The Cleveland Cavaliers continue to make roster adjustments heading into the second week of NBA free agency, but two of their biggest stars remained unsigned. The Cavaliers were able to lock down Timofey Mozgov, Kevin Love and Iman Shumpert very quickly while LeBron James and Tristan Thompson remained unsigned. Meanwhile, the Cavaliers are engaging in trade talks that could signal the departure of another key piece from the 2014-15 roster.
The Cavaliers are prepared to have the highest payroll in the NBA and recent trade talk is only going to increase that. According to Brian Windhorst of ESPN, the Cavaliers are in talks with the Brooklyn Nets to trade for Joe Johnson and his $24.9 million salary next season. The trade would involve sending Brendan Haywood and his $10.5 million non-guaranteed deal to Brooklyn in exchange for the shooting guard who would be a valuable asset to have on the court.
--UPDATE: David West has signed to the Spurs. The Johnson talks have stalled.
According to Windhorst, the Cavaliers would likely have to also trade Anderson Varejao in order to make the trade even out. The center, who spent all last season injured with an Achilles tear, is owed $9.6 million next season. The emergence of Mozgov has dropped Varejao's stock with the team and his salary certainly does not help either. The Cavaliers have been showing interest in David West formally of the Indiana Pacers to likely make up for the potential loss of Varejao in the coming days.
If Johnson were to be acquired, it likely means that JR Smith will not be re-signed in the coming season. According to the Cleveland Plain Dealer, Smith opted out of his player option in order to re-sign a bigger contract with Cleveland. However, it is clear that Smith is not as highly valued as he thinks he is. While the shooting guard had some key moments for Cleveland in the playoffs, he was not consistent enough to get the big contract he is looking for.
Meanwhile, the Cavaliers are still trying to get Thompson under contract before re-signing James to what is expected to be a one-year deal. Contract talks for Thompson have reportedly stalled out according to Windhorst. The two sides were reportedly nearing a five-year, $80 million deal, but that went nowhere. Salary cap space is of course an issue. The Cavaliers could potentially try signing both Thompson and James to one-year deals and wait for the cap space to increase before giving them long-term money.
Regardless, James has leverage and he is the biggest fan of Thompson. If the Cavaliers continue to stall on giving the power forward a new deal, James might stall on signing a contract as well. It does not help that Cleveland is eyeing high-priced trades to burden the cap with as well. They have a lot of work to do in the coming days.
