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Free Agent Stock Watch 2018: Cleveland Cavaliers

June 11th, 2018 at 12:00pm CST by Austin Kent

The 2017/18 season was an exhausting one for the Cavaliers and it ended the only way it possibly could: in a four-game sweep at the hands of the Warriors. While LeBron James put forth an historically impressive showing this year, the squad just wasn’t nearly deep enough to put another dent in Golden State’s dynasty.

The biggest story in Cleveland this summer will obviously be James’ forthcoming free agency. It’s no secret that the 33-year-old will have multiple realistic options to mull over this summer and the Cavaliers will have little choice but to wait and see what he decides before they set out with the rest of their plans.

To general manager Koby Altman‘s credit, the franchise was impressively proactive at the trade deadline, adding several players who could be a part of a rebuild for years to come. And to team owner Dan Gilbert‘s credit, he promoted Altman, a general manager he wanted, when there was pressure from James’ camp to retain David Griffin.

Expect the Cavs to welcome James back (and all the ensuing baggage) if the future Hall-of-Famer decides in earnest to end his career where it started, but my read of the situation is that Gilbert and company won’t exactly grovel if the King starts leaning toward taking his talents elsewhere.

Jose Calderon, PG, 36 (Up) – Signed to a one-year, $2MM deal in 2017
It’s hard to imagine Calderon signing on for anything more than the veteran’s minimum at this stage in his career, but a solid enough 2017/18 campaign in which he started 32 games for the Cavaliers should be enough to earn him another contract. The Cavs won’t have much use for the 36-year-old if they blow things up, so expect any decision regarding Calderon to come a little later in free agency.

Jeff Green, PF, 31 (Up) – Signed to a one-year, $2MM deal in 2017
It’s hard to gauge Green’s value considering he went from making $15MM in 2016/17 to the league minimum in 2017/18. Still, there’s no denying he was a bargain for the Cavaliers at just over $2MM. Despite a limited ceiling, Green is a solid role player and could be an affordable depth piece for a competitive team in Cleveland or elsewhere.

Rodney Hood, SG, 25 (Down) – Signed to a four-year, $6MM deal in 2014
Less than a year ago, Hood was in line to take over scoring duties for the suddenly Gordon Hayward-less Jazz. The swingman showed on a number of occasions in the first half of 2017/18 that he was capable of being a semi-reliable primary option on offense, but injuries and the rise of Donovan Mitchell complicated the restricted free agent’s big contract year. A slow start in Cleveland, coupled with a lousy postseason and one particularly bad decision will limit his value even further. That said, if Hood draws an offer sheet in the $10MM-$14MM range this offseason, he could end up being a bargain.

LeBron James, PF, 33 (Up) – Signed to a three-year, $100MM deal in 2016
Despite rampant speculation about James’ upcoming free agency, there’s no clear indication about what the superstar will do. The growing narrative is that James doesn’t have the supporting cast to compete with the likes of the superteams around him. While I’ll submit that he and his representation are partly to blame considering their insistence on leveraging James in order to land players like Tristan Thompson and J.R. Smith albatross contracts, there’s no denying that the Cavs’ roster looked empirically overwhelmed by the vastly deeper Warriors in the NBA Finals.

James, who looks more formidable than ever now as a 33-year-old, will earn every single penny available to him wherever he signs, but while there will be considerably more pennies available to him if he stays in Cleveland, it’s hard to imagine that somebody with a net worth of $400MM will base his decision entirely on wealth. Narrowing down where the King might land, then, comes down to figuring out his motives. If James wants to win rings he could either sign with the Sixers or squeeze his way onto the Rockets. If he wants to set himself up for life after basketball he should probably pack up the family and head over to join the Lakers. Of course, if James wants to preserve his uniquely complicated legacy, he should think long and hard about staying in Cleveland.

Kendrick Perkins, 33, C (Down) – Signed to a two-year deal in 2018
The Cavaliers added Perkins to their big league roster in the waning days of the regular season, but seem unlikely to pick up his option for 2018/19. While the veteran was brought on to provide an additional veteran voice in the locker room, his only notable feat in the postseason was getting into sideline altercation with Stephen Curry and Drake. Perkins is relatively young to be a symbolic elder statesmen, so there’s always the possibility that he signs on with another contender in a similar enforcer-turned-unofficial coach role, but don’t forget that he’s only seen action in one NBA contest since the 2015/16 season. His career could just as easily be over.

And-Ones: Superteams, Cook, Williams

June 10th, 2018 at 1:51pm CST by Austin Kent

With the 2018 NBA Finals now officially wrapped, the offseason has begun. Now, Ken Berger of Bleacher Report writes, players and teams around the league will waste no time scraping away for ways to conquer one of the sport’s greatest rosters. One of those options? Find a way to form an even more powerful superteam.

Berger writes about the rise of the modern superteam era, one that he says traces back over a decade to when the Celtics brought All-Stars Kevin Garnett and Ray Allen aboard to team up with Paul Pierce and win a title. A feeling of futility matched up against those Hall of Famers, Cavaliers forward LeBron James says, contributed to his decision to in turn team up with Chris Bosh and Dwyane Wade with the Heat.

More recently, it was what Berger calls a flaw in the salary cap system that allowed the Warriors to add Kevin Durant mere months after setting the all-time record for regular season wins. A boost in broadcasting revenue after the 2011 lockout precipitated a massive spike in the salary cap.

At the time, Berger writes, league commissioner Adam Silver pushed to spread the increase out over several seasons but the player’s union fought to keep the increase in one lump sum. The result? A $24MM salary cap increase that allowed the Warriors to sign a fourth superstar without giving up any major roster pieces.

There’s more from around the league:

Former Heat swingman Daequan Cook has signed an extension to return to Ironi Ness Ziona in Israel, international basketball reporter David Pick tweets. Cook last saw NBA action in 2012/13.
Though it’s only been seven years since he was drafted with the No. 2 pick, Derrick Williams has seen the NBA landscape around him do an about-face with regard to how it values the hybridization of player positions. Keith Langlois of Detroit’s official team site writes about how the journeyman forward auditioning for the Pistons is hoping that being a “tweener” can help him land another gig in the league.
Legendary hoops analyst Hubie Brown suffered a knee injury prior to Game 4 of the NBA Finals and wasn’t able to broadcast over the radio, an ESPN report says. There’s no indication that the 84-year-old’s injury was self-inflicted after letting his emotions get the best of him.

Cavaliers Notes: LeBron, Lue, Irving

June 10th, 2018 at 9:08am CST by Arthur Hill

Major changes are coming to the Cavaliers this summer regardless of what LeBron James decides, writes Terry Pluto of Cleveland.com. Pluto observes that James is fatigued from carrying such a heavy load all season, much as he was at the end of his tenure in Miami, and will seriously consider leaving the organization for the first time since he returned four years ago.

Pluto expects James to opt out of his $35.6MM salary for next season by the June 29 deadline, even if he decides to remain with the Cavs. Whether or not James stays on, Pluto foresees a major roster shakeup as the front office tries to rebuild a team that has accumulated too many old players.

There’s more this morning out of Cleveland:

After the Finals ended Friday, Tyronn Lue said he intends to return as coach next season, but Pluto isn’t convinced that will happen. Pluto notes that Lue looked as tired at the end of the year as he did when he took a medical leave of absence in mid-March. Lue, who was diagnosed with anxiety, a rapid heartbeat and sleep deprivation, missed three weeks before returning late in the season. Pluto contends that Lue hasn’t been as quick with his decisions this year — citing the failure to call time out at the end of Game 1 as an example — and speculates that he may part ways with the Cavs and take a year off to recover.
James has dropped a lot of hints that he is planning to leave Cleveland again, writes Howard Beck of Bleacher Report. After leading an undermanned roster to the Finals and turning in an MVP-level season at age 33, James has expressed a desire to play alongside more capable and basketball-savvy teammates. “I made the move in 2010 to be able to play with talented players, cerebral players that could see things that happen before they happened on the floor,” James said. “And your teammate can do the same throughout the course of a season, throughout the course of a game, throughout the course of a playoffs, throughout the course of a Finals. So when you feel like you’re really good at your craft, I think it’s always great to be able to be around other great minds, as well, and other great ballplayers.”
Kyrie Irving did the same thing to James that LeBron did to Dwyane Wade in Miami, contends Ira Winderman of The Sun-Sentinel. After a string of Finals appearances, James left the Heat in 2014 to have the spotlight to himself in Cleveland, just as Irving expressed a desire to do when he asked for a trade last summer. Winderman also notes that the Heat had free agent meetings with James in both 2010 and 2014, so it’s reasonable to assume they could be on his list again.

Latest On LeBron James

June 9th, 2018 at 5:04pm CST by Arthur Hill

LeBron James would still like to finish his career in Cleveland, but the events of the past year have him wondering if he can ever win another title there, writes Brian Windhorst of ESPN.

A second straight lopsided Finals is only part of the picture, Windhorst notes, as the past 12 months have seen the loss of GM David Griffin, the trade of Kyrie Irving, a health scare for coach Tyronn Lue and two extreme roster makeovers. Mental mistakes from teammates in the Finals, highlighted by J.R. Smith‘s error at the end of Game 1, led to James wonder this week, “How do you put together a group of talent but also a group of minds to be able to compete” with the Warriors.

Cleveland enters this summer with no cap room and a once-promising draft pick that landed in the middle of the lottery. The Celtics and Sixers both took huge steps forward this season and appear to be the powers in the Eastern Conference for years to come, presenting a significant obstacle for James to ever reach the Finals again if he stays in Cleveland.

On top of that, Windhorst notes, there’s a trust issue with owner Dan Gilbert and a limited relationship with GM Koby Altman, who is barley older than James. In theory, the Cavs have the advantage of being able to offer a longer and richer contract than anyone else — five years at more than $200MM. However, James hasn’t inked a deal longer than two years since returning to Cleveland and seems to prefer the power he holds with short-term arrangements.

There’s more on LeBron as free agent speculation heats up:

Expect the Cavaliers to see what they can get for a package of Kevin Love and the No. 8 pick in an attempt to convince James to stay, reports ESPN’s Zach Lowe. The team passed on chances to deal Love at close to maximum value and will have a hard time obtaining even half of that at this point, Lowe adds.
Matt Goul of Cleveland.com is running through several potential scenarios involving James and the team’s future. His first story involves James staying in Cleveland and the Cavs trying to improve by drafting a starter at No. 8 and adding a free agent with their $5.4MM mid-level exception. Goul identifies several unrestricted free agents 30 or younger who may be available at that price: Celtics center Greg Monroe, Nets center Jahlil Okafor, Suns center Alex Len, Mavericks center Nerlens Noel, Nuggets guard Will Barton and Grizzlies guard Tyreke Evans.
Frank Urbina of Hoops Hype examines eight potential free agent destinations for James: the Clippers, Heat, Spurs, Warriors, Rockets, Lakers, Sixers and Celtics, as well as a potential future with the Cavaliers.

NBA Finals Roundup: James, Lue, Durant, Curry, West, Young

June 9th, 2018 at 11:56am CST by marksuleymanov

With the season now over, the focus turns to LeBron James and his pending free agency decision. James can opt out of the final year of his contract and hit unrestricted free agency for the third time. He has until June 29 to make a decision.

Following the Cavaliers‘ loss to the Warriors in Game 4 of the NBA Finals, which completed a sweep of Cleveland, James discussed his pending decision, ESPN’s Dave McMenamin writes. While James has not made up his mind, he said input from his family will be a major factor this summer.

“The one thing that I’ve always done is considered, obviously, my family,” James said. “Understanding especially where my boys are at this point in their age. They were a lot younger the last time I made a decision like this four years ago. I’ve got a teenage boy, a preteen and a little girl that wasn’t around as well. So sitting down and considering everything, my family is a huge part of whatever I’ll decide to do in my career, and it will continue to be that. So I don’t have an answer for you right now as far as that.”

James has left Cleveland once before, signing a deal in 2010 with the Heat, where he won two championships in four seasons. The 33-year-old returned to the Cavaliers prior to the 2014/15 season, leading the organization to a championship the following year.

Check out more news to come out of the NBA Finals below:

As we relayed earlier, James suffered a self-inflicted injury to his right hand after he punched a whiteboard out of frustration following the Cavaliers’ loss in Game 1.
After battling some health issues throughout the season, Cavaliers head coach Tyronn Lue intends to return next year, Joe Vardon of Cleveland.com writes. “Yeah, I do,” Lue said of his intentions. “I had some tough problems going on throughout the course of the season, and … I probably could have folded myself, but I wasn’t going to do that.” Lue previously told ESPN’s Rachel Nichols that was treated for anxiety this season.
Kevin Durant became the 11th player to win two NBA Finals Most Valuable Player awards, per The Associated Press. With back-to-back championships and Finals MVPs to his credit, Durant’s focus will now turn to his contract situation. He intends to remain with the Warriors, but will likely sign a new deal.
Stephen Curry has two regular season MVPs to his credit but Durant has taken home that honor the last two NBA Finals. However, Curry prioritizes the team success over his individual accolades, Mark Medina of the Mercury News writes. “K.D.’s been amazing these last two years, especially in The Finals, and so deserving of back-to-back Finals MVPs,” Curry said. “I’m going to be his biggest fan in there with what he’s able to do. I think the biggest thing we appreciate in the locker room is, again, what everybody brings to the table and we kind of unlock the greatness out of each other.”
One of the most visibly excited players to win his first championship was the Warriors’ Nick Young, per Alysha Tsuji of USA TODAY. ‘Swaggy P’ only played 38 combined minutes in the NBA Finals but he helped the team off the bench during the regular season. “I went from getting snitched on to putting a ring on!” Young told reporters.
Warriors veteran David West said the team’s championship victory is even more remarkable given various behind-the-scenes issues the public is not aware of, tweets The Undefeated’s Marc J. Spears. “Y’all got no clue. No clue. That tells you about this team that nothing came out,” West said.
Warriors head coach Steve Kerr has now coached the club to three championships in four seasons. We noted earlier that Warriors ownership believes Kerr will sign an extension with the team this summer.

LeBron James Suffered Serious Hand Injury After Game 1

June 9th, 2018 at 8:29am CST by marksuleymanov

LeBron James suffered a self-inflicted injury to his right hand after the Cavaliers‘ loss to the Warriors in Game 1 of the NBA Finals, ESPN’s Dave McMenamin and Brian Windhorst reported.

James’ injury occurred after he punched a whiteboard in the Cavaliers’ locker room out of frustration, a source told ESPN. The ESPN report noted that James underwent two MRIs during the NBA Finals and sported a cast when he was not practicing, playing or visible to reporters.

“I let the emotions get the best of me and pretty much played the last three games with a broken hand,” James said after the Cavaliers were defeated in Game 4.

A visibly upset James took issue with a controversial call that resulted in a charge on Kevin Durant being overturned into an offensive foul late in the fourth quarter. Also, teammate J.R. Smith lost track of the score, forcing the game into overtime, where the Cavaliers’ ended up losing 124-114. It’s clear that frustration carried over into the Cleveland locker room postgame.

The injury was reported after the Cavaliers were swept out of the NBA Finals. ESPN noted that the hand injury helps explain the decline in James’ outside shooting, as he went 5-for-19 on shots 10 feet and out in the remaining three games.

Despite the injuries to his hand and his eye, the 33-year-old James had a strong series statistically, averaging 34.0 PPG, 10.0 APG and 8.5 RPG.

Central Notes: Beilein, James, Finals, Dunn

June 8th, 2018 at 6:26pm CST by Dana Gauruder

Michigan coach John Beilein was not offered the Pistons head coaching job before he withdrew his candidacy on Wednesday, Brendan Quinn of The Athletic reports. Beilein was one of the finalists along with ex-Raptors coach Dwane Casey and Spurs assistant Ime Udoka. Beilein was uncomfortable with the attention that he received when his name surfaced publicly and grew tired of the dragged-out process. But he admitted he would have strongly considered taking the NBA job if it had been offered. “I just said, let’s just move forward. I’ll make their decision easier,” Beilein told Quinn. “I felt like, well, if they’re not certain — and I understand that, it’s OK — but if they’re not certain, then I’m not going to be certain.”

In other developments involving Central Division teams:

Pressure from family members might be the only way that LeBron James stays with the Cavaliers after the NBA Finals, according to Marc Stein of the New York Times. James has more of an inkling what he’ll do this summer than he’s revealed publicly, Stein continues. Joining forces with close friend Chris Paul is a strong possibility, Stein adds, whether he goes to the Rockets or they sign with another team with enough salary-cap space to pull it off.
The Cavaliers are frustrated to be down 3-0 in theFinals against a more vulnerable Warriors team than they faced last year, according to Jason Lloyd of The Athletic. One unnamed player even told Lloyd the series would be completely opposite if Kyrie Irving had not been traded to the Celtics. “We’d be up 3-0 if Kyrie was still here,” the player said. “I have no doubt.”
It’s possible the Bulls will draft a point guard, in part because they’re unhappy with Kris Dunn‘s work habits, Joe Cowley of the Chicago Sun-Times reports. Multiple sources told Cowley that the coaching staff and front office believe Dunn has been “shortcutting’’ his way through May and the first week of June. This is a surprise, Cowley adds, because Dunn was considered a workout warrior with the Timberwolves and showed the same traits last summer after he was traded to Chicago.

Kevin Durant Talks Future, LeBron, Warriors’ Moves

June 7th, 2018 at 8:45am CST by Luke Adams

It has long been reported that Kevin Durant will opt out of his contract with the Warriors this offseason in order to sign a few deal with the team. That looks like more of a lock than ever after Durant’s dominant showing in Game 3 of the NBA Finals, but before Wednesday’s game, Sam Amick of USA Today spoke to the star forward to clarify his stance.

After all, as Amick noted, Durant spoke after Game 7 of the Western Conference Finals about how “anything” could happen this summer for both the Rockets and the Warriors. Did that mean that Durant himself was having any second thoughts about his future plans? Here’s the answer from the reigning Finals MVP, along with a few more comments of note:

On whether he’s definitely returning to the Warriors next season:

“I feel as though (I am). Everything, the money and stuff that’s got to, the contract got to (be) worked out, but I plan on being here. I said that earlier this year. I didn’t plan on anything else, but this is the NBA, and anything can happen. And I know that anything can happen (because) I’ve been a part of this league for so long now.”

On the idea that LeBron James might take a meeting with the Warriors this summer:
(Note: This was reported earlier in the year and recently reiterated by ESPN’s Stephen A. Smith.)

“With the Warriors? I have no clue. I mean everybody can speculate. This guy over here who works for ESPN, I’m sure he’s got a theory. I just don’t believe it. I don’t believe anything in this NBA thing until I see it.

“… But how I’d feel if we would get a meeting with LeBron James? I mean, that’s not – I’ve been trying to separate myself from the front office and those decision makers for a long time, so that’s not on me to do it.”

On leaving roster decisions up to GM Bob Myers:

“I wouldn’t be storming into his office saying, ‘We need to go sit down with this guy,’ or ‘No, we don’t need (that guy).’ Like, that’s not my place. My place is to go play ball, and be the best teammate and player. That’s my only job. Everything else I leave up to Bob, because he’s getting paid a lot of money to make those decisions.”

On whether the Warriors’ offseason approach would’ve looked significantly different if they’d lost to Houston:

“My mindset wouldn’t have changed. My approach wouldn’t have changed. I don’t know anything about what the organization would’ve done, because that’s not my field, but my approach to the game and the way I would’ve came into the offseason and the regular season next year, it wouldn’t have changed. It would’ve been the same approach, just see if we could do it again.”

Latest On Paul George’s Free Agency

June 5th, 2018 at 9:21pm CST by ChrisCrouse

Paul George has one season remaining on his contract, but he’s expected to opt out of his deal this summer and become a free agent. ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski discussed George’s future on the network’s NBA Draft Special (h/t Brett Dawson of The Oklahoman), explaining how the Thunder are now in a better position to keep George than they were last offseason.

“Oklahoma City’s done a great job of selling him on a future there, and he liked playing with Russell Westbrook and Steven Adams and Billy Donovan,” Wojnarowski said.

While OKC has an opportunity to keep George, the Lakers remain a serious threat. George and LeBron James will at least discuss the possibility of teaming up in Los Angeles prior to free agency, per Woj.

The Rockets will be aggressive in their pursuit of George. While Houston isn’t expected to have salary cap space, we saw what GM Daryl Morey is capable of in last summer’s Chris Paul deal. Morey and the Rockets will search for a way to get George on the roster should the small forward have interest in joining the club.

Wojnarowski also mentions that the Sixers would be a good fit for George. Philadelphia has slightly over $67.4MM in guaranteed salary on the books with the cap projected to come in at $101MM.

Heat Notes: LeBron, T. Johnson, Draft Picks, Leonard

June 5th, 2018 at 6:56pm CST by Arthur Hill

The Heat are sometimes listed as a potential free agency destination for LeBron James, but team officials don’t believe there’s any chance he will return to Miami, according to Barry Jackson of The Miami Herald. Among the entities that could see James back on South Beach is the WestGate Las Vegas sports book, which recently gave the Heat the fifth-best odds of winning next year’s title because of that possibility.

While Miami wouldn’t turn James away, there are too many obstacles to make the move realistic, Jackson notes. The Heat enter this summer with no cap space, so they would have to clear more than $55MM in salary while taking none in return to create the room to offer James a max contract. Cleveland could theoretically agree to a trade, but it’s hard to picture Cavaliers owner Dan Gilbert working out a deal to ship James back to Miami.

Here are a few more Heat tidbits, courtesy of Jackson:

Tyler Johnson‘s contract will escalate to $19.2MM in each of the next two seasons, and the Heat are probably stuck with that deal. Jackson states that there is little optimism in the organization about moving Johnson, whose contract includes a 15% trade kicker that would be worth an extra $2.9MM. Miami matched a back-loaded offer sheet from the Nets in 2016 that was structured to make Johnson much more expensive in the final two years.
Also holding a trade kicker is Kelly Olynyk, who has a 5% bonus that would pay him $1.1MM if he’s traded. That money would be split over the next two seasons.
The Heat, who don’t have a pick in either round of this year’s draft, are trying to acquire a second-rounder, according to a Western Conference executive whose team has spoken to Miami about a potential deal. This year’s first-round choice was sent to the Suns in the Goran Dragic trade, and the second-rounder was shipped to Memphis in a 2016 deal to clear cap room.
Miami continues to monitor the Kawhi Leonard situation in San Antonio in hopes of pouncing if the Spurs decide a trade is necessary.