Cleveland Cavaliers point guard Kyrie Irving spoke about the current state of the team following several missed opportunities and front-office changes in the offseason. When asked by Maggie Gray about the Cavaliers’ future, Irving replied: “we’re in a peculiar place." The All-Star point guard emphasized that the best thing that players can do is “handle things with class and professionalism." Irving said he will just take the “wait and see approach” on the Cavaliers’ moves during the summer. He is also confident that team owner Dan Gilbert will spend money on “guys that he believes in."
After the Cavaliers lost to the Golden State Warriors in the NBA Finals last season, they were expected to go after big-name free agents in the offseason.
The Cavaliers were close to getting Jimmy Butler from the Chicago Bulls but Gilbert did not give general manager David Griffin a contract extension. Recently, it was reported that Paul George almost went to the Cavaliers via trade but the Indiana Pacers changed their mind at the last minute.
James frustrated by Cavs’ offseason moves
Earlier, LeBron James expressed frustration over the Cavaliers’ offseason moves, starting with the departure of Griffin, the architect of the franchise’s first championship. Gilbert refused to give Griffin a contract extension and let him leave the team at a crucial time when they were discussing a trade with the Bulls for Butler.
The talks fizzled out while Butler was traded to the Minnesota Timberwolves on Draft Day.
The Bulls shipped Butler and 16th overall pick Justin Patton to the Timberwolves for Kris Dunn, Zach Lavine and 7th pick Lauri Markkanen. According to Adrian Wojnarowski of ESPN, Cavaliers interim general manager Koby Altman also came close to getting George via trade with the Pacers. Wojnarowski reported that the Pacers were about to allow George to talk with Gilbert on the phone but backed out at the last minute.
The Pacers later traded George to the Oklahoma City Thunder.
No significant offseason moves for Cavs
After the two missed opportunities, the Cavaliers went under the radar in free agency. They handed sharpshooter Kyle Korver a three-year, $22 million deal and signed veterans Jeff Green and Jose Calderon to one-year contracts worth $2.3 million.
According to Joe Vardon of Cleveland.com, the Cavaliers also signed 22-year-old Turkish forward Cedi Osman to a three-year deal worth $8.3 million. The 6-foot-8 Osman played for Anadolu Efes for five seasons, averaging 7.1 points and 2.8 rebounds in the Euroleague.
