The Cleveland Cavaliers are getting desperate to try and move Brendan Haywood before his $10 million salary in 2015 becomes guaranteed in August. Already over the salary cap and luxury tax limits, the Cavaliers need to move Haywood in order to free up salary cap space for remaining contracts that need to be dealt with. However, a trade is easier said than done, but could the Los Angeles Clippers begin to get serious about a deal?
According to ESPN's Chris Broussard, the Clippers and Josh Smith are coming close to agreeing on a contract worth the veteran's minimum of $1.5 million. Smith had some interest around the league, but the contracts were not exactly what the small forward was looking for. According to Smith he opted to pick winning a championship over anything else. According to Broussard, Smith will have a more defined role in Los Angeles than with any other team.
The addition of Smith makes things crowded for the Clippers. After signing players like Lance Stephenson and Wesley Johnson to contracts this offseason along with Paul Pierce and Cole Aldrich, the bench is a crowded place for the Clippers and they could begin to get serious about trade deals. Jamal Crawford is the player in question as the Los Angeles Times reports that Crawford is fairly certain a trade will be coming quickly following the deal for Smith. During a Twitter Q&A, Crawford expressed doubt that he would remain in Los Angeles despite head coach Doc Rivers defending his status in Los Angeles.
"We like Jamal," Rivers said, via the LA Times. "Jamal does something that only several people do, Lou Williams, and a couple of more guys. Our job is to always improve our team, but we also respect and love what Jamal has done. The rumors about that is even crazy, but it is what it is, there's nothing we can do about it."
The Clippers and the Cavaliers have been in discussions for a trade that would involve sending Haywood to Los Angeles while Cleveland gets Crawford. The Clippers could then release Haywood and not have the salary impact. The Cavaliers also get rid of Haywood's contract and acquire quality shooting off the bench as contract talks for both JR Smith and Matthew Dellavedova stall out.
Cleveland has a lot of work to do this offseason despite already getting plenty of contracts taken care of. Dropping Haywood would certainly ease the pain, but there is simply not a lot of interest in his skills. As Cleveland discusses things with Tristan Thompson, the trade of Haywood would help move things along. If no trade is found, the Cavaliers would have to roll his contarct into a trade exception to get rid of it.
