The Cleveland Cavaliers pulled Andre Drummond from Sunday’s lineup and attributed it to giving the big man rest, but it sounds like Drummond may have played his final game with the franchise.
The Cavs are working to trade Drummond and have committed to not playing him again, according to ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski and Brian Windhorst. Cleveland general manager Koby Altman discussed the situation with Drummond and his agent Jeff Schwartz and the two sides arrived at the decision together.
Drummond is playing on a $28.7 million expiring contract, so trading him will not be easy due to NBA rules with matching salaries. Wojnarowski reports that the Cavaliers are gauging the market for Drummond but have not had serious discussions with any team. Cleveland has not entertained the idea of a contract buyout.
The Toronto Raptors are one team that has been mentioned as a potential Drummond suitor. Shams Charania of The Athletic confirmed that on Monday, citing sources who say the Cavaliers and Raptors have been engaged in active talks about a deal that would send Drummond to Toronto.
Charania also reported that Drummond was pulled from the lineup before Sunday’s game in part because of his “attitude and play” recently.
Drummond is having a solid season with 17.5 points, 13.5 rebounds, 2.6 assists and 1.6 steals per game. He has also been linked to one other Eastern Conference contender. We can expect trade talks to heat up in the coming days.
The Cleveland Cavaliers made good on their plans to trade Kevin Porter Jr. following a locker room outburst.
Porter Jr. has been traded to the Houston Rockets for a future protected second-round pick, according to ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski.
Porter, 20, was the No. 30 overall pick in 2019. He averaged 10.0 points and 3.2 rebounds per game as a rookie last year, but has had numerous off-court issues.
Porter was arrested in November on suspicion of possessing a gun and marijuana following a one-car accident. The charges were later dismissed. He was also accused of punching a woman in the face in a separate incident, which you can read about here.
The Cavaliers were trying to help Porter take care of off-court issues this season, which is why he had not played. But he had an outburst in the team locker room after learning his locker had been given to a newly acquired player. The Cavs began plans to move Porter after that.
Porter was also suspended two games for conduct issues as a freshman at USC.
Kevin Porter Jr. has not played this season due to personal reasons, and it sounds like his time with the Cleveland Cavaliers is coming to an end.
Porter is expected to be traded or released by the Cavs after he had an outburst in the locker room on Friday, according to a report from The Athletic. The 20-year-old reportedly became irate when he entered the locker room and realized his old locker had been given to Taurean Prince, whom the Cavaliers acquired in a trade on Wednesday.
When Porter saw his locker had been moved closer to the younger players and bench players, he began yelling and at one point threw food. Sources told The Athletic that general manager Koby Altman came into the locker room to confront Porter, who “remained combative.” Cavs coach J.B. Bickerstaff heard the commotion from his office and was “shocked and disgusted” when he entered the locker room.
The Cavaliers spent the weekend trying to trade Porter, though it does not sound like they have any takers yet.
Porter was on the bench for Friday night’s game against the New York Knicks, which was the first time he was with the Cavaliers for a game this season. Bickerstaff said Porter was not at practice on Monday.
Porter was arrested back in November on suspicion of possessing a gun and marijuana following a one-car accident. The charges were later dismissed. He was also accused of punching a woman in the face in a separate incident, which you can read about here.
In his freshman season at USC, Porter was suspended for “conduct issues.” He missed two games.
Porter averaged 10.0 points and 3.2 rebounds per game as a rookie last year. He may have trouble finding work due to his off-court issues.
The massive James Harden trade to the Brooklyn Nets became much larger than involving two teams and one player.
In the end, four teams, seven players, six draft picks, and four pick swaps were involved in the trade.
Here is a look at what each team received in the end.
Brooklyn Nets:
– James Harden
Houston Rockets:
– Victor Oladipo, Dante Exum, Rodions Kurucs
– 4 first-round picks (3 from the Nets 2022, 2024, 2026; and 1 from the Milwaukee Bucks via Cleveland 2022)
– 4 first-round pick swaps from the Nets (2021, 2023, 2025, 2027)
Indiana Pacers:
– Caris LeVert, second-round pick from Houston
Cleveland Cavaliers:
– Jarrett Allen
– Taurean Prince
The Cavs were able to sneak in and get Allen and Prince, which is a nice addition, all for trading a first-round pick from the Bucks. The Pacers were able to flip Oladipo, who wanted out, for LeVert, which is a nice replacement.
The Nets are the big winners because they get the MVP to pair with another MVP … and Kyrie Irving, if he ever decides to play again.
The Rockets were in a tough spot because Harden was forcing their hand. Although they get a lot of goodies on paper, you have to question what it will amount to. Oladipo could be gone after the season. The first-round picks from the Nets and Bucks will most likely be late in the draft, and least for the next few years, which would also make the pick swap rights useless. The Rockets could end up with very little to show for Harden in a few years.
Andre Drummond’s marriage to the Cleveland Cavaliers could prove to be a brief one unless both sides can come to a middle ground.
Chris Fedor of Cleveland.com reported on Monday that Drummond and the Cavs have been far apart in preliminary extension talks. The two-time All-Star will be a free agent in 2021. He also has a $28.75 million player option this offseason but is all but certain to exercise it.
Drummond, 27, was acquired by the Cavs in a trade with the Detroit Pistons in February. He made only eight appearances for them before the NBA’s shutdown in March but had his usual production of 17.5 points and 11.1 rebounds per game.
Cleveland is rebuilding, and it remains to be seen how Drummond fits into their ultimate future. He is one of the league’s best rebounders but is limited offensively and can be played off the floor by opponents. Drummond also was upset that he got traded by Detroit, so he might not be too attached to Cleveland anyway.
The Cleveland Cavaliers are in the middle of another rebuilding phase, but they may be able to accelerate it very quickly with a trade for a young star.
According to Chris Fedor of cleveland.com, the Cavaliers have interest in Philadelphia 76ers forward Ben Simmons, and believe they have enough pieces to interest Philadelphia in a potential trade. The Cavaliers will pick in the top six of the upcoming draft, and have also stockpiled assets on their roster that could interest the Sixers.
Fedor lists last year’s fifth overall pick Darius Garland as a possible piece that could interest Philadelphia.
It’s hard to say how realistic a Simmons trade is. There has been plenty of talk about his ability to coexist with Joel Embiid and the lack of success the Sixers have had with the two players as their centerpieces, even though Embiid has downplayed any tension. In addition, with Simmons unlikely to play again this season, there’s something of an excuse for the Sixers if they don’t go far in the postseason. It’s fair to ask whether Philadelphia would really want to trade Simmons at this point coming off an injury unless someone gives them a huge haul.
Andre Drummond was openly unhappy after the Detroit Pistons traded him to the Cleveland Cavaliers back in February, but that seemingly had more to do with the way his former team handled the situation than anything else. Now that Drummond has spent a few months as a member of the Cavs, he may be enjoying himself enough to stick around for the long haul.
Drummond announced earlier this week that he will exercise his $28.75 million option for the 2020-21 season, which was expected given all the uncertainty surrounding sports at the moment. However, Chris Fedor of Cleveland.com reports that Drummond and the Cavs have both shown interest in working out a long-term contract extension.
One potential complication could arise if the Cavaliers find themselves in position to draft former Memphis star center James Wiseman. As Fedor notes, Cleveland may prefer having more flexibility for the future rather than give Drummond a max contract extension if they’re drafting his eventual replacement. Drummond and Wiseman also share the same agent, which could potentially make the situation even more complicated.
Drummond is still just 26, and the Cavs haven’t seen a whole lot of him. He appeared in eight games for Cleveland before the season was suspended, averaging 17.5 points and 11.1 rebounds per game. Drummond will be able to sign an extension with the Cavs in October, but it may make more sense for them to see how things play out next season.
While the Cavs have just 19 wins this season and won 19 games all of last year, Drummond seemed more bothered by the way the Pistons handled the trade than he was about being sent to a struggling franchise. Depending upon how the market shakes out with all the financial uncertainty surrounding sports leagues, Drummond may find that he wants to remain in Cleveland more than the Cavs want him to stick around.
The Cleveland Cavaliers took the NBA by surprise at the trade deadline back in February when they decided to become buyers despite having no shot at postseason contention. Collin Sexton appreciated that approach from the team, and he is confident it is going to pay off in the very near future.
In a recent interview with Morten Jensen of Forbes, Sexton said he understands that things have been a lot different for the Cavs since LeBron James left to sign with the Los Angeles Lakers, but the 21-year-old does not like to use the term “rebuild.”
“Every day we’ve got guys coming to work and working their butt off, so we don’t look at [the rebuild] too much, because we all put in that work and we have a full team of hard workers so we’re going to do whatever it takes to change it around, and turn this rebuild into winning,” Sexton said.
Rather than hold a fire sale at the trade deadline, the Cavs acquired star big man Andre Drummond in a trade with the Detroit Pistons and held onto Kevin Love. Drummond is set to become a free agent this summer and has not committed to re-signing with Cleveland, but Sexton is very optimistic about the 2020-21 season. When asked when he thinks the Cavs will return to the playoffs, Sexton said “next season.” Was he serious?
“Yes. Next season,” he said emphatically.
The Cavs are currently 19-46 with the NBA season suspended. Sexton is averaging an impressive 20.8 points per game, but the team still has a very long way to go. Even if Drummond re-signs, Cleveland is far from a lock to make the playoffs barring a big offseason move or two.
It’s unclear how much of a negative impact John Beilein had on Cavaliers players before he parted ways with the organization, but the Cavs recently showed they believe in JB Bickerstaff going forward. While Sexton isn’t going to admit he doesn’t expect Cleveland to contend next season, he could have just as easily provided a more vague response.
All indications when JB Bickerstaff took over as the head coach of the Cleveland Cavaliers last month were that he was not doing so on an interim basis, and the team has now confirmed that.
The Cavs have signed Bickerstaff to a multi-year extension, Kelsey Russo of The Athletic reports.
The #Cavs have agreed to a multi-year contract with head coach J.B. Bickerstaff, sources confirm to @TheAthleticCLE.
Bickerstaff had previously taken over as the interim head coach of the Houston Rockets and Memphis Grizzlies, so he had plenty of experience in the role. The Cavs had reportedly planned to make him their head coach eventually, but the plan came to fruition much earlier than expected after John Beilein stepped down.
Beilein was a bad fit in Cleveland from the start, as his college ways simply did not transition to the NBA. He was unable to connect with his players all season, and the situation reached a boiling point when he referred to them as “thugs” — something he apologized for and said was inadvertent. Bickerstaff has more experience in the NBA, so it is no surprise that the Cavs see him as better suited for the job going forward.
John Beilein didn’t work as the head coach of the Cleveland Cavaliers, and it sounds like Kevin Love did him no favors.
Beilein officially resigned during the week after going 14-40 as the Cavs’ head coach, and he was replaced by JB Bickerstaff. Beilein had issues with some of the players, and there were complaints about Beilein running things like a college program.
At first, much of the criticism about Beilein’s tenure was aimed at the coach, but on Thursday, Charles Barkley said the players were to blame. Barkley is not the only one hinting at that.
During Thursday’s edition of the “Brian Windhorst & The Hoop Collective” podcast, Windhorst and co-host Tim MacMahon talked about how Love seemed to undermine the hiring.
Windhorst said Love showed up for training camp at effectively the last minute. MacMahon also talked about how Love was against Beilein.
“Kevin Love did everything but rent a billboard saying Beilein sucks,” MacMahon said. “There was zero percent chance of Beilein, and it wasn’t gonna work regardless, but with Kevin Love around that was gonna be a complete disaster. Because he was gonna make it clear how much he thought this coach was over his head, and he was gonna be right.”
Whether Love was against the Beilein hire or not, it was clear this season that Love had issues with the Cavs. Love screamed at the team’s GM in early January and was seen getting upset with another player. Love exhibited poor leadership, which likely contributed to the team’s poor record, and Beilein’s difficulties connecting with the players.
