Miami hope that he can be a contributor right away. “I think the seven games he played was a great first step as an NBA player,” said summer league coach Chris Quinn. “He did everything we asked. He showed us a skill set that is very versatile. He was able to do things that maybe he hadn’t done as much. But more importantly, he completely bought in to our player-development program. He’s listening to Coach Juwan [Howard] every single day and he’s really been great to work with. His attitude and his work ethic have been amazing, which, for a guy with his talent, is most important.”
Winderman adds that this summer was especially important for Okaro White, who faces a partial guarantee date for next year’s $1.3MM contract on August 1st. Quinn said White made “major strides” in the seven games he played.

Cavaliers Notes: James, Randolph, Osman, Billups

July 1st, 2017 at 11:11pm CST by Arthur Hill

LeBron James doesn’t plan to do any recruiting for the Cavaliers this summer, reports Dave McMenamin 0f ESPN.com. The move may be a protest against the organization’s decision not to re-sign David Griffin, whom James supported. Regardless, it’s a change in behavior for the team’s most prominent player, who lobbied Kevin Love, Mike Miller and others to come to Cleveland in prior years.

The Cavaliers have been targeting two veterans to serve as backups: point guard Jose Calderon, who signed with the team today, and power forward Zach Randolph. Other teams chasing Randolph have more money to offer than Cleveland does, and McMenamin suggests that a call from James might tip the scales in the Cavs’ favor, but so far nothing has happened.

There’s more tonight out of Cleveland:

In the absence of a GM, assistant GM Koby Altman is handling free agency, McMenamin adds in the same story. The Cavaliers are still negotiating with Chauncey Billups to take over the front office, and he has been in touch with Altman and owner Dan Gilbert regarding the team’s strategy. However, Billups seems in no rush to accept the job and will make his BIG3 League debut on Sunday.
The Cavs are talking to draft-and-stash prospect Cedi Osman about joining the team next year, McMenamin relays in the same piece. The 6’8″ forward out of Macedonia was the 31st pick in the 2015 draft and was part of the deal that sent Tyus Jones to the Timberwolves.
Cleveland’s GM job has lost some of its appeal, according to Jason Lloyd of The Athletic. Cap concerns, front office turmoil and the possibility that James might leave next summer have created a difficult situation for whomever steps into the position.
The signing of Calderon displays the dangers of the repeater tax, tweets Bobby Marks of ESPN.com. Adding the veteran guard only counts $1.5MM against the cap, but it raises the Cavs’ tax bill from $16.4MM to $20.4MM.

Free Agent Rumors: Young, Miles, Porter

July 1st, 2017 at 3:03pm CST by Eddie Scarito

Unrestricted free agent Nick Young plans to “meet with a bunch of teams” this weekend after a number of undisclosed franchises expressed interest when free agency began on Friday, league sources tell Mark Medina of The Los Angeles Daily News. Despite the Lakers being among those contacting Young’s representatives, both the team and player have conflicting agendas that suggest that this may be the end of their four-year tenure together, Medina adds.

Young, 32, is hoping to maximize his earnings on a multi-year contract for a playoff team, but the Lakers want to sign players to one-year deals to save cap space for the 2018 offseason when LeBron James, Paul George and Russell Westbrook might be available, the scribe notes.

Here’s more from around the NBA:

Pacers free agent C.J. Miles may have to wait for J.J. Redick to sign an agreement before his market comes into focus, Tim MacMahon of ESPN relays (ESPN Now link). Miles is Plan B for multiple teams who have made Redick a priority, the scribe adds. The Thunder are one of the teams that have expressed interest in the 30-year-old, per a tweet from Yahoo’s Jordan Schultz.
With Otto Porter having completed his meeting with the Wizards, the team is now in a holding pattern as it awaits the forward to seek offer sheets on the open market, Tim Bontemps of The Washington Post relays (via Twitter). The Nets are potentially one team who appear willing to offer the max of four years and $100MM. Philadelphia may also get involved in the bidding, but the Sixers reportedly seem reluctant to make long-term offers. Washington has promised to match any offer for the restricted free agent.
Despite the significant bump in player salaries the new CBA has ushered in, not all players are satisfied with the league capping their earnings. LeBron James, responding to a tweet noting how the value of the Warriors has increased from $450MM to upwards of $2.6 billion since Joe Lacob purchased the franchise, noted that Stephen Curry should have gotten a pact worth $400MM over five years this summer (Twitter link). James has a vested interest, of course, with him in line to hit free agency once again next summer.
There is a possibility that the Celtics may be willing to facilitate a sign-and-trade deal for unrestricted free agent Amir Johnson, Adam Himmelsbach of The Boston Globe relays (on Twitter). The forward is reportedly garnering significant interest around the league.
The Magic‘s reported interest in free agent forward Joe Ingles has been “wildly overstated,” per Josh Robbins of The Orlando Sentinel (Twitter link). It was relayed Friday night that Orlando was set to offer Ingles a four-year deal in the $60MM range.

Latest On The Chris Paul Trade

June 28th, 2017 at 6:17pm CST by Arthur Hill

Chris Paul‘s departure from the Clippers today severed a relationship that began to fall apart when the team acquired Austin Rivers in 2015, according to a Facebook post from Michael Eaves of ESPN. Several Clippers believed Rivers brought an entitled attitude to the team because he is the son of coach and president of basketball operations Doc Rivers. Veterans didn’t think Austin Rivers tried hard enough to fit in, which created dissension in the locker room. Paul, in particular, thought that Austin Rivers got preferential treatment from his father.

The situation reportedly reached a breaking point prior to the trade deadline when the Knicks offered Carmelo Anthony and Sasha Vujacic to L.A. in exchange for Jamal Crawford, Paul Pierce and Austin Rivers. Doc Rivers blocked the deal, which led Paul to believe that coaching his son was more important than winning, with an unidentified league executive saying, “Chris despises Doc.”

There’s more fallout from today’s blockbuster trade:

The decision to opt in for the final year of his contract gives Paul more flexibility if he wants to team up with LeBron James next summer, Eaves notes in the same post. He mentions the Rockets, Lakers and possibly the Clippers, if Doc Rivers is gone, as potential destinations for that to happen. In the meantime, Paul can see how well his game meshes with James Harden‘s and gets a financial windfall because Texas doesn’t have a state income tax.
Austin Rivers denied on Twitter that he had anything to do with Paul’s desire to leave. “These false rumors are comedy…so fictional it’s actually amusing! People will say or do anything to get attention,” he posted. He concluded the message with “A lot of clowns out there,” using two clown emoji symbols.
The Clippers were concerned about the later years of Paul’s next contract, tweets David Aldridge of TNT. A five-year deal in excess of $200MM would have paid Paul nearly $45MM at age 37, and L.A. wasn’t willing to make that commitment.
Newly hired Clippers consultant Jerry West didn’t attend Tuesday’s meeting with Paul, according to Chris Broussard of Fox Sports 1 (Twitter link).
The Rockets would have preferred to clear cap space by trading Ryan Anderson, but there wasn’t much of a market available, reports Zach Lowe of ESPN.com. Two teams that were interested asked for two first-round picks in exchange for taking the three years and $60MM left on Anderson’s contract.
Trading for Paul before July 1st will allow the Rockets to enter free agency over the salary cap, Lowe adds, giving them access to a full midlevel exception worth more than $8MM and a biannual exception topping $3MM.
The Rockets will continue to pursue other stars, but probably can’t offer Trevor Ariza in any deal, according to Lowe. Paul remains close with his former teammate in New Orleans, and the chance to reunite played a decision in Paul’s decision to pick Houston. The Clippers, Lowe relays, had made several attempts to obtain Ariza.
Rockets GM Daryl Morey credits Harden for making today’s trade happen. In a video posted by Mark Berman of Fox 26 in Houston, Morey says the Rockets now have the two best playmakers in the league.