Cleveland Cavaliers' Offseason Has Only Just Begun
The Cleveland Cavaliers have yet to make a splash this offseason, watching some of their own free agents leave while seemingly being in no hurry to sign others.
Along with the Oklahoma City Thunder (who are having a far worse summer), the Cavs are the only franchise not to ink a single free agent (so far).
While limited in their spending with key pieces like Kyrie Irving, Kevin Love, Tristan Thompson, Iman Shumpert and Channing Frye already under contract, Cleveland could still add some quality parts in the near future.
Oh, and there's Dwyane Wade to talk about, too...
Jumping Ship
The Cavs will be without two reserves heading into next season.
Timofey Mozgov, an unrestricted free agent, agreed to a four-year, $64 million deal with the Los Angeles Lakers on the first night of negotiations, according to The Vertical's Adrian Wojnarowski. Mozgov lost the starting-center job to Thompson heading into the postseason and was deemed much too expensive to bring back as a reserve.
Cleveland could have prevented the second loss, if it had wanted to.
Backup point guard and team favorite Matthew Dellavedova signed a four-year, $38.5 million offer sheet with the division rival Milwaukee Bucks, a deal the Cavaliers had the right to match. Given the likely steep luxury-tax implications that would follow such a contract when the Cavaliers' roster is finalized, it came as no surprise that the team decided not to match, per Chris Haynes of Cleveland.com.
According to the report, if it had been offered, Dellavedova would have signed a multiyear deal with the Cavs for roughly half that amount last summer instead of playing on his $1.2 million 2015-16 salary. While Mozgov's departure should have little impact, Dellavedova's absence (team-best 41.0 three-point percentage last season, hustle, non-stop energy) will be tough to overcome.
Missed/Waiting On
Aside from waiting on LeBron James to complete the formality of re-signing, the Cavaliers' focus is on J.R. Smith, who has fit beautifully between Irving and James on the wing since his midseason trade from the New York Knicks in 2015.
Smith has largely stayed out of any free-agent whispers, instead doing signings and appearances at various Akron- and Cleveland-area malls and sports memorabilia shops.
It's tough to dictate a market for him, whose value would likely be much higher on the Cavaliers than any other franchise. When around stable veterans like James, Richard Jefferson and James Jones, Smith has been accountable and focused. Should he go back to a large market and a losing environment, the concern would be that some of his old antics and wavering judgment would creep back in.
Smith is now represented by James' agency, Klutch Sports, who took over three months to hammer out a five-year, $82 million deal between the Cavs and Thompson. Smith won't receive that kind of a deal, but he should be in for a raise from his $5 million salary this past season.
"Now the fear is Smith, who took a pay cut last season when he ultimately signed for less than the option year he declined, will likewise price himself out of the Cavs’ market," noted Jason Lloyd of the Akron Beacon Journal. Newly signed contracts for fellow swingmen Aaron Afflalo (two years, $25 million with the Sacramento Kings) and Joe Johnson's (two years, $22 million with the Utah Jazz) are potential guidelines for Smith.
A deal is eventually expected to be reached, given the great fit between the two sides.
Contracts should also be signed with veteran forwards Jones and Jefferson, who at 36 told TMZ Sports that he plans on playing "a couple more years."
Cleveland's external targets have mostly remained hidden. Haynes reported the Cavaliers had interest in 35-year-old former San Antonio Spurs power forward David West, but he decided to join the Golden State Warriors on a veteran's minimum deal, per TNT's David Aldridge.
Wish List/Wade-Watching
If the Cavs can bring Smith back to once again be their starting shooting guard, there will be no glaring roster weaknesses. But Cleveland would also be wise to load up on veterans, specialty players and perhaps a certain South Beach star.
Since the Cavs can only offer a $3.48 million exception, they'll have to target players in that limited price range.
Should the Cavaliers want to add point guard insurance beyond Mo Williams and rookie Kay Felder, some quality names still remain. A Jarrett Jack reunion is a possibility after he averaged 12.8 points and a career-high 7.4 assists as a starter on the Brooklyn Nets last season. Jack, 32, was put on waivers by the rebuilding Nets last month.
One could certainly connect the dots on New Orleans Pelicans' free-agent point guard Norris Cole as well. Cole, 27, won two championships with James on the Miami Heat after playing college ball at Cleveland State. With James, Thompson and now Smith, he shares Rich Paul as an agent.
Other veterans maybe looking to join the defending NBA champions could include Kevin Martin, Tayshaun Prince, Brandon Bass, Kendrick Perkins and Udonis Haslem.
Of course, there's one more name floating around.
Could Dwyane Wade really become a Cleveland Cavalier? Don't rule it out just yet, per Ethan Skolnick of the Miami Herald:
"And yes, joining LeBron James in Cleveland is an option. Among a few still, and "a long shot" due to the economics, according to a source, but definitely an option, one that Wade is likely to investigate. The Cavaliers have been coveting Wade ever since James returned to them.
They don't currently have anything other than the taxpayer mid-level to offer ($3.48 million), which would be a huge reduction in pay. So they would need to make multiple deals to accommodate more salary, including finding takers for Iman Shumpert and likely Channing Frye.
Or James would need to take a historically large cut, which wouldn't sit well with the players' union, but maybe he doesn't care about that. He repeatedly told me, when I was covering the Cavaliers during the 2014-15 season, how much he missed Wade. That may be priceless.
"
Typically, what James wants, James gets.
If the Cavaliers were to trade Shumpert and renounce the rights on Smith, they would have roughly $30 million in cap space to split between James and Wade. This would be a major sacrifice for one or both, as James can make up to $27.5 million on a one-year deal and Wade is meeting with the Denver Nuggets to discuss a two-year, $50 million pact, reports ESPN's Marc Stein.
Being able to open up $30 million like this would have put the Cavs in the running for some other big names on the free-agent market, but none would have convinced James to potentially take a pay cut.
Wade is different. He and James entered the league together in 2003. They won two championships in four seasons with the Heat. They train together during the season and vacation (along with Carmelo Anthony and Chris Paul and their wives) in the summer.
Landing Wade, essentially with no cap space, is improbable. It's up to Wade to decide what he values more now at age 34: money or additional jewelry.
The power that James holds over the organization, especially while he's technically a free agent, is astronomical. If Wade wants to come to Cleveland, James will likely make sure the Cavs get a deal done.
Greg Swartz is the Cleveland Cavaliers Lead Writer for Bleacher Report. Follow him on Twitter @CavsGregBR. Stats via Basketball-Reference.com.
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