Cleveland Cavaliers

Center Andre Drummond will reportedly exercise the $28.7 million option in his contract and remain with the Cleveland Cavaliers for the 2020-21 season, according to Marc Stein of the New York Times.

The Cavs acquired Drummond from the Detroit Pistons at a discounted price in February, as they gave up only John Henson, Brandon Knight and a 2023 second-round pick.

Drummond appeared in eight games for Cleveland after the trade, averaging 17.5 points, 11.1 rebounds, 1.8 assists, 1.5 steals and 1.4 blocks.

In 57 games split between the Cavs and Pistons last season, Drummond averaged a career-high 17.7 points to go along with 15.2 rebounds, 2.7 assists, 1.9 steals and 1.6 blocks.

Last season marked the third year in a row and fourth time in five seasons that Drummond led the NBA in rebounding.

He is a two-time All-Star and in the prime of his career at 27, but Drummond may not be of great use to a rebuilding Cavs team that went an Eastern Conference-worst 19-46 last season and is unlikely to compete for a playoff spot in 2020-21.

However, he may not finish the season with the Cavs.

Cleveland didn't pay much to acquire him, and a big reason for that was Detroit's motivation to shed his contract. Since he can become a free agent at the end of the 2020-21 season, the Cavs may not have to sell him for pennies on the dollar.

Drummond figures to dominate the frontcourt minutes for Cleveland alongside Kevin Love during the upcoming season, especially if Tristan Thompson signs elsewhere in free agency. That could set the stage for Drummond to have a career year statistically and possibly increase his value.

The Boston Celtics, for instance, could view a player like Drummond as the missing piece inside, and getting a first-round pick and potentially more for him would be a nice haul once the deadline rolls around.

Cleveland Cavaliers wing Kevin Porter Jr. was arrested Sunday morning and charged with improperly handling firearms in a motor vehicle, according to Chris Fedor of Cleveland.com.

Police records say the 20-year-old was pulled over in Canfield, Ohio, and officers found a loaded firearm accessible without leaving the vehicle. Porter was released later Sunday morning on $4,000 bond.

The Cavaliers are reportedly aware of the situation.

The 30th pick in the 2019 NBA draft impressed during his rookie season with averages of 10.0 points, 3.2 rebounds and 2.2 assists per game.

He was especially valuable on the defensive end, averaging 0.9 steals in limited playing time while showing he can be a quality perimeter defender.

On a team that had just 19 wins in each of the last two years, Porter could be a key part of the core going forward alongside Collin Sexton and Darius Garland.

However, he had red flags entering the NBA after being suspended at USC for personal conduct issues. Jeff Goodman of Stadium reported in January 2019 that NBA personnel considered him a "risk," dropping him out of the lottery despite being a top-three talent on the court.

The Cleveland Cavaliers know who they want when their turn to select comes with the fifth pick in the NBA draft. According to John Hollinger of The Athletic, the team's list includes just a pair of prospects in Obi Toppin and Deni Avdija.

"I've heard two names with Cleveland: Obi Toppin and Deni Avdija. That's it. That's the list," he wrote Tuesday. "I'm not really sure which way to run with this."

Hollinger reported that people in the Cavaliers front office are "fans" of Avdija, the 6'9" guard out of Israel, while scouts are conflicted on the 19-year-old. Meanwhile, Toppin, the 6'9" power forward who played two seasons at Dayton, is considered "a pretty legit top-five talent" but may have some disappointing medical results from the combine.

In his mock draft, Hollinger had the Cavaliers going with Toppin at No. 5. It's an interesting pick on a roster that already has Andre Drummond, Kevin Love and Larry Nance Jr. up front, though Hollinger writes that Nance could be moved to make space for Toppin. The Cavs also could do something similar to develop Avdija.

After two consecutive 19-win seasons, the Cavaliers are looking for prospects who can contribute immediately, and that's why Hollinger has them looking to Toppin on Nov. 18.

"Toppin's ability to help immediately has to be tempting," he wrote. "That's the tiebreaker for me."

If the Cavaliers go with Avdija instead, the New York Knicks are reportedly hoping to grab Toppin at No. 8. ESPN's Jonathan Givony said that Knicks President Leon Rose is "dying" to take the Brooklyn native when their turn comes (h/t RealGM).

If the Cleveland Cavaliers trade center Andre Drummond, it reportedly isn't likely to happen until during the 2020-21 season.

According to cleveland.com's Chris Fedor, the belief is the Cavs' best chance to move Drummond would be at the 2020-21 trade deadline.

Drummond is expected to exercise his $28.7 million player option, as he said back in June that he would "definitely" do so.

Cleveland raised some eyebrows last season after acquiring Drummond from the Detroit Pistons for John Henson, Brandon Knight and a 2023 second-round pick in February.

The Cavs didn't have to give up much despite Drummond being a two-time All-Star, primarily because Detroit wanted to avoid having him opt in for 2020-21. That could be ideal for Cleveland, though, since teams may be interested in him at the deadline as a rental.

Drummond, 27, has been among the most productive centers in the league over the past several years, leading the NBA in rebounds per game in four of the past five seasons. He also set a career high in scoring last season.

He appeared in only eight games for the Cavs before the 2019-20 season was stopped because of the COVID-19 pandemic, but in 57 games split between the Pistons and Cavaliers, he averaged 17.7 points, 15.2 rebounds, 2.7 assists, 1.9 steals and 1.6 blocks while shooting 53.3 percent from the field.

If Tristan Thompson leaves in free agency, the path is clear for Drummond to put up monster numbers.

Assuming the Cavs still aren't ready to contend for the playoffs after going an Eastern Conference-worst 19-46 last season, Drummond might become a valuable trade chip.

He could work well for a contending team in need of some interior help for the playoff push, and it isn't outside the realm of possibility that Cleveland could land a first-round pick and potentially even more.

Given that Cleveland only gave up a couple of bench players and a future second-round pick to land him, flipping Drummond could prove to be a coup for general manager Koby Altman.

As Cleveland Cavaliers star Tristan Thompson prepares to enter free agency, a return to the team with which he's spent the entirety of his career can't be ruled out.

According to Cleveland.com's Chris Fedor, the Cavs don't want the 2011 No. 4 pick to depart this offseason, but the team isn't prepared to offer him as much money as he's hoping to receive on the open market. 

"The Cavs want him back—at the right price," Fedor wrote. "But according to sources, early discussions have centered on a number lower than Thompson would want. That may be his reality this offseason."

Thompson posted a 51.8 two-point percentage while averaging 12.0 points and 10.1 rebounds per game in 2019-20. He is considered a "minimum contract center" by John Hollinger of The Athletic, via Fedor, who noted ESPN's Brian Windhorst said the same on the Wine and Gold Talk Podcast.

"That means there's still a path to Thompson returning to Cleveland on a one-year, prove-it deal, allowing him to hit free agency again in 2021," Fedor wrote.

Thompson is coming off a five-year, $82 million deal and was slated to earn $18.5 million last season, when the Cavaliers finished with 19 wins for the second consecutive year.

As they look to strengthen their roster this offseason, the Cleveland Cavaliers might have to aim lower than veteran forward Jerami Grant.

Cleveland.com's Chris Fedor reported Monday the Cavs "were prepared to take a run" at Grant but that the way he played toward the end of 2019-20 "likely pushed him out of their price range."

Following the NBA's restart in August, Grant averaged 15.6 points and shot 52.6 percent from the field. He continued to be effective in the playoffs, averaging 11.6 points and 3.3 rebounds as the Denver Nuggets reached the Western Conference Finals.

In addition to spacing the floor for Denver, the 26-year-old held opponents to 29.8 percent on three-pointers last season, per NBA.com.

Grant has earned the three-and-D designation, making him an obvious target for a Cavs team in desperate need of an upgrade on the wing. As Fedor wrote, however, financial flexibility isn't something Cleveland will have.

The franchise was on pace to have a lot of salary cap space before acquiring Andre Drummond from the Detroit Pistons. Assuming Drummond picks up his $28.8 million player option, he basically qualifies as the Cavaliers' marquee offseason addition.

The Athletic's Danny Leroux explained how general manager Koby Altman has his hands tied:

"The immediate future is pretty challenging as the Cavs have $107.2 million in guaranteed obligations if Andre Drummond picks up his player option as expected — and that is even before counting the fifth pick in the 2020 draft. That means Cleveland will function as an over-the-cap team unless they offload salaries already on their books into another team’s cap space or exception."

Fedor reported there's a "50-50" chance Tristan Thompson, who's an unrestricted free agent, returns to Cleveland. The Cavs can go over the cap to re-sign Thompson, but bringing him back would further limit what else they could do.

Leroux noted the $10 million non-taxpayer midlevel exception might be available to Altman. Based on how much Grant's value benefited from Denver's playoff run, that might not be enough to get him to Northeast Ohio.

As the Nov. 18 NBA draft draws nearer, the Cleveland Cavaliers will take a closer look at Dayton forward Obi Toppin via a private workout this week in New Jersey, according to Cleveland.com's Chris Fedor. 

Fedor reported that general manager Koby Altman, assistant general manager Mike Gansey and head coach J.B. Bickerstaff will travel for the private, in-person workout and a meal, which will allow them "to get to know him better on a personal level." 

Toppin, who set the Dayton program record for dunks in a season, is one of "six or seven prospects" being considered by Cleveland for the the fifth pick in the upcoming draft, though it has met virtually with around 100 prospects. The teams in front of the Cavaliers—the Minnesota Timberwolves, Golden State Warriors, Charlotte Hornets and Chicago Bulls—are also showing interest in the 6'9" Brooklyn native, who did some draft preparation in Las Vegas but is now closer to home.

League rules allow teams to conduct 10 in-person workouts with no more than four team personnel present, including a member of the medical staff, as the NBA navigates a draft during a pandemic. In speaking with Cleveland.com, Bickerstaff expressed the importance of meeting with prospects for in-person evaluation: 

"Coaches, we want to see how big a guy is. It's not always easy to tell. Let's say a guy plays in a smaller conference and he's 6-7 but he looks 6-11. How big is he? How thick is he? How fast does he move? When you're watching him and he's working with whoever, can he listen? Whatever the drill that is being explained to him, can he pick that up? Those are all things you can't necessarily see on tape. You don't know what coaches are running and you don't know what defensive schemes are being run or how they're teaching it. So, to not be able to see that in person has been disadvantage with all this going on, but hopefully with the league's rules changing we are going to be able to see more of them if they allow us."

Fedor also reported that the team is still waiting on confirmation of in-person workouts for Auburn's Isaac Okoro and Israel's Deni Avdija, both of whom are working out near Atlanta.

Now two years into his NBA career, Cleveland Cavaliers guard Collin Sexton has established himself as a go-to scorer. 

Drafted No. 8 overall in 2018, Sexton led the Cavs in scoring this season as a 21-year-old with 20.8 points per game. He's played in all of the team's 147 games over the past two seasons, including starting 65 games in 2019-20. 

As the Cavs continue their roster rebuild, Sexton is putting himself in an excellent position to be a critical piece for the organization. He's a 39.2 percent shooter from three-point range on 551 career attempts. 

While preparing for the 2020-21 season, Sexton sat down for a B/R AMA to discuss topics ranging from Kobe Bryant, Dwyane Wade and playing in Cleveland. 

The following is the full transcript from the B/R AMA session.

    

@jackstrealy: Who is in your all-time starting 5?

Iverson, Kobe, Shaq, Kareem and maybe Magic. 

    

@Steve_Perrault: Do you ever feel pressure to replace guys like Kyrie and Bron in Cleveland?

Not at all. I just go out and play my game. I love to compete and have fun, I don't try to put that pressure on myself. I just do what I do, I don't wanna be anybody else but Collin Sexton.

    

@Coco9: Who is the GOAT? LeBron or MJ?

There are three of them, you can't really say one is the GOAT because of the different time eras. Gotta say Kobe, LeBron, MJ. Don't think there's just one person, don't know how LeBron would've played in MJ's era or Kobe in MJ's era. They're the GOATs in their eras.

    

@BayLegend: If you could play an NBA legend in a 1v1, who would you wanna play?

Allen Iverson and Kobe Bryant, my favorite all-time players.

     

@OGizExtatic: What was the conversation when Dwyane Wade gave you his jersey?

Really cool, just let me know if i needed anyone to talk to, to keep going and continue to learn. He said the losing would get better, that he'd been through the ups and downs and to continue to have a level head and be a professional. Don't run away from it. I can talk to him pretty much any day, could call him right now. That's definitely my guy.

     

@mbrgr770: What was your welcome to the NBA moment?

Running out the tunnel and hearing my name called out for the first time, stepping out before the game. I just had a different type of feeling, it was amazing, like I actually made it to the NBA.

     

@BayLegend: Who is the funniest teammate you've played with?

I think Kevin Love is funny, probably him, he and Larry are always joking.

      

@Jasper_Pail: What was your favorite team growing up?

Lakers. I love Kobe Bryant, was a Lakers fan for sure.

      

@Coco9: What was that game at Bama like when you guys finished with only 3 players?

That game was amazing, to be out there with Galen [Smith] and Riley [Norris]. We continued to fight and finish through. We cut it down to 2 or 3 points. I would've never thought that would ever happen. That's like something that happens at AAU. Never thought they'd let us play with three players, but they did.

     

@Jalen_H7: If you could hit a game-winner over anyone in the league who would it be and why?

I wouldn't say over anybody, because a game-winner is just a different type of feeling, of confidence. So not specifically over one person, but any type of game-winner would be good for me.

     

@ekroll: How did it feel dropping 41 on Boston?

It was pretty good. K-Love told me to keep going, to continue to do what I do. He was feeding me the entire game, continuing to give me that confidence to go out there and finish strong, lead the team to victory. I'd rather take the W any day.

     

@Not_BobbyWagner: What is your favorite locker room story?

I don't have a favorite one because there's stuff going on all the time. There isn't one that sticks out to me right now.

      

@DJYoungBull: How did you get the nickname Young Bull?

Since I was growing up, I was always the younger one playing with older guys. They called me Young Bull and that just stuck.

       

@216_Kicks_: Favorite Comic Hero and who is your IRL hero?

I like Batman because of his car. And Superman. My grandmother and mom are my life heroes. And my dad.

       

@realalexlarsen: Do you have any of your own rookie cards?

I definitely do, a few of them. I framed them, got the very first one and put that up. Me and my brother growing up used to collect rookie and basketball cards, like MJ's and LeBron's. That's what we used to collect, have a lot signed as well. Me getting my own, especially the first one, had to make sure I put that up.

      

@MMG: What do you do with your free time?

Hanging out with the family and watching movies, big movie person, love watching all types and experiencing all kinds.

      

@Jalen_H7: Favorite part about Cleveland?

It's pretty laid back, not too busy. My favorite part is the traffic, can get to any place 15 minutes away. It's not like Atlanta, you gotta leave maybe an hour out.

      

@ChickfilAisbetta: Chick-fil-A or Popeyes?

Chick-fil-A for sure. The cobb salad with chicken, no bacon is my go-to order.

      

Rapid-Fire Questions

Favorite play ever?

My layup in the SEC Tournament that pushed us to go to the NCAA Tournament against Texas A&M. Buzzer-beater. We hadn't been to the tourney in so many years so that felt real good to get my team there.

      

Favorite movie ever?

Drumline because it's an Atlanta movie and I love music.

       

Favorite sneaker ever?

Jordan 1 Metallic Black, all patent leather with the gold check. 

      

Favorite food?

Wings, lemon pepper mild. Can't eat them too much but that's my go-to if I have a cheat day. And maybe a McFlurry, not gonna lie. Oreo to be specific.

Andre Drummond has been open about his desire to pick up his $28.7 million player option with the Cleveland Cavaliers after joining them in February from the Detroit Pistons, but his future after that is unclear.

According to Cleveland.com's Chris Fedor, Drummond and the Cavaliers are "far apart" when it comes to preliminary discussions regarding a contract extension.

Fedor reported that there was initially mutual interest in keeping Drummond in Cleveland. The problem lies in Drummond wanting to be rewarded for skipping out on free agency in a budget-friendly 2021 should he extend his stay with the Cavaliers, while the team is recognizing that the two-time All-Star may be easy to replace.

"The Cavs recognize Drummond's talent but they are also honest about his flaws, especially in this pace-and-space era, where bigs like him are easy to attain," Fedor wrote. "They don't want to commit to an unfriendly deal that could limit future moves, not after an eight-game sample size."

Through eight games with the Cavaliers, who missed the postseason for the second consecutive year after two trips to the NBA Finals, Drummond averaged 17.5 points and 11.1 rebounds in 28.1 minutes.

Fedor also reported that if an extension does not work out, Cleveland could hold on to Drummond until the trade deadline, when they can send him to a team whose playoff hopes would be elevated by an NBA veteran who carries no contract commitment beyond 2021, with the Cavaliers getting another piece in return to help bring them back into playoff contention.

Despite posting a cryptic message on Instagram and deleting his account, Cleveland Cavaliers guard Kevin Porter Jr. is doing okay, according to Chris Fedor of Cleveland.com.

The issue came after the 20-year-old posted a blank image with the caption, "You ever wish to see the end of your time?"

Justin Benjamin of Cavaliers Nation captured the post before it was deleted.

Several members of the Cavaliers organization reached out to Porter after the post, including general manager Koby Altman and head coach J.B. Bickerstaff.

"We talked to him and he is fine," a source said, per Fedor. "He understands what a cryptic post like that does on social media. He will learn from it and be more aware in the future."

"Definitely worried everyone, but have talked to him and he’s OK," a second source said.

Porter was a first-round pick in the 2019 NBA draft, averaging 10.0 points and 3.2 rebounds per game in his first season.