Category: Cleveland Cavaliers Blog

The Cleveland Cavaliers have assigned guard/forward Sergey Karasev to the Canton Charge, the Cavaliers exclusively owned and operated NBA Development League team, Cavaliers acting General Manager David Griffin announced today from Cleveland Clinic Courts.

Karasev has appeared in 12 games for the Charge with averages of 13.1 points, 4.3 rebounds, 2.4 assists and 1.2 steals in 30.0 minutes per game.

Karasev will be available for Saturday’s Charge game against the Springfield Armor at the Canton Memorial Civic Center at 1:00 p.m.

The Cleveland Cavaliers have signed forward/center Arinze Onuaku from the Canton Charge, the Cavaliers exclusively owned and operated NBA Development League team, to a second 10-day contract, Cavaliers acting General Manager David Griffin announced today from Cleveland Clinic Courts.

Onuaku has appeared in 27 games for the Charge this season with averages of 14.4 points, 9.7 rebounds and 1.0 block in 24.2 minutes per game. He will be available for tonight’s Cavs game against the San Antonio Spurs at Quicken Loans Arena.

Here’s ESPN.com on what would be a very sad day for the Cleveland Cavaliers, should Kyrie Irving someday decide to hit the road for good:

If Kyrie Irving truly wants to be on a different team next season he can probably make it happen.

The Cleveland Cavaliers will offer Irving a maximum contract extension once they’re allowed to on July 1, and if he hasn’t signed it by October, the team will likely be forced to trade him before the Oct. 31 deadline for third-year players to extend their contracts.

The Cavs aren’t without leverage. They can match any deal offered if Irving hits restricted free agency in the summer of 2015, and they control his rights through summer 2016. Waiting out that period would cost Irving millions, not to mention open himself up to losing it all should some unforeseen major injury occur. For these reasons, no player in Irving’s position has ever declined to a sign a maximum contract offer.

But the scars of LeBron James’ departure four years ago are far from healed, and they’re certainly going to affect the way the club and its current star player handle their future together.

Here’s ESPN.com reporting that the Cleveland Cavaliers are more than happy to trade Luol Deng if the right deal rolls around:

As they evaluate their team and try to make a deal to help them get into the playoffs, the Cleveland Cavaliers are making recently acquired Luol Deng available ahead of Thursday’s trade deadline, multiple league sources told ESPN.com.

The Cavs traded three future draft picks and Andrew Bynum to the Chicago Bulls to acquire Deng on Jan. 7. But the deal hasn’t yet worked out how either side hoped.

Cleveland isn’t determined to trade Deng, but with his impending free agency a concern, new general manager David Griffin is testing the market to see what the veteran forward might bring.

Getting value for Deng may be a challenge because his contract expires in June. He cannot be packaged with another Cavs player in a deal due to trade rules, though trades can be structured in a way to get around this issue if the sides are motivated enough.

Here’s the Cleveland Plain Dealer reporting on Cavaliers star Kyrie Irving, who on Sunday won the 2014 NBA All-Star game MVP award and now returns regular season reality, where his team has a 20-33 record:

Irving was asked what’s next for the Cavaliers after the All-Star break.

“Just a higher focus level,” he said. “We went into the All-Star break with some momentum and now, coming out, its really important to get that first game and get up for that first game no matter how tired we are.

“Everybody’s rested. It’s just really important to come out with that same focus and play as a team and hopefully continue this streak.”

The Cavs won four straight games heading into the break, including rallying to win at Detroit on Wednesday night, to improve to 20-33. In the weak Eastern Conference, they’re only three games out of the No. 8 spot in the playoffs, currently held by the Charlotte Bobcats, 23-30.

“I think the last couple games before the break we’ve been jelling,” Waiters said. “We’ve just been passing the ball and running the floor, playing team basketball, and it shows. You see the results. I think we’ve got to keep that momentum after the break and hopefully we’ll make the playoffs.”

The Cleveland Cavaliers need talent. They have Kyrie Irving, and if he sticks around long-term is an excellent building block. But the rest of the roster is largely a question mark. Here’s the Boston Globe with more:

With the good luck he has brought the Cleveland Cavaliers at the NBA draft lottery, maybe team owner Dan Gilbert should appoint his son as the team’s next general manager because everything following the lottery has been an abject failure.

The Cavaliers were given a plethora of draft resources, including two No. 1 overall picks with Nick Gilbert present, to rebuild following the departure of LeBron James. But so far the results have been abysmal.

Cleveland was tabbed as a cinch playoff team this season, expected to attract James to perhaps return as a free agent. The Cavaliers were the vogue pick to rise in the Eastern Conference, led by their charismatic star point guard, Kyrie Irving, and a talented and youthful supporting cast.

Yet the product has been painfully disappointing. Irving has taken a step back, apparently caught up with stardom and his next destination, according to those close to the team. Fellow lottery picks Tristan Thompson and Dion Waiters have been average at best, while last spring’s No. 1 overall pick, Anthony Bennett, has registered a Ryan Leaf-bust type of first season.