Max Strus

Central Notes: White, LaVine, Holiday, Strus

January 11th, 2024 at 8:17pm CST by Tristan Tucker

Coby White is in the midst of a career year and a bounce-back season with the Bulls, averaging 18.5 points in 39 games (all starts) after registering 9.7 PPG across 74 games (two starts) in 2022/23. Head coach Billy Donovan spoke highly of White’s season, suggesting the fifth-year guard is on an All-Star trajectory, according to the Chicago Sun-Times’ Joe Cowley.

“I think Coby going forward, if he can continue to stay on this path, he’ll be a guy that will be considered for an All-Star Game,” Donovan said. “I think he’s got that kind of ability. I think the other thing that’s come out is his leadership. He’s got an ability to lead. And I would consider him still moving into his prime.”

White, who averaged 22.6 points in December, ranks third on the team in scoring, behind six-time All-Star DeMar DeRozan and two-time All-Star Zach LaVine. The UNC product isn’t just scoring the ball a lot — he’s doing it at an efficient clip, shooting career highs of 44.9% from the field and 40.2% from deep (7.3 attempts). Additionally, he’s second on the team in assists per game (4.9, a career best).

“I think what happened early on is that it’s really hard to be a leader when you’re one-dimensional, and he was a one-dimensional player,” Donovan said of White early in his career. “Because he’s become so multidimensional, it’s a lot easier leading. When you’re in there rebounding and you’re defending — I mean, he never took charges. He’s taking charges now.

“When you start doing all those things, you have a much bigger voice where you can start holding other players accountable because you’re doing the things yourself and you would expect others to do those along with you. All those things, he can be a great piece for us.”

We have more from the Central Division:

LaVine recently returned from a 17-game absence and has played three games, all Bulls victories, since his return. After recording 25 points, 13 rebounds, seven assists and three steals in Chicago’s latest win over the Rockets, LaVine spoke about his return to play to reporters. “I’m just happy we’re winning,” LaVine said (Twitter link via The Athletic’s Darnell Mayberry. “I’m going out there giving guys a little boost, hopefully defensively. And offensively, obviously [on] that side of the floor being a weapon people have to worry about.“
Celtics guard Jrue Holiday is making his return to Fiserv Forum on Thursday where he played in front of Bucks fans as a member of the organization for three seasons. The Bucks won the 2021 title with Holiday and fans showed him love with an ovation on Thursday (Twitter link via The Athletic’s Eric Nehm). However, Holiday was all business when asked about the topic before traveling there. “So to be able to go back to Milwaukee should be fun,” Holiday said via The Athletic’s Jay King (Twitter link). “I was there for three years and we did great things there but I’m on to better things.“
Cavaliers forward Max Strus left Cleveland’s Thursday game against the Nets in the first quarter and did not return with what the team said was right knee soreness, according to The Athletic’s Joe Vardon (Twitter link). The Cavaliers don’t play again until Monday, so it’s possible Strus is good to go for that game. Sam Merrill started the second half in place of Strus on Thursday and finished with six points and nine rebounds in 32 minutes.

Central Notes: Strus, DeRozan, Williams, Pacers

December 24th, 2023 at 5:38pm CST by Dana Gauruder

An Illinois native, Max Strus was on a two-way contract with the Bulls earlier in his career, but was ultimately let go by the team. Chicago also didn’t show much interest in him during free agency this past summer. That’s why the Cavaliers guard took extra satisfaction in Cleveland’s win over Chicago in which he contributed 26 points, seven assists and two steals, K.C. Johnson of NBC Sports Chicago writes.

“It’s always special,” Strus said of playing at the Bulls’ United Center. “Growing up here, coming to games, I get goosebumps every time the starting lineup (introduction) comes on. So, dreaming of moments playing in this building as a kid. It’s always special when I come back.”

We have more from the Central Division:

Despite the loss to Cleveland, Bulls wing DeMar DeRozan sees a lot of positives from his team during recent weeks, he told Joe Cowley of the Chicago Sun-Times. “We’ve been resilient,” said DeRozan, a free agent after the season. “The first part of the season, there was a lot of emotion, a lot of frustration. We dug ourselves out of that hole and found the positivity to lean on, kind of thrust ourselves toward the right direction.”
The Pistons tied the NBA single-season record with their 26th straight loss on Saturday but coach Monty Williams says it hasn’t killed his team’s spirit. “Everybody feels down when you lose and you’ve lost this many in a row. You have to allow people to be human. But the way they come back the next day is something I’m blown away at,” Williams said on Bally Sports Detroit (video link). “I’ve been around a lot of teams. Not many teams have that type of resilience. Our guys don’t want to be a part of any kind of losing streak. But every day they come back with focus and drive and grit, trying to win a game.”
The Pacers lack size on the wings, which is a major reason for their .500 record and inability to get stops, Scott Agness of Fieldhouse Files notes. That has made it difficult for Indiana to slow down the opponents’ best player, since that is normally the job of an athletic 6’7″ or 6’8″ wing.

Cavs Notes: Injuries, New Lineup, Mitchell, Roster

December 17th, 2023 at 10:56am CST by Luke Adams

Less than an hour after it was reported on Friday that Darius Garland is expected to miss at least a month due to a fractured jaw, word broke that Evan Mobley would undergo knee surgery, which will sideline him for roughly six-to-eight weeks.

It was a crushing one-two blow for the Cavaliers, as Chris Fedor of Cleveland.com (subscription required) writes. Head coach J.B. Bickerstaff said that the team “felt like s–t,” while Dean Wade said it “sucks” to see two key starters go down with injuries. However, the club is determined to remain competitive without Garland and Mobley in its lineup.

“Injury is a part of the game. But you hate to see it. Hate to see with two guys who continuously put the work in to get better and those guys have been working their butts off,” Donovan Mitchell said. “On the flip side, and I think these two will feel the same way, no one’s going to care outside of this locker room. You know what I mean? If anything, teams are going to want to try to come at us even more. I think that’s what kind of brings us together. We have to go out there and hold it down for these two. They’re our rocks. They’re part of what we built.”

“I knew that our team could do it,” Jarrett Allen said of overcoming the two injuries. “We always rely on the next guy to be ready to come in and make an impact.”

The Cavaliers got off to a good start on Saturday in their first game without Garland and Mobley, defeating the Hawks by a score of 127-119.

“I think we just came together,” Wade said. “Everyone likes each other. When things like this happen, adversity comes and hits us, I think we get closer. We still got a lot of weapons, a lot of talent in this room. Even with those guys out, we can still get the job done. What D.G. and Evan bring to the floor, we just had to do a little extra.”

Here’s more out of Cleveland:

In deciding on a new lineup, the Cavaliers opted to slide Mitchell to point guard and Max Strus to shooting guard, with Isaac Okoro and Wade entering the starting five at small forward and power forward, respectively. As Fedor explains, undrafted rookie Craig Porter Jr. isn’t considered quite ready for a starting job and the Cavs seem committed to keeping Caris LeVert in a sixth man role.
When Joe Vardon of The Athletic tried to ask Mitchell on Saturday about his contract situation and his long-term future in Cleveland in light of the Garland and Mobley injuries (and the Cavs’ up-and-down play this season), the star guard cut him off. “My job is to focus on this,” Mitchell said. “We have two guys that are out, so I’m not answering anything. And no disrespect. I appreciate that you have to ask the question, but I’m not going there with any of those questions. My focus is on these guys being out, us trying to find a way to get wins.”
Mitchell thrived in his first game in place of Garland at point guard, handing out a career-high 13 assists. Mitchell also scored a career-high 71 points last season in a game Garland missed, but the former Jazz star said it’s “damn sure not easier” to play without his usual backcourt mate. “I have to pick up the slack that’s there,” Mitchell said. “When he’s not there, it’s my job to go out there and fill that void. He’s an All-Star guard. We came here and made this for us to be together. It’s definitely not an, ‘Oh, it’s me versus him.’ That’s my brother. That’s my dog. … The only way we make this push is as a group. I can’t do everything. It doesn’t happen with just one of us.”
Keith Smith of Spotrac takes a look at some options out there for the Cavaliers if the team decides it wants to add roster reinforcements via free agency or trade. As Smith notes, adding a free agent would push Cleveland’s team salary over the luxury tax line, but if that player receives a non-guaranteed contract and is waived on or before January 7, the club could sneak back out of the tax.

Heat Notes: Strus, Bryant, Butler, Jovic, Highsmith

November 21st, 2023 at 12:59pm CST by Luke Adams

Former Heat wing Max Strus, who will face Miami on Wednesday for the first time as a member of the Cavaliers, admitted in a conversation with Anthony Chiang of The Miami Herald that it will be “weird” to go up against his old team. He also acknowledged that it has taken him some time to get used to a new NBA home after spending three seasons with the Heat.

“It kind of took me a while, like when I was in Cleveland for the first couple weeks saying, ‘Well, we did this in Miami,'” Strus said. “You know, I’m not on that team anymore so I got to stop saying ‘we.’ It’s ‘they’ now. I think it was a hard adjustment getting over that.

“… Miami does things different than everybody and I don’t think you really know the extent of that until you go somewhere else,” Strus continued. “So it’s definitely been an adjustment, it’s been different. … There’s definitely some things I miss about Miami and there’s definitely some things I don’t miss. But overall it’s been a pretty easy adjustment. I think the traits and the characteristics that I learned by playing for the Miami Heat, it’s going to suit me very well for the rest of my career. I’ve come to notice that now that I’m in a different place.”

Although they would’ve liked to re-sign Strus when he reached unrestricted free agency this past offseason, the Heat had luxury tax concerns and the 27-year-old generated a level of interest that pushed him out of Miami’s price range. He was ultimately signed-and-traded to Cleveland on a four-year, $62.3MM deal.

“I talked to Spo (Heat head coach Erik Spoelstra) and we kind of knew early on that it wasn’t really going to work financially,” Strus said of his free agency, per Chiang. “It is what it is. You can’t really do anything else about it. The numbers don’t work sometimes. It’s a business at the end of the day and everybody’s got to do what they got to do for themselves.”

Here’s more on the Heat:

After opening the season as Bam Adebayo‘s backup at center, Thomas Bryant has fallen out of the Heat’s regular rotation. Bryant is attempting to be patient and do whatever he can to help the club – even if it’s just being “a cheerleader for my teammates” – as he tries to make his case for minutes, writes Ira Winderman of The South Florida Sun Sentinel (subscription required). “It’s just different than the last two places he was in,” Spoelstra said of Bryant’s adjustment to Miami’s defensive system. “And that’s fair. So you have to kind of retrain habits, and calls, and different responsibilities. That’s normal when players change teams. It’s probably even more dramatic for bigs, fives.”
Jimmy Butler traveled to Wisconsin on Sunday’s day off to watch the Sioux Falls Skyforce – Miami’s G League affiliate – face the Wisconsin Herd. According to Winderman (subscriber link), Butler explained on Monday that he wanted to support teammate Nikola Jovic, who was sent to the Skyforce to get regular minutes. “Got to go see my boy, man. I’m a huge Niko fan,” Butler said. “I think he’s going to help this organization well after I’m done here. That’s my dog, that’s my bro, I love him to death. So anytime I get a chance I go to watch him hoop, I will watch him hoop.”
A journeyman who played primarily in the G League and overseas before joining the Heat in 2022, Haywood Highsmith has emerged as a key part of Miami’s rotation this season, Chiang writes for The Miami Herald. The team has won eight of the nine games Highsmith has started, and in the one loss, he was a plus-20. “There’s just a lot of hard work behind the scenes that’s behind this,” Highsmith said. “Everything that I’ve went through to get to this point is well worth it. It’s made me stronger for anything.”

Eastern Notes: I. Smith, Strus, Hawks, Bulls, Dosunmu

October 27th, 2023 at 9:13am CST by Luke Adams

Ish Smith‘s new contract with the Hornets is a one-year, minimum-salary deal that is fully non-guaranteed, Hoops Rumors has learned.

Although Smith didn’t sign in the offseason, his salary won’t be prorated, since he finalized his deal on the very first day of the regular season. That means if he remains under contract through January 7, 2024, which would guarantee his full salary, he’ll make $3,196,448 while the Hornets carry a cap hit of $2,019,706. Until then, he’ll earn $18,370 per day, with no assurances for the full season.

Smith is one of three Hornets players without a fully guaranteed salary — Frank Ntilikina and JT Thor are also on non-guaranteed contracts.

Here’s more from around the Eastern Conference:

Max Strus‘ debut with the Cavaliers couldn’t have gone much better, as the club’s new starting small forward racked up 27 points and a career-high 12 rebounds in Wednesday’s win over Brooklyn. “I wish I could guarantee that every night, but I don’t think it’s going to be like that,” Strus said after the game, per Chris Fedor of Cleveland.com. “I think we have so many talented guys on this roster. It’s going to be anybody’s night any given game. One through 15, anybody can step up and play for us. That’s when our team is going to be very successful when we’re all enjoying each other’s success, and everybody is chipping in.”
After Jalen Johnson, De’Andre Hunter, and Saddiq Bey each played at least 29 minutes in the Hawks’ regular season opener, head coach Quin Snyder stressed that he expects all three forwards to get regular playing time and that he doesn’t necessarily need to roll with just two of them at the expense of the third. “It’s not a binary question of Jalen or Saddiq,” Snyder said (Twitter link via Brad Rowland of Locked on Hawks). “Maybe tonight will make that clear.”
While he acknowledged that a blowout loss at home – followed by a players-only meeting – wasn’t exactly a great way to start the season, Bulls forward DeMar DeRozan said the important thing is how the team bounces back in its second game on Friday, according to K.C. Johnson of NBC Sports Chicago. “You can sit up there and have a million conversations about something,” DeRozan said. “But it’s about how you respond and the mindset that I know how everybody came in here (to practice) with, how they feel. That’s how I know for a fact (Friday) will not be like (Wednesday). I can guarantee you that.”
The NBA has recognized Ayo Dosunmu for his work off the court, naming the Bulls guard the winner of the NBA Cares Bob Lanier Community Assist award, the league announced on Thursday in a press release.

Central Notes: Pacers, Strus, Z. Smith, Wiseman, Bagley, Pistons

October 4th, 2023 at 3:59pm CST by Luke Adams

The Pacers aren’t loaded with star power, but they have one of the NBA’s deepest rosters, according to Dustin Dopirak of The Indianapolis Star, who suggests that all 15 players on standard contracts could make a legitimate case for rotation minutes. Due to that depth, Indiana’s training camp figures to be a very competitive one.

“Nothing is going to be given to anybody,” swingman Jordan Nwora said. “This is going to be different from past years. Guys are going to have to really earn it this year. That’s part of the reason why myself and a lot of other guys have been in the gym a lot this summer. … Outside of (Tyrese Haliburton, Myles Turner and Buddy Hield), no one here is really proven. Everyone here has to earn it.”

As Dopirak writes, the front office and coaching staff has indicated that only two starting spots are locked in so far: Haliburton will man the point, while Turner plays the five. The other three starting lineup spots are up for grabs, as are some rotation roles, and head coach Rick Carlisle is looking forward to seeing his players battle to earn minutes.

“The term that I like is competitive integrity,” Carlisle said. “If you really want to be a championship teammate, you have to do all the hard things. You gotta be a tenacious competitor defensively. You have to fight like hell competing against a guy you’re directly competing for for minutes and then you have to encourage him if he’s playing ahead of you.”

Here’s more from around the Central:

Former Cavaliers forward Kevin Love, who played with Max Strus in Miami, helped Strus make the decision to sign with Cleveland as a free agent this offseason, as Chris Fedor of Cleveland.com (subscription required) details. “Kevin was one of the first people I called, and he couldn’t have been more positive about the city and the organization. He told me it was a no-brainer,” Strus said. “He was like, ‘Max, you’re everything they need. You’ll be a great fit. The guys are great, the organization’s great.’ Kevin talked very highly of it, and he hasn’t steered me wrong once.”
Speaking to Sam Yip of HoopsHype, former first-round pick Zhaire Smith, who is on an Exhibit 10 contract with the Cavaliers, said he’s not taking his comeback for granted after dealing with so many health issues early in his professional career.
Addressing the backup center spot in the Pistons‘ rotation, head coach Monty Williams told reporters today that James Wiseman and Marvin Bagley III are competing for that role. As Omari Sankofa II of The Detroit Free Press notes (via Twitter), it sounds like there may only be room in the rotation for one of the two big men.
In his latest mailbag at Pistons.com, Keith Langlois addresses several Pistons-related topics, explaining why he thinks Detroit will add a 15th player on a standard contract for the regular season and why he’s skeptical that Ausar Thompson will be an opening night starter.

Southeast Notes: Preview, Kuzma, Poole, Avdija, Magic

October 2nd, 2023 at 9:25pm CST by Rory Maher

David Alridge, Eric Nehm and Josh Robbins of The Athletic recently previewed the Southeast Division. Both Aldridge and Robbins think the Wizards overhauling their front office was the most impactful move a Southeast team made this offseason, while Nehm thought the Hornets showing confidence in LaMelo Ball by giving him a max extension was arguably the biggest move.

As for decisions that might backfire, Aldridge questions the Magic selecting Anthony Black sixth overall in June’s draft. He wonders where another point guard will fit into Orlando’s rotation, especially one with a shaky jump shot on a team in need of floor spacing.

Nehm believes the Hawks might regret trading John Collins, as he’s a firm believer in the power forward’s talent and wonders if he was the right player to move. As for Robbins, he thinks the Heat got worse by not making a major trade while losing Max Strus and Gabe Vincent in free agency.

The three writers also chose breakout candidates for the division, with Aldridge selecting Hornets forward Miles Bridges, Nehm picking Magic forward Franz Wagner, and Robbins going for Magic point guard Markelle Fultz.

Here’s more from the Southeast:

How can Kyle Kuzma and Jordan Poole become All-Stars in 2023/24? Chase Hughes of Monumental Sports Network explores that topic, writing that the two Wizards will have to increase their scoring averages to 25-plus points per game, lead the team to a winning record at the All-Star break, and improve their statistics in non-scoring categories.
There were rumors during the summer that Wizards forward Deni Avdija was dealing with a hip injury. However, head coach Wes Unseld Jr. said Avdija will be a full participant in training camp. “He looks strong,” Unseld said, according to Robbins of The Athletic (Twitter link). “I think he had a tremendous summer.”
Jason Beede of The Orlando Sentinel lists five Magic storylines ahead of training camp. Can reigning Rookie of the Year Paolo Banchero improve his scoring efficiency and defense? Will the team attempt more shots and become more accurate from three-point range? Those are two of the questions posed by Beede.

Cavaliers Notes: Rubio, Altman, Strus, Mobley

October 2nd, 2023 at 3:38pm CST by Luke Adams

Cavaliers point guard Ricky Rubio, who announced in August that he has decided to pause his basketball career to focus on his mental health, received an excused absence from the team’s media day on Monday, reports Chris Fedor of Cleveland.com.

It remains unclear when Rubio might report to the team, but president of basketball operations Koby Altman told reporters, including Fedor (Twitter link), that the subject of retirement hasn’t come up at all during his discussions with the veteran guard. Altman and the Cavs are hopeful that Rubio will be with the club for the 2023/24 season, Fedor adds.

Here’s more on the Cavs:

After being arrested and charged in September for driving under the influence, Altman told reporters on Monday that he has spoken to team owner Dan Gilbert about the situation, though he declined to say whether he expects to face discipline from the organization, per Tom Withers of The Associated Press. “I feel awful about the distraction that this incident has caused our organization and team,” Altman said. “I’ve had several conversations across the building with players, coaches and ownership on down and have expressed that same sentiment to them as well.”
Having joined the Cavaliers on a four-year, $62MM deal in July, Max Strus expects to be the team’s starting small forward, he said on Monday (Twitter link via Fedor). Cleveland’s starting backcourt (Donovan Mitchell, Darius Garland) and frontcourt (Evan Mobley, Jarrett Allen) is set, but the club rotated through several options at the three last season, so Strus certainly looks like the obvious choice to fill that spot.
Mobley said on Monday that he had a home gym installed and hired a personal chef this offseason, which helped him put on seven pounds of muscle. The big man added that he’s ready to “take off” this season and has made it a goal to make the All-Star team and to win Defensive Player of the Year (Twitter links via Fedor).

Cavs’ Bickerstaff Talks Strus, Niang, Mitchell, More

August 8th, 2023 at 4:00pm CST by Luke Adams

Cleveland’s 51-31 record in 2022/23 was the best mark for a Cavaliers team without LeBron James since 1992/93 and resulted in the franchise’s first playoff berth since James’ most recent departure in 2018. Unfortunately for the Cavs, their postseason run was short-lived, as the Knicks quickly dispatched them in a one-sided first-round series.

Speaking to Chris Fedor of Cleveland.com, head coach J.B. Bickerstaff admitted that the playoff loss “took some time to process.” But now that he’s a few months removed from it, Bickerstaff is more willing to focus on the Cavaliers’ regular season success and to find silver linings in their early postseason exit.

“I think when you sit back, look at the regular season – and I think the regular season was a test that was passed – and then you get to the playoffs where things ramp up a notch, it was the greatest learning experience our guys could have had, that I could have had,” Bickerstaff said. “It’s the opportunity to be in a position you have never been in before and a responsibility that you’ve never had before. Nothing worth having has ever come easy to anybody.

“At the end of the day, you sit back and look at it and the season was successful. The experience our young guys gained in the playoffs is only going to make them better. That’s the reality of it. We get caught up in the emotion of it all in the moment because we are all so competitive. But in reality, we’re not above the process either. There are steps that just can’t be skipped.”

As Bickerstaff notes, many of the Cavaliers’ core players – such as Evan Mobley and Darius Garland – are still young and were experiencing a playoff environment for the first time. He believes they learned important lessons during that five-game series and will benefit from the experience going forward.

Here are a few more highlights from Fedor’s interview with Bickerstaff:

On how adding Max Strus and Georges Niang as free agents will impact the Cavaliers’ playing style in 2023/24:

“I don’t want to give away too much. But the spacing on the floor becomes different. The attention that goes to those two guys because of Georges’ career 40% 3-point shooting and Max Strus’ ability to make shots off the move, defenses have to make different decisions now than they had to last year. Those are different dynamics that we added.

“Our offense can improve and be more dynamic and difficult to guard — even though we were a top-10 offense in the regular season. You learn from the playoffs about how to become more difficult to guard in that setting. I think there is a more dynamic nature that we can have offensively. Those are things I’m studying now and we will implement this coming season.”

On Donovan Mitchell‘s potential long-term future in Cleveland:

“He was with us in Las Vegas and stayed longer than most. He worked out with the guys and went to dinners. … There were conversations we had with him during free agency about trying to get the people we needed in here. There were conversations he had with the guys we were able to bring in.

“All those things tell you that Donovan is all in. If a guy is not attentive to free agency and how we are going to get better as a team, if he is not attentive to his teammates over the summer, if he is not attentive to working on the individual things that may make him uncomfortable but also are best for the team moving forward, to me that would be a guy who is not engaged. I have seen the opposite. I have seen a guy who is all in.”

On whether he’s feeling pressure to live up to increased expectations in 2023/24:

“Pressure from what? I think the funny thing for us coaches when it comes to pressure is you want to have a good team and you want expectations. If you have a team with no expectations, as a coach, competitor, and player, that is ultimately not the job you’re looking for. The word pressure is kind of comical, to be honest with you, because you have a good team and that’s what you want.

“… Pressure isn’t a word that coaches really think about because it’s our job to continue to get better. I think we have done that here. From where we started with this team to where we are now, there is no way to say we haven’t done the job building this the right way. Look at the environment. Look at individual development. Look at team development. There are no holes. Our job is to continue to do what we’ve already done but also continue to get better. That’s what we want.”

Cavaliers Notes: Mitchell, Roster Moves, Garland, Bates

July 8th, 2023 at 5:16pm CST by Arthur Hill

Friday marked the first day the Cavaliers were permitted to submit an extension offer to Donovan Mitchell, writes Chris Fedor of Cleveland.com. The All-Star guard has two years left on his current contract, along with a $37MM player option for 2025/26. President of basketball operations Koby Altman hopes to iron out a long-term agreement this summer and shut down rumors that the New York native has an eye on eventually joining the Knicks in free agency.

Altman said the front office will have “internal discussions” about the details of an extension that he hopes will appeal to Mitchell. He added that keeping a competitive roster around Mitchell is the best way to make him want to stay in Cleveland.

“He’s really, really happy here and he’ll tell you that,” Altman said. “All I can go off is Donovan’s actions and his intentions. He’s with us in Vegas right now. He’s super excited about the future. He’ll be at the game tonight. He’s been in Cleveland multiple times this offseason already. He’s worked out with guys, he’s bringing guys with him wherever he is. All you can go off are those actions and how genuine he talks about his experience in Cleveland. I think he sees the runway of the players around him and the youth around him. All I can go off is his actions and his intentions and they’ve all been really genuine.”

There’s more on the Cavaliers:

Altman told reporters that Mitchell helped with recruiting during free agency, Fedor relays. Cleveland was able to re-sign Caris LeVert, bring in Max Strus in a sign-and-trade and add Georges Niang and Ty Jerome, even though Fedor notes that they all had other options. “This is the team they wanted to come to,” Altman said. “They saw the fit. They saw the upside. They think that we can go a long way.”
Altman pledged to keep the core of last year’s team together and dismissed speculation that he was considering offers for Darius Garland, calling it “the most crazy rumor you’ve ever heard in your life,” Fedor adds.
The Cavs are hoping for gradual progress from second-round pick Emoni Bates, Fedor states in a separate Cleveland.com story. Bates, who was once considered the top high school prospect in the nation, is hoping to re-establish himself after struggling through two collegiate seasons. “There’s no expectation here,” Altman said. “Don’t have to come in here and shock the world. Really learn from this group and have fun again. If he blossoms into a rotational player down the road that can really help us space the floor and shoot, which I think is one of his best traits, that’d be great. But no expectation for him and certainly have patience and let him grow.”

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