NBA Off Season Update, Part 2: Central Division – August 20th

Mar 15, 2015; Orlando, FL, USA; Cleveland Cavaliers forward LeBron James (23) looks on against the Orlando Magic during the second quarter at Amway Center. Mandatory Credit: Kim Klement-USA TODAY Sports

Cleveland Cavaliers

ROOKIES: 

• Sir’Dominic Pointer selected 53rd in first round
• Cedi Osman selected 31st in second round

FREE AGENTS SIGNED:

• LeBron James  1 year with option of 2nd year $23M
• Kevin Love – 5 years, $113M
• Tristan Thompson 5-years $82M
• Iman Shumpert – 4 years, $40M
• Mo Williams – 2 years, $2.4M
• Matthew Dellavedova   1 year, $1.2M
• Timofey Mozgov  had $5M option picked up by team
• J.R. Smith   4-years $24.7M
• James Jones – 1 year, no terms disclosed  1 year, 1  1 year, $1.2M
• Richard Jefferson – 1 year at veteran’s minimum

FREE AGENTS LOST:

• Kendrick Perkins
• Mike Miller opted in but left and signed with Denver

TRADED FROM CAVALIERS:

• Tyus Jones selected 23rd in first round and traded to Minnesota Timberwolves
• Rakeem Christmas
• Brendan Haywood

RETIRED:

• Shawn Marion

More from Rockets News

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• What the Rockets must do with the second overall pick
• Houston Rockets: The case for, and against, trading Christian Wood
• NBA Rumors: Why the Houston Rockets shouldn’t trade up to no. 1 in NBA Draft
• 3 players that would be a perfect fit for the Houston Rockets at 23 or 24

BIG MOVE:

Watching the free agency occurrences in Cleveland was comical. I know many of us joke about calling LeBron James  the Cavalier’s GM, but it really is so hard to resist. He makes the pundits jobs easier by making bold statements like “I won’t sign until Tristan Thompson is locked up”.

Flash forward to LBJ inking his deal and Thompson is still at odds with management over his. Will Thompson stay in Cleveland? If he leaves does that represent a  big issue for the Cav’s?

Again these are comical questions given Cleveland already signed Kevin Love to a hefty 5-year deal worth $113M. Perhaps the more intriguing question is will Cleveland become the first team in the Association to spend over $40M a year for 2 players at the same position? If Thompson gets what he wants that’s exactly what will happen, in fact it will be closer to $45M!

Other than locking down LeBron for another year arguably the best move Cleveland made was ferrying out Brendan Haywood‘s hefty contract which will save them copious dollars in luxury tax. That is of course until they sign Thompson and whoever else the King deems is important to add to his squad to win that elusive title for Cleveland.

Next: Pistons Make Jackson Part of Core