NBA Rumors: Cavs Interested In Mo Williams, Dangling 1st Round Pick?
NBA Rumors: The Cleveland Cavaliers are interested in bringing Mo Williams back and are shopping their first-round pick and Brendan Haywood
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It’s been less than a week since the Cleveland Cavaliers fell to the Golden State Warriors in six games in the grandest of stages — the NBA Finals — but the Cavs are going right to work on the offseason.
And the first two things on the check list this summer for Cleveland — before ultimately having to re-sign Kevin Love, LeBron James and their numerous other free agents on the roster — is potentially bringing back Mo Williams and adding more value to their roster by dangling their first-round pick (in next week’s draft) and the expiring contract of Brendan Haywood.
First on Mo Williams, who is reportedly “more than interested” in making a return to Cleveland.
"[via Cleveland.com]Soon-to-be unrestricted free agent point guard Mo Williams is “more than interested” in making a return to Cleveland, sources close to the guard informed Northeast Ohio Media Group.However, due to their own pending powerhouse free agents, the Cavaliers will be limited in what they can offer. All they will have at their disposal is the taxpayer mid-level exception and the veteran’s minimum. Williams is seeking a multiyear deal and the Cavaliers and Hornets are two of the teams at the top of his wish list, a source revealed…"
Then, ESPN’s Brian Windhorst on the Cavs dangling Haywood and, potentially, their first-round pick (24th overall).
"[via ESPN]Days after the end of the Finals, the Cleveland Cavaliers are working on upgrading their roster by shopping the potentially valuable contract of Brendan Haywood, and — in some cases — offering it along with the 24th overall pick in Thursday’s draft, sources told ESPN.com.Haywood’s $10.5 million contract is not guaranteed for next season if he’s waived by Aug. 2. This could be attractive to a team looking to either offload salary now or use it as part of another deal that could be executed during free agency in July.The Cavs have tested the market in swapping Haywood either for a player or a future draft pick, sources said. …Any trade involving the Cavs’ first-round pick could not be executed until after the draft. They are precluded from trading their pick before making the selection because they already traded their 2016 first-round pick in the deal to acquire Kevin Love last summer. That pick now belongs to Philadelphia."
As we saw in the NBA Finals, when Kyrie Irving was injured and when LeBron James was on the bench, the Cavs accounted for zero offense. Matthew Dellavedova can’t create and J.R. Smith couldn’t hit a basket if his life depended on it. Iman Shumpert was out there missing layups.
Williams, someone who could actually create his own offense, returning to Cleveland would help bolster the Cavs’ NBA’s worst scoring bench.
I’m not sure if an upgraded bench is the difference between the Cavs and an NBA Championship — or perhaps it was just health. Either way, Cleveland doesn’t plan on taking that chance without making some tweaks this offseason.