The Cleveland Cavaliers have traded veteran swingman Richard Jefferson and point guard Kay Felder to the Atlanta Hawks for draft rights to Dimitrios Agravanis and Sergii Gladyr. Adrian Wojnarowski of ESPN reported that the Hawks will also get "two future second round picks." Dave McMenamin of ESPN said the Cavaliers will send $3 million to the Hawks as part of the deal. Shams Charania of The Vertical first reported that the Cavaliers and Hawks were engaged in an advanced trade talk. The move was expected, since the Cavaliers need to dispose of at least one guaranteed contract before their season-opener against the Boston Celtics on October 17.
The 37-year-old Jefferson is set to earn $2.5 million. The Cavaliers signed Felder to a non-guaranteed deal worth $1.3 million for the coming season. Wojnarowski, in a separate tweet, said the Hawks plan to waive Jefferson and Felder, who would then become free agents. The Hawks selected the 6-foot-10 Agravanis as the 59th pick overall in the 2015 NBA Draft, while Gladyr, a 6-foot-5 shooting guard, was their 49th overall pick in 2009.
Jefferson trade expected
The trade came as no surprise because Jason Lloyd of The Athletic and Sam Amico of AmicoHoops.com reported earlier that the Cavaliers might cut or ship Jefferson to another squad. The Cavaliers signed the 37-year-old Jefferson to a one-year deal in the offseason, but he became dispensable when the team acquired Dwyane Wade recently.
The move will save the Cavaliers $10.5 million in luxury tax. A 16-year veteran, Jefferson was the 16th overall pick of the Houston Rockets, but he was traded to the then-New Jersey Nets, where he played for seven seasons as starter.
Jefferson also played for the Milwaukee Bucks, San Antonio Spurs, Golden State Warriors, Utah Jazz and the Dallas Mavericks.
Jefferson spent the last two years with the Cavaliers, averaging 5.7 points and 2.6 boards in 79 games as a reserve last season. Felder, a 54th overall pick by the Hawks in 2016, played 42 games for the Cavaliers last season, averaging 4.0 points, 1.0 rebounds and 1.4 assists in 9.2 minutes of play per outing.
Agravanis, Gladyr both playing overseas
Agravanis and Gladyr are both overseas, playing for powerhouse Olympiacos of the EuroLeauge and AS Monaco Basket of the French LNB Pro A, respectively. Gladyr played for the Hawks in the NBA Summer League in 2010 and 2013 but he did not make the team. In 262 career professional games, Gladyr averaged 9.2 points, 2.8 rebounds and 1.3 assists and made 36 percent of his attempts from beyond the arc.
