The Cleveland Cavaliers have signed LeBron James back and the team is working on a new contract with Tristan Thompson in free agency and this comes as players like JR Smith and Matthew Dellavedova may return after the Cavs signed Mo Williams, but James may want more and a trade for Jamal Crawford or Nick Young with Brendan Haywood could be next.
James signed a contract worth over $20 million with a player option to stay in Cleveland, but no one thought he would be leaving again. The Cavaliers have kept the core of their eastern conference championship team together by signing back Kevin Love and Iman Shumpert while also signing Mo Williams. According to ESPN.com, James said at the Akron premiere of his film "Trainwreck" that he is expecting the Cavaliers to stay active and mentioned both Thompson and Smith by name.
Check here for more on James's deal, Thompson's contract and JR Smith's potential return.
James said that the team has a "a lot of work to do" and added that the team still "has to re-sign" Tristan Thompson, which is taking longer than expected. James also said he hopes the team can bring back Smith and that he didn't want to come back to the "same team," which means more moves could be on the way. Matthew Dellavedova is expected to return, as he is a restricted free agent and the team has also been connected to trades with Joe Johnson, Nick Young and Jamal Crawford this offseason.
According to Marc Stein at ESPN.com, the Cavs have looked into a deal with Crawford and the Clippers that would be for Brendan Haywood. Haywood is on an unguaranteed deal for $10.5 million and he could be a trade chip for teams looking to offload salary cap space. The contract allows Haywood to be waived and the Cavaliers may do that if a deal doesn't go down. Pro Basketball Talk reported that the Los Angeles Lakers, LA Clippers and Phoenix Suns have shown interest in Haywood.
Check here for more on the Brendan Haywood trade and interest from the Lakers, Suns and Clippers.
Thompson's deal is the next likely move, but so far the two sides have not been able to agree on a deal. According to the Cleveland Plain Dealer, the sides have "continued to talk" leading into the middle of June and Chris Haynes reports that there is "not a vast gap" in negotiations. Thompson and the Cavaliers reportedly were close to a deal worth $80 million and it comes after Thompson had to step up in the finals with Kevin Love injured. Thompson averaged eight points and eight rebounds per game last season and he is a restricted free agent, meaning the Cavs can match any offer.
The Lakers could consider a trade with Nick Young after signing Lou Williams to get Haywood, while the Clippers could look at using Crawford in a deal for Haywood. The Cavaliers have spent a nice amount of money already this offseason, signing James to a deal worth $23 million per season and also adding back Kevin Love at $110 million and Mo Williams at two years and $4.3 million. Shumpert is back on a $40 million contract and the team is expected to add Thompson back at around $80 million.
