Cavaliers obtain De'Andre Hunter from Hawks

    Koby Altman must have been frustrated with his Cleveland Cavaliers' recent struggles against the Boston Celtics and Oklahoma City Thunder, arguably the two best teams the Cavaliers must face to win an NBA championship.

Altman needed to do something to upgrade the roster. Still, with limited resources to trade if he didn't want to trade any of Cleveland's "Core Four" of Donovan Mitchell, Darius Garland, Evan Mobley, and Jarrett Allen, the Cavaliers weren't tabbed as a team likely to acquire a player that could be more than a role player by the NBA's trade deadline.

Anyone believing that would have been incorrect as Altman not only landed a player that improved the roster, Altman did so at a surprisingly low cost as the Cavaliers acquired De'Andre Hunter from the Atlanta Hawks for Caris LeVert, Georges Niang, three future second-round draft picks, and pick swaps in the future, which sometimes never are used.

Hunter was the fourth overall draftee in the 2019 draft from Virginia and is enjoying his best season as a professional with averages of nineteen points and almost four rebounds a game for the Hawks.

The twenty-seven-year-old Hunter is signed through this season and the following two years so Hunter won't be a rental and can be planned into the Cavaliers future.

Hunter is shooting forty-six percent from the floor and a career-high thirty-nine percent from beyond the three-point line.

Hunter is the "three and D" on the wing that Cleveland lacked. At 6'8", he can play the four position if circumstances require it. While Hunter may not have been the defensive stopper he was in college, he is still better than average on the defensive end.

Cleveland's cost for Hunter seems light compared to their return, losing two players from their second unit.

Caris LeVert averages ten points and just under four assists per game in almost twenty-four minutes a night. He is capable of offensive explosions, but it's difficult to consistently rely on him. His expiring contract may have appealed to the Hawks most in the trade.

Georges Niang was averaging eight points a game in twenty minutes per game off the bench and was shooting forty percent from three-point range in a season that saw improved play from Niang after a disappointing first Cleveland campaign.

The second-round picks are a tangible asset and not something that I worry about trading, and I doubt the option for Atlanta to switch first-rounders with Cleveland will ever occur.

The amazing thing for me is that the best two assets that could have been traded, the Cavaliers next available first-rounder in 2031 and their most recent first-round pick in Jaylon Tyson, Cleveland managed to keep both!

Tyson isn't playing a large role yet but impressed when he has had the opportunity and Cleveland hopes to develop Tyson into a key performer when the Cavaliers may have to make salary cap decisions down the road.

Caris LeVert and Georges Niang are both reported to be great locker room guys and losing them certainly weakens the second unit.

However, neither player would have been a playoff regular and Niang in particular would see his playing time decrease drastically during the postseason.

Both players will be missed but Koby Altman has to be praised for adding a player such as De'Andre Hunter to fill the team's largest weakness at a reasonable price.

Clearly, Cleveland has improved their chances of dethroning the Boston Celtics with the acquisition of De'Andre Hunter.

Cavaliers clean house

  On the eve before free agency, the Cleveland Cavaliers and Koby Altman made a few moves with their current roster to prepare for any potential moves from outside the roster with the free agency market opening.

The biggest move was re-signing guard Caris LeVert to a two-year contract worth thirty-two million dollars.

The twenty-eight-year-old LeVert averaged twelve points a game coming off the bench for Cleveland behind Donovan Mitchell at the two guard, shooting forty-three percent from the floor and thirty-nine percent from three-point range.

LeVert's deal came about due to the Cavaliers holding a salary cap exception that applied to LeVert and LeVert only, so Cleveland was unable to spend that exception on any other player, so they decided to keep LeVert since they wouldn't be able to use the money if they didn't.

LeVert's three-point shooting reached a career-high last season, and Cleveland deciding to keep LeVert isn't a bad thing under the circumstances.

Cleveland also decided to guarantee the contract of Cedi Osman for next season at 6.7 million but I still wouldn't bet my paycheck on Osman remaining with the team, although it wouldn't surprise me either way.

Osman averaged 8.7 points last season but his streakiness has been frustrating fans for years,

Osman's contract might be moved in a trade and while I like him as a high-energy bench player, it might be best for Osman to move elsewhere at twenty-eight if Osman is going to ever progress to a starter-level player, Osman may need to leave Cleveland.

Cleveland also did not give a qualifying offer to Dylan Windler and will allow him to explore other options elsewhere. 

Windler was one of three Cavaliers first-rounders in a 2019 draft that resulted in Darius Garland and the-departed Kevin Porter Jr and has been plagued by injuries since being selected, playing in only eighty-four games over four seasons, and just three of those games during last season.

Windler would have required a five million qualifying offer and Cleveland wouldn't and shouldn't have considered making an offer considering Windler's injury history.

Cleveland did give a second-year two-way offer to Isaiah Mobley, who the Cavaliers selected in the second round of the 2022 draft from USC.

Mobley spent most of the season with the G-League Charge, where he was selected to the G-League all-Third Team after averaging 24.5 points, 8.5 rebounds, and 4.5 assists per game.

Mobley played thirteen games for the Cavaliers, averaging 2.4 points and 1.5 rebounds per game in limited action.

Cleveland will be adding players, I would think, over the next day or so from outside the organization and I'll be offering my thoughts on those newcomers over the next few days.

Cavaliers even series with Knicks 107-90

    The Cleveland Cavaliers overcame a slow start to dominate from the second quarter forward to defeat the New York Knicks 107-90 in game two of their Eastern Conference series.

Darius Garland led Cleveland with 32 points with Caris LeVert popping in with 24 off the bench.
Donovan Mitchell finished with 17 points and 13 assists to aid Cleveland in their win.

The deadlocked series moves to New York on Friday for game three with game four on Sunday afternoon.

Swashbucklings

1) Give Darius Garland credit for his drives to the basket and for even attempting a rare slam over half the Knicks frontcourt.

Garland has had a difficult job in unofficially handing over the reins as the team's superstar to Donovan Mitchell and still has handled it with quite a bit of class.

2) Garland scored 26 of his 32 points in a first-half explosion and would finish the game with six three-pointers from ten attempts.

When Garland has an outside shot dropping in, it forces teams to worry about both Garland and Donovan Mitchell, which opens things up for Evan Mobley and Jarrett Allen closer to the basket.

It's all a trickle-down from the top.

3) As for Donovan Mitchell, he did finish with "only" seventeen points but added in a playoff career-high thirteen assists and Mitchell was more than effective.

The Cavaliers are best when they have four or five players between 15-20 points rather than Mitchell pouring in 40 plus and I think Mitchell knows that, which is why he's willing to pass the basketball when a player is especially shooting well as Darius Garland was in the win.

4) Jarrett Allen was called for a flagrant foul for a late-game under-the-basket collision with Julius Randle.

While I think the flagrant foul was a fair one, I do wonder why Randle, who entered the series with some wear and tear injuries, was even in the game at that point (Late in the game with Cleveland leading by around twenty), let alone driving to the basket.

5) Isaac Okoro was in the starting lineup but you would never know by the stat sheet as Okoro committed two fouls in the first three minutes, was benched by J.B. Bickerstaff, and never left the sideline for the remainder of the game.

6) This move meant more time for Caris LeVert, who led the team in forty minutes of play and scored twenty-four points on nine for sixteen shooting.

LeVert is a tough player to count on due to his inconsistency but on his good nights, LeVert is a massive help off a Cavalier reserve squad that badly could use his scoring.

Forty-One times Two, Cavs rally for OT win

   Donovan Mitchell and Caris LeVert each poured in forty-one points as the Cleveland Cavaliers worked their way from a double-digit deficit in the second half and dropped the Boston Celtics 132-123 in overtime in Boston.

The Mitchell/LeVert pairing combined 82 points and led the squad with support from Evan Mobley and Jarrett Allen each posting a double-double.

Cleveland improved to 4-1 with the victory and will face New York at home on Sunday.

Swashbucklings

1) What a game from Donovan Mitchell, who hit 15 of 25 shots and five three-pointers, and what was very impressive to me was how he impressively drove to the basket.

2) Mitchell's drive by Marcus Smart to slam home a punishing dunk late in the game wasn't only visually impressive, it showed a dimension that last season's Cavaliers lacked (outside of Darius Garland)- An offensive talent that can beat a defender one on one to the basket or make them pay with the jumper should they slack off to play the drive.

3) Caris LeVert has always been a streaky player but he's known for occasionally having those nights when everything is working and everything falls with huge numbers resulting.

On a night without Darius Garland on the road and against a very good Celtic team, LeVert's points with six three-pointers were not only helpful- they were a need.

4) LeVert isn't known for his passing but he did finish with seven assists to lead the team.

5) The double-forties from Mitchell and LeVert was the first time that two Cavaliers had hit the mark in the same game since LeBron James and noted Twitter sensation Kyrie Irving reached the number in game five of the 2016 Finals against the Warriors.

6) Boston led Cleveland by thirteen at the half and lost by nine, so the Cavaliers outscored Boston by twenty-two in the second half and overtime.

7) Isaac Okoro is in someone's doghouse.

Okoro played only seven minutes (scoring two points) after logging only eleven in the Cavalier's previous win over Orlando.

It's not looking good for the former first-rounder.

Cavaliers dominate late, storm past Pacers

  The Cleveland Cavaliers didn't start slow in Indianapolis against the Pacers-

The Pacers were simply white-hot as Indiana scored a franchise-record 47 points in the first quarter and it looked like one of those nights that you run into the wrong team on the wrong night.

However, shooting like that is unsustainable on even the best evening, and this Cavaliers team began to chip away from a nineteen point deficit after the first quarter,

Still late in the third, Indiana led by as much as eighteen points, and then Cleveland turned on the gas to catch the Pacers and blow by them to take a 120-113 win.

Caris LeVert and Jarrett Allen each scored 22 points to lead a balanced Cleveland offense that saw seven Cavaliers finish with double-figure scoring.

Cleveland's win moved them to 35-21 overall and moved into a tie with Chicago for second place in the Eastern Conference, one game behind Miami, and a tie for the Central Division lead with those same Bulls.

Cleveland travels to Philadelphia tonight for their final game before the All-Star break against the 76ers and their new arrival James Harden.

Swashbucklings

1) Cleveland played again without Darius Garland and I'm not sure if he will play tonight against Philadelphia as my guess is that the team wishes to keep Garland's back from pounding on back-to-back nights.

And with the All-Star game in Cleveland, it's possible that the Cavaliers want to be very cautious as I'm sure the first-time All-Star will badly want to play in that game at home.

2) Caris LeVert made his first start as a Cavalier and made the most of it with his high total.

Levert hit ten of nineteen shots and drove to the hoop with strength against his former teammates.

LeVert only shot two three-pointers, hitting one, and I wonder if the reason that he didn't shoot as many was his inside knowledge of the people attempting to defend against him?

3) Still, the Cavalier of the night, in my opinion, was the veteran Rajon Rondo, who hit six of seven shots, two from three-point distance, and with his play in the third quarter helped keep Cleveland in sight of Indiana for a potential comeback.

Rondo finished the night with seventeen points, seven rebounds. and six assists as Rondo continues to duel with Brandon Goodwin for the first point guard off the bench behind Darius Garland, which is a role that is even more important on evenings that Garland doesn't play.

Goodwin was a coach's decision DNP on the evening.

4) Kevin Love continues to buy into his sixth man role and he is doing it in ways other than only scoring.

Love seems to be all over the bench encouraging teammates in good times and bad and looks like he is having more fun even than in the championship days with LeBron James.,

5) Love is also drawing charges at a very high rate.

John Michael (Cavalier play by play man) mentioned during the telecast that Love had around fifteen charges with the second-highest number at only three.

Charges are always an effort play anyway as it takes a lot to see a two hundred-plus pound man flying at you and knowing you have to set your feet and take the hit, so Love accumulating so many of these makes you believe that he has truly bought into his role in the program.

6) Indiana made a big trade with Sacramento after the Pacers peddled Caris LeVert to Cleveland and I think it was a good one for the Pacers as they added Tyrese Halliburton as part of a six-player swap with the Kings.

While I like Domantas Sabonis (the main player heading west) a lot as a player, Halliburton had impressed me a lot in his year and a half with Sacramento after being drafted 12th in the 2020 draft from Iowa State.

In fact, I had Halliburton pegged as the future face of the Kings and their foundational building block in yet another Sacramento rebuild, so I was shocked to see him traded to Indiana.

The game was the debut in Indiana for Halliburton (as well as Buddy Hield and former Cavalier Tristan Thompson) and Halliburton (and Hield) would play forty minutes in the defeat.

Halliburton would finish with twenty-three points and six assists and I have a feeling that we might be seeing some classic showdowns between Halliburton and Darius Garland over the next few seasons in divisional matchups. 

Cavaliers slap Spurs 105-92

    The Cleveland Cavaliers received twenty-seven points from Darius Garland in his return from his back problems and added the almost-routine double-doubles from Evan Mobley and Jarrett Allen to lead the Cavaliers to a 105-92 win over the San Antonio Spurs in Cleveland.

Caris LeVert scored eleven points off the bench in his Cavaliers debut as Cleveland improved to 34-21 on the season.

Cleveland goes on the road to Indiana on Friday and to Philadelphia on Saturday in their final games before the All-Star break.

Swashbucklings

1)  The Darius Garland return was more than successful as Garland hit twelve of fifteen shots on the floor and did it without one trip to the free-throw line.

2) That stat alone is impressive but it does make me think that the back injury is still bothering Garland as he didn't take the ball to the goal as often in what might have been an attempt to avoid contact to keep the back from further injury.

It is something to look for in the games against the Pacers and 76ers.

3) Caris LeVert scored eleven points on four for eleven shooting in his twenty-minute Cavalier debut.

Levert hit one three-pointer but he will take some time to fit in as I counted three times that LeVert drove to the basket in isolation and didn't keep the ball moving as the Cavaliers do so well.

4) Isaac Okoro had a nice game with fourteen points and hit both of his three-pointers but the most memorable was his flying across the lane slam dunk to posterize a poor Spur. 

Cavaliers acquire Caris LeVert from Indiana

 Before tonight's game against the Indiana Pacers, the Cleveland Cavaliers acquired guard Caris LeVert from the Pacers in exchange for the expiring contract of Ricky Rubio, the Cavaliers 2022 first-rounder that is lottery-protected in the unlikely event that the Cavaliers don't make the postseason, Houston's 2022 second-round pick and Utah's second-round pick in 2027.

Along with LeVert, Cleveland also obtained Miami's second-rounder in the 2022 draft.

The twenty-seven-year-old LeVert is averaging just under nineteen points for Indiana, shooting forty-four percent from the floor and thirty-two percent from three-point range.

Indiana acquired LeVert last season as their part of the four-team trade that landed James Harden with Brooklyn and Jarrett Allen with the Cavaliers.

LeVert at 6'6 can play small forward and shooting guard but will likely spend more time with Cleveland at the two-guard, although he could play some at the three until the return of Lauri Markkaken to the lineup from his ankle injury.

LeVert was at the top of a small list of shooting guards that were linked to the Cavaliers at the trade deadline and will be under contract through next season at 18.7 million.

As far as the cost goes, the first-rounder is lottery protected as a safeguard and the Cavaliers may have tried to move that pick had they kept it to stay under the cap and its various stipulations,

The second-rounders are a non-factor although the Houston second-rounder that was sent to the Pacers is likely to be a very early pick in that round.

Ricky Rubio's expiring contract opens up space for Indiana and I know the knee injury could be difficult for Rubio to return from but I wouldn't be surprised if the Cavaliers attempted to bring Rubio back as a free agent under an incentive-based contract.

You have to like this deal for the Cavaliers.

I would have wondered about the first-round pick being traded away had the deal been brokered before the season but considering the development of the team this season, I'm not as concerned about that currently.

The contract of Rubio was a sunk cost after his injury and LeVert fits into the salary slot that Rubio filled so that's not going to be an issue even against a potential luxury cap penalty for next season.

There is nothing not to like about this deal except I always hate dealing first-round picks and this time it makes sense to do so.