<!DOCTYPE html PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD XHTML 1.0 Transitional//EN" "http://www.w3.org/TR/xhtml1/DTD/xhtml1-transitional.dtd"><html xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml" xml:lang="en" lang="en">    <head>        <script>   (function(i, s, o, g, r, a, m) {     i["GoogleAnalyticsObject"] = r;     i[r] = i[r] || function() {       (i[r].q = i[r].q || []).push(arguments)     }, i[r].l = 1 * new Date();     a = s.createElement(o),       m = s.getElementsByTagName(o)[0];     a.async = 1;     a.src = g;     m.parentNode.insertBefore(a, m)   })(window, document, "script", "https://www.google-analytics.com/analytics.js", "ga");   ga('create', 'UA-66147751-16', {     'storage': 'none',     'clientId': localStorage.getItem('ga:clientId')   });   ga(function(tracker) {     localStorage.setItem('ga:clientId', tracker.get('clientId'));   });   ga('set', 'checkProtocolTask', null);      ga('set', 'page', '/nba-rumors-donovan-mitchell-150-million-cavs-deal-rockets-trade-interest');   ga('set', 'title', 'NBA rumors: Donovan Mitchell’s $150 million Cavs deal shut down Rockets’ trade interest');   ga('send', 'pageview');</script>        <style type="text/css" media="all">            body {    background: transparent;    margin: 0px;}h1, h2, h3 {    color: #DDDDDD;    font-family: "SFUIText-Semibold";    margin: 30px 15px 15px 15px;    font-size: 21px;    line-height: 125%;    letter-spacing: -0.41px;}header {    margin: 0px;    height: 0px;    display: none;}p {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 15px 15px 15px 15px;    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}p > img {    margin-left: -15px;    width: calc(100% + 30px);}a {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.8);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;    text-decoration: underline;}ul {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 3px 10px 3px 10px;    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}ol {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}img {    margin: 0px;    width: 100%;    height: auto;}blockquote {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.8);    font-family: "SFUIText-Medium";    margin: 30px 15px 30px 15px;    font-size: 19px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.41px;}blockquote p {    margin: 0px;}.op-tracker, .op-ad {    display: none;    height: 0px;}article > figure {    margin: 0px;}figcaption {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 10px 15px 30px 15px;    font-size: 13px;}iframe {    width: __SCREEN_SIZE_WIDTH__;    margin: 0px;    border: 0;}.vine-embed {    height: __SCREEN_SIZE_WIDTH__;}.twitter-tweet, .instagram-media {    margin-left: 15px !important;    margin-right: 15px !important;    width: __SCREEN_CONTENT_SIZE_WIDTH__ !important;}.clutchpoints-widget {    /*margin: 10px 15px 10px 15px !important;*/    /*margin-top: 1px !important;*/    padding-top: 10px;    /*margin-left: 15px !important;*/    /*margin-right: 15px !important;*/    /*width: __SCREEN_CONTENT_SIZE_WIDTH__ !important;*/}        </style>        <meta http-equiv="Content-Type" content="text/html; charset=UTF-8" />    </head>    <body>        <article id="mvp-content-main"><header><figure><img src="https://wp.clutchpoints.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/11/NBA-rumors-Donovan-Mitchells-150-million-Cavs-commitment-shut-down-Rockets-trade-interest.jpg"></figure><h1>NBA rumors: Donovan Mitchell’s $150 million Cavs deal shut down Rockets’ trade interest</h1><time class="op-published" datetime="2024-11-24T11:36:38-08:00">November 24th, 11:36am</time><time class="op-modified" datetime="2024-11-25T13:53:28-08:00">November 25th, 1:53pm</time><address><a>Malik Brown</a>Malik Brown is a multimedia reporter based in Atlanta who covers the Hawks and Dream for ClutchPoints. Malik has worked in entertainment and sports, and he specializes in the NBA and NFL.</address><h3 class="op-kicker">Cleveland Cavaliers</h3><figure class="op-ad"></figure></header><p>The Cleveland <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/cavaliers-news-donovan-mitchell-nsfw-message-undefeated-start">Cavaliers are off to a 16-1 start to the season</a>, and what they did during the offseason may have led to this. One of the moves they made was re-signing Donovan Mitchell, as there were rumors that he may not have signed the extension. If that was the case, the Houston Rockers were ready to <a href="https://marcstein.substack.com/p/sunday-best-all-my-latest-from-the-c5f?utm_source=post-email-title&amp;publication_id=392205&amp;post_id=152086116&amp;utm_campaign=email-post-title&amp;isFreemail=false&amp;r=39f60&amp;triedRedirect=true&amp;utm_medium=email" rel="noopener">put a package together</a> to trade for him, according to Marc Stein.</p><p>“One more note on the Rockets: League sources say Houston did have real designs on pursuing Cleveland’s Donovan Mitchell if the 28-year-old had elected to pass on a contract extension in the offseason, which almost certainly would have forced the Cavaliers to field trade inquiries for him,” Stein wrote.</p><p>“Yet Mitchell hushed all such talk by signing a three-year, $150 million extension, committing his immediate future to the Cavaliers and — along with extensions for Evan Mobley and Jarrett Allen and the hiring of Kenny Atkinson as coach — contributing hugely to the franchise solidity that has propelled Cleveland to a 16-1 start,” Stein continued.</p><p>The Rockets showed some promise toward the end of last season, and they have been looking for the final piece to complete their team. Even though they weren’t able to pull off a trade, the Rockets have had a nice start to the season with a 12-6 record.</p><h2>Cavs off to a fast start</h2><p>The Cavs have been playing some of the best basketball in the league, and it’s been with the help of several players on the team. The backcourt of Darius Garland and Donovan Mitchell have been playing well next to each other, and the frontcourt of Evan Mobley and Jarrett Allen have been strong on defense.</p><p>The <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/kenny-atkinson-to-slowly-reinvent-cavs-entering-training-camp">biggest acquisition for the Cavs</a> has been head coach Kenny Atkinson, who has unlocked the team and is letting them play free-flowing basketball. With the start that the Cavs have had to the season, it wouldn’t be surprising if they kept the No. 1 spot in the Eastern Conference.</p><figure class="op-tracker"></figure></article>    </body></html>

NBA rumors: Donovan Mitchell’s $150 million Cavs deal shut down Rockets’ trade interest

<!DOCTYPE html PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD XHTML 1.0 Transitional//EN" "http://www.w3.org/TR/xhtml1/DTD/xhtml1-transitional.dtd"><html xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml" xml:lang="en" lang="en">    <head>        <script>   (function(i, s, o, g, r, a, m) {     i["GoogleAnalyticsObject"] = r;     i[r] = i[r] || function() {       (i[r].q = i[r].q || []).push(arguments)     }, i[r].l = 1 * new Date();     a = s.createElement(o),       m = s.getElementsByTagName(o)[0];     a.async = 1;     a.src = g;     m.parentNode.insertBefore(a, m)   })(window, document, "script", "https://www.google-analytics.com/analytics.js", "ga");   ga('create', 'UA-66147751-16', {     'storage': 'none',     'clientId': localStorage.getItem('ga:clientId')   });   ga(function(tracker) {     localStorage.setItem('ga:clientId', tracker.get('clientId'));   });   ga('set', 'checkProtocolTask', null);      ga('set', 'page', '/nba-rumors-bronny-james-expected-play-lebron-cavs');   ga('set', 'title', 'NBA rumors: Bronny James expected to play with LeBron vs. Cavs');   ga('send', 'pageview');</script>        <style type="text/css" media="all">            body {    background: transparent;    margin: 0px;}h1, h2, h3 {    color: #DDDDDD;    font-family: "SFUIText-Semibold";    margin: 30px 15px 15px 15px;    font-size: 21px;    line-height: 125%;    letter-spacing: -0.41px;}header {    margin: 0px;    height: 0px;    display: none;}p {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 15px 15px 15px 15px;    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}p > img {    margin-left: -15px;    width: calc(100% + 30px);}a {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.8);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;    text-decoration: underline;}ul {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 3px 10px 3px 10px;    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}ol {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}img {    margin: 0px;    width: 100%;    height: auto;}blockquote {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.8);    font-family: "SFUIText-Medium";    margin: 30px 15px 30px 15px;    font-size: 19px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.41px;}blockquote p {    margin: 0px;}.op-tracker, .op-ad {    display: none;    height: 0px;}article > figure {    margin: 0px;}figcaption {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 10px 15px 30px 15px;    font-size: 13px;}iframe {    width: __SCREEN_SIZE_WIDTH__;    margin: 0px;    border: 0;}.vine-embed {    height: __SCREEN_SIZE_WIDTH__;}.twitter-tweet, .instagram-media {    margin-left: 15px !important;    margin-right: 15px !important;    width: __SCREEN_CONTENT_SIZE_WIDTH__ !important;}.clutchpoints-widget {    /*margin: 10px 15px 10px 15px !important;*/    /*margin-top: 1px !important;*/    padding-top: 10px;    /*margin-left: 15px !important;*/    /*margin-right: 15px !important;*/    /*width: __SCREEN_CONTENT_SIZE_WIDTH__ !important;*/}        </style>        <meta http-equiv="Content-Type" content="text/html; charset=UTF-8" />    </head>    <body>        <article id="mvp-content-main"><header><figure><img src="https://wp.clutchpoints.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/NBA-rumors-Bronny-James-expected-to-play-with-LeBron-vs-Cavs.jpg"></figure><h1>NBA rumors: Bronny James expected to play with LeBron vs. Cavs</h1><time class="op-published" datetime="2024-10-29T08:37:29-07:00">October 29th, 8:37am</time><time class="op-modified" datetime="2024-10-29T08:37:29-07:00">October 29th, 8:37am</time><address><a>Rexwell Villas</a>Rexwell Villas is an experienced sports writer covering a variety of sports, including the NFL, NBA, MLB, NHL, and college football. He's a Communications Arts graduate from the University of Santo Tomas in the Philippines, and he claims to have JR Smith's conscience with his shot selection. He has won a basketball, a baseball, and a football championship in fantasy all within a year.</address><h3 class="op-kicker">Cleveland Cavaliers</h3><figure class="op-ad"></figure></header><p>Los Angeles Lakers rookie <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/sources-bronny-james-fuel-lebron-james-most-dialed-in-season-lakers">Bronny James has played just one game so far</a> in the 2024-25 NBA regular season, and that was during the team’s season-opening win at home over the Minnesota Timberwolves on Oct .23. Since then, the former USC Trojans guard has warmed LA’s bench for three games in a row, including in <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/lakers-news-lebron-james-epic-fail-vs-suns-17-years">Monday night’s 109-105 road loss</a> to Kevin Durant and the Phoenix Suns.</p><p>However, there is a chance for him to make another heartwarming on-court moment with his dad, four-time NBA Most Valuable Player LeBron James when the Lakers play the Cleveland Cavaliers this coming Wednesday. Bronny, who is also said to be on the verge of getting sent to the G League to play for the South Bay Lakers, is rumored to have a good chance of <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/sources-bronny-james-fuel-lebron-james-most-dialed-in-season-lakers" rel="noopener">appearing in the game versus the Cavs</a> at Rocket Mortgage FieldHouse — LeBron’s old stomping grounds.</p><p>“The South Bay Lakers tip off their season Nov. 9, and sources confirm reports that Bronny will be there for that and spend the bulk of this season focusing on growing his game,” said Anthony Irwin of ClutchPoints. “Sources have indicated the likelihood is pretty high that he’ll play alongside his father in Cleveland,” Irwin added.</p><h2><b>Bronny James to see action in Lakers-Cavs game?</b></h2><figure><img src="https://wp.clutchpoints.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/Colin-Cowherd-believes-LeBron-Bronny-history-is-like-the-Kardashian.jpg"><figcaption>© Jason Parkhurst-Imagn Images</figcaption></figure><p>Bronny, who was selected by the Lakers in the second round of the 2024 NBA draft (55th overall) logged in just three minutes of action in the Minnesota game, going 0-for-2 from the field and grabbing a rebound in the short time he spent on the floor.</p><p>It would be another surreal moment for Bronny and LeBron if they played alongside each other in the Cavs game. Just being on the bench together for that contest would already make it meaningful for the first father-and-son duo to play in the same game in NBA history, given LeBron’s history with Cleveland. Bronny, of course, is familiar with the location, having watched his father countless times before play at Cleveland’s home.</p><p>LeBron had two stints with the Cavs and suited up for Cleveland a total of 11 seasons, including the 2015-16 campaign where he led the franchise to an improbable championship run.</p><figure class="op-tracker"></figure></article>    </body></html>

NBA rumors: Bronny James expected to play with LeBron vs. Cavs

<!DOCTYPE html PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD XHTML 1.0 Transitional//EN" "http://www.w3.org/TR/xhtml1/DTD/xhtml1-transitional.dtd"><html xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml" xml:lang="en" lang="en">    <head>        <script>   (function(i, s, o, g, r, a, m) {     i["GoogleAnalyticsObject"] = r;     i[r] = i[r] || function() {       (i[r].q = i[r].q || []).push(arguments)     }, i[r].l = 1 * new Date();     a = s.createElement(o),       m = s.getElementsByTagName(o)[0];     a.async = 1;     a.src = g;     m.parentNode.insertBefore(a, m)   })(window, document, "script", "https://www.google-analytics.com/analytics.js", "ga");   ga('create', 'UA-66147751-16', {     'storage': 'none',     'clientId': localStorage.getItem('ga:clientId')   });   ga(function(tracker) {     localStorage.setItem('ga:clientId', tracker.get('clientId'));   });   ga('set', 'checkProtocolTask', null);      ga('set', 'page', '/cavs-news-darius-garland-shoots-down-trade');   ga('set', 'title', 'Cavs’ Darius Garland shoots down ‘unhappy’ rumors amid offseason trade discussions');   ga('send', 'pageview');</script>        <style type="text/css" media="all">            body {    background: transparent;    margin: 0px;}h1, h2, h3 {    color: #DDDDDD;    font-family: "SFUIText-Semibold";    margin: 30px 15px 15px 15px;    font-size: 21px;    line-height: 125%;    letter-spacing: -0.41px;}header {    margin: 0px;    height: 0px;    display: none;}p {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 15px 15px 15px 15px;    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}p > img {    margin-left: -15px;    width: calc(100% + 30px);}a {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.8);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;    text-decoration: underline;}ul {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 3px 10px 3px 10px;    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}ol {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}img {    margin: 0px;    width: 100%;    height: auto;}blockquote {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.8);    font-family: "SFUIText-Medium";    margin: 30px 15px 30px 15px;    font-size: 19px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.41px;}blockquote p {    margin: 0px;}.op-tracker, .op-ad {    display: none;    height: 0px;}article > figure {    margin: 0px;}figcaption {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 10px 15px 30px 15px;    font-size: 13px;}iframe {    width: __SCREEN_SIZE_WIDTH__;    margin: 0px;    border: 0;}.vine-embed {    height: __SCREEN_SIZE_WIDTH__;}.twitter-tweet, .instagram-media {    margin-left: 15px !important;    margin-right: 15px !important;    width: __SCREEN_CONTENT_SIZE_WIDTH__ !important;}.clutchpoints-widget {    /*margin: 10px 15px 10px 15px !important;*/    /*margin-top: 1px !important;*/    padding-top: 10px;    /*margin-left: 15px !important;*/    /*margin-right: 15px !important;*/    /*width: __SCREEN_CONTENT_SIZE_WIDTH__ !important;*/}        </style>        <meta http-equiv="Content-Type" content="text/html; charset=UTF-8" />    </head>    <body>        <article id="mvp-content-main"><header><figure><img src="https://wp.clutchpoints.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/09/Cavs-Darius-Garland-shoots-down-unhappy-rumors-amid-offseason-trade-discussions.jpg"></figure><h1>Cavs’ Darius Garland shoots down ‘unhappy’ rumors amid offseason trade discussions</h1><time class="op-published" datetime="2024-09-30T19:36:17-07:00">September 30th, 7:36pm</time><time class="op-modified" datetime="2024-09-30T19:36:17-07:00">September 30th, 7:36pm</time><address><a href="https://www.downeuclid.com">Evan Dammarell</a>Evan Dammarell is an award-winning sports journalist covering all things Cleveland, including the Cavs, right off the shores of Lake Erie. Follow him on Twitter, Facebook or Instagram.</address><h3 class="op-kicker">NBA</h3><figure class="op-ad"></figure></header><p>Moments after the Cleveland Cavaliers saw their season end, <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/athletic/5497268/2024/05/15/cavaliers-donovan-mitchell-darius-garland-jb-bickerstaff-future/" rel="noopener">word got out</a> that star point guard Darius Garland was fed up. According to reports, <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/cavs-turning-down-spurs-darius-garland-trade-offer">Garland’s representation preferred a trade for him</a> if Donovan Mitchell signed a contract extension with Cleveland this summer. The belief was that Mitchell was holding Garland back and that a change of scenery was the best avenue for Garland to reignite his breakout season and reach his full potential.</p><p>After <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/cavs-news-donovan-mitchell-agrees-contract-extension">Mitchell signed a multi-year extension with the Cavs</a>, a Garland trade never followed. Cleveland President of Basketball Operations Koby Altman was emphatic that the Cavs never planned on trading Garland. However, Garland wanted to set the record straight during Cleveland’s annual media day. The All-Star guard said he wanted to remain in Cleveland regardless of what was going on with Mitchell, enough so that he had a conversation with the front office to clear the air of any outside noise saying otherwise.</p><p>“Had a talk with Koby, and he was pretty upset about it,” Garland said. “I told him that I wanted to be here, and he knows that as well, so it wasn’t a really long conversation. … I really don’t know [where the rumor came from], but it came out, and it was definitely false.”</p><h2><b>What else did Darius Garland say during Cavs media day?</b></h2><figure><img src="https://wp.clutchpoints.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/09/Darius-Garland-dribbles-Cavs-Celtics.jpg"><figcaption>David Butler II-Imagn Images</figcaption></figure><p>The relationship between Mitchell and Garland is critical for the Cavs. The team can’t reach its ceiling if those two aren’t clicking. When asked about their fit together, Garland also shot down any concern about that.</p><p>“We’ve been together three years, and we’ve made a jump every year,” Garland said. “A lot of people don’t see what we have outside of the court. We have a real relationship off the court… that’s my brother.”</p><p>Garland was an All-Star before Mitchell arrived. But remember, Garland’s first season with Mitchell was the same statistical as his All-Star campaign. While Garland struggled mightily last year, his fit with Mitchell isn’t necessarily the reason why. A fractured jaw and a knee injury might have had more to do with it.</p><p>“I was playing catchup the entire season,” Garland said. “Being down 15 pounds going into the playoffs wasn’t the best way to go about it… I really wasn’t myself.”</p><p>With that all out of the way, Garland and the Cavs can focus on what happens on the court. Cleveland hopes for a bounce-back season from Garland, who shared with ClutchPoints that he regained his weight this offseason and is ready to ‘show off’ his new muscles. A healthy season from Garland could be all it takes to quell outside concerns about his fit with Mitchell. If you ask Garland, the vibes between him and Mitchell are immaculate. Now, the focus is to bounce back and make some noise in the Eastern Conference.</p><figure class="op-tracker"></figure></article>    </body></html>

Cavs’ Darius Garland shoots down ‘unhappy’ rumors amid offseason trade discussions

<!DOCTYPE html PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD XHTML 1.0 Transitional//EN" "http://www.w3.org/TR/xhtml1/DTD/xhtml1-transitional.dtd"><html xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml" xml:lang="en" lang="en">    <head>        <script>   (function(i, s, o, g, r, a, m) {     i["GoogleAnalyticsObject"] = r;     i[r] = i[r] || function() {       (i[r].q = i[r].q || []).push(arguments)     }, i[r].l = 1 * new Date();     a = s.createElement(o),       m = s.getElementsByTagName(o)[0];     a.async = 1;     a.src = g;     m.parentNode.insertBefore(a, m)   })(window, document, "script", "https://www.google-analytics.com/analytics.js", "ga");   ga('create', 'UA-66147751-16', {     'storage': 'none',     'clientId': localStorage.getItem('ga:clientId')   });   ga(function(tracker) {     localStorage.setItem('ga:clientId', tracker.get('clientId'));   });   ga('set', 'checkProtocolTask', null);      ga('set', 'page', '/nba-rumors-nets-hornets-eyed-isaac-okoro-sign-and-trade-before-cavs-extension');   ga('set', 'title', 'NBA rumors: Nets, Hornets eyed Isaac Okoro sign-and-trade before Cavs extension');   ga('send', 'pageview');</script>        <style type="text/css" media="all">            body {    background: transparent;    margin: 0px;}h1, h2, h3 {    color: #DDDDDD;    font-family: "SFUIText-Semibold";    margin: 30px 15px 15px 15px;    font-size: 21px;    line-height: 125%;    letter-spacing: -0.41px;}header {    margin: 0px;    height: 0px;    display: none;}p {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 15px 15px 15px 15px;    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}p > img {    margin-left: -15px;    width: calc(100% + 30px);}a {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.8);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;    text-decoration: underline;}ul {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 3px 10px 3px 10px;    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}ol {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}img {    margin: 0px;    width: 100%;    height: auto;}blockquote {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.8);    font-family: "SFUIText-Medium";    margin: 30px 15px 30px 15px;    font-size: 19px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.41px;}blockquote p {    margin: 0px;}.op-tracker, .op-ad {    display: none;    height: 0px;}article > figure {    margin: 0px;}figcaption {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 10px 15px 30px 15px;    font-size: 13px;}iframe {    width: __SCREEN_SIZE_WIDTH__;    margin: 0px;    border: 0;}.vine-embed {    height: __SCREEN_SIZE_WIDTH__;}.twitter-tweet, .instagram-media {    margin-left: 15px !important;    margin-right: 15px !important;    width: __SCREEN_CONTENT_SIZE_WIDTH__ !important;}.clutchpoints-widget {    /*margin: 10px 15px 10px 15px !important;*/    /*margin-top: 1px !important;*/    padding-top: 10px;    /*margin-left: 15px !important;*/    /*margin-right: 15px !important;*/    /*width: __SCREEN_CONTENT_SIZE_WIDTH__ !important;*/}        </style>        <meta http-equiv="Content-Type" content="text/html; charset=UTF-8" />    </head>    <body>        <article id="mvp-content-main"><header><figure><img src="https://wp.clutchpoints.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/09/NBA-rumors-Nets-Hornets-eyed-Isaac-Okoro-sign-and-trade-before-Cavs-extension.jpg"></figure><h1>NBA rumors: Nets, Hornets eyed Isaac Okoro sign-and-trade before Cavs extension</h1><time class="op-published" datetime="2024-09-14T14:30:50-07:00">September 14th, 2:30pm</time><time class="op-modified" datetime="2024-09-14T14:30:50-07:00">September 14th, 2:30pm</time><address><a>Josue Pavon</a>Josue Pavon is an Associate Editor and the Oklahoma City Thunder beat writer for ClutchPoints. He started his career as a credentialed media member writing about the Boston Celtics for WEEI.com in Boston, where he grew into a local on-camera NBA reporter and podcast host for CLNS Media. Alongside the Celtics radio broadcaster and two-time NBA champion Cedric Maxwell, Josue is the co-host of the Cedric Maxwell podcast.</address><h3 class="op-kicker">NBA</h3><figure class="op-ad"></figure></header><p>The Cleveland Cavaliers and <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/cavs-news-isaac-okoro-agree-38-million-contract">Isaac Okoro agreed to a three-year, $38 million contract</a> extension on Saturday, securing the Cavs’ starting frontcourt alongside center Jarrett Allen and Evan Mobley. Cleveland used its Bird Rights to extend Mobley’s rookie deal on a five-year, $224.3 million contract before <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/cavs-news-jarrett-allen-cleveland-agree-3-year-91-million-extension">Allen inked a three-year, $91 million extension</a> in August. However, the Brooklyn Nets and Charlotte Hornets were reportedly engaging in a potential sign-and-trade move for Okoro before striking a deal to stay in Cleveland, according to Hoopshype’s Michael Scotto.</p><p>“The Brooklyn Nets and Charlotte Hornets were among the teams who expressed interest in acquiring restricted free agent Isaac Okoro via sign-and-trade before he agreed to a three-year, $38 million deal to return to the Cleveland Cavaliers, league sources told [Hoopshype],” Scotto said on his X, formerly Twitter.</p><p>The Cavs extended their qualifying offer worth $11.83 million on June 29, which Okoro declined before the Nets and Hornets expressed interest. However, both sides could agree to a new deal before its October 1 expiration date, keeping Okoro in Cleveland ahead of the upcoming season and beyond.</p><p>“Deal includes a small amount in bonuses tied to team success,” Scotto said of Okoro’s deal when the news broke. “Okoro passed on taking his qualifying offer to help keep core together and try to compete for a title.”</p><p>After rumors of the Cavs potentially trading Okoro ahead of the upcoming season, both sides were amidst negotiations on a multiyear deal before making Okoro’s three-year extension official on Saturday, per ESPN’s Brian Windhorst.</p><p>“Isaac Okoro, there’s only been a little bit of talking back and forth. I’m sure it will increase as we get closer to camp,” Windhorst said. “The Cavs are realizing that all the money is spent out there. Okoro has the option of taking his qualifying offer. I am told the Cavs made a multiyear offer. Whatever that’s worth, it’s kind of a no-brainer [that] they would make a multiyear offer.”</p><h2><b>The Cavs’ front office is all-in on its core players</b></h2><figure><img src="https://wp.clutchpoints.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/09/Cavs-small-forward-Isaac-Okoro.jpg"><figcaption>David Richard-Imagn Images</figcaption></figure><p>After firing former Cleveland Cavs head coach JB Bickerstaff at the end of the 2023-24 campaign, the Cavs front office secured its core, including Isaac Okoro, during its pivotal offseason. Coming from its deepest playoff run in six years, the Cavs signed their superstar <a href="https://cavsnation.com/cavs-news-donovan-mitchell-immediate-reaction-150-3-million-contract-extension" rel="noopener">Donovan Mitchell to a three-year, $150.3 million extension</a> in July before securing Allen to a new multiyear deal and bringing back Tristan Thompson on a one-year contract.</p><p>Under new head coach Kenny Atkinson, they will look to build on their Eastern Conference semifinals 4-1 loss to the Boston Celtics, who beat a depleted Cavs team that played without their starting center Jarrett Allen all series and were without Mitchell for Games 4 and 5.</p><figure class="op-tracker"></figure></article>    </body></html>

NBA rumors: Nets, Hornets eyed Isaac Okoro sign-and-trade before Cavs extension

<!DOCTYPE html PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD XHTML 1.0 Transitional//EN" "http://www.w3.org/TR/xhtml1/DTD/xhtml1-transitional.dtd"><html xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml" xml:lang="en" lang="en">    <head>        <script>   (function(i, s, o, g, r, a, m) {     i["GoogleAnalyticsObject"] = r;     i[r] = i[r] || function() {       (i[r].q = i[r].q || []).push(arguments)     }, i[r].l = 1 * new Date();     a = s.createElement(o),       m = s.getElementsByTagName(o)[0];     a.async = 1;     a.src = g;     m.parentNode.insertBefore(a, m)   })(window, document, "script", "https://www.google-analytics.com/analytics.js", "ga");   ga('create', 'UA-66147751-16', {     'storage': 'none',     'clientId': localStorage.getItem('ga:clientId')   });   ga(function(tracker) {     localStorage.setItem('ga:clientId', tracker.get('clientId'));   });   ga('set', 'checkProtocolTask', null);      ga('set', 'page', '/nba-rumors-76ers-cavs-mavericks-multiple-teams-interested-marcus-morris');   ga('set', 'title', 'NBA rumors: 76ers, Cavs, Mavericks among multiple teams interested in Marcus Morris');   ga('send', 'pageview');</script>        <style type="text/css" media="all">            body {    background: transparent;    margin: 0px;}h1, h2, h3 {    color: #DDDDDD;    font-family: "SFUIText-Semibold";    margin: 30px 15px 15px 15px;    font-size: 21px;    line-height: 125%;    letter-spacing: -0.41px;}header {    margin: 0px;    height: 0px;    display: none;}p {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 15px 15px 15px 15px;    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}p > img {    margin-left: -15px;    width: calc(100% + 30px);}a {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.8);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;    text-decoration: underline;}ul {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 3px 10px 3px 10px;    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}ol {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}img {    margin: 0px;    width: 100%;    height: auto;}blockquote {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.8);    font-family: "SFUIText-Medium";    margin: 30px 15px 30px 15px;    font-size: 19px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.41px;}blockquote p {    margin: 0px;}.op-tracker, .op-ad {    display: none;    height: 0px;}article > figure {    margin: 0px;}figcaption {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 10px 15px 30px 15px;    font-size: 13px;}iframe {    width: __SCREEN_SIZE_WIDTH__;    margin: 0px;    border: 0;}.vine-embed {    height: __SCREEN_SIZE_WIDTH__;}.twitter-tweet, .instagram-media {    margin-left: 15px !important;    margin-right: 15px !important;    width: __SCREEN_CONTENT_SIZE_WIDTH__ !important;}.clutchpoints-widget {    /*margin: 10px 15px 10px 15px !important;*/    /*margin-top: 1px !important;*/    padding-top: 10px;    /*margin-left: 15px !important;*/    /*margin-right: 15px !important;*/    /*width: __SCREEN_CONTENT_SIZE_WIDTH__ !important;*/}        </style>        <meta http-equiv="Content-Type" content="text/html; charset=UTF-8" />    </head>    <body>        <article id="mvp-content-main"><header><figure><img src="https://wp.clutchpoints.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/07/76ers-Cavs-Mavericks-among-multiple-teams-interested-in-Marcus-Morris.jpg"></figure><h1>NBA rumors: 76ers, Cavs, Mavericks among multiple teams interested in Marcus Morris</h1><time class="op-published" datetime="2024-07-03T17:56:24-07:00">July 3rd, 5:56pm</time><time class="op-modified" datetime="2024-07-03T17:56:24-07:00">July 3rd, 5:56pm</time><address><a>Peter Sampson</a>Peter Sampson is ClutchPoints' Portland Trail Blazers reporter and also serves as an Associate Editor. He has been covering all things sports (with a focus on the Blazers) for more than a decade, most recently hosting "The Pulse with Peter Sampson" in Afternoon Drive for 750 The Game. Prior to that, he hosted an NBA wrap-up show that aired immediately at the conclusion of every Trail Blazers game. Peter had previous stops at Blazer's Edge and XRAY.FM - where his show "Blazer's Edge Radio" was named "Portland's Best Sports Radio" in the 2017 Willamette Week reader's poll. When he's not telling the stories of your favorite sports team, Peter can be found recording the next garage rock classic in his basement studio, whipping up an authentic Italian meal in the kitchen, or trying to figure out the appeal of Minecraft with his 9-year-old son in the living room.</address><h3 class="op-kicker">NBA</h3><figure class="op-ad"></figure></header><p>The Philadelphia 76ers have had a big offseason so far and are now looking to fill in the gaps with role players after signing Paul George to a max contract.</p><p>Among the players that the team is rumored to be <a href="https://www.inquirer.com/sixers/sixers-nba-free-agency-marcus-morris-20240703.html" rel="noopener">interested in</a>, according to Keith Pompey of The Philadelphia Inquirer, is former 76ers power forward Marcus Morris.</p><p>“Could Marcus Morris Sr. be in line to return to his hometown 76ers? The Sixers have interest in signing the power forward to a free-agency deal, according to multiple sources. The Detroit Pistons, Charlotte Hornets, Cleveland Cavaliers, Dallas Mavericks, Miami Heat and Minnesota Timberwolves have also expressed some level of interest, according to a source.”</p><p>From the sounds of it, 76ers will have ample competition for the veteran’s services. While the Pistons and Hornets can offer playing time, the Cavs, Mavs, Heat, Wolves, and 76ers are all expected to be in playoff contention next season.</p><p>“I’ve been in the league for 13 seasons,” <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/cavs-marcus-morris-impact-will-shape-cleveland-playoff-run">Morris said</a> in November. “I’ve always been a professional, always been a leader, and just helping young guys in any way, any capacity I can, using my voice. I have a high IQ. I’ve been around a lot of great coaches, played for a lot of great coaches, a lot of great teams so, just being myself man.”</p><p>Morris was acquired by the Sixers in Nov. 2023 as part of the return from the Los Angeles Clippers for James Harden. The following February, he was dealt to the San Antonio Spurs as part of the 3-team Buddy Hield deal.</p><p>Morris has averaged 16.2 points and 6.0 rebounds for the 76ers, Rockets, Suns, Pistons, Celtics, Knicks, Clippers, and Cavs in his 14-year career.</p><h2><b>Marcus Morris had playoff-team demand after Spurs buyout last season</b></h2><figure><img src="https://wp.clutchpoints.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/07/Marcus-Morris.jpg"><figcaption>© Mike Watters-USA TODAY Sports</figcaption></figure><p>San Antonio acquired Morris in early February from a three-team deal that sent Doug McDermott to the Indiana Pacers and Buddy Hield to the Philadelphia 76ers. Morris did not make his debut for the Spurs, as he understandably wanted to go to a contending team.</p><p>After <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/spurs-marcus-morris-free-to-join-playoff-contender-after-contract-buyout">agreeing to a contract buyout</a> with the Spurs, the Cavs added Marcus Morris. to fill their 15th and final roster spot. Several other teams were reportedly interested in acquiring Morris, including the Minnesota Timberwolves.</p><p>Morris fills a specific need for the Cavs as a bigger, stronger forward. Although he wasn’t a regular member of Cleveland’s rotation most nights, especially when the playoffs began, he did give Cleveland even more depth at a position of need. Morris can still contribute as a solid two-way player who can shoot lights out from the three-point line if his number is called. He shot 40 percent from beyond the arc last season, and then went 6-9 from the 3-point line in the playoffs for the Cavs.</p><figure class="op-tracker"></figure></article>    </body></html>

NBA rumors: 76ers, Cavs, Mavericks among multiple teams interested in Marcus Morris

<!DOCTYPE html PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD XHTML 1.0 Transitional//EN" "http://www.w3.org/TR/xhtml1/DTD/xhtml1-transitional.dtd"><html xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml" xml:lang="en" lang="en">    <head>        <script>   (function(i, s, o, g, r, a, m) {     i["GoogleAnalyticsObject"] = r;     i[r] = i[r] || function() {       (i[r].q = i[r].q || []).push(arguments)     }, i[r].l = 1 * new Date();     a = s.createElement(o),       m = s.getElementsByTagName(o)[0];     a.async = 1;     a.src = g;     m.parentNode.insertBefore(a, m)   })(window, document, "script", "https://www.google-analytics.com/analytics.js", "ga");   ga('create', 'UA-66147751-16', {     'storage': 'none',     'clientId': localStorage.getItem('ga:clientId')   });   ga(function(tracker) {     localStorage.setItem('ga:clientId', tracker.get('clientId'));   });   ga('set', 'checkProtocolTask', null);      ga('set', 'page', '/nba-rumors-pistons-could-try-stealing-cavs-top-coaching-candidate');   ga('set', 'title', 'NBA rumors: Pistons could try stealing Cavs’ top coaching candidate');   ga('send', 'pageview');</script>        <style type="text/css" media="all">            body {    background: transparent;    margin: 0px;}h1, h2, h3 {    color: #DDDDDD;    font-family: "SFUIText-Semibold";    margin: 30px 15px 15px 15px;    font-size: 21px;    line-height: 125%;    letter-spacing: -0.41px;}header {    margin: 0px;    height: 0px;    display: none;}p {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 15px 15px 15px 15px;    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}p > img {    margin-left: -15px;    width: calc(100% + 30px);}a {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.8);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;    text-decoration: underline;}ul {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 3px 10px 3px 10px;    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}ol {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}img {    margin: 0px;    width: 100%;    height: auto;}blockquote {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.8);    font-family: "SFUIText-Medium";    margin: 30px 15px 30px 15px;    font-size: 19px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.41px;}blockquote p {    margin: 0px;}.op-tracker, .op-ad {    display: none;    height: 0px;}article > figure {    margin: 0px;}figcaption {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 10px 15px 30px 15px;    font-size: 13px;}iframe {    width: __SCREEN_SIZE_WIDTH__;    margin: 0px;    border: 0;}.vine-embed {    height: __SCREEN_SIZE_WIDTH__;}.twitter-tweet, .instagram-media {    margin-left: 15px !important;    margin-right: 15px !important;    width: __SCREEN_CONTENT_SIZE_WIDTH__ !important;}.clutchpoints-widget {    /*margin: 10px 15px 10px 15px !important;*/    /*margin-top: 1px !important;*/    padding-top: 10px;    /*margin-left: 15px !important;*/    /*margin-right: 15px !important;*/    /*width: __SCREEN_CONTENT_SIZE_WIDTH__ !important;*/}        </style>        <meta http-equiv="Content-Type" content="text/html; charset=UTF-8" />    </head>    <body>        <article id="mvp-content-main"><header><figure><img src="https://wp.clutchpoints.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/06/NBA-rumors-Pistons-could-try-stealing-Cavs-top-coaching-candidate.jpg"></figure><h1>NBA rumors: Pistons could try stealing Cavs’ top coaching candidate</h1><time class="op-published" datetime="2024-06-19T08:05:01-07:00">June 19th, 8:05am</time><time class="op-modified" datetime="2024-06-19T08:14:11-07:00">June 19th, 8:14am</time><address><a>Brett Siegel</a>Brett Siegel joined ClutchPoints as a credentialed NBA insider and reporter in May 2023 after previously covering the NBA for Fastbreak on FanNation and NBA Analysis Network, as well as working with Louisville Basketball. From playing to coaching to covering the game as a media member, Brett has been involved with the game of basketball from many different perspectives. Breaking the news of various free agent signings, yearly NBA Draft news and other key stories around the league, Brett is always on the phone, getting the latest news and rumors around the NBA. Be sure to follow him on Twitter @BrettSiegelNBA.</address><h3 class="op-kicker">NBA</h3><figure class="op-ad"></figure></header><p>Exactly one week before the 2024 NBA Draft, the Detroit Pistons have decided to <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/pistons-news-detroit-fires-monty-williams-65-million-contract">fire head coach Monty Williams</a>. While it is not all that surprising to see Williams dismissed after a 14-win season that saw frustration and turmoil set in for the franchise, it is shocking that the Pistons made this move in the middle of June. Now, with the draft and free agency on the horizon, new President of Basketball Operations Trajan Langdon seems to have his eyes on James Borrego as a possible replacement for Williams.</p><p>Borrego served as an assistant on Willie Green’s staff with the New Orleans Pelicans this past season, the organization that the Pistons hired Langdon from. Not only do Langdon and Borrego already have an established connection, but the former Charlotte Hornets head coach has also <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/why-cavs-must-hire-james-borrego-after-firing-j-b-bickerstaff">been in the mix</a> for the Los Angeles Lakers and Cleveland Cavaliers jobs. Although he has interviewed with these two teams, Borrego’s name has popped up in chatter around the league as a <a href="https://x.com/VinceGoodwill/status/1803425050722226663" rel="noopener">name to watch</a> in connection with the Pistons, according to Vincent Goodwill of Yahoo Sports.</p><p>In the immediate aftermath of the Pistons firing Williams on Wednesday morning, league sources shared similar remarks with ClutchPoints regarding Detroit’s interest in Borrego.</p><p>Whether or not Borrego would even want the Pistons job is a whole separate story. This organization has failed to surpass 23 wins in a season in each over the last five years, and there have long been questions about the direction ownership wants to take the franchise in. The moves to fire GM Troy Weaver and Williams were two decisions made by the top of the organization, as was the decision to hire Langdon from the Pelicans, sources said. The catch to pursuing Borrego is that he may already be finalizing an agreement with the Cavs.</p><h2><b>Cavs zeroing in on James Borrego</b></h2><figure><img src="https://wp.clutchpoints.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/06/James-Borrego.jpg"><figcaption>Stephen Lew-USA TODAY Sports</figcaption></figure><p>After appearing to <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/nba-rumors-jj-redick-lakers-done-after-nba-finals">strike out on the Lakers job</a>, Borrego met with the Cavs last week, sources confirmed to ClutchPoints. Current Golden State Warriors assistant coach Kenny Atkinson also visited Cleveland last week for a formal interview with the organization. While both coaches remain candidates for this position, the talk around the league points in the direction of the Cavs favoring Borrego.</p><p>Between his defensive mindset and proven ability to develop young talents, Borrego seems like the ideal fit to replace JB Bickerstaff, who led the Cavs to the Eastern Conference Semifinals this past season. Momentum surrounding Borrego and the Cavs appears to be building as well.</p><p>President of Basketball Operations Koby Altman and the Cavaliers would like to finalize an agreement with a new head coach prior to the 2024 NBA Draft. At this time, Borrego seems to be at the forefront of Cleveland’s list, ahead of Atkinson. In fact, a deal between Borrego and the Cavs may be in the <a href="https://x.com/StevePopper/status/1803435522792067155" rel="noopener">final stages</a> of negotiations, according to Steve Popper of Newsday Sports.</p><p>The Cavs appear to be on the verge of naming their next head coach. Whether or not Borrego is their actual choice is yet to be seen. Should Cleveland pass on the Pelicans assistant and hire Atkinson or someone else, then Borrego will immediately become the Pistons’ top choice to replace Williams due to his connection with Langdon. Detroit also recently hired former Pelicans assistant Fred Vinson, leading to more speculation that Langdon is bringing in coaches he is familiar with.</p><p>Whether or not the Cavs make a decision on their next head coach in the coming days will be very telling as to what the Pistons have planned in their search leading up to the NBA Draft on June 26.</p><figure class="op-tracker"></figure></article>    </body></html>

NBA rumors: Pistons could try stealing Cavs’ top coaching candidate

<!DOCTYPE html PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD XHTML 1.0 Transitional//EN" "http://www.w3.org/TR/xhtml1/DTD/xhtml1-transitional.dtd"><html xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml" xml:lang="en" lang="en">    <head>        <script>   (function(i, s, o, g, r, a, m) {     i["GoogleAnalyticsObject"] = r;     i[r] = i[r] || function() {       (i[r].q = i[r].q || []).push(arguments)     }, i[r].l = 1 * new Date();     a = s.createElement(o),       m = s.getElementsByTagName(o)[0];     a.async = 1;     a.src = g;     m.parentNode.insertBefore(a, m)   })(window, document, "script", "https://www.google-analytics.com/analytics.js", "ga");   ga('create', 'UA-66147751-16', {     'storage': 'none',     'clientId': localStorage.getItem('ga:clientId')   });   ga(function(tracker) {     localStorage.setItem('ga:clientId', tracker.get('clientId'));   });   ga('set', 'checkProtocolTask', null);      ga('set', 'page', '/sources-jarrett-allen-cavs-future-secure-amid-trade-rumors');   ga('set', 'title', 'Sources: Jarrett Allen’s Cavs future secure amid trade rumors');   ga('send', 'pageview');</script>        <style type="text/css" media="all">            body {    background: transparent;    margin: 0px;}h1, h2, h3 {    color: #DDDDDD;    font-family: "SFUIText-Semibold";    margin: 30px 15px 15px 15px;    font-size: 21px;    line-height: 125%;    letter-spacing: -0.41px;}header {    margin: 0px;    height: 0px;    display: none;}p {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 15px 15px 15px 15px;    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}p > img {    margin-left: -15px;    width: calc(100% + 30px);}a {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.8);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;    text-decoration: underline;}ul {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 3px 10px 3px 10px;    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}ol {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}img {    margin: 0px;    width: 100%;    height: auto;}blockquote {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.8);    font-family: "SFUIText-Medium";    margin: 30px 15px 30px 15px;    font-size: 19px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.41px;}blockquote p {    margin: 0px;}.op-tracker, .op-ad {    display: none;    height: 0px;}article > figure {    margin: 0px;}figcaption {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 10px 15px 30px 15px;    font-size: 13px;}iframe {    width: __SCREEN_SIZE_WIDTH__;    margin: 0px;    border: 0;}.vine-embed {    height: __SCREEN_SIZE_WIDTH__;}.twitter-tweet, .instagram-media {    margin-left: 15px !important;    margin-right: 15px !important;    width: __SCREEN_CONTENT_SIZE_WIDTH__ !important;}.clutchpoints-widget {    /*margin: 10px 15px 10px 15px !important;*/    /*margin-top: 1px !important;*/    padding-top: 10px;    /*margin-left: 15px !important;*/    /*margin-right: 15px !important;*/    /*width: __SCREEN_CONTENT_SIZE_WIDTH__ !important;*/}        </style>        <meta http-equiv="Content-Type" content="text/html; charset=UTF-8" />    </head>    <body>        <article id="mvp-content-main"><header><figure><img src="https://wp.clutchpoints.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/06/Jarrett-Allens-Cavs-future-secure-amid-trade-rumors.jpg"><figcaption>6/17/24</figcaption></figure><h1>Sources: Jarrett Allen’s Cavs future secure amid trade rumors</h1><time class="op-published" datetime="2024-06-17T15:52:41-07:00">June 17th, 3:52pm</time><time class="op-modified" datetime="2024-06-17T15:52:41-07:00">June 17th, 3:52pm</time><address><a href="https://www.downeuclid.com">Evan Dammarell</a>Evan Dammarell is an award-winning sports journalist covering all things Cleveland, including the Cavs, right off the shores of Lake Erie. Follow him on Twitter, Facebook or Instagram. He can also be found three to five times weekly on Locked On Cavs, a part of the Locked On Podcast Network.</address><h3 class="op-kicker">NBA</h3><figure class="op-ad"></figure></header><p>Since their season has ended, everyone has been thinking about how the Cleveland Cavaliers should proceed with the opposite of Koby Altman’s grand vision. To Altman, the Cavs are a few more pieces away from becoming a true title contender, and he knows that talent like what Cleveland has assembled doesn’t come together so easily. While the naysayers and cynics may continue to disagree with Altman’s plan, holes continually are poked into their argument on why the Cavs need to shake up the roster.</p><p>Sources have confirmed to ClutchPoints that despite concerns and questions about his fit next to Evan Mobley on the court, Cleveland remains hesitant to trade former All-Star Jarrett Allen, as <a href="https://marcstein.substack.com/p/the-latest-nba-trade-talk-free-agency?r=38b9xe&amp;utm_medium=ios&amp;triedRedirect=true" rel="noopener">first reported</a> by league insider Marc Stein.</p><p>This news may seem like a bolt out of the blue, especially with <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/nba-rumors-pelicans-linked-to-jarrett-allen-trade-again-with-jonas-valanciunas-on-way-out">Allen regularly linked to the New Orleans Pelicans</a> as a possible trade destination. But despite the somewhat suddenness of it all, Allen being safe further reaffirms Altman’s vision of not making moves that, in his eyes, don’t help the Cavs level up toward becoming a contender.</p><h2><b>Why it makes sense for Cleveland to keep Jarrett Allen</b></h2><figure><img src="https://wp.clutchpoints.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/06/Mitchell-Celebrates-With-Allen.jpg"><figcaption>Ken Blaze-USA TODAY Sports</figcaption></figure><p>Again, looking at how the Cavs performed this postseason, especially when <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/cavs-news-is-jarrett-allen-playing-game-1-vs-celtics-latest-injury-update">Allen was sidelined with a fractured rib</a>, it became even clearer that Cleveland is more dynamic with Mobley at center. But despite all the noise around Mobley becoming the team’s starting center, the quiet part that no one mentions is that he still didn’t look fully equipped to handle full-time responsibilities as a full-time five, either.</p><p>That doesn’t mean Mobley cannot play center when he isn’t sharing the floor with Allen. Instead, Mobley can do it in sporadic bursts, creating lineup versatility and stylistic flexibility whenever Allen sits. If anything, the Cavs need to make this pairing of Mobley and Allen more palatable for a proper <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/nba-rumors-why-cavs-head-coaching-job-is-more-attractive-than-lakers">head-coaching candidate</a> to creatively set up Cleveland on either end of the floor for success. So as it’s been reported that the Cavs have been linked to Denver Nuggets assistant David Adelman and Minnesota Timberwolves lead assistant coach Micah Nori, the mindset of keeping Allen and Mobley together makes even more sense.</p><p>While a coaching change to either Adelman or Nori would not fix Cleveland’s existing issues in the backcourt, it would be a step toward empowering both Allen and Mobley on the floor.  Adelman, who draws tactical inspiration from his father, Rick Adelman, has built an offense that plays to the strengths of his bigs, namely three-time MVP Nikola Jokic and multi-faceted gadget forward Aaron Gordon. Nori, meanwhile, has managed Minnesota’s rotations and lineups, employing a two-way system that plays to the strengths of the star-studded big man duo of Karl-Anthony Towns and Rudy Gobert. The Timberwolves have embraced size even more at times, too, occasionally deploying lineups featuring fellow big man Naz Reid at de facto small forward.</p><p>Moreover, it’s also been reported that Donovan Mitchell has signaled to the Cavs that he doesn’t want to lose Allen as a teammate this offseason. Sure, <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/donovan-mitchell-appears-committed-continuing-future-cavs">Mitchell is already expected to sign</a> a four-year contract extension with Cleveland this summer. But if the Cavs keep Allen, it’ll make it even easier for Mitchell to put pen to paper, locking up the most important star Cleveland has had since LeBron James.</p><p>The Cavs holding onto Allen makes sense on multiple levels and further drives home the point that there’s a reason why Cleveland’s naysayers don’t make franchise-altering decisions. Keeping Allen can support Mobley, especially if the Cavs find the right candidate as their next head coach. More importantly, not trading Allen will help Cleveland keep Mitchell long-term as well, which is paramount for the team’s future success as they try to become a title contender.</p><figure class="op-tracker"></figure></article>    </body></html>

Sources: Jarrett Allen’s Cavs future secure amid trade rumors

<!DOCTYPE html PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD XHTML 1.0 Transitional//EN" "http://www.w3.org/TR/xhtml1/DTD/xhtml1-transitional.dtd"><html xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml" xml:lang="en" lang="en">    <head>        <script>   (function(i, s, o, g, r, a, m) {     i["GoogleAnalyticsObject"] = r;     i[r] = i[r] || function() {       (i[r].q = i[r].q || []).push(arguments)     }, i[r].l = 1 * new Date();     a = s.createElement(o),       m = s.getElementsByTagName(o)[0];     a.async = 1;     a.src = g;     m.parentNode.insertBefore(a, m)   })(window, document, "script", "https://www.google-analytics.com/analytics.js", "ga");   ga('create', 'UA-66147751-16', {     'storage': 'none',     'clientId': localStorage.getItem('ga:clientId')   });   ga(function(tracker) {     localStorage.setItem('ga:clientId', tracker.get('clientId'));   });   ga('set', 'checkProtocolTask', null);      ga('set', 'page', '/nba-rumors-why-cavs-head-coaching-job-is-more-attractive-than-lakers');   ga('set', 'title', 'NBA rumors: Why Cavs’ head coaching job is more attractive than Lakers');   ga('send', 'pageview');</script>        <style type="text/css" media="all">            body {    background: transparent;    margin: 0px;}h1, h2, h3 {    color: #DDDDDD;    font-family: "SFUIText-Semibold";    margin: 30px 15px 15px 15px;    font-size: 21px;    line-height: 125%;    letter-spacing: -0.41px;}header {    margin: 0px;    height: 0px;    display: none;}p {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 15px 15px 15px 15px;    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}p > img {    margin-left: -15px;    width: calc(100% + 30px);}a {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.8);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;    text-decoration: underline;}ul {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 3px 10px 3px 10px;    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}ol {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}img {    margin: 0px;    width: 100%;    height: auto;}blockquote {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.8);    font-family: "SFUIText-Medium";    margin: 30px 15px 30px 15px;    font-size: 19px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.41px;}blockquote p {    margin: 0px;}.op-tracker, .op-ad {    display: none;    height: 0px;}article > figure {    margin: 0px;}figcaption {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 10px 15px 30px 15px;    font-size: 13px;}iframe {    width: __SCREEN_SIZE_WIDTH__;    margin: 0px;    border: 0;}.vine-embed {    height: __SCREEN_SIZE_WIDTH__;}.twitter-tweet, .instagram-media {    margin-left: 15px !important;    margin-right: 15px !important;    width: __SCREEN_CONTENT_SIZE_WIDTH__ !important;}.clutchpoints-widget {    /*margin: 10px 15px 10px 15px !important;*/    /*margin-top: 1px !important;*/    padding-top: 10px;    /*margin-left: 15px !important;*/    /*margin-right: 15px !important;*/    /*width: __SCREEN_CONTENT_SIZE_WIDTH__ !important;*/}        </style>        <meta http-equiv="Content-Type" content="text/html; charset=UTF-8" />    </head>    <body>        <article id="mvp-content-main"><header><figure><img src="https://wp.clutchpoints.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/06/Why-Cavs-head-coaching-job-is-more-attractive-than-Lakers.jpg"></figure><h1>NBA rumors: Why Cavs’ head coaching job is more attractive than Lakers</h1><time class="op-published" datetime="2024-06-11T12:02:31-07:00">June 11th, 12:02pm</time><time class="op-modified" datetime="2024-06-11T12:02:31-07:00">June 11th, 12:02pm</time><address><a>Christopher Smith</a>Christopher Smith is an Associate Editor for ClutchPoints. The Aurora, Illinois native earned a degree in philosophy from Creighton University, where he also competed as a Division 1 Cross Country runner. Smith has previously written for FanSided and Last Word on Sports, and his primary interests lie within the NBA and distance running.</address><h3 class="op-kicker">NBA</h3><figure class="op-ad"></figure></header><p>The Cleveland Cavaliers are searching for their next head coach after parting ways with JB Bickerstaff. <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/why-cavs-must-hire-james-borrego-after-firing-j-b-bickerstaff">Cleveland has several respected suitors</a> for the job including interviewees for the Los Angeles Lakers coaching vacancy. Moreover, a renowned NBA analyst revealed eye-opening insight on preferences between the Cleveland and <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/lakers-news-jj-redick-heavy-betting-favorite-next-lakers-head-coach-after-dan-hurley-rejection">Los Angeles head jobs</a>.</p><p>ESPN’s Brian Windhorst is rumored to believe that <a href="https://x.com/realcavsfans/status/1800552595146342762" rel="noopener">candidates may prefer</a> to coach the Cavs rather than the Lakers, based on conversations he has had. Living in Cleveland versus Los Angeles would present a different experience for the candidates. Yet, the Cavs saw greater success in the 2024 NBA playoffs and arguably have a more promising young core. In addition, rumors hold that the Cavs would pay more to land their next head coach than the Lakers would.</p><p>Two names that have surfaced amid Cleveland’s search include James Borrego and Kenny Atkinson, both of which are also interested in the Lakers’ opportunity.</p><p>Borrego was a head coach with the Charlotte Hornets from 2018 to 2022. Before that, he served as an assistant with the San Antonio Spurs alongside Gregg Popovich. Borrego’s experience with both a developing and championship-contending team could entice the Cavs.</p><p>Meanwhile, Kenny Atkinson serves as an assistant coach with the Golden State Warriors. One of his most notable experiences is his head coaching tenure with the Brooklyn Nets from 2016 to 2020. Atkinson was instrumental in transforming the Nets from a poor-performing team to a respectable playoff squad. Atkinson’s knack for player development might serve Cleveland well.</p><p>Would Borrego or Atkinson choose the Cavs over the Lakers if offered the head coaching position? The answer will lie in the coming weeks as Cleveland finalizes its search.</p><h2><b>Cavs look to make jump with new leadership</b></h2><figure><img src="https://wp.clutchpoints.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/06/Cavs-coach-JB-Bickerstaff-looks-at-court-during-2024-NBA-Playoffs.jpg"><figcaption>Mike Watters-USA TODAY Sports</figcaption></figure><p>JB Bickerstaff joined the Cavs in 2019 as an associate head coach. Cleveland promoted him to head coach later in the 2019-2020 season. Bickerstaff posted a 170-159 regular season record and a 6-11 postseason mark during his tenure. He helped the Cavs to the playoffs in back-to-back seasons (2023 and 2024). Moreover, Cleveland won a first-round playoff series and advanced to the Eastern Conference Semifinals for the first time since 2018 under Bickerstaff.</p><p>Despite Bickerstaff’s relative success, the Cavs decided to go in another direction.</p><p>“J.B. is a well-respected NBA coach and an incredible human-being,” Cavs President of Basketball Operations Koby Altman said, via NBA.com. “Over the past four years, he helped establish a culture that progressively drove players to become the best versions of themselves. Decisions like these <a href="https://www.nba.com/cavaliers/news/releases-jb-bickerstaff-240523" rel="noopener">are never easy</a>, particularly when you look back at where this franchise rebuild started under his leadership.”</p><p>“The NBA is a unique business that sometimes requires aggressive risk-taking to move a franchise forward and ultimately compete for championships. We owe a ton of gratitude for everything J.B. has contributed to the Cavaliers and his engagement in the Cleveland community. We wish J.B., his wife Nikki, and their three children the best in their future endeavors,” Altman added.</p><p>It will be interesting to see who the Cavs replace JB Bickerstaff with as their coaching search intensifies.</p><figure class="op-tracker"></figure></article>    </body></html>

NBA rumors: Why Cavs’ head coaching job is more attractive than Lakers

<!DOCTYPE html PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD XHTML 1.0 Transitional//EN" "http://www.w3.org/TR/xhtml1/DTD/xhtml1-transitional.dtd"><html xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml" xml:lang="en" lang="en">    <head>        <script>   (function(i, s, o, g, r, a, m) {     i["GoogleAnalyticsObject"] = r;     i[r] = i[r] || function() {       (i[r].q = i[r].q || []).push(arguments)     }, i[r].l = 1 * new Date();     a = s.createElement(o),       m = s.getElementsByTagName(o)[0];     a.async = 1;     a.src = g;     m.parentNode.insertBefore(a, m)   })(window, document, "script", "https://www.google-analytics.com/analytics.js", "ga");   ga('create', 'UA-66147751-16', {     'storage': 'none',     'clientId': localStorage.getItem('ga:clientId')   });   ga(function(tracker) {     localStorage.setItem('ga:clientId', tracker.get('clientId'));   });   ga('set', 'checkProtocolTask', null);      ga('set', 'page', '/nba-rumors-cavs-stance-isaac-okoro-could-potentially-breakup');   ga('set', 'title', 'NBA rumors: Cavs’ stance on Isaac Okoro could potentially lead to breakup');   ga('send', 'pageview');</script>        <style type="text/css" media="all">            body {    background: transparent;    margin: 0px;}h1, h2, h3 {    color: #DDDDDD;    font-family: "SFUIText-Semibold";    margin: 30px 15px 15px 15px;    font-size: 21px;    line-height: 125%;    letter-spacing: -0.41px;}header {    margin: 0px;    height: 0px;    display: none;}p {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 15px 15px 15px 15px;    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}p > img {    margin-left: -15px;    width: calc(100% + 30px);}a {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.8);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;    text-decoration: underline;}ul {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 3px 10px 3px 10px;    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}ol {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}img {    margin: 0px;    width: 100%;    height: auto;}blockquote {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.8);    font-family: "SFUIText-Medium";    margin: 30px 15px 30px 15px;    font-size: 19px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.41px;}blockquote p {    margin: 0px;}.op-tracker, .op-ad {    display: none;    height: 0px;}article > figure {    margin: 0px;}figcaption {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 10px 15px 30px 15px;    font-size: 13px;}iframe {    width: __SCREEN_SIZE_WIDTH__;    margin: 0px;    border: 0;}.vine-embed {    height: __SCREEN_SIZE_WIDTH__;}.twitter-tweet, .instagram-media {    margin-left: 15px !important;    margin-right: 15px !important;    width: __SCREEN_CONTENT_SIZE_WIDTH__ !important;}.clutchpoints-widget {    /*margin: 10px 15px 10px 15px !important;*/    /*margin-top: 1px !important;*/    padding-top: 10px;    /*margin-left: 15px !important;*/    /*margin-right: 15px !important;*/    /*width: __SCREEN_CONTENT_SIZE_WIDTH__ !important;*/}        </style>        <meta http-equiv="Content-Type" content="text/html; charset=UTF-8" />    </head>    <body>        <article id="mvp-content-main"><header><figure><img src="https://wp.clutchpoints.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/06/Cavs-stance-on-Isaac-Okoro-could-potentially-lead-to-breakup.jpg"></figure><h1>NBA rumors: Cavs’ stance on Isaac Okoro could potentially lead to breakup</h1><time class="op-published" datetime="2024-06-01T17:03:23-07:00">June 1st, 5:03pm</time><time class="op-modified" datetime="2024-06-01T17:03:23-07:00">June 1st, 5:03pm</time><address><a>Peter Sampson</a>Peter Sampson is ClutchPoints' Portland Trail Blazers reporter and also serves as an Associate Editor. He has been covering all things sports (with a focus on the Blazers) for more than a decade, most recently hosting "The Pulse with Peter Sampson" in Afternoon Drive for 750 The Game. Prior to that, he hosted an NBA wrap-up show that aired immediately at the conclusion of every Trail Blazers game. Peter had previous stops at Blazer's Edge and XRAY.FM - where his show "Blazer's Edge Radio" was named "Portland's Best Sports Radio" in the 2017 Willamette Week reader's poll. When he's not telling the stories of your favorite sports team, Peter can be found recording the next garage rock classic in his basement studio, whipping up an authentic Italian meal in the kitchen, or trying to figure out the appeal of Minecraft with his 9-year-old son in the living room.</address><h3 class="op-kicker">NBA</h3><figure class="op-ad"></figure></header><p>Although the Cleveland Cavaliers saw their season come to an end in the Eastern Conference Semifinals against the Boston Celtics, their future still should be considered bright.</p><p>The Cavs have Donovan Mitchell, Evan Mobley, and more young talent on the roster. But Isaac Okoro could <a href="https://www.latimes.com/sports/lakers/newsletter/2024-06-01/lakers-offseason-potential-moves-to-rebuild-roster-lakers" rel="noopener">reportedly be had</a> by another team as a restricted free agent – per Dan Woike of The Los Angeles Times:</p><p>When talking about potential acquisitions for the Los Angeles Lakers, Woike says, “Okoro would be pricier — a restricted free agent who showed real offensive growth while always possessing the defensive tools teams value. Would Cleveland just match an offer at the tax-payer midlevel? The general sense is that there would at least be conversations, so there’d possibly be a window for a team to land the 23-year-old wing.”</p><p>With some uncertainty surrounding Okoro’s long-term future with the Cavs, he <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/isaac-okoro-future-cavs-trade-deadline">garnered significant chatter</a> as last season’s trade market heated up. With how well Okoro has played in a contract year, belief is that Okoro could make upward of $14 million annually on his next contract, which is more than the full non-taxpayer mid-level exception.</p><p>Okoro averaged 9.6 points per game for the Cavs in the regular season.</p><h2><b>Cavs also looking for a new coach</b></h2><figure><img src="https://wp.clutchpoints.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/06/JB-Bickerstaff.jpg"><figcaption>© Mike Watters-USA TODAY Sports</figcaption></figure><p>Despite winning 99 games over the last two seasons and a first-round NBA Playoffs series this season, the Cvs fired head coach JB Bickerstaff.</p><p>“J.B. is a well-respected NBA coach and an incredible human-being,” Cavs President of Basketball Operations Koby Altman <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/cavs-news-best-jb-bickerstaff-replacements-after-firing">said in a press release</a> upon the news of Bickerstaff’s firing. “Over the past four years, he helped establish a culture that progressively drove players to become the best versions of themselves. Decisions like these are never easy, particularly when you look back at where this franchise rebuild started under his leadership. The NBA is a unique business that sometimes requires aggressive risk-taking to move a franchise forward and ultimately compete for championships.</p><p>“We owe a ton of gratitude for everything J.B. has contributed to the Cavaliers and his engagement in the Cleveland community. We wish J.B., his wife Nikki and their three children the best in their future endeavors.”</p><p>Who will ultimately replace Bickerstaff on the Cavs’ bench?</p><p>James Borrego, Sam Cassell, Kenny Atkinson, and Terry Stotts have all been named as potential replacements. All have their strong suits, so ultimately the job may end up going to whichever candidate gets Donovan Mitchell’s seal of approval. With the Cavs aiming to lock Mitchell up long-term, they need to do whatever is necessary to accomplish that aim – including hiring a coach that he approves of.</p><p>The Cavs have an opportunity to take another step next season, but they must play their cards right this summer to do so.</p><figure class="op-tracker"></figure></article>    </body></html>

NBA rumors: Cavs’ stance on Isaac Okoro could potentially lead to breakup

<!DOCTYPE html PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD XHTML 1.0 Transitional//EN" "http://www.w3.org/TR/xhtml1/DTD/xhtml1-transitional.dtd"><html xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml" xml:lang="en" lang="en">    <head>        <script>   (function(i, s, o, g, r, a, m) {     i["GoogleAnalyticsObject"] = r;     i[r] = i[r] || function() {       (i[r].q = i[r].q || []).push(arguments)     }, i[r].l = 1 * new Date();     a = s.createElement(o),       m = s.getElementsByTagName(o)[0];     a.async = 1;     a.src = g;     m.parentNode.insertBefore(a, m)   })(window, document, "script", "https://www.google-analytics.com/analytics.js", "ga");   ga('create', 'UA-66147751-16', {     'storage': 'none',     'clientId': localStorage.getItem('ga:clientId')   });   ga(function(tracker) {     localStorage.setItem('ga:clientId', tracker.get('clientId'));   });   ga('set', 'checkProtocolTask', null);      ga('set', 'page', '/cavs-firing-jb-bickerstaff-no-sure-thing-despite-nasty-rumors');   ga('set', 'title', 'Why Cavs firing J.B. Bickerstaff is no sure thing despite nasty rumors');   ga('send', 'pageview');</script>        <style type="text/css" media="all">            body {    background: transparent;    margin: 0px;}h1, h2, h3 {    color: #DDDDDD;    font-family: "SFUIText-Semibold";    margin: 30px 15px 15px 15px;    font-size: 21px;    line-height: 125%;    letter-spacing: -0.41px;}header {    margin: 0px;    height: 0px;    display: none;}p {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 15px 15px 15px 15px;    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}p > img {    margin-left: -15px;    width: calc(100% + 30px);}a {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.8);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;    text-decoration: underline;}ul {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 3px 10px 3px 10px;    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}ol {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}img {    margin: 0px;    width: 100%;    height: auto;}blockquote {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.8);    font-family: "SFUIText-Medium";    margin: 30px 15px 30px 15px;    font-size: 19px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.41px;}blockquote p {    margin: 0px;}.op-tracker, .op-ad {    display: none;    height: 0px;}article > figure {    margin: 0px;}figcaption {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 10px 15px 30px 15px;    font-size: 13px;}iframe {    width: __SCREEN_SIZE_WIDTH__;    margin: 0px;    border: 0;}.vine-embed {    height: __SCREEN_SIZE_WIDTH__;}.twitter-tweet, .instagram-media {    margin-left: 15px !important;    margin-right: 15px !important;    width: __SCREEN_CONTENT_SIZE_WIDTH__ !important;}.clutchpoints-widget {    /*margin: 10px 15px 10px 15px !important;*/    /*margin-top: 1px !important;*/    padding-top: 10px;    /*margin-left: 15px !important;*/    /*margin-right: 15px !important;*/    /*width: __SCREEN_CONTENT_SIZE_WIDTH__ !important;*/}        </style>        <meta http-equiv="Content-Type" content="text/html; charset=UTF-8" />    </head>    <body>        <article id="mvp-content-main"><header><figure><img src="https://wp.clutchpoints.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/05/Why-Cavs-firing-J.B.-Bickerstaff-is-no-sure-thing-despite-nasty-rumors.jpg"></figure><h1>Why Cavs firing J.B. Bickerstaff is no sure thing despite nasty rumors</h1><time class="op-published" datetime="2024-05-21T13:33:36-07:00">May 21st, 1:33pm</time><time class="op-modified" datetime="2024-05-21T13:33:36-07:00">May 21st, 1:33pm</time><address><a href="https://www.downeuclid.com">Evan Dammarell</a>Evan Dammarell is an award-winning sports journalist covering all things Cleveland, including the Cavs, right off the shores of Lake Erie. Follow him on Twitter, Facebook or Instagram. He can also be found three to five times weekly on Locked On Cavs, a part of the Locked On Podcast Network.</address><h3 class="op-kicker">Mini-Editorials</h3><figure class="op-ad"></figure></header><p>Disappointment and anguish were understandably high after the Cleveland Cavaliers saw their playoff run and season end at the <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/celtics-boston-game-5-win-celtics">hands of the Boston Celtics</a>. In the fallout that followed, many called for the Cavs to <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/cavs-jb-bickerstaff-coaching-job-2024-nba-playoffs">fire head coach J.B. Bickerstaff</a> immediately. But now that Cleveland is several days removed from its season-ending loss, it’s clear that cooler heads have begun to prevail, and the front office is not blindly overreacting to the situation.</p><p>While it’s been widely reported that Bickerstaff’s job is in jeopardy, the Cavs are doing their due diligence to ensure they are walking away from their fourth-longest-tenured coach. It’s left many wondering what exactly Cleveland is going to do. Still, there is a reality where Bickerstaff could be making tactical decisions and roaming the sidelines for the Cavs next season.</p><h2>Why the Cavs would keep J.B. Bickerstaff as coach</h2><figure><img src="https://wp.clutchpoints.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/05/Why-Cavs-firing-J.B.-Bickerstaff-is-no-sure-thing-despite-nasty-rumors-1.jpg"><figcaption>David Butler II-USA TODAY Sports</figcaption></figure><p>Now, before everyone grabs their virtual pitchforks, Cleveland could have some sound reasoning for possibly retaining Bickerstaff when looking at the coaching market. A team like the Cavs, who are looking to become a legitimate playoff contender, might not be able to afford to take a swing on an assistant with no head coaching experience.</p><p>That would mean exploring tenured retreads like Kevin Ollie, Maurice Cheeks, Igor Kokoskov, Luke Walton or others.</p><p>None of the aforementioned names nor do many of the other options inspire much confidence outside of what Bickerstaff accomplished with Cleveland in his <a href="https://www.basketball-reference.com/coaches/bickejb01c.html" rel="noopener">nearly six years</a> at the helm. This is the internal struggle that’s currently keeping the Cavs in limbo regarding Bickerstaff’s future.</p><p>Clearly, this Cleveland team is far more talented than this season’s results, and it’s fair to question whether that’s due to Bickerstaff’s tactical limitations as coach. But are there any other options that could improve what Bickerstaff accomplished? This is where Cavs President of Basketball Operations Koby Altman will likely be while evaluating Bickerstaff’s future.</p><p>Altman and Bickerstaff are close and have built this team to where it currently stands together, with Altman gathering the talent and personnel and Bickerstaff developing it. So, there’s a world where Altman likely does not think he wants to fire Bickerstaff. However, is there a way to continue moving forward to maximize what this team has with Bickertaff at the helm? If the answer is no, then the answer is to go in another direction.</p><p>What also hinges on Bickerstaff’s future is, unfortunately, not based on his resume. Instead, it is out of his control and hinges on superstar Donovan Mitchell. In early July, Cleveland is expected to offer Mitchell a four-year, $208.5 million extension. With that in mind, who exactly coaches the Cavs in July could impact Mitchell’s decision and his future with Cleveland.</p><p>Clearly, no player wants to be associated with firing a head coach. That’s why LeBron James seems distant from the Los Angeles Lakers despite the reported interest in J.J. Reddick, James’ podcast co-host. Regardless, the Cavs will and must keep Mitchell’s feelings towards Bickerstaff’s coaching and the team’s direction under Bickerstaff in mind when making this call.</p><p>Simply put, Cleveland cannot afford to lose Mitchell due to keeping Bickerstaff. So, if the feeling of moving on from him, or him wanting to keep Bickerstaff as coach of the Cavs, is how Mitchell is leaning, then Cleveland cannot hesitate to move with that in mind.</p><p>Despite so many calling for his job immediately, a decision regarding Bickerstaff’s future should be coming sooner rather than later. Until then, everyone from the fans, the Cavs, and Bickerstaff are in limbo, waiting for the first major domino in Cleveland’s offseason to fall.</p><figure class="op-tracker"></figure></article>    </body></html>

Why Cavs firing J.B. Bickerstaff is no sure thing despite nasty rumors

<!DOCTYPE html PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD XHTML 1.0 Transitional//EN" "http://www.w3.org/TR/xhtml1/DTD/xhtml1-transitional.dtd"><html xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml" xml:lang="en" lang="en">    <head>        <script>   (function(i, s, o, g, r, a, m) {     i["GoogleAnalyticsObject"] = r;     i[r] = i[r] || function() {       (i[r].q = i[r].q || []).push(arguments)     }, i[r].l = 1 * new Date();     a = s.createElement(o),       m = s.getElementsByTagName(o)[0];     a.async = 1;     a.src = g;     m.parentNode.insertBefore(a, m)   })(window, document, "script", "https://www.google-analytics.com/analytics.js", "ga");   ga('create', 'UA-66147751-16', {     'storage': 'none',     'clientId': localStorage.getItem('ga:clientId')   });   ga(function(tracker) {     localStorage.setItem('ga:clientId', tracker.get('clientId'));   });   ga('set', 'checkProtocolTask', null);      ga('set', 'page', '/nba-rumors-rockets-interested-donovan-mitchell-trade');   ga('set', 'title', 'NBA rumors: Rockets among teams interested in Donovan Mitchell trade');   ga('send', 'pageview');</script>        <style type="text/css" media="all">            body {    background: transparent;    margin: 0px;}h1, h2, h3 {    color: #DDDDDD;    font-family: "SFUIText-Semibold";    margin: 30px 15px 15px 15px;    font-size: 21px;    line-height: 125%;    letter-spacing: -0.41px;}header {    margin: 0px;    height: 0px;    display: none;}p {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 15px 15px 15px 15px;    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}p > img {    margin-left: -15px;    width: calc(100% + 30px);}a {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.8);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;    text-decoration: underline;}ul {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 3px 10px 3px 10px;    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}ol {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}img {    margin: 0px;    width: 100%;    height: auto;}blockquote {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.8);    font-family: "SFUIText-Medium";    margin: 30px 15px 30px 15px;    font-size: 19px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.41px;}blockquote p {    margin: 0px;}.op-tracker, .op-ad {    display: none;    height: 0px;}article > figure {    margin: 0px;}figcaption {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 10px 15px 30px 15px;    font-size: 13px;}iframe {    width: __SCREEN_SIZE_WIDTH__;    margin: 0px;    border: 0;}.vine-embed {    height: __SCREEN_SIZE_WIDTH__;}.twitter-tweet, .instagram-media {    margin-left: 15px !important;    margin-right: 15px !important;    width: __SCREEN_CONTENT_SIZE_WIDTH__ !important;}.clutchpoints-widget {    /*margin: 10px 15px 10px 15px !important;*/    /*margin-top: 1px !important;*/    padding-top: 10px;    /*margin-left: 15px !important;*/    /*margin-right: 15px !important;*/    /*width: __SCREEN_CONTENT_SIZE_WIDTH__ !important;*/}        </style>        <meta http-equiv="Content-Type" content="text/html; charset=UTF-8" />    </head>    <body>        <article id="mvp-content-main"><header><figure><img src="https://wp.clutchpoints.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/05/NBA-rumors-Rockets-among-teams-interested-in-Donovan-Mitchell-trade.jpg"></figure><h1>NBA rumors: Rockets among teams interested in Donovan Mitchell trade</h1><time class="op-published" datetime="2024-05-21T10:25:02-07:00">May 21st, 10:25am</time><time class="op-modified" datetime="2024-05-21T10:25:02-07:00">May 21st, 10:25am</time><address><a>Matthew Schmidt</a>Matthew Schmidt has been writing about sports since 2011 and is based in New Jersey. He primarily specializes in NFL these days, but has also extensively covered the NBA and MLB and has written for numerous websites.</address><h3 class="op-kicker">NBA</h3><figure class="op-ad"></figure></header><p>If the Cleveland Cavaliers end up trading Donovan Mitchell <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/cavs-news-donovan-mitchell-trade-conversations-offseason-playoff-loss-celtics">this offseason</a>, the Houston Rockets <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/athletic/5507812/2024/05/21/rockets-nba-draft-no-3-pick-donovan-mitchell/?source=emp_shared_article" rel="noopener">may be interested</a>.</p><p>The Rockets own the No. 3 overall pick in the NBA Draft next month, so that would be a great starting point in a potential trade package for Mitchell. Houston also has considerable young talent and draft capital in general, which could make the team a prime contender to land Mitchell, notes Kelly Iko of The Athletic.</p><p>Trade speculation has been swirling around Mitchell after the Cavaliers were bounced from the second round of the playoffs. Mitchell has one year remaining on his deal and then has a player option for the 2025-26 campaign. He has not seemed all that eager to sign an extension in Cleveland, and the general consensus is that he will eventually decline his player option next offseason if it gets to that point.</p><p>Mitchell also does not seem to be a great fit with Darius Garland, <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/cavaliers-news-is-donovan-mitchell-darius-garland-offseason-breakup-looming">leading to rumors</a> that the Cavs may have to trade one of the two in order to salvage the situation long term. Mitchell would obviously have more value, but if the Cavaliers want to run it back with Mitchell again, you may see Garland end up being the odd man out.</p><p>Of course, that also depends on whether or not Cleveland feels that Mitchell will be with the club long term.</p><h2><b>The Rockets are an interesting fit for Donovan Mitchell</b></h2><figure><img src="https://wp.clutchpoints.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/05/Donovan-Mitchell-1.jpg"><figcaption>David Richard-USA TODAY Sports</figcaption></figure><p>The Rockets don’t have the third overall pick in the draft because they stunk this season. They have it because they landed it from the Brooklyn Nets in the James Harden trade back in 2021, and the Nets were terrible this year.</p><p>As a matter of fact, Houston finished a very respectable 41-41 during the 2023-24 campaign and even made a brief push for a playoff spot.</p><p>If you had Mitchell into the mix, the Rockets will suddenly become very interesting.</p><p>Houston’s top young pieces are Alperen Sengun, Jalen Green and Jabari Smith Jr. It doesn’t stop there, however. The Rockets also have Amen Thompson, Tari Eason and Cam Whitmore. The oldest of that group is Eason, who is 22. The youngest? Whitmore at 19.</p><p>Obviously, Houston wouldn’t be able to keep all of those players in the event of a Mitchell trade. However, the Rockets’ surplus of young talent makes a trade for a star player like Mitchell that much more feasible, as they wouldn’t have to completely gut their roster.</p><p>Again, Houston is also loaded with future draft picks.</p><p>The question is, would Mitchell really want to go to the Rockets?</p><p>If Mitchell ends up wanting out of Cleveland, it will be because the Cavs aren’t ready to win. Would he then want to go to a Houston squad that has not made the playoffs in four years? Obviously, the Rockets have a ton of potential, but Mitchell may very well have reached a point where he wants to win immediately.</p><p>As tantalizing as Houston may be for the future, it probably would not present Mitchell with the best opportunity to win a championship in 2025.</p><p>Remember: Mitchell has a player option for the 2025-26 campaign, and if the Rockets don’t think Mitchell would want to stay for the long haul, they probably won’t want to take the chance of trading away a bunch of assets for what could be a one-year rental.</p><figure class="op-tracker"></figure></article>    </body></html>

NBA rumors: Rockets among teams interested in Donovan Mitchell trade

<!DOCTYPE html PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD XHTML 1.0 Transitional//EN" "http://www.w3.org/TR/xhtml1/DTD/xhtml1-transitional.dtd"><html xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml" xml:lang="en" lang="en">    <head>        <script>   (function(i, s, o, g, r, a, m) {     i["GoogleAnalyticsObject"] = r;     i[r] = i[r] || function() {       (i[r].q = i[r].q || []).push(arguments)     }, i[r].l = 1 * new Date();     a = s.createElement(o),       m = s.getElementsByTagName(o)[0];     a.async = 1;     a.src = g;     m.parentNode.insertBefore(a, m)   })(window, document, "script", "https://www.google-analytics.com/analytics.js", "ga");   ga('create', 'UA-66147751-16', {     'storage': 'none',     'clientId': localStorage.getItem('ga:clientId')   });   ga(function(tracker) {     localStorage.setItem('ga:clientId', tracker.get('clientId'));   });   ga('set', 'checkProtocolTask', null);      ga('set', 'page', '/nba-rumors-pelicans-emerge-as-potential-donovan-mitchell-trade-suitor');   ga('set', 'title', 'NBA rumors: Pelicans emerge as potential Donovan Mitchell trade suitor');   ga('send', 'pageview');</script>        <style type="text/css" media="all">            body {    background: transparent;    margin: 0px;}h1, h2, h3 {    color: #DDDDDD;    font-family: "SFUIText-Semibold";    margin: 30px 15px 15px 15px;    font-size: 21px;    line-height: 125%;    letter-spacing: -0.41px;}header {    margin: 0px;    height: 0px;    display: none;}p {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 15px 15px 15px 15px;    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}p > img {    margin-left: -15px;    width: calc(100% + 30px);}a {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.8);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;    text-decoration: underline;}ul {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 3px 10px 3px 10px;    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}ol {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}img {    margin: 0px;    width: 100%;    height: auto;}blockquote {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.8);    font-family: "SFUIText-Medium";    margin: 30px 15px 30px 15px;    font-size: 19px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.41px;}blockquote p {    margin: 0px;}.op-tracker, .op-ad {    display: none;    height: 0px;}article > figure {    margin: 0px;}figcaption {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 10px 15px 30px 15px;    font-size: 13px;}iframe {    width: __SCREEN_SIZE_WIDTH__;    margin: 0px;    border: 0;}.vine-embed {    height: __SCREEN_SIZE_WIDTH__;}.twitter-tweet, .instagram-media {    margin-left: 15px !important;    margin-right: 15px !important;    width: __SCREEN_CONTENT_SIZE_WIDTH__ !important;}.clutchpoints-widget {    /*margin: 10px 15px 10px 15px !important;*/    /*margin-top: 1px !important;*/    padding-top: 10px;    /*margin-left: 15px !important;*/    /*margin-right: 15px !important;*/    /*width: __SCREEN_CONTENT_SIZE_WIDTH__ !important;*/}        </style>        <meta http-equiv="Content-Type" content="text/html; charset=UTF-8" />    </head>    <body>        <article id="mvp-content-main"><header><figure><img src="https://wp.clutchpoints.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/05/NBA-rumors-Pelicans-emerge-as-potential-Donovan-Mitchell-trade-suitor.jpg"></figure><h1>NBA rumors: Pelicans emerge as potential Donovan Mitchell trade suitor</h1><time class="op-published" datetime="2024-05-17T23:10:55-07:00">May 17th, 11:10pm</time><time class="op-modified" datetime="2024-05-17T23:10:55-07:00">May 17th, 11:10pm</time><address><a href="https://letterboxd.com/splooshpuhrty/films/by/your-rating/">Jedd Pagaduan</a>Jedd Pagaduan is a certified Clippers and Gunners fan, which means he's a very sports-traumatized individual. He now writes about sports instead as a form of therapy.</address><h3 class="op-kicker">NBA</h3><figure class="op-ad"></figure></header><p>The Cleveland Cavaliers are expected to be one of the teams that helps dictate the flow of the 2024 NBA offseason. After all, <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/cavs-news-donovan-mitchell-trade-conversations-offseason-playoff-loss-celtics">wholesale changes</a> may be coming to the Cavs after an inescapable sense of disappointment appears to be plaguing the franchise at the moment. And the New Orleans Pelicans are among the teams monitoring the situation closely.</p><p>Donovan Mitchell’s future, in particular, is a hot topic of interest around the league, as he is entering the final year of his contract and it’s unclear if he’ll be staying in Cleveland for the long haul. It has long been rumored that Mitchell is angling for an eventual move to a big market team, which means that it’s possible that he won’t be signing an extension with the Cavs.</p><p>If that ends up being the case, the Cavs might decide to trade away Mitchell to recoup some of the value they gave up in their trade for him two years ago. And the Pelicans, per ESPN’s Zach Lowe via Evan Sidery of Forbes, “are a <a href="https://x.com/esidery/status/1791558343670075749" rel="noopener">potential team to monitor</a>” in the Mitchell sweepstakes.</p><p>The Pelicans are facing some tough decisions of their own this offseason. Jonas Valanciunas is <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/nba-rumors-pelicans-phase-jonas-valanciunas-out-future-plans">likely to walk in free agency</a>, while Brandon Ingram, like Donovan Mitchell, is entering the final year of his contract as well. This makes the Pelicans and Cavs ideal trade partners, especially when New Orleans has also reportedly <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/nba-rumors-pelicans-linked-to-jarrett-allen-trade-again-with-jonas-valanciunas-on-way-out">shown interest</a> in Jarrett Allen.</p><h2><b>Will the Pelicans and Cavs swap stars?</b></h2><figure><img src="https://wp.clutchpoints.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/05/Cavaliers-guard-Donovan-Mitchell-45-shoots-a-jump-shot-against-New-Orleans-Pelicans-forward-Brandon-Ingram-14.jpg"></figure><p>With Brandon Ingram <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/nba-rumors-brandon-ingram-to-have-bigger-trade-market-than-trae-young">likely to depart the Pelicans</a> this offseason via trade, and the Cavs having to deal away Donovan Mitchell in the event that he decides not to sign an extension, it looks like the stars are aligning for the two teams, as a swap centered around those two could work. With the Pelicans, it might be time for Mitchell to function as his team’s lead guard, while Ingram fills the Cavs’ need for a shot creator on the wing.</p><p>Moreover, the Pelicans could expand the trade to include Jarrett Allen, although at this point, it will have to take a pretty penny to pry him away given that he’s under contract for <a href="https://www.spotrac.com/nba/player/_/id/23617/jarrett-allen#:~:text=2021%2D2025%20Free%20Agent,dead%20cap%20value%20of%20%2420%2C000%2C000." rel="noopener">just $20 million</a> for the next two seasons. But the framework of a deal is there — it’s up to the Pelicans to meet the Cavs’ price if Cleveland does end up selling off a few of their most important roster pieces.</p><p>For the Cavs, trading Mitchell and Allen away is a sign of faith in Darius Garland and Evan Mobley’s ability to lead the team. Garland’s camp has reportedly grown frustrated with being set aside to accommodate Mitchell, while Mobley, despite improving his three-point shot, still projects as a long-term center in today’s NBA.</p><p>Meanwhile, the Pelicans may have CJ McCollum at the point, but Donovan Mitchell is an upgrade over him in every way. Mitchell could then slot in alongside Herb Jones in the backcourt, with Trey Murphy ready to assume a starting role at the three. The center position is a question mark, but at the very least, the team will have Larry Nance Jr. around as a contingency plan.</p><p>This is looking like an offseason of upheaval for both the Cavs and Pelicans after both fell short of their lofty goals in 2024. The question is, will they have the guts to take a leap of faith and pull the trigger on a blockbuster trade?</p><figure class="op-tracker"></figure></article>    </body></html>

NBA rumors: Pelicans emerge as potential Donovan Mitchell trade suitor

<!DOCTYPE html PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD XHTML 1.0 Transitional//EN" "http://www.w3.org/TR/xhtml1/DTD/xhtml1-transitional.dtd"><html xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml" xml:lang="en" lang="en">    <head>        <script>   (function(i, s, o, g, r, a, m) {     i["GoogleAnalyticsObject"] = r;     i[r] = i[r] || function() {       (i[r].q = i[r].q || []).push(arguments)     }, i[r].l = 1 * new Date();     a = s.createElement(o),       m = s.getElementsByTagName(o)[0];     a.async = 1;     a.src = g;     m.parentNode.insertBefore(a, m)   })(window, document, "script", "https://www.google-analytics.com/analytics.js", "ga");   ga('create', 'UA-66147751-16', {     'storage': 'none',     'clientId': localStorage.getItem('ga:clientId')   });   ga(function(tracker) {     localStorage.setItem('ga:clientId', tracker.get('clientId'));   });   ga('set', 'checkProtocolTask', null);      ga('set', 'page', '/cavs-news-donovan-mitchell-happy-in-cleveland-as-trade-rumors-swirl');   ga('set', 'title', 'Cavs’ Donovan Mitchell ‘happy’ in Cleveland as trade rumors swirl');   ga('send', 'pageview');</script>        <style type="text/css" media="all">            body {    background: transparent;    margin: 0px;}h1, h2, h3 {    color: #DDDDDD;    font-family: "SFUIText-Semibold";    margin: 30px 15px 15px 15px;    font-size: 21px;    line-height: 125%;    letter-spacing: -0.41px;}header {    margin: 0px;    height: 0px;    display: none;}p {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 15px 15px 15px 15px;    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}p > img {    margin-left: -15px;    width: calc(100% + 30px);}a {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.8);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;    text-decoration: underline;}ul {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 3px 10px 3px 10px;    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}ol {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}img {    margin: 0px;    width: 100%;    height: auto;}blockquote {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.8);    font-family: "SFUIText-Medium";    margin: 30px 15px 30px 15px;    font-size: 19px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.41px;}blockquote p {    margin: 0px;}.op-tracker, .op-ad {    display: none;    height: 0px;}article > figure {    margin: 0px;}figcaption {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 10px 15px 30px 15px;    font-size: 13px;}iframe {    width: __SCREEN_SIZE_WIDTH__;    margin: 0px;    border: 0;}.vine-embed {    height: __SCREEN_SIZE_WIDTH__;}.twitter-tweet, .instagram-media {    margin-left: 15px !important;    margin-right: 15px !important;    width: __SCREEN_CONTENT_SIZE_WIDTH__ !important;}.clutchpoints-widget {    /*margin: 10px 15px 10px 15px !important;*/    /*margin-top: 1px !important;*/    padding-top: 10px;    /*margin-left: 15px !important;*/    /*margin-right: 15px !important;*/    /*width: __SCREEN_CONTENT_SIZE_WIDTH__ !important;*/}        </style>        <meta http-equiv="Content-Type" content="text/html; charset=UTF-8" />    </head>    <body>        <article id="mvp-content-main"><header><figure><img src="https://wp.clutchpoints.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/05/Cavs-news-Donovan-Mitchell-happy-in-Cleveland-as-trade-rumors-swirl.jpg"><figcaption>4/16/24</figcaption></figure><h1>Cavs’ Donovan Mitchell ‘happy’ in Cleveland as trade rumors swirl</h1><time class="op-published" datetime="2024-05-16T19:54:55-07:00">May 16th, 7:54pm</time><time class="op-modified" datetime="2024-05-16T19:54:55-07:00">May 16th, 7:54pm</time><address><a>Jack Winter</a>Jack Winter is a veteran NBA writer and editor based on the West Coast. He currently lives in Oakland, covering the Golden State Warriors.</address><h3 class="op-kicker">NBA</h3><figure class="op-ad"></figure></header><p>Donovan Mitchell emerged as the NBA’s latest subject of incessant trade speculation even before the injury-ravaged Cleveland Cavaliers’ season officially came to a close. Less than 24 hours after his current team was eliminated by the Boston Celtics from the playoffs on Wednesday night, Mitchell has ostensibly continued doing all he can to quell rumors of his interest in leaving the wine-and-gold.</p><p>The five-time All-Star told ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski on Thursday that he’s ‘happy in Cleveland’ and pleased with the positive steps the Cavs took in 2023-24.</p><figure class="op-interactive"><blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p dir="ltr" lang="en">"I am happy in Cleveland. I've been happy since I've arrived in Cleveland."</p><p>Cavs star Donovan Mitchell to <a href="https://twitter.com/wojespn?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@wojespn</a> 🗣️<a href="https://t.co/SPSxucOy4Z">pic.twitter.com/SPSxucOy4Z</a></p><p>— ClutchPoints (@ClutchPoints) <a href="https://twitter.com/ClutchPoints/status/1791263834507796978?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">May 17, 2024</a></p></blockquote><p><script async="" src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script></p></figure><p>“I reached out to Donovan Mitchell today, and he was emphatic in telling me that he is not disgruntled with anyone or anything in Cleveland. In fact, he said to me, ‘I am happy in Cleveland. I’ve been happy since I arrived in Cleveland.’ And he thinks this Cavs team made progress this season. Obviously, winning that best-of-seven, first-round series against the Magic to get to the Conference Semis for the first time since 2018. But as he said, he’s not in this to go to the second round of the Eastern Conference playoffs.”</p><p>Mitchell’s most recent efforts to convince the basketball world of his comfort remaining in Cleveland going forward come on the heels of him refuting reports he was “frustrated” with his teammates’ preparation. After Chris Fedor of Cleveland.com reported early Thursday that he was displeased with certain teammates’ “lack of maturity, focus, playoff-level readiness and a willingness to listen,” <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/cavs-news-donovan-mitchell-blasts-rumors-of-frustration-teammates-amid-trade-chatter">Mitchell clapped back</a> on social media, calling cap on that assessment while noting he occasionally gets “sick” of the media maelstrom.</p><figure class="op-interactive"><blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p dir="ltr" lang="en">Yeah aight 🧢 I’m sick of yall sometimes! <a href="https://t.co/B7zdP8APDk">https://t.co/B7zdP8APDk</a></p><p>— Donovan Mitchell (@spidadmitchell) <a href="https://twitter.com/spidadmitchell/status/1791168487978586457?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">May 16, 2024</a></p></blockquote><p><script async="" src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script></p></figure><h2><b>What is Cavs’ best path forward with Donovan Mitchell?</b></h2><figure><img src="https://wp.clutchpoints.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/05/Cavaliers-Donovan-Mitchell-during-Game-3-against-the-Celtics.jpg"><figcaption>David Richard-USA TODAY Sports</figcaption></figure><p>Don’t let the <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/cavs-news-donovan-mitchell-trade-conversations-offseason-playoff-loss-celtics">rampant trade talk</a> fool you. Mitchell is still under contract with the Cavs through next season and has a player option on his deal for 2025-26. The reason he’s the latest star to hear his name swirl in trade winds isn’t just because small-market Cleveland fell short of a deep playoff run for the second straight season, but also due to the fact Mitchell elected against signing an extension in 2023-24.</p><p>He’s eligible for a longer, more lucrative deal this summer, though, and The Athletic reported after the Cavs were eliminated that there’s a “<a href="https://www.nytimes.com/athletic/5497268/2024/05/15/cavaliers-donovan-mitchell-darius-garland-jb-bickerstaff-future/" rel="noopener">growing sentiment</a>” Mitchell will ultimately sign the four-year, $208.5 million contract offered by Cleveland. But the 27-year-old is unlikely to put pen to paper unless he’s confident the front office will take further lengths toward improving the Cavs’ chances at true title contention.</p><p>Replacing JB Bickerstaff—who hasn’t always seen eye-to-eye with Mitchell during their two-season partnership, per reports—on the sidelines probably won’t be enough by itself in that regard. What about overhauling Mitchell’s supporting cast?</p><p>There’s only one player who should be virtually untouchable if Cleveland opts to rebuild around Mitchell. Evan Mobley didn’t take the major third-year leap many expected, but is already one of the league’s most versatile, impactful defenders with clear room to grow offensively—even if he’s never close to a primary or secondary option on that side of the ball.</p><p>Cleveland’s surest means of facilitating that necessary growth from Mobley as a long-range shooter, supplemental playmaker and overall scorer? Shifting him to center full-time by ending the failed Twin Towers experiment with Jarrett Allen, a pairing Bickerstaff went away from more willingly than ever late in the season when the Cavs needed points. Similar redundancy exists in the backcourt, where it’s become clear the tandem of Mitchell and fellow small guard Darius Garland isn’t optimal—especially without two elite rim-protectors compensating for their lack of teeth at the point of attack defensively.</p><p>Finding workable trades for Allen and Garland isn’t nearly as easy as acknowledging the benefits of moving them. Garland’s value, in particular, has never been lower in wake of a disappointing season marred by his broken jaw. The league’s last images of Allen heading into the summer, meanwhile, are of him watching most of Cleveland’s playoff run from the bench, sidelined by a lingering rib injury he reportedly refused to try and play through with a numbing injection, frustrating some members of the organization.</p><p><a href="https://clutchpoints.com/nba-rumors-pelicans-linked-to-jarrett-allen-trade-again-with-jonas-valanciunas-on-way-out">Allen has already been connected</a> to the New Orleans Pelicans since the Cavs’ season came to a close, no surprise given longstanding whispers of the team’s interest in him and offseason plans to move on from Jonas Valanciunas in the middle. The Athletic reported that Garland’s representation at Klutch Sports will broach Cleveland’s front office on finding a new home for the former All-Star if Mitchell re-ups in Northeast Ohio, too.</p><p>The Pelicans are an obvious potential partner for the Cavs in trades centering around Allen or Garland, with Brandon Ingram coming back to Cleveland as the centerpiece of such a deal. The acquisition of Ingram would hardly vault the Cavs toward championship contention by itself, but at least better balance the roster around Mitchell and Mobley with another star-level talent. Could Koby Altman and company then flip whoever remains between Allen and Garland for a trade package featuring a top-tier role player at forward?</p><p>That’s the ideal scenario for Cleveland, at least. The process of turning it into reality begins with fending off vultures league-wide and securing a commitment from Mitchell.</p><figure class="op-tracker"></figure></article>    </body></html>

Cavs’ Donovan Mitchell ‘happy’ in Cleveland as trade rumors swirl

<!DOCTYPE html PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD XHTML 1.0 Transitional//EN" "http://www.w3.org/TR/xhtml1/DTD/xhtml1-transitional.dtd"><html xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml" xml:lang="en" lang="en">    <head>        <script>   (function(i, s, o, g, r, a, m) {     i["GoogleAnalyticsObject"] = r;     i[r] = i[r] || function() {       (i[r].q = i[r].q || []).push(arguments)     }, i[r].l = 1 * new Date();     a = s.createElement(o),       m = s.getElementsByTagName(o)[0];     a.async = 1;     a.src = g;     m.parentNode.insertBefore(a, m)   })(window, document, "script", "https://www.google-analytics.com/analytics.js", "ga");   ga('create', 'UA-66147751-16', {     'storage': 'none',     'clientId': localStorage.getItem('ga:clientId')   });   ga(function(tracker) {     localStorage.setItem('ga:clientId', tracker.get('clientId'));   });   ga('set', 'checkProtocolTask', null);      ga('set', 'page', '/nba-rumors-pelicans-linked-to-jarrett-allen-trade-again-with-jonas-valanciunas-on-way-out');   ga('set', 'title', 'NBA rumors: Pelicans linked to Jarrett Allen trade again with Jonas Valanciunas on way out');   ga('send', 'pageview');</script>        <style type="text/css" media="all">            body {    background: transparent;    margin: 0px;}h1, h2, h3 {    color: #DDDDDD;    font-family: "SFUIText-Semibold";    margin: 30px 15px 15px 15px;    font-size: 21px;    line-height: 125%;    letter-spacing: -0.41px;}header {    margin: 0px;    height: 0px;    display: none;}p {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 15px 15px 15px 15px;    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}p > img {    margin-left: -15px;    width: calc(100% + 30px);}a {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.8);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;    text-decoration: underline;}ul {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 3px 10px 3px 10px;    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}ol {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}img {    margin: 0px;    width: 100%;    height: auto;}blockquote {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.8);    font-family: "SFUIText-Medium";    margin: 30px 15px 30px 15px;    font-size: 19px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.41px;}blockquote p {    margin: 0px;}.op-tracker, .op-ad {    display: none;    height: 0px;}article > figure {    margin: 0px;}figcaption {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 10px 15px 30px 15px;    font-size: 13px;}iframe {    width: __SCREEN_SIZE_WIDTH__;    margin: 0px;    border: 0;}.vine-embed {    height: __SCREEN_SIZE_WIDTH__;}.twitter-tweet, .instagram-media {    margin-left: 15px !important;    margin-right: 15px !important;    width: __SCREEN_CONTENT_SIZE_WIDTH__ !important;}.clutchpoints-widget {    /*margin: 10px 15px 10px 15px !important;*/    /*margin-top: 1px !important;*/    padding-top: 10px;    /*margin-left: 15px !important;*/    /*margin-right: 15px !important;*/    /*width: __SCREEN_CONTENT_SIZE_WIDTH__ !important;*/}        </style>        <meta http-equiv="Content-Type" content="text/html; charset=UTF-8" />    </head>    <body>        <article id="mvp-content-main"><header><figure><img src="https://wp.clutchpoints.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/05/NBA-rumors-Pelicans-linked-to-Jarrett-Allen-trade-again-with-Jonas-Valanciunas-on-way-out.jpg"></figure><h1>NBA rumors: Pelicans linked to Jarrett Allen trade again with Jonas Valanciunas on way out</h1><time class="op-published" datetime="2024-05-16T12:18:18-07:00">May 16th, 12:18pm</time><time class="op-modified" datetime="2024-05-16T12:18:18-07:00">May 16th, 12:18pm</time><address><a href="https://letterboxd.com/splooshpuhrty/films/by/your-rating/">Jedd Pagaduan</a>Jedd Pagaduan is a certified Clippers and Gunners fan, which means he's a very sports-traumatized individual. He now writes about sports instead as a form of therapy.</address><h3 class="op-kicker">NBA</h3><figure class="op-ad"></figure></header><p>The New Orleans Pelicans ended the 2023-24 season on a whimper; a campaign that had started out so promisingly ended in heartbreak when the Pelicans suffered a sweep in the first round of the 2024 NBA playoffs at the hands of the Oklahoma City Thunder. And now, major changes could be coming in the Big Easy. The main storyline surrounding the Pelicans is the future of Brandon Ingram, as it looks like the All-Star small forward is <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/nba-rumors-brandon-ingram-to-have-bigger-trade-market-than-trae-young">on the outs</a> in New Orleans.</p><p>But it will also be interesting to monitor how the Pelicans fill out the rest of the roster. Trey Murphy III is due for a rookie scale contract extension, and it looks like the Pelicans will have to field a new face at the five with Jonas Valanciunas likely to sign elsewhere in free agency. To that end, it seems like they will throw their hat in the ring if ever there was to be a trade sweepstakes for Cleveland Cavaliers center Jarrett Allen.</p><p>According to Brett Siegel of ClutchPoints, the <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/cavs-news-donovan-mitchell-trade-conversations-offseason-playoff-loss-celtics">Pelicans view Allen</a> as “one of their top options” to replace Valanciunas this offseason. As far as a potential trade package goes, Siegel pointed out that the Pelicans could then end up dangling away Brandon Ingram to the Cavs, with Caris LeVert joining Allen as the players headed to New Orleans in such a deal.</p><p>The Cavs are in need of a high-level wing player to take the team to the next level — could Ingram be the answer? For the Pelicans, is trading away Ingram, who’ll be in the final year of his deal, for Jarrett Allen and LeVert the best move, especially when there’ll be questions regarding the fit between Allen and Zion Williamson?</p><p>The Pelicans, however, aren’t expected to be alone in the Allen trade sweepstakes; the Memphis Grizzlies and Oklahoma City Thunder also emerged as two potential destinations for the Cavs big man.</p><h2>Will exchanging JV with Jarrett Allen be worth it for the Pelicans?</h2><p>Zion Williamson, despite sustaining yet another injury at an inopportune time, showed how dangerous he can be as the cornerstone of an up-and-coming Pelicans team. He is ever so dangerous when he attacks the rim with such ferocity, and when he gets going downhill, there might not be a more unstoppable player than him other than Giannis Antetokounmpo.</p><p>But Williamson, despite being one of the best at putting pressure on the rim, does not have much range on offense. He is limited to around the paint area, and with his rampaging slashing game, what he needs is a floor-spacing partner at the five to give him as much space as possible to work with.</p><p>Jonas Valanciunas was supposed to be that guy; alas, at heart, he is not a floor spacer. Rather, he is a post-up brute who is rather below-average on the defensive end. Valanciunas would have been dominant in the 1990s or early 2000s; alas, he plays in 2024, and while there’s a place for a player of his archetype, the <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/nba-rumors-pelicans-phase-jonas-valanciunas-out-future-plans">Pelicans haven’t exactly shown</a> that they value what he brings to the table.</p><p>More often than not, the Pelicans have leaned on Larry Nance Jr. as the team’s five man when it counts. New Orleans sometimes puts Williamson at the five, with Ingram, CJ McCollum, Herb Jones, and Trey Murphy around to flank him. Valanciunas’ average playing time has decreased steadily over the past three seasons.</p><p>At the very least, Jarrett Allen will not be schemed out of the game on the defensive end. Allen is a mobile defensive big man who has the speed to cover a lot of ground on pick-and-roll defense. He would also the Pelicans with another dynamic lob threat, improving the team’s vertical spacing even further.</p><p>Allen has also shown greater feel in the playmaking department; the Cavs relied on him as an offensive hub when their other stars were injured, and he helped steady the ship. What he doesn’t do, however, is space the floor. Just how viable would a Williamson-Allen frontcourt be on offense with that being the case?</p><p>Teams can pack the paint against the two, and it’ll be easier to cover ground with two non-shooters on the floor. But the Pelicans’ paint attack will be difficult to stop. Williamson can then flourish as a short-roll playmaker as well, with Allen finishing a ton of lobs. Only 26 years old, Allen is right in the middle of his prime as well, and his arrival (and Ingram’s subsequent departure in this scenario) means that a ton of playing time will be opening up for Trey Murphy, who is one of the best marksmen in the association.</p><p>Dealing from a position of strength to fill an area of need is almost always a shrewd move in sports, so it’ll be no surprise if the Pelicans go all-in on Allen this offseason.</p><h2><b>Major changes incoming for the Cavs</b></h2><figure><img src="https://wp.clutchpoints.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/04/Jarrett-Allen-and-Donovan-Mitchell-celebrate.jpg"></figure><p>It’s a bit startling that the Cavs have already had enough of their current core after just two years. But there’s an air of disappointment surrounding the franchise that means that moving on may be their best recourse.</p><p>Donovan Mitchell is reportedly displeased with a few of his teammates for their lack of maturity, Darius Garland’s camp is reportedly disappointed that he’s grown increasingly marginalized in the team’s offense, while Jarrett Allen reportedly irked some members of the franchise when he refused to take an injection in an attempt to numb the pain so he could play through his rib injury in the 2024 NBA playoffs.</p><p>Allen, in particular, irked the Cavs brass so much that some team insiders believe that he had already played his final game for the franchise. As Jason Lloyd of The Athletic pointed out in an appearance on 92.3 The Fan, he believes that Allen <a href="https://twitter.com/SportsBoyTony/status/1791095805304066174" rel="noopener">won’t be back</a> in Cleveland next season.</p><p>Jarrett Allen still has two years left on his contract at $20 million per, so it won’t be easy to pry him away from the Cavs. But the Pelicans have the assets to entice Cleveland. Fans of both teams better watch this space intently.</p><figure class="op-tracker"></figure></article>    </body></html>

NBA rumors: Pelicans linked to Jarrett Allen trade again with Jonas Valanciunas on way out

<!DOCTYPE html PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD XHTML 1.0 Transitional//EN" "http://www.w3.org/TR/xhtml1/DTD/xhtml1-transitional.dtd"><html xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml" xml:lang="en" lang="en">    <head>        <script>   (function(i, s, o, g, r, a, m) {     i["GoogleAnalyticsObject"] = r;     i[r] = i[r] || function() {       (i[r].q = i[r].q || []).push(arguments)     }, i[r].l = 1 * new Date();     a = s.createElement(o),       m = s.getElementsByTagName(o)[0];     a.async = 1;     a.src = g;     m.parentNode.insertBefore(a, m)   })(window, document, "script", "https://www.google-analytics.com/analytics.js", "ga");   ga('create', 'UA-66147751-16', {     'storage': 'none',     'clientId': localStorage.getItem('ga:clientId')   });   ga(function(tracker) {     localStorage.setItem('ga:clientId', tracker.get('clientId'));   });   ga('set', 'checkProtocolTask', null);      ga('set', 'page', '/cavs-news-donovan-mitchell-blasts-rumors-of-frustration-teammates-amid-trade-chatter');   ga('set', 'title', 'Donovan Mitchell blasts rumors of frustration with Cavs teammates amid trade chatter');   ga('send', 'pageview');</script>        <style type="text/css" media="all">            body {    background: transparent;    margin: 0px;}h1, h2, h3 {    color: #DDDDDD;    font-family: "SFUIText-Semibold";    margin: 30px 15px 15px 15px;    font-size: 21px;    line-height: 125%;    letter-spacing: -0.41px;}header {    margin: 0px;    height: 0px;    display: none;}p {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 15px 15px 15px 15px;    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}p > img {    margin-left: -15px;    width: calc(100% + 30px);}a {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.8);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;    text-decoration: underline;}ul {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 3px 10px 3px 10px;    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}ol {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}img {    margin: 0px;    width: 100%;    height: auto;}blockquote {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.8);    font-family: "SFUIText-Medium";    margin: 30px 15px 30px 15px;    font-size: 19px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.41px;}blockquote p {    margin: 0px;}.op-tracker, .op-ad {    display: none;    height: 0px;}article > figure {    margin: 0px;}figcaption {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 10px 15px 30px 15px;    font-size: 13px;}iframe {    width: __SCREEN_SIZE_WIDTH__;    margin: 0px;    border: 0;}.vine-embed {    height: __SCREEN_SIZE_WIDTH__;}.twitter-tweet, .instagram-media {    margin-left: 15px !important;    margin-right: 15px !important;    width: __SCREEN_CONTENT_SIZE_WIDTH__ !important;}.clutchpoints-widget {    /*margin: 10px 15px 10px 15px !important;*/    /*margin-top: 1px !important;*/    padding-top: 10px;    /*margin-left: 15px !important;*/    /*margin-right: 15px !important;*/    /*width: __SCREEN_CONTENT_SIZE_WIDTH__ !important;*/}        </style>        <meta http-equiv="Content-Type" content="text/html; charset=UTF-8" />    </head>    <body>        <article id="mvp-content-main"><header><figure><img src="https://wp.clutchpoints.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/03/donovan-mitchell-was-the-spark-that-turned-into-a-flame-for-the-cavs-in-win-over-pelicans.jpg"><figcaption>3/13/24</figcaption></figure><h1>Donovan Mitchell blasts rumors of frustration with Cavs teammates amid trade chatter</h1><time class="op-published" datetime="2024-05-16T11:30:19-07:00">May 16th, 11:30am</time><time class="op-modified" datetime="2024-05-16T11:34:44-07:00">May 16th, 11:34am</time><address><a>Jackson Stone</a>Jackson Stone is a Mercer University senior from Atlanta on track to graduate with a BA in communications. A lifelong sports lover, Jackson is a die-hard fan of all Atlanta teams. He joined ClutchPoints in 2023.</address><h3 class="op-kicker">NBA</h3><figure class="op-ad"></figure></header><p>Recently, a report surfaced from Cleveland.com’s Chris Fedor stating that Cavs star Mitchell “grew frustrated with some teammates’ lack of maturity, focus, playoff-level readiness and a willingness to listen,” per Bleacher Report, but now Mitchell himself is firing back at those reports on his account on X, the social media platform formerly referred to as Twitter.</p><figure class="op-interactive"><blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p dir="ltr" lang="en">Yeah aight 🧢 I’m sick of yall sometimes! <a href="https://t.co/B7zdP8APDk">https://t.co/B7zdP8APDk</a></p><p>— Donovan Mitchell (@spidadmitchell) <a href="https://twitter.com/spidadmitchell/status/1791168487978586457?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">May 16, 2024</a></p></blockquote><p><script async="" src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script></p></figure><p>Mitchell missed the last two games of the Cavs’ semifinals loss to the Boston Celtics, and now enters an offseason that figures to be filled with trade rumors as just one year remains on his contract.</p><figure class="op-tracker"></figure></article>    </body></html>

Donovan Mitchell blasts rumors of frustration with Cavs teammates amid trade chatter

<!DOCTYPE html PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD XHTML 1.0 Transitional//EN" "http://www.w3.org/TR/xhtml1/DTD/xhtml1-transitional.dtd"><html xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml" xml:lang="en" lang="en">    <head>        <script>   (function(i, s, o, g, r, a, m) {     i["GoogleAnalyticsObject"] = r;     i[r] = i[r] || function() {       (i[r].q = i[r].q || []).push(arguments)     }, i[r].l = 1 * new Date();     a = s.createElement(o),       m = s.getElementsByTagName(o)[0];     a.async = 1;     a.src = g;     m.parentNode.insertBefore(a, m)   })(window, document, "script", "https://www.google-analytics.com/analytics.js", "ga");   ga('create', 'UA-66147751-16', {     'storage': 'none',     'clientId': localStorage.getItem('ga:clientId')   });   ga(function(tracker) {     localStorage.setItem('ga:clientId', tracker.get('clientId'));   });   ga('set', 'checkProtocolTask', null);      ga('set', 'page', '/nba-rumors-nets-lakers-offer-ready-donovan-mitchell-cavs');   ga('set', 'title', 'NBA rumors: Nets, Lakers have ‘their offer ready’ if Donovan Mitchell leaves Cavs');   ga('send', 'pageview');</script>        <style type="text/css" media="all">            body {    background: transparent;    margin: 0px;}h1, h2, h3 {    color: #DDDDDD;    font-family: "SFUIText-Semibold";    margin: 30px 15px 15px 15px;    font-size: 21px;    line-height: 125%;    letter-spacing: -0.41px;}header {    margin: 0px;    height: 0px;    display: none;}p {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 15px 15px 15px 15px;    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}p > img {    margin-left: -15px;    width: calc(100% + 30px);}a {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.8);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;    text-decoration: underline;}ul {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 3px 10px 3px 10px;    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}ol {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}img {    margin: 0px;    width: 100%;    height: auto;}blockquote {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.8);    font-family: "SFUIText-Medium";    margin: 30px 15px 30px 15px;    font-size: 19px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.41px;}blockquote p {    margin: 0px;}.op-tracker, .op-ad {    display: none;    height: 0px;}article > figure {    margin: 0px;}figcaption {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 10px 15px 30px 15px;    font-size: 13px;}iframe {    width: __SCREEN_SIZE_WIDTH__;    margin: 0px;    border: 0;}.vine-embed {    height: __SCREEN_SIZE_WIDTH__;}.twitter-tweet, .instagram-media {    margin-left: 15px !important;    margin-right: 15px !important;    width: __SCREEN_CONTENT_SIZE_WIDTH__ !important;}.clutchpoints-widget {    /*margin: 10px 15px 10px 15px !important;*/    /*margin-top: 1px !important;*/    padding-top: 10px;    /*margin-left: 15px !important;*/    /*margin-right: 15px !important;*/    /*width: __SCREEN_CONTENT_SIZE_WIDTH__ !important;*/}        </style>        <meta http-equiv="Content-Type" content="text/html; charset=UTF-8" />    </head>    <body>        <article id="mvp-content-main"><header><figure><img src="https://wp.clutchpoints.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/05/NBA-rumors-Nets-Lakers-have-their-offer-ready-if-Donovan-Mitchell-leaves-Cavs.jpg"></figure><h1>NBA rumors: Nets, Lakers have ‘their offer ready’ if Donovan Mitchell leaves Cavs</h1><time class="op-published" datetime="2024-05-15T14:34:10-07:00">May 15th, 2:34pm</time><time class="op-modified" datetime="2024-05-15T14:34:10-07:00">May 15th, 2:34pm</time><address><a>Erik Slater</a>Erik Slater is the credentialed Brooklyn Nets beat reporter for ClutchPoints. He's a graduate of Lehigh University and the Newhouse School of Communications at Syracuse University, as well as a Lehigh Football and Syracuse Football alum.</address><h3 class="op-kicker">NBA</h3><figure class="op-ad"></figure></header><p>Donovan Mitchell’s <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/nba-rumors-heat-are-prime-team-to-watch-for-donovan-mitchell-trade-pursuit-despite-cavs-stance">uncertain future</a> has remained a constant storyline throughout the Cleveland Cavaliers’ 2023-24 campaign. With one year left on his contract after this season, the five-time All-Star has yet to commit to an extension, leading to speculation that he could be traded this summer.</p><p>Those rumors are picking up steam with Cleveland one game away from elimination, and the Brooklyn Nets and Los Angeles Lakers are among the teams <a href="https://twitter.com/erikslater_/status/1790747814529568990">preparing to make a run</a> at the star guard, according to ESPN’s Brian Windhorst.</p><p>“The NBA, especially beginning with what Donovan says at the end of the season, is paying very close attention because multiple teams would love to make a huge offer to the Cavs if Donovan does not choose to extend his contract,” Windhorst said Wednesday. “There are a number of teams that have their offers ready.”</p><figure class="op-interactive"><blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p dir="ltr" lang="en">.<a href="https://twitter.com/WindhorstESPN?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@WindhorstESPN</a> on Donovan Mitchell:</p><p>"Multiple teams would love to make a huge offer to the Cavs if he doesn't extend… Teams that have their offers ready."</p><p>When asked about the Knicks:</p><p>"They're trying to win this playoff series, but certainly across the river in Brooklyn." <a href="https://t.co/feHD3TAi2V">pic.twitter.com/feHD3TAi2V</a></p><p>— Erik Slater (@erikslater_) <a href="https://twitter.com/erikslater_/status/1790747814529568990?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">May 15, 2024</a></p></blockquote><p><script async="" src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script></p></figure><h2><b>Three teams expected to lead Donovan Mitchell sweepstakes</b></h2><figure><img src="https://wp.clutchpoints.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/05/Mitchell-Nets.jpg"><figcaption>David Richard-USA TODAY Sports</figcaption></figure><p>Windhorst said three teams would be “at the top of the list” of Mitchell trade suitors if he doesn’t extend in Cleveland: the Lakers, Nets and Miami Heat. He dismissed the New York Knicks as a potential destination.</p><p>“The Knicks are trying to win this Eastern Conference series, but certainly across the river there in Brooklyn,” he said. “The Nets don’t control their drafts. Their future drafts are all controlled by the Houston Rockets. They are not in a rebuild mode. They want to build back up. They have the Suns’ draft assets, and the Suns’ draft assets could potentially be very valuable three or four years from now.”</p><p>“They also have some good young players, and it’s in the Eastern Conference, and Donovan Mithcell is from the New York area.”</p><figure class="op-interactive"><blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p dir="ltr" lang="en">Three teams will be "at the top of the list" of Donovan Mitchell trade suitors if he doesn’t extend in Cleveland, per <a href="https://twitter.com/WindhorstESPN?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@WindhorstESPN</a>:</p><p>Lakers<br>Heat<br>Nets</p><p>Windhorst notes that Mitchell will be able to somewhat direct a trade with one year left on his contract. <a href="https://t.co/3L1lxJcwir">pic.twitter.com/3L1lxJcwir</a></p><p>— Erik Slater (@erikslater_) <a href="https://twitter.com/erikslater_/status/1790803312952098941?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">May 15, 2024</a></p></blockquote><p><script async="" src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script></p></figure><h2>Can the Brooklyn Nets win a bidding war?</h2><p>If the report is accurate, it won’t be the first time Mitchell has expressed interest in playing for Brooklyn. The five-time All-Star had the Knicks, Nets and Heat <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/athletic/3537235/2022/08/25/jazz-lakers-trade-donovan-mitchell-knicks/?source=nbatw&amp;redirected=1">as his preferred destinations</a> in 2022 before the Utah Jazz traded him to Cleveland, according to The Athletic’s Tony Jones.</p><p>With seven tradable first-round picks – including unprotected firsts from Phoenix in 2027, 2028 and 2029 – the Nets <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/donovan-mitchell-nets-most-realistic-superstar-trade-target-ahead-of-deadline">have the assets to outbid</a> the Lakers and Heat. Los Angeles will have three first-round picks available to trade come draft night, while Miami will have two.</p><p>However, with one year left on his contract, Mitchell will have leverage to direct a trade if he chooses. Whether he would put on an all-out campaign to force himself to one team remains to be seen.</p><p>Despite the rampant trade speculation, the Cavaliers reportedly remain confident in their ability to re-sign Mitchell. Cleveland owner Dan Gilbert voiced that optimism in March during an interview with the Associated Press. However, when asked about Gilbert’s comments, Mitchell <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/donovan-mitchell-remains-noncommittal-on-cavs-extension-amid-nets-knicks-rumors">remained non-committal</a> about signing an extension.</p><p>“I got a lot of things to focus on outside of that right now,” he said. “I’ve got to focus on myself, getting back for this group, focus on us getting over this stretch, continuing to be ready when it comes time… So, I’ll handle that when it comes, and I understand you gotta ask that question, and I’m gonna give you the same answer.”</p><figure class="op-interactive"><blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p dir="ltr" lang="en">Donovan Mitchell remained non-committal on signing an extension with the Cavs after Dan Gilbert's comments:</p><p>"I got a lot of things to focus on outside of that right now… So, I’ll handle that when it comes… I'm gonna give you the same answer."</p><p>(Video via <a href="https://twitter.com/CavsInsider_FN?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@CavsInsider_FN</a>) <a href="https://t.co/pDbU5PpzAJ">pic.twitter.com/pDbU5PpzAJ</a></p><p>— Erik Slater (@erikslater_) <a href="https://twitter.com/erikslater_/status/1774079923444932825?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">March 30, 2024</a></p></blockquote><p><script async="" src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script></p></figure><p>While many within league circles expected Mitchell would move on from Utah once his contract expired, he never explicitly asked for a trade from the Jazz. He’s taken a similar approach in Cleveland, brushing aside questions about his future and focusing on the current season.</p><p>If Mitchell continues to turn down an extension, the question becomes: will Cleveland hold onto him next year and risk him walking in free agency? It’s a question that has massive implications for the Nets, who project to have over $50 million in cap space in 2025. Mitchell hitting free agency and giving Brooklyn a chance to sign him without giving up any assets would be the team’s dream scenario.</p><p>All of these hypotheticals remain in question until Cleveland’s season is over. That shouldn’t be long, with Mitchell ruled out for Wednesday’s Game 5 matchup with the Boston Celtics.</p><figure class="op-tracker"></figure></article>    </body></html>

NBA rumors: Nets, Lakers have ‘their offer ready’ if Donovan Mitchell leaves Cavs

<!DOCTYPE html PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD XHTML 1.0 Transitional//EN" "http://www.w3.org/TR/xhtml1/DTD/xhtml1-transitional.dtd"><html xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml" xml:lang="en" lang="en">    <head>        <script>   (function(i, s, o, g, r, a, m) {     i["GoogleAnalyticsObject"] = r;     i[r] = i[r] || function() {       (i[r].q = i[r].q || []).push(arguments)     }, i[r].l = 1 * new Date();     a = s.createElement(o),       m = s.getElementsByTagName(o)[0];     a.async = 1;     a.src = g;     m.parentNode.insertBefore(a, m)   })(window, document, "script", "https://www.google-analytics.com/analytics.js", "ga");   ga('create', 'UA-66147751-16', {     'storage': 'none',     'clientId': localStorage.getItem('ga:clientId')   });   ga(function(tracker) {     localStorage.setItem('ga:clientId', tracker.get('clientId'));   });   ga('set', 'checkProtocolTask', null);      ga('set', 'page', '/donovan-mitchell-remains-noncommittal-on-cavs-extension-amid-nets-knicks-rumors');   ga('set', 'title', 'Donovan Mitchell remains noncommittal on Cavs extension amid Nets, Knicks rumors');   ga('send', 'pageview');</script>        <style type="text/css" media="all">            body {    background: transparent;    margin: 0px;}h1, h2, h3 {    color: #DDDDDD;    font-family: "SFUIText-Semibold";    margin: 30px 15px 15px 15px;    font-size: 21px;    line-height: 125%;    letter-spacing: -0.41px;}header {    margin: 0px;    height: 0px;    display: none;}p {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 15px 15px 15px 15px;    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}p > img {    margin-left: -15px;    width: calc(100% + 30px);}a {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.8);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;    text-decoration: underline;}ul {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 3px 10px 3px 10px;    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}ol {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}img {    margin: 0px;    width: 100%;    height: auto;}blockquote {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.8);    font-family: "SFUIText-Medium";    margin: 30px 15px 30px 15px;    font-size: 19px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.41px;}blockquote p {    margin: 0px;}.op-tracker, .op-ad {    display: none;    height: 0px;}article > figure {    margin: 0px;}figcaption {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 10px 15px 30px 15px;    font-size: 13px;}iframe {    width: __SCREEN_SIZE_WIDTH__;    margin: 0px;    border: 0;}.vine-embed {    height: __SCREEN_SIZE_WIDTH__;}.twitter-tweet, .instagram-media {    margin-left: 15px !important;    margin-right: 15px !important;    width: __SCREEN_CONTENT_SIZE_WIDTH__ !important;}.clutchpoints-widget {    /*margin: 10px 15px 10px 15px !important;*/    /*margin-top: 1px !important;*/    padding-top: 10px;    /*margin-left: 15px !important;*/    /*margin-right: 15px !important;*/    /*width: __SCREEN_CONTENT_SIZE_WIDTH__ !important;*/}        </style>        <meta http-equiv="Content-Type" content="text/html; charset=UTF-8" />    </head>    <body>        <article id="mvp-content-main"><header><figure><img src="https://wp.clutchpoints.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/03/nets-donovan-mitchell-remains-noncommittal-on-cavs-extension-amid-nets-knicks-rumors.jpg"></figure><h1>Donovan Mitchell remains noncommittal on Cavs extension amid Nets, Knicks rumors</h1><time class="op-published" datetime="2024-03-30T10:06:09-07:00">March 30th, 10:06am</time><time class="op-modified" datetime="2024-03-30T10:06:09-07:00">March 30th, 10:06am</time><address><a>Erik Slater</a>Erik Slater is the credentialed Brooklyn Nets beat reporter for ClutchPoints. He's a graduate of Lehigh University and the Newhouse School of Communications at Syracuse University, as well as a Lehigh Football and Syracuse Football alum.</address><h3 class="op-kicker">Mini-Editorials</h3><figure class="op-ad"></figure></header><p>Wait and see. That’s the position Brooklyn Nets fans find themselves in with the team’s miserable 2023-24 campaign nearly in the books. However, the grace period can only last so long for General Manager Sean Marks. For many fans, it’s already run out.</p><p>Marks has come under fire after <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/nets-immense-pressure-declining-mikal-bridges-jalen-green-trade-deadline-swap">reportedly rejecting a Houston Rockets offer</a> for Mikal Bridges that would have returned Jalen Green and several Nets first-round picks from the James Harden trade. Since then, Green has been among the NBA’s top stories. The 24-year-old ranks third in the league in scoring over the last month, averaging 29.2 points per game on 49/42/78 shooting splits.</p><p>Meanwhile, Bridges has struggled mightily, averaging 16.9 points on 39.6 percent shooting over his last 19 appearances.</p><h2><b>Are the Nets eyeing Donovan Mitchell?</b></h2><figure><img src="https://wp.clutchpoints.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/03/Donovan-Mitchell.jpg"><figcaption>Ken Blaze-USA TODAY Sports</figcaption></figure><p>Both developments put immense pressure on Marks, who is in his eighth year as GM, to build a contender in the near future. The first step will be <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/nba-rumors-nets-seeking-star-amid-plans-to-keep-mikal-bridges-at-trade-deadline">finding a high-usage star</a> to take the offensive burden off Bridges. Many have speculated that New York native Donovan Mitchell could be the player the Nets have their eye on.</p><p>The Cleveland Cavaliers star, who has well-documented interest in playing in New York, will enter the final year of his contract next season and has been noncommittal about signing an extension. Despite this, Cavs owner Dan Gilbert <a href="https://apnews.com/article/cavs-donovan-mitchell-contract-87fd3b7e862d82e02b5f2b5c1bfe029c" rel="noopener">recently said</a> the organization thinks Mitchell will remain in Cleveland past next year, per Larry Lage.</p><p>“We’ve been talking to him, sure, for the last couple of years about extending this contract,” Gilbert said in an interview with The Associated Press. “We think he will extend. I think if you listen to him talk, he loves the city… He loves the situation in Cleveland because our players are very young and we’re just kind of putting the core together that he’s clearly the biggest part of.”</p><p>The Cavaliers have impressed this season despite a slew of injuries to Mitchell, Darius Garland and Evan Mobley. Cleveland sits third in the Eastern Conference, posting a 45-29 record and the NBA’s eighth-best net rating. Despite the success, Mitchell <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Aa-NIbx1T84" rel="noopener">remained noncommittal</a> on signing an extension when asked about Gilbert’s comments on Friday, per Cavs Insider.</p><p>“I got a lot of things to focus on outside of that right now,” he said. “I’ve got to focus on myself, getting back for this group, focus on us getting over this stretch, continuing to be ready when it comes time… So, I’ll handle that when it comes, and I understand you gotta ask that question and I’m gonna give you the same answer.”</p><figure class="op-interactive"><blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p dir="ltr" lang="en">Donovan Mitchell remained non-committal on signing an extension with the Cavs after Dan Gilbert's comments:</p><p>"I got a lot of things to focus on outside of that right now… So, I’ll handle that when it comes… I'm gonna give you the same answer."</p><p>(Video via <a href="https://twitter.com/CavsInsider_FN?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@CavsInsider_FN</a>) <a href="https://t.co/pDbU5PpzAJ">pic.twitter.com/pDbU5PpzAJ</a></p><p>— Erik Slater (@erikslater_) <a href="https://twitter.com/erikslater_/status/1774079923444932825?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">March 30, 2024</a></p></blockquote><p><script async="" src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script></p></figure><h2><b>Will the Knicks and Nets enter a bidding war?</b></h2><p>After fizzling out in the first round against the New York Knicks last season, Cleveland’s playoff outcome will play a major role in Mitchell’s decision. The Knicks and Nets should be at the front of the line of suitors should the star guard decline to sign an extension.</p><p>The Knicks have a pool of talented players, including Julius Randle, Bojan Bogdanović, Donte DiVincenzo, Josh Hart, and Miles McBride, to build a package with multiple first-round picks. However, they already have star point guard Jalen Brunson leading their offense. New York passed on trading for Mitchell during the 2022 offseason. It’s unclear if they would pull the trigger this time around and build their roster around two undersized guards.</p><p>On the other hand, the Nets have a glaring need for a high-usage lead scorer. Brooklyn could build a package around 6-foot-8 sharpshooter Cam Johnson and/or breakout guard Cam Thomas. The team has seven tradable first-round picks, including three distant unprotected firsts from Phoenix (2027, 2029) and Dallas (2029), which should be highly coveted.</p><p>The Nets have significantly underwhelmed this season, posting the NBA’s eighth-worst record (29-45). However, the letdown campaign has not hurt their confidence in their ability to attract marquee players, something <a href="https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/bleav-in-nets/id1553181595?i=1000650026676" rel="noopener">I discussed</a> with the New York Post’s Brian Lewis on my podcast, Bleav in Nets.</p><figure class="op-interactive"><blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p dir="ltr" lang="en">“They feel they can recruit players. That 100% is their belief… They believe that guys will want to play in New York… Between talking with agents and players, they have a feeling they can attract players.”</p><p>–<a href="https://twitter.com/NYPost_Lewis?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@NYPost_Lewis</a> on Nets' plans</p><p>Full pod here: <a href="https://t.co/Ky6TJpzOki">https://t.co/Ky6TJpzOki</a> <a href="https://t.co/nJBjM2uKor">pic.twitter.com/nJBjM2uKor</a></p><p>— Erik Slater (@erikslater_) <a href="https://twitter.com/erikslater_/status/1771269095306010640?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">March 22, 2024</a></p></blockquote><p><script async="" src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script></p></figure><p>With eight games remaining, Brooklyn’s season is coming to a merciful close. Once it does, the front office and fans’ attention will shift toward the playoffs, where the Cavaliers’ outcome could decide where the Nets focus their efforts this summer.</p><figure class="op-tracker"></figure></article>    </body></html>

Donovan Mitchell remains noncommittal on Cavs extension amid Nets, Knicks rumors

<!DOCTYPE html PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD XHTML 1.0 Transitional//EN" "http://www.w3.org/TR/xhtml1/DTD/xhtml1-transitional.dtd"><html xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml" xml:lang="en" lang="en">    <head>        <script>   (function(i, s, o, g, r, a, m) {     i["GoogleAnalyticsObject"] = r;     i[r] = i[r] || function() {       (i[r].q = i[r].q || []).push(arguments)     }, i[r].l = 1 * new Date();     a = s.createElement(o),       m = s.getElementsByTagName(o)[0];     a.async = 1;     a.src = g;     m.parentNode.insertBefore(a, m)   })(window, document, "script", "https://www.google-analytics.com/analytics.js", "ga");   ga('create', 'UA-66147751-16', {     'storage': 'none',     'clientId': localStorage.getItem('ga:clientId')   });   ga(function(tracker) {     localStorage.setItem('ga:clientId', tracker.get('clientId'));   });   ga('set', 'checkProtocolTask', null);      ga('set', 'page', '/nba-rumors-bucks-suns-among-royce-oneale-suitors-ahead-of-trade-deadline');   ga('set', 'title', 'NBA rumors: Bucks, Suns among Royce O’Neale suitors ahead of trade deadline');   ga('send', 'pageview');</script>        <style type="text/css" media="all">            body {    background: transparent;    margin: 0px;}h1, h2, h3 {    color: #DDDDDD;    font-family: "SFUIText-Semibold";    margin: 30px 15px 15px 15px;    font-size: 21px;    line-height: 125%;    letter-spacing: -0.41px;}header {    margin: 0px;    height: 0px;    display: none;}p {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 15px 15px 15px 15px;    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}p > img {    margin-left: -15px;    width: calc(100% + 30px);}a {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.8);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;    text-decoration: underline;}ul {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 3px 10px 3px 10px;    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}ol {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}img {    margin: 0px;    width: 100%;    height: auto;}blockquote {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.8);    font-family: "SFUIText-Medium";    margin: 30px 15px 30px 15px;    font-size: 19px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.41px;}blockquote p {    margin: 0px;}.op-tracker, .op-ad {    display: none;    height: 0px;}article > figure {    margin: 0px;}figcaption {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 10px 15px 30px 15px;    font-size: 13px;}iframe {    width: __SCREEN_SIZE_WIDTH__;    margin: 0px;    border: 0;}.vine-embed {    height: __SCREEN_SIZE_WIDTH__;}.twitter-tweet, .instagram-media {    margin-left: 15px !important;    margin-right: 15px !important;    width: __SCREEN_CONTENT_SIZE_WIDTH__ !important;}.clutchpoints-widget {    /*margin: 10px 15px 10px 15px !important;*/    /*margin-top: 1px !important;*/    padding-top: 10px;    /*margin-left: 15px !important;*/    /*margin-right: 15px !important;*/    /*width: __SCREEN_CONTENT_SIZE_WIDTH__ !important;*/}        </style>        <meta http-equiv="Content-Type" content="text/html; charset=UTF-8" />    </head>    <body>        <article id="mvp-content-main"><header><figure><img src="https://wp.clutchpoints.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/01/Bucks-Suns-among-Royce-ONeale-suitors-ahead-of-trade-deadline_50.webp"></figure><h1>NBA rumors: Bucks, Suns among Royce O’Neale suitors ahead of trade deadline</h1><time class="op-published" datetime="2024-01-30T14:37:19-08:00">January 30th, 2:37pm</time><time class="op-modified" datetime="2024-01-30T14:37:19-08:00">January 30th, 2:37pm</time><address><a>Mike Cruz</a>Mike Cruz is an editorial writer at ClutchPoints, primarily covering the NBA.</address><h3 class="op-kicker">NBA</h3><figure class="op-ad"></figure></header><p>trade Royce O’Neale is reportedly on the trade block for the Brooklyn Nets and a number of contenders are reportedly interested in acquiring the veteran forward ahead of the 2024 NBA trade deadline. According to Brett Siegel of ClutchPoints, <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/bucks-dream-scenario-2024-nba-trade-deadline">the Milwaukee Bucks</a> and <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/suns-news-devin-booker-bradley-beal-kevin-durant-heat-finals-odds-championship">Phoenix Suns are among</a> the two teams looking to trade for the 3-and-D wing.</p><p>“It looks likely that Royce O’Neale’s time with the Brooklyn Nets is coming to an end,” Siegel <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/sources-dejounte-murray-bruce-brown-warriors-trade-deadline-rumors-intel">reported</a>. “The Cleveland Cavaliers, Phoenix Suns, Minnesota Timberwolves, Milwaukee Bucks, and Sacramento Kings are among those interested in the veteran forward.”</p><p>Royce O’Neale is in the final year of his current deal and is earning <a href="https://www.spotrac.com/nba/brooklyn-nets/royce-oneale-24240/#:~:text=Current%20Contract,dead%20cap%20value%20of%20%249%2C500%2C000.">$9.5 million</a> this season, which makes him an attainable trade target for capped teams like the Bucks and Suns. Both Milwaukee and Phoenix don’t have much draft capital either, but they could get away with trading a second-rounder or two to acquire O’Neale, who is on an expiring deal.</p><p>O’Neale has established himself as one of the better floor-spacing defenders in the league. The vet would be a terrific target for any playoff contender in need of wing depth.</p><p>O’Neale spent most of his career on a Utah Jazz team that peaked as the No. 1 seed in the West back in the 2020-21 NBA season. The 6-foot-4 forward played a huge role on those Jazz squads as their primary point-of-attack defender. In the 2022 offseason, the Jazz traded him to the Nets during the summer firesale that also saw them trade Rudy Gobert and Donovan Mitchell.</p><p>O’Neale has started in six of 45 appearances for the Nets this season. On the year, he is averaging <a href="https://www.basketball-reference.com/players/o/onealro01.html">7.1 points</a>, 4.6 rebounds, and 2.9 assists, while shooting 38.6 percent from the field and 36.2 percent from the field.</p><figure class="op-tracker"></figure></article>    </body></html>

NBA rumors: Bucks, Suns among Royce O’Neale suitors ahead of trade deadline

<!DOCTYPE html PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD XHTML 1.0 Transitional//EN" "http://www.w3.org/TR/xhtml1/DTD/xhtml1-transitional.dtd"><html xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml" xml:lang="en" lang="en">    <head>        <script>   (function(i, s, o, g, r, a, m) {     i["GoogleAnalyticsObject"] = r;     i[r] = i[r] || function() {       (i[r].q = i[r].q || []).push(arguments)     }, i[r].l = 1 * new Date();     a = s.createElement(o),       m = s.getElementsByTagName(o)[0];     a.async = 1;     a.src = g;     m.parentNode.insertBefore(a, m)   })(window, document, "script", "https://www.google-analytics.com/analytics.js", "ga");   ga('create', 'UA-66147751-16', {     'storage': 'none',     'clientId': localStorage.getItem('ga:clientId')   });   ga(function(tracker) {     localStorage.setItem('ga:clientId', tracker.get('clientId'));   });   ga('set', 'checkProtocolTask', null);      ga('set', 'page', '/cavs-jarrett-allen-trade-rumored-intrigue');   ga('set', 'title', 'Cavs want no part of Jarrett Allen trade despite rumored intrigue');   ga('send', 'pageview');</script>        <style type="text/css" media="all">            body {    background: transparent;    margin: 0px;}h1, h2, h3 {    color: #DDDDDD;    font-family: "SFUIText-Semibold";    margin: 30px 15px 15px 15px;    font-size: 21px;    line-height: 125%;    letter-spacing: -0.41px;}header {    margin: 0px;    height: 0px;    display: none;}p {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 15px 15px 15px 15px;    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}p > img {    margin-left: -15px;    width: calc(100% + 30px);}a {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.8);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;    text-decoration: underline;}ul {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 3px 10px 3px 10px;    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}ol {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}img {    margin: 0px;    width: 100%;    height: auto;}blockquote {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.8);    font-family: "SFUIText-Medium";    margin: 30px 15px 30px 15px;    font-size: 19px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.41px;}blockquote p {    margin: 0px;}.op-tracker, .op-ad {    display: none;    height: 0px;}article > figure {    margin: 0px;}figcaption {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 10px 15px 30px 15px;    font-size: 13px;}iframe {    width: __SCREEN_SIZE_WIDTH__;    margin: 0px;    border: 0;}.vine-embed {    height: __SCREEN_SIZE_WIDTH__;}.twitter-tweet, .instagram-media {    margin-left: 15px !important;    margin-right: 15px !important;    width: __SCREEN_CONTENT_SIZE_WIDTH__ !important;}.clutchpoints-widget {    /*margin: 10px 15px 10px 15px !important;*/    /*margin-top: 1px !important;*/    padding-top: 10px;    /*margin-left: 15px !important;*/    /*margin-right: 15px !important;*/    /*width: __SCREEN_CONTENT_SIZE_WIDTH__ !important;*/}        </style>        <meta http-equiv="Content-Type" content="text/html; charset=UTF-8" />    </head>    <body>        <article id="mvp-content-main"><header><figure><img src="https://wp.clutchpoints.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/01/Cavs_want_no_part_of_Jarrett_Allen_trade_despite_rumored_intrigue.webp"></figure><h1>Cavs want no part of Jarrett Allen trade despite rumored intrigue</h1><time class="op-published" datetime="2024-01-22T09:36:44-08:00">January 22nd, 9:36am</time><time class="op-modified" datetime="2024-01-22T09:36:44-08:00">January 22nd, 9:36am</time><address><a>Evan Dammarell</a>Evan Dammarell is an award-winning sports journalist covering all things Cleveland, including the Cavs, right off the shores of Lake Erie. Follow him on Twitter, Facebook or Instagram. He can also be found three to five times weekly on Locked On Cavs, a part of the Locked On Podcast Network.</address><h3 class="op-kicker">Editorials</h3><figure class="op-ad"></figure></header><p>There’s a little more than two weeks until the <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/nba-trade-deadline-pascal-siakam-dejounte-murray-hypothetical-scenarios" rel="noopener">annual NBA trade deadline</a>, marking the last moment that teams can agree to trades to improve either their regular season or NBA Draft chances. With 60% of teams currently rolling with a winning record, many will be looking to make improvements at this year’s deadline, hoping their moves are enough to make a serious playoff push.</p><p>It’s already happened with the New York Knicks acquiring OG Anunoby and the Indiana <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/pascal-siakam-pacers-trade-impact-knicks-playoff-seeding" rel="noopener">Pacers landing Pascal Siakam</a>. But, according to NBA Insider Matt Moore, the New Orleans Pelicans could be <a href="https://www.actionnetwork.com/nba/nba-trade-rumors-deadline-agendas-for-all-30-teams" rel="noopener">angling to make a move</a> to acquire Cleveland Cavaliers big man Jarrett Allen.</p><p>‘Jarrett Allen is the name most commonly associated with the Pelicans. They’re looking to reset their center position a little more in the age timeline of their stars Brandon Ingram and Zion Williamson. Jonas Valanciunas on an expiring contract could wind up being moved which would be smart given how much interest there is in centers across the league, and his $15 million expiring deal will be an asset.’</p><p>Moore’s intel is correct since several league sources can confirm to ClutchPoints that Allen is a player the <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/nba-rumors-pelicans-again-linked-to-cavs-jarrett-allen" rel="noopener">Pelicans have had</a> on their radar for quite some time. On paper, the fit between Allen, Brandon Ingram and Zion Williamson has the potential to be lethal and, as the rest of the young Pelicans take flight and leave the nest, could make New Orleans an NBA powerhouse in no time. Unfortunately, for the sake of the Pelicans and their fans, a source shared with ClutchPoints that the Cavs aren’t keen to quickly move on from Allen this season.</p><h2><b>Cavs likely won’t trade Jarrett Allen </b></h2><figure><img src="https://wp.clutchpoints.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/12/Jarrett-Allen_s-availability-uncertain-for-Cavs-season-opener.jpg"></figure><p>While Cleveland’s meltdown last postseason against the New York Knicks with Allen at the center of it all is still in everyone’s recent memory, the Cavs typically aren’t an organization to overreact to just a small, five-game sample. Postseason or not, Cleveland’s front office is more than aware that All-Star caliber big men who can defend without fouling on top of a relatively clean bill of health don’t grow on trees. Allen, who is on the third year of his five-year, $100 million extension, fits that mold, and the same sources shared that the Cavs aren’t going to entertain trading him unless it’s an offer that completely blows Cleveland’s front office away.</p><p>The Cavs’ mentality regarding Allen is only emboldened based on how well the big man has performed after Evan Mobley has been <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/cavs-news-evan-mobley-6-8-weeks-arthroscopic-knee-surgery" rel="noopener">sidelined due to knee surgery</a>. In this fifteen-game stretch, Allen has averaged 18.0 points, 13.0 rebounds, 3.7 assists, 1.3 steals and 1.3 blocks in 32.3 minutes per game. More impressively, Cleveland is 12-3 in this stretch without Mobley because of how hard Allen has been playing on either end of the floor. So unless the Pelicans offer one of either Williamson or Ingram or a package centered around Herbert Jones, Trey Murphy III and multiple first-round selections, sources confirm to ClutchPoints that the Cavs will politely decline anything less than that for Allen.</p><p>That’s not to say New Orleans should delete Cleveland from their contacts and block their number, abandoning any chance of trying to land Allen. Instead, a source shared that these talks may be stalled until this summer, based on how Allen and Mobley look together down the stretch of the regular season and however far the Cavs go come playoff time.</p><p>If it continues to become clear that Mobley is better suited as Cleveland’s center of the future, especially if Mobley’s outside shot doesn’t manifest. In that case, sources say the Cavs would be more open to trading Allen to acquire more spacing and shooting to surround Mobley as Cleveland’s primary center.</p><p>That’s not to say that this partnership between Mobley and Allen isn’t tenable – the Cavs are 88-53 when the defensive duo plays together. But, spacing-wise, it isn’t an ideal fit for a Cleveland team trying to play more of a modern offensive style rather than leaning on what worked in the late 80s and throughout the 90s.</p><p>So, for now, Allen will remain with the Cavs, helping keep the team afloat while Mobley’s knee is on the mend. Depending on what happens to finish this season, Cleveland could start to gauge the market on opposing interest in acquiring Allen. No matter what, the Pelicans will likely still be there as they have <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/nba-rumors-pelicans-cavs-jarrett-allen-trade-jonas-valanciunas" rel="noopener">been for some time</a>, waiting to swoop in and get their dream big man for their young country.</p><figure class="op-tracker"></figure></article>    </body></html>

Cavs want no part of Jarrett Allen trade despite rumored intrigue

<!DOCTYPE html PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD XHTML 1.0 Transitional//EN" "http://www.w3.org/TR/xhtml1/DTD/xhtml1-transitional.dtd"><html xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml" xml:lang="en" lang="en">    <head>        <script>   (function(i, s, o, g, r, a, m) {     i["GoogleAnalyticsObject"] = r;     i[r] = i[r] || function() {       (i[r].q = i[r].q || []).push(arguments)     }, i[r].l = 1 * new Date();     a = s.createElement(o),       m = s.getElementsByTagName(o)[0];     a.async = 1;     a.src = g;     m.parentNode.insertBefore(a, m)   })(window, document, "script", "https://www.google-analytics.com/analytics.js", "ga");   ga('create', 'UA-66147751-16', {     'storage': 'none',     'clientId': localStorage.getItem('ga:clientId')   });   ga(function(tracker) {     localStorage.setItem('ga:clientId', tracker.get('clientId'));   });   ga('set', 'checkProtocolTask', null);      ga('set', 'page', '/nba-rumors-pelicans-again-linked-to-cavs-jarrett-allen');   ga('set', 'title', 'NBA rumors: Pelicans again linked to Cavs’ Jarrett Allen');   ga('send', 'pageview');</script>        <style type="text/css" media="all">            body {    background: transparent;    margin: 0px;}h1, h2, h3 {    color: #DDDDDD;    font-family: "SFUIText-Semibold";    margin: 30px 15px 15px 15px;    font-size: 21px;    line-height: 125%;    letter-spacing: -0.41px;}header {    margin: 0px;    height: 0px;    display: none;}p {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 15px 15px 15px 15px;    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}p > img {    margin-left: -15px;    width: calc(100% + 30px);}a {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.8);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;    text-decoration: underline;}ul {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 3px 10px 3px 10px;    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}ol {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}img {    margin: 0px;    width: 100%;    height: auto;}blockquote {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.8);    font-family: "SFUIText-Medium";    margin: 30px 15px 30px 15px;    font-size: 19px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.41px;}blockquote p {    margin: 0px;}.op-tracker, .op-ad {    display: none;    height: 0px;}article > figure {    margin: 0px;}figcaption {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 10px 15px 30px 15px;    font-size: 13px;}iframe {    width: __SCREEN_SIZE_WIDTH__;    margin: 0px;    border: 0;}.vine-embed {    height: __SCREEN_SIZE_WIDTH__;}.twitter-tweet, .instagram-media {    margin-left: 15px !important;    margin-right: 15px !important;    width: __SCREEN_CONTENT_SIZE_WIDTH__ !important;}.clutchpoints-widget {    /*margin: 10px 15px 10px 15px !important;*/    /*margin-top: 1px !important;*/    padding-top: 10px;    /*margin-left: 15px !important;*/    /*margin-right: 15px !important;*/    /*width: __SCREEN_CONTENT_SIZE_WIDTH__ !important;*/}        </style>        <meta http-equiv="Content-Type" content="text/html; charset=UTF-8" />    </head>    <body>        <article id="mvp-content-main"><header><figure><img src="https://wp.clutchpoints.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/01/nba-rumors-pelicans-linked-to-cavs-jarrett-allen.webp"></figure><h1>NBA rumors: Pelicans again linked to Cavs’ Jarrett Allen</h1><time class="op-published" datetime="2024-01-20T14:59:53-08:00">January 20th, 2:59pm</time><time class="op-modified" datetime="2024-01-20T14:59:53-08:00">January 20th, 2:59pm</time><address><a>Jack Winter</a>Jack Winter is a veteran NBA writer and editor based on the West Coast. He currently lives in Oakland, covering the last legs of the Golden State Warriors' dynasty.</address><h3 class="op-kicker">NBA</h3><figure class="op-ad"></figure></header><p>Rumors about the New Orleans Pelicans’ interest in Cleveland Cavaliers big man Jarrett Allen persist. As the February 8th trade deadline fast approaches, the former All-Star center has reportedly been <a href="https://www.actionnetwork.com/nba/nba-trade-rumors-deadline-agendas-for-all-30-teams" rel="noopener">“commonly associated”</a> with the Pelicans as management scours the league for a long-term option in the middle next to Zion Williamson and Brandon Ingram.</p><p>“Jarrett Allen is the name most commonly associated with the Pelicans,” Matt Moore of They’re looking to reset their center position a little more in the age timeline of their stars Brandon Ingram and Zion Williamson. Jonas Valanciunas on an expiring contract could wind up being moved which would be smart given how much interest there is in centers across the league, and his $15 million expiring deal will be an asset.”</p><h2><b>How would Jarrett Allen fit with the Pelicans?</b></h2><figure><img src="https://wp.clutchpoints.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/12/Jarrett-Allen_s-availability-uncertain-for-Cavs-season-opener.jpg"></figure><p>There’s been smoke about <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/pelicans-facing-possible-jonas-valanciunas-replacement-jarrett-allen-trade-rumors-resurface" rel="noopener">New Orleans targeting Allen</a> via trade dating back before 2023-24. It surfaced again in December after the Cavs lost both Darius Garland and Evan Mobley due to injury, a development that made it easy to believe Cleveland would sell at the trade deadline as two of the team’s core four players were lost for extended stretches.</p><p>The Cavs have weathered that injury storm better than anyone anticipated, at 11-3 since Garland joined Mobley on the injury shelf a few weeks ago. General manager Koby Altman reportedly has no plans to move Donovan Mitchell despite the latter’s well-known preference to play in his native New York, and Cleveland’s appetite for an Allen trade seems similarly nonexistent.</p><p>Even if the Cavs largely stand pat at the trade deadline, though, Allen will remain a popular subject of trade proposals heading into the offseason and beyond. It’s clear by now Cleveland won’t scrape its highest ceiling until Mobley—whose all-around skill development this season has been somewhat disappointing—transitions to being his team’s full-time center. The extremely reasonable two years and $40 million remaining on Allen’s contract past 2023-24 only adds to the expectation he could soon be on his way of Northeast Ohio, too.</p><p>New Orleans’ sustained interest in Allen makes sense given both his on-court fit with the team’s core as well as Jonas Valanciunas’ upcoming foray into free agency.</p><p>While Allen isn’t the floor-spacing five who would best unlock driving lanes for Williamson to be at his monstrous best, he’s a much more threatening vertical spacer than Valanciunas, not to mention a transition rim-runner. More importantly, Allen is one of the best rim-protectors in basketball, forcing opponents into <a href="https://www.nba.com/stats/players/defensive-impact?dir=D&amp;sort=DEF_RIM_FGA" rel="noopener">54.4% shooting at the rim</a> compared to Valanciunas’ porous 67.8%, per NBA.com/stats. With an active, intimidating presence like Allen manning the back line, coach Willie Green could veer away from the paint-packed defensive approach that’s led to the <a href="https://cleaningtheglass.com/stats/league/shots#tab-defense_shooting_frequency" rel="noopener">Pelicans surrendering a higher share of three-pointers</a> than all but one team in the league.</p><p>Chances are nothing comes of New Orleans apparent desire to bring in Allen before the trade deadline. Just don’t forget it entering a summer that could be truly transformational for both the Pelicans and Cavaliers.</p><figure class="op-tracker"></figure></article>    </body></html>

Cleveland
Cavaliers RUMORS

CLEVELAND

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ClevelandCavaliers RUMORS

CLEVELAND

CAVALIERS

Cleveland
Cavaliers RUMORS