The Cleveland Cavaliers continue to make moves that do not involve bringing back some of their in-house talent. The Cavaliers have already spent a great deal of money this offseason and they will need to spend even more if they intend on bringing back certain names. However, they continue to explore the free agent market which is going to factor in to the contracts for Matthew Dellavedova, JR Smith and Tristan Thompson.
According to ESPN's Marc Stein, the Cavaliers have signed Richard Jefferson to a one-year, veteran minimum deal after he originally committed to the Dallas Mavericks. The veteran small forward had originally eyed Dallas when DeAndre Jordan was expected to sign, but then changed his mind with the Cavaliers came calling.
Cleveland is getting a solid asset in Jefferson. The veteran has placed 40 percent shooting average from the 3-point line which should boost scoring off the bench for Cleveland. The contract to Jefferson also gives the Cavaliers leverage when it comes to a contract for Smith. According to the Cleveland Plain Dealer, the Cavaliers were not happy that Smith opted out of his player option and while they are willing to bring him back, it will have to be on a much smaller contract than he originally was hoping for. Having Jefferson puts the pressure on Smith to give in to talks.
The Cavaliers are still trying to get Dellavedova under contract, something easier said than done. While there has not been any interest on the restricted free agent, the Cavaliers could opt to let someone else make an offer on him. According to Hoops Habit, the Cavaliers could try and trade for a backup point guard by offering up Brendan Haywood who's contract is non-guaranteed until August. According to the Miami Herald, the Heat are desperate to deal Mario Chalmers or Shabazz Napier and getting Haywood would help the team. LeBron James is a notable Napier fan during his time with the Heat and could endorse the trade.
Thompson is considered the best free agent available, but no teams have made offers for him and likely will not. The Cavaliers might actually be hoping a team places an offer on the table so they can match it and be done with talks for the time being. According to Stein, Thompson wants a max contract or around that and the Cavaliers simply cannot afford it without skyrocketing their luxury tax issues which are already a problem. The contract for Jefferson is nice, but the Cavaliers have more pressing needs.
