Menu

more

Isaac Okoro

Report: Cavaliers lock in defensive anchor Isaac Okoro for 3 years

/ , , , , / 0 Comments

The Cavaliers and fifth-year wing Isaac Okoro agreed to a three-year, $38 million contract, ESPN reported Saturday afternoon.

Okoro, the subject of some trade chatter this summer, was the last restricted free agent on the market, and his signing “caps a busy and productive summer for the Cavaliers,” ESPN.com’s Tim Bontemps wrote.

Okoro is a likable, hard-working player who is considered one of the team’s top defenders. The athletic 6-foot-5 wing often draws the toughest defensive assignments. The Cavaliers selected the Atlanta native with the fifth overall pick in the 2020 NBA draft.

While Okoro’s spot 3-point shooting has been the subject of much scrutiny, it’s worth noting that his 3-point percentage has improved in each of his four seasons in the NBA. During the 2023-2024 season, Okoro made 39.1% of his 3-point shots – a career high – and averaged 9.4 points a game, starting in 42 of the 69 games he played.

Okoro averaged 27.3 minutes of game action last season. While the Auburn alum started in every game that he played during his rookie campaign, Okoro’s role has evolved into a key bench player who can slot in as a spot starter when necessary. If he can continue to improve his 3-point shooting, Okoro could blossom into an upper-tier 3-and-D player with decent trade value if the Cavs ever decide to entertain offers.

Kenny Atkinson

Cavs finalize Kenny Atkinson’s coaching staff for 2024-2025 season

/ , , , , , / 0 Comments

With the ouster of J.B. Bickerstaff, the Cavaliers’ coaching staff will have a new look this season, although there are a few familiar faces in the mix.

Earlier this month, Atkinson and Cavaliers President of Basketball Operations Koby Altman announced that the Cavs have finalized their coaching staff for the 2024-2025 season.

Johnnie Bryant replaces Greg Buckner as associate head coach. Bryant, who played college basketball at the University of Utah, spent the last four seasons with the New York Knicks as associate head coach.

Atkinson’s assistant coaches are:

  • Jordan Ott
  • Mike Gerrity
  • DeMarre Carroll
  • Trevor Hendry
  • Omar Cook
  • Bryan Tibaldi
  • Nate Reinking

To support the coaching staff, the Cavaliers have hired Alex Sarama as director of player development and Patrick Licursi as advance scout.

Other support personnel are:

  • DJ Ham – Player development/video assistant
  • Andrew Olson – Shooting coach
  • Austin Peterson as manager of coaching analytics
  • Aaron Robinson – Video assistant
  • Luke Webb – Video assistant
  • Adrian Culea – Special assistant to the head coach

Coaches’ Bios

Johnnie Bryant

Johnnie Bryant brings over a decade of NBA experience to Atkinson’s staff, including the previous four seasons as associate head coach of the New York Knicks.

Before joining New York, Bryant spent eight seasons with the Utah Jazz, serving as an assistant coach for six seasons (2014-2020) and two seasons as a player development assistant (2012-2014). Additionally, he ran the Bryant Sports Academy for three years (2009-2012), which helped develop the skills of NBA players along with numerous European players.

Bryant played left the University of Utah as the 20th all-time leading scorer (1,301 points) and the leader in 3-point field goal percentage (.440) while also earning dual bachelor’s degrees in human development and family studies and sports management. Following his college career, the Oakland, California, native went on to play professionally overseas in Germany.

Jordan Ott

Ott was most recently an assistant coach for the past two seasons with the Los Angeles Lakers (2022-2024).

Prior to his tenure with the Lakers, Ott served as an assistant coach for the Brooklyn Nets for six seasons (2016-2022), where he worked under Atkinson on the sidelines for his first four years in Brooklyn. Before working as an NBA assistant coach, Ott was the video coordinator for the Atlanta Hawks from 2013 to 2016. He served in the same capacity with the Michigan State men’s basketball program for five seasons (2008-2013) under Hall of Fame head coach Tom Izzo.

Ott received his bachelor’s degree from Penn State in 2006 and earned his master’s degree from Michigan State in 2008. The McConnellsburg, Pennsylvania, native also served as an assistant coach with the Dominican Republic national team in the 2015 FIBA Americas Championship in Mexico City.

Mike Gerrity

Gerrity joins Atkinson’s staff after serving the previous two seasons (2022-2024) as head coach of the Cleveland Charge, the Cavaliers’ exclusively owned and operated NBA G League team.

In his first season at the helm, he led the Charge to a 30-20 record, tying for the second-most regular season wins in team history, as well as securing the franchise’s first playoff win since the 2015-2016 season. Gerrity also served as an assistant coach for the Cavaliers in 2021-2022 and spent three seasons as the team’s Director of Player Development/Assistant Coach from 2018 to 2021.

His additional roles with the organization include two seasons as director of player development for the Charge and player development assistant with the Cavaliers from 2016 to 2018, and an assistant video coordinator in 2013.

Before his coaching career, Gerrity played two seasons in the NBA G League for the Dakota Wizards, Erie BayHawks, and Maine Red Claws. He starred at the University of Southern California in 2009-2010 after playing collegiate basketball at Pepperdine and UNC Charlotte.

DeMarre Carroll

Carroll comes to Cleveland after spending the previous two seasons as an assistant coach with the Lakers (2023-24) and Milwaukee Bucks (2022-23).

Prior to joining the coaching ranks, Carroll played in the NBA for 11 seasons, including two seasons under Atkinson during their time with the Brooklyn Nets. Over his NBA playing career, Carroll appeared in a combined 578 games (339 starts) for Houston, San Antonio, Brooklyn, Toronto, Atlanta, Utah, Denver and Memphis with averages of 8.9 points and 4.2 rebounds in 23.7 minutes.

He made at least 100 three-pointers in four of his NBA seasons and was a starter on Atlanta’s 60-win team in 2014-2015.

Drafted by the Grizzlies as the 27th overall pick in the 2009 NBA Draft, Carroll also appeared in 64 career playoff games (52 starts), posting averages of 8.9 points and 4.3 rebounds in 27.4 minutes. He was an All-Big 12 First Team selection during his collegiate years at the University of Missouri.

Trevor Hendry

Hendry arrives in Cleveland after spending the previous two seasons (2022-2024) as an assistant coach with the Brooklyn Nets and the four seasons prior to that (2018-2022) as Brooklyn’s head video coordinator.

Hendry originally joined the Nets organization in 2014, serving in a variety of basketball operations roles prior to entering the video room. He then spent one season (2016-2017) as video and player development assistant for the Long Island Nets in the NBA G League and one season in the same role for the Brooklyn Nets (2017-2018) before becoming head video coordinator for Brooklyn where he worked under Atkinson for parts of four seasons. Prior to joining the Nets organization, the Waterford, Connecticut, native earned both a Bachelor of Arts in business and a Master of Business Administration from Clark University in Worcester, Massachusetts.

Omar Cook

Cook held the role as assistant coach/player development with the Cavaliers last season.

He originally joined the organization in 2022-2023 as an assistant coach with the Charge after a successful 22-year professional basketball career that included stints in the NBA and NBA G League, as well as playing professionally in over half a dozen countries internationally. Cook has led five different leagues in assists in a season and has been part of two FIBA Champions League winning teams (2020, 2021).

The Brooklyn, New York, native was a McDonalds All-American and First-Team Parade All-American at Christ the King High School and starred at St. John’s University before being drafted by the Orlando Magic as the 31st overall pick in 2001.

Bryan Tibaldi

Tibaldi was most recently the player development/video assistant (2021-2024) for the Cavaliers after joining the organization as an assistant coach with the Charge during the 2019-20 campaign.

Prior to that, he spent two seasons as an assistant at Cleveland State University, two seasons as the director of basketball operations at DePaul (2015-2017), four years as a video coordinator and director of operations at Missouri (2011-2015) and two seasons as assistant video coordinator basketball operations assistant with the Chicago Bulls (2009-2011). A 2007 graduate of Michigan State, Tibaldi was a two-year letter winner as a walk-on for the Spartans.

Following his playing days, Tibaldi was a graduate assistant under Tom Izzo from 2007-2009, earning his master’s in Kinesiology in 2009.

Nate Reinking

Reinking enters his second season as assistant coach with the Cavaliers.

Previously, he was assistant coach/G-League Liaison from 2021-2023 and head coach for the Charge from 2016-2021 when he held a combined 107-101 record over that span.

Reinking has more than 20 years of collegiate, professional and international experience as both a player and coach.

He was named the head coach of the Great Britain National Team in the summer of 2019, leading the team on a 4-0 run, and continuing a record-setting seven-game winning streak, to secure a spot in a EuroBasket 2021 qualifying group. Additionally, he coached the team in the 2022 FIBA EuroBasket Games.

Before beginning his coaching career, Reinking played for Great Britain from 2005-2012, representing the nation in international tournaments such as the Olympics and European Championships. The Galion, Ohio, native graduated from Kent State University in 1996 after a four-year playing career with the Golden Flashes and was inducted into the school’s Varsity “K” Athletics Hall of Fame in 2019.

Luke Travers

Cavs sign Aussie Luke Travers to 2-way contract

/ , , , , , , , / 0 Comments

The Cavaliers have signed Australian forward Luke Travers to a two-way contract, the team announced on Aug. 28.

The Cavs selected the 6-foot-7 forward with the 56th overall pick in the 2022 NBA draft.

In 36 games for the National Basketball League’s Melbourne United during the 2023-2024 season, Travers averaged 12.4 points on .517% shooting from the field. Travers also averaged 7.6 rebounds, 2.1 assists, 1.33 blocks and 1.17 steals in 27 minutes of action.

Travers has appeared in 139 games (76 starts) over the last five seasons with the Perth Wildcats and Melbourne United in the National Basketball League (NBL), holding career averages of 8.4 points, 5.3 rebounds and 0.87 steals in 20.7 minutes. He was a member of the Perth Wildcats when they won the NBL Cup in 2021 and the NBL championship in 2020.

Additionally, he was a member of the Cavaliers Summer League team for the past three years, including the 2023 NBA Summer League Championship team, where he averaged 7.5 points on .487 shooting from the field, 6.3 rebounds, 2 assists, 0.8 steals and 2.17 blocks in 23.2 minutes.

Former Melbourne United teammate Jack White recently told reporters that Travers is getting a shot in the NBA “for a reason.”

“Luke’s such a unique player,” White told reporters during an Aug. 29 press conference. “He does so many things well. So I think if he just goes out there and plays hard and brings what he does well to the table, I don’t think he’ll have any issues shining in whatever role that comes his way.”

Travers isn’t the first Australian to play for the Cavaliers. Fan favorite Matthew Dellavedova, a native of Maryborough, Australia, spent six seasons with the Cavs, last playing for Cleveland during the 2020-2021 campaign.

Weird Week for Cavs

Cavs cap off weird week by beating best team in the West

/ , , , , , , , , / 0 Comments

Playing their fourth game in six nights, the Cavs knocked off the best team in the Western Conference – in overtime – two nights after beating the top team in the NBA in dramatic fashion.

Sandwiched between those gutsy wins were losses to the Hawks and the severely undermanned Knicks.

Friday night, the Cavs went toe-to-toe with the Timberwolves and their No. 1-ranked defense, matching Minnesota’s physical style of play – a promising sign for a team that got pushed around in the playoffs last year.

With Evan Mobley out, Jarrett Allen stepped up in a big way. Against a bigger man in Rudy Gobert – the second-leading rebounder in the NBA – Allen was a force in the paint, and he finished with a career-high 33 points, 18 rebounds and two blocks.

It was fun to watch Gobert’s late-game meltdown that led to a technical foul and a game-tying free throw. Gobert pantomimed the money sign with his fingertips after getting whistled for his sixth foul, suggesting the refs had money riding on the game. Allen clearly got under his skin.

Allen’s strategy against Gobert: “Just go out there with energy.”

“I think Rudy gets a lot of hate for what he does, but I still think he’s excellent in his position and how he goes out and plays the game,” the affable Allen told reporters after the game. “So for me it was to try to find little moments where I can sneak in, grab a rebound, tip the ball out or just catch him slipping.”

Gobert’s sixth foul sure seemed like a legit foul. But the hot-headed Frenchman didn’t see it that way. With 27.8 seconds left in the game – and the T-Wolves clinging to a one-point lead – it probably wasn’t the best time for Gobert to get on his soapbox about sports gambling.

The Cavaliers prevailed in overtime, 113-104, without the services of Mobley, Donovan Mitchell and Max Strus.

“It just boosts us for when everybody else comes back,” Allen said. “Contrary to [popular] belief, I do believe we’re at our best when everybody is back in the lineup.”

Still, it sometimes seems that Allen plays better when Mobley is out of the lineup. He’s more assertive, more aggressive and more decisive. Maybe it’s a case of next-man-up mentality.

J.B. Bickerstaff chalks it up to Allen’s consistency.

“He’s just been consistently dominant,” Bickerstaff said after the T-Wolves game. “We’ve been saying this since before the All-Star break, where we thought he was deserving to be an All-Star, because I can’t tell you bigs that are playing better than Jarrett Allen. He’s just been phenomenal. It’s a testament to him as a human being, as basketball player, to just want to do more to help the team win. And that’s who JA is.”

Darius Garland wasn’t too shabby either. Garland – who after the game said he doesn’t feel anywhere near 100% yet – paced the Cavaliers with 34 points on 13-of-26 shooting and eight assists.

“We know what Darius is capable of, and we believe in Darius wholeheartedly,” Bickerstaff said. “In the NBA, guys go through ups and downs, but the great ones figure out a way to come out of it. And he puts the time in, he works his tail off, his teammates believe in him, support him, trust him, and we know he’s gonna make the plays when we need him.”

Bulls Cavs Double OT

Why the double-OT loss in Chicago was noteworthy for the Cavaliers

/ , , , , , , , , , , , / 0 Comments

The Cleveland Cavaliers have been in a bit of a funk since the All-Star break.

After getting a win in Detroit Friday night, they’re 3-3 since play resumed, which isn’t bad. But the Cavs set the bar high after a torrid stretch in which they were 18-3 from Jan. 1 up to the All-Star break.

They’ve also set the bar high in overtime play over the past few seasons.

The Cavaliers’ Feb. 28 double-overtime loss in Chicago snapped their 11-game overtime winning streak. With that mark, Cleveland had been tied for the second-longest OT winning streak in NBA history.

New Orleans holds the NBA record with 13 straight overtime victories from 2006-2008.

The Cavs got their 11th consecutive overtime win on Dec. 18, against the Rockets. In that one, Donovan Mitchell had 37 points and Sam Merrill had 19 off the bench, including five points in OT.

The Cavs were 7-0 in overtime last season, and 2-0 during the 2021-2022 season, when the streak started. Even before that, the Cavaliers had been excelling in the extra session, posting 4-1 and 3-1 overtime records, respectively, in the previous two seasons.

Put another way: With the Feb. 28 loss in Chicago, the Cavaliers are 18-3 in overtime since the 2019-2020 season.

That’s a cool stat that overlaps with most of J.B. Bickerstaff’s tenure as head coach. The Cavs promoted Bickerstaff to the position in February 2020 after John Beilein resigned.

JB Bickerstaff

Bickerstaff not satisfied After Cavs’ come-from-behind win over Wizards

/ , , , , , , , , , / 0 Comments

Heading into the All-Star break, the Cleveland Cavaliers were the hottest team in the NBA. The Cavs were 18-3 since the turn of the calendar year, a torrid stretch punctuated by eight-game and nine-game winning streaks.

If you thought the final two months of the NBA season would be a mirror image of the previous two months, the past week has been the equivalent of a cold shower.

The Cavs resumed action with back-to-back losses. As for which one was more troubling, you can take your pick.

In a 116-109 loss to Orlando, Mo Wagner was flexing his muscles like Hulk Hogan and the Magic reserves outscored the Cavs’ bench 63-24. The next night in Philadelphia, the Sixers beat the Cavaliers 104-97 without Joel Embiid – again.

Sunday night in Washington, it looked the Cavs might be headed for their third straight loss.

The Cavs went into the fourth quarter with an 87-80 lead, only to watch the Wizards go on a 14-0 run that gave Washington an 88-94 lead with 9:17 left. Darius Garland stopped the bleeding with back-to-back triples, and the Cavaliers had to gut out a win over the 9-48 Wizards.

After the game, a hoarse Cavs coach J.B. Bickerstaff was not in a good place.

“Again, we just need to be better,” Bickerstaff told reporters. “I don’t think we played to our standard tonight. I expected more fire from our group, after losing two games in a row and having an opportunity to play another one.

“We’ve got to get back to playing with that spirit, the way we played before the break. We’ve got some tough stretches coming up here. But we’ve got to be better. I’ve got to do a better job of getting guys ready to play, and our players have to do a better job as well.”

The Cavaliers are 24-7 since Dec. 16, but they’ve lost three of their last five. Their two wins have come against Chicago and Washington, and the win over the Bulls was a nail-biter.

In some respects, the Cavs are a victim of their own success. They’ve played so well over the past two and half months that they’re on everybody’s radar now – and the scouting report is out. Teams are finding success by playing tight, physical defense on the Cavs and pushing the tempo, which has forced the Cavs to rush their offensive sets and commit a lot of turnovers.

In the Magic’s Feb. 22 win in Cleveland, the Cavs turned the ball over 19 times, which led to 28 Orlando points.

While it’s been a tough stretch, the Cavs still hold the No. 2 seed in the Eastern Conference. (At this same juncture last season, the Cavs were the No. 4 seed.) Nevertheless, they’re going to have to dig deep to stay there.

The post-All-Star-break schedule includes six more back-to-backs; a nine-game West Coast trip; five games in seven days – twice; and two games each against Minnesota, Phoenix, Miami and Indiana.

How can the Cavaliers maintain the proper mindset for such a treacherous schedule?

“It’s a focus on our habits right now,” Bickerstaff said. “Defensively, [it’s] understanding personnel, strengths and weaknesses, and forcing people to their weakness. Executing our coverages, being more physical, all those things. I think we have to continue to build those habits to get us where we want to go eventually.”

Pete-Nance

Cavs sign forward Pete Nance to 2-way contract

/ , , , , , , / 0 Comments

The Cleveland Cavaliers have signed 6-11 forward Pete Nance to a two-way contract, the team announced.

The Akron, Ohio, native – the third Nance to don a Cavaliers jersey – played in two games for the Cavs this season after signing a 10-day contract with the team on Jan. 18.

Nance also appeared in 29 games (24 starts) this season for the Cleveland Charge of the NBA G League, averaging 13.6 points, 7.8 rebounds, 2.9 assists and 1.34 blocks in 31.5 minutes.

On Jan. 10, Nance posted the first Charge triple-double in more than two years at Indiana, finishing with 27 points, a career-high 12 assists and 10 rebounds in 40 minutes.

Nance went undrafted after one season at the University of North Carolina (2022-2023) and four seasons at Northwestern University (2018-2022), averaging 9.7 points, 5.5 rebounds and 1.7 assists in 25.3 minutes in 137 games (104 starts) during his collegiate career.

Last season at UNC, Nance started all 30 games and averaged 10 points, six rebounds, 1.7 assists and 1.13 blocks in 30 minutes, while leading the team in blocks (34), finishing second in free-throw percentage (.816) and ranking third in 3-pointers made (32).

Nance also was a member of the recent Cavaliers 2023 Summer League Championship team, appearing in all six games. Nance averaged 7.2 points, 3.3 rebounds and 1.2 assists in 20.4 minutes.

If Nance is able to earn any playing time, he would add some depth to a frontcourt that’s without Tristan Thompson until mid-March.

Cavs Channel 43

In a big win for cord-cutters, Channel 43 to broadcast 5 Cavaliers games

/ , , , , , , / 0 Comments

Cord-cutters, dust off those bunny ears.

The Cleveland Cavaliers are returning to WUAB Channel 43 after a six-year absence.

The Cavaliers and Gray Television, parent company of Channel 43, announced a joint agreement to offer over-the-air distribution of five upcoming Cavs games. And they’re marquee matchups.

Games scheduled to air on Channel 43 are:

  • March 5 – Cavs vs. Celtics
  • March 8 – Cavs vs. Timberwolves
  • March 29 – Cavs vs. 76ers
  • April 6 – Cavs at Los Angeles Lakers
  • April 7 – Cavs at Los Angeles Clippers

While these five games will not be available on the Bally Sports app or via Bally Sports Ohio, the Cavs broadcasting team will remain the same.

John Michael will continue to call play-by-play for all Cavs games on Bally Sports Ohio and the games distributed over-the-air through Gray, accompanied by analysts Austin Carr and Brad Daugherty. Serena Winters and Cayleigh Griffin will remain as sideline reporter and co-host of “Cavaliers Live,” respectively.

“We are constantly evaluating every available opportunity to create the greatest experience for all fans of Cavaliers Basketball,” said Nic Barlage, CEO of the Cleveland Cavaliers, Rock Entertainment Group and Rocket Mortgage FieldHouse. “Given the current dynamic media landscape, we have prioritized how we can expand our audience in every way possible. This partnership with Gray allows us to test out a new model of distribution that has the potential to reach more of our fans across our region.”

The “new model of distribution” likely won’t include Bally Sports Ohio in the future.

Diamond Sports Group, which operates Bally Sports Ohio and other Bally Sports regional channels, filed for bankruptcy in March 2023. The company was prepared to wind down operations by the end of 2024 until it announced a funding deal in January.

As part of the deal, Amazon will kick in $115 million to take a minority equity stake in Diamond, Reuters reported. That means “Amazon’s Prime Video will now become the primary partner through which customers can buy direct-to-consumer access to stream Diamond’s local channels, which carry the games of more than 40 major sports teams across the United States,” according to a Reuters article.

Fans of a certain age will remember that Channel 43 was the over-the-air home of the Cavaliers from 1994 to 2018, and for most of the 1980s.

In related Eastern Conference news, Atlanta-based Gray Television also announced that it will broadcast 10 Milwaukee Bucks games on WMLW “The M” in Milwaukee.

Zhaire Smith

Cavaliers sign Zhaire Smith to 10-day contract

/ , , , , , , / 0 Comments

The Cleveland Cavaliers have signed Zhaire Smith to a 10-day contract, the team announced.

The 6-3 guard has started in 32 games this season for the Cleveland Charge, averaging 12.8 points, 4.4 rebounds, 1.6 assists and 1.28 steals per game while shooting .404% from the 3-point line in 33.4 minutes.

Prior to Cleveland, Smith played two seasons (2018-2020) with the Delaware Blue Coats, the Philadelphia 76ers’ NBA G League affiliate. He played in 39 games – 30 of which were starts – for the Blue Coats, averaging 11.7 points, 3.1 rebounds and 1.9 assists in 26.6 minutes.

In 13 career NBA games with the Philadelphia 76ers during parts of the 2018-2019 and 2019-2020 seasons, he holds career averages of 3.7 points and 1.2 rebounds in 11 minutes. Smith started in two of those games.

He also appeared in four games for the Oklahoma City Thunder during the 2023 NBA Summer League, averaging six points in 14 minutes.

The Phoenix Sun selected Smith as the 16th overall pick in the 2018 draft after one collegiate season at Texas Tech (2017-2018). He appeared in 37 games (21 starts) for the Red Raiders, averaging 11.3 points, five rebounds and 1.8 assists in 28.4 minutes and was selected to the All-Big 12 Defensive Team.

Smith will wear No. 19 for the Cavaliers, which was last worn by Damon Jones. (Fun fact: Cleveland radio personality Kenny Roda often referred to Damon Jones as “Amon Ones,” because he had no D and no J.)

Donovan Mitchell

Report: Lakers’ List of Offseason Targets Includes Donovan Mitchell

/ , , , , , , , , , , / 0 Comments

While the Los Angeles Lakers were quiet at the NBA trade deadline, there’s some chatter that the team has aspirations to land another star this summer to pair with LeBron James and Anthony Davis.

With three first-round draft picks in their quiver, the Lakers believe they have enough ammunition to make a splash in the offseason.

Donovan Mitchell is the latest name to be linked to the Lakers’ wish list.

Citing The Athletic’s Jovan Buha, CBS Sports is reporting that Kyrie Irving, Trae Young and Mitchell are potential targets for the Lakers.

This isn’t the first time that Irving has been mentioned as a potential target, and Los Angeles reportedly was in hot pursuit of Young’s backcourt partner, Dejounte Murrary, in recent weeks.

However, this is the first I’ve heard about their interest in Mitchell, who currently ranks fourth in the NBA with 28.5 points per game. January’s Eastern Conference Player of the Month ranks third in the NBA in steals.

As much as it would pain Cavaliers fans to see Mitchell go to the Knicks, it would be just as horrifying to see him playing alongside LeBron and AD. However, it seems unlikely at this point.

“If Mitchell was available, either because Cleveland wants to trade him or he asked to be dealt elsewhere, the New York Knicks would likely be the most aggressive team to land him, as they tried to get him when he asked out of Utah,” Jasmyn Wimbish wrote for CBS Sports. “The Knicks have been making incredibly savvy moves recently, are the No. 4 team in the East and are armed with draft picks to facilitate a trade of that magnitude. So the Lakers would have to put their best package out there if they want to contend with a team like the Knicks or the 76ers who can also put together a strong package to land a third star.”

The Cavaliers have expressed zero interest in trading Mitchell, and understandably so. They gave up a king’s ransom for Mitchell in 2022, trading Lauri Markkanen, Ochai Agbaji, Collin Sexton, three unprotected first-round picks and two pick swaps for the 6-3 shooting guard. And they’re the hottest team in the NBA right now with Mitchell leading the way.

Mitchell signed a max extension with Utah during the 2020 offseason. The 27-year-old could become a free agent at the end of the 2024-2025 season or exercise his player option for 2025-2026. The national media seems to think it’s a foregone conclusion that he’ll be long gone by 2025.

Photo by Erik Drost/Wikimedia Commons

1 2 3 4
en_USEnglish
en_USEnglish