The Cleveland Cavaliers might not have two of their biggest stars under contract yet, but that is not stopping them from potentially making other roster adjustments. Cleveland has been searching for trade deals that would rid themselves of Brendan Haywood's contract, but so far talks are stalling with teams like the Brooklyn Nets which is causing them to reach out to other franchises for potential moves.
According to ESPN's Marc Stein, the Cavaliers were trying to work out a trade to acquire Joe Johnson from the Brooklyn Nets by sending Haywood and his non-guaranteed deal their way. However, now Mike Mazzeo of ESPN is reporting that negotiations are stalling because Brooklyn does not want to acquire Anderson Varejao who would need to be included to make the salaries match. Varejao's future in Cleveland has come under question with the addition of Timofey Mozgov. He signed a contract extension before suffering a season-ending injury in the 2014-15 season. He is owed $9 million next season, $10 million in 2016 and another $10 million in 2017. The Nets do not want it and now the trade for Johnson is unlikely to happen.
With the Brooklyn deal on the backburner, the Cavaliers are targeting one with the Los Angeles Clippers. Stein is reporting that Cleveland is negotiating a deal to send Haywood to Los Angeles in exchange for Jamal Crawford. This trade would not include Varejao considering Crawford has an easier contract to take on. Los Angeles would likely take Haywood and flip him for other assets as they try to replace DeAndre Jordan.
While Cleveland continues to work out these trade deals, Tristan Thompson and LeBron James are without contracts. According to the Cleveland Plain Dealer, discussions with Thompson are stalling out, but a deal is still expected to be finalized. The last remaining question is the future of JR Smith. The Cavaliers just signed Mo Williams to add to the backcourt depth. Is there room for Smith to return?
Stein is reporting that the Cavaliers are not abandoning the idea of Smith, but will not rush to re-sign him just yet. If the Cavaliers get a trade for Crawford, the idea of Smith returning seems like it would be out of the question. However, Stein believes Cleveland wants to "keep the whole band together" which would mean Smith stands a chance at coming back, but likely not at the price he wants.
