Altman: Cavs still deciding best use for draft pick
September 7, 2017
Sam Amino AmicoHoops.net
INDEPENDENCE, Ohio — When the Cleveland Cavaliers traded Kyrie Irving to the Boston Celtics, they valued more than just the players expected to help right away.
Let us not forget, they also received hope for the future.
It came in the form a first-round draft pick, via the Brooklyn Nets — meaning it’s a pick that could very well fall into the top five of next year’s draft.
“Its an immensely valuable pick,” Cavs general manager Koby Altman told Amico Hoops after the press conference to introduce newcomers Isaiah Thomas, Jae Crowder and Ante Zizic on Thursday.
How valuable?
Valuable enough that the Cavs haven’t decided what to do with it.
Yes, they could keep it. Yes, they could use it in a trade. No, it isn’t necessary to make that call right now.
In fact, it’s fairly evident Altman and Cavs senior director of basketball operations Brock Aller (who Altman called an important part of “all of our strategies”) are perfectly content to be patient, and see what happens.
“A big thing we really valued when making the trade is the fact that it is unprotected,” Aller told Amico Hoops. “So looking at it, we have the flexibility to trade our own pick, or the pick we received (via the Nets).”
That’s right, after years of not having any first-round picks, the Cavs currently have two in the 2018 draft.
Oh, there’s also a $5.8 million trade exception that arrived courtesy of the Celtics trade. That too can be attached to a deal.
“Exactly, and if you look back, you see we take advantage of opportunities when they present themselves,” Aller said, switching his focus back to the draft.
“Take Kyle Korver for example. We traded a first-round pick for the guy, and he’s turned into a valuable piece for us. So our picks provide us opportunity going into the season, or at the trade deadline, to have a lot of assets at our disposal.”
And hey, the Cavs even got a second-rounder out of the deal (in 2020, via the Miami Heat).
“All of these picks have our scouting staff feeling motivated,” Aller said, smiling. “They’re gonna be looking at picks numbered one all the way to 60 now.”
Thomas is expected to join the Cavs this season, though it has not been made clear when. He is an All-Star, a point guard who averaged 29 points a game last season.
Crowder is ready to go, and gives the Cavs a toughness and grit that may have been lacking a little last season.
And the Cavs have high hopes for Zizic, a rookie big man with a promising set of skills.
But when it comes to finding another piece … well, it will all come down to what happens with that pick from the Nets.
“When we acquired it, we had every intention of keeping it and using it,” Altman told Amico Hoops.
“But I also think we have a responsibility to see to what’s out there. I think there will be tremendous interest. We have a responsibility to listen to calls.”
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Here is an article from last week about Cavs getting calls for pick. ...
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Report: Cavs have fielded trade calls for Nets pick
Reports claim that Cleveland has fielded numerous trade calls about the Nets' 2018 pick.
September 2, 2017
Ashish Mathur
Over the last 48 hours, multiple teams around the NBA have reached out to the Cleveland Cavaliers with interest in trading for the Brooklyn Nets’ 2018 first-round pick — arguably the main gem in the Cavs’ return in the Kyrie Irving trade.
The Nets’ pick is a substantial asset that the Cavs have at their disposal. While general manager Koby Altman hasn’t decided the end goal in regards to what he wants to do with the pick, sitting back and seeing what teams will offer him is likely what is transpiring currently.
Per Cleveland.com:
As owners of Brooklyn’s No. 1 pick, which could be a top-five pick in next year’s draft, Cleveland has fielded numerous calls already about a potential trade. It could be a part of a major trade package for the Cavs later this year, or, conceivably, the Cavs could make that pick next June.
Cleveland also has its own first-round pick in 2018, which it can trade. The Cavs also have multiple trade exceptions and second-round picks, and are pleased with their assets for potential trades or to replenish the roster in the event of a rebuild.
If you’re Altman, something to consider may be calling the New Orleans Pelicans to gauge interest in completing a trade involving star big man DeMarcus Cousins.
Cousins will become a free agent after this year. If he and Anthony Davis can’t get the Pelicans turned around and they struggle to start the season, New Orleans will be tempted to move Boogie out of fear of losing him for nothing in free agency.
Perhaps a package along the lines of Iman Shumpert, Channing Frye, Cedi Osman and the Nets’ pick would net Cousins.
As reported earlier on Amico Hoops, the Pelicans are among the teams said to have an interest in Shumpert.
Cleveland.com is also reporting the Cavs will not rush Isaiah Thomas back from his hip injury and the team is optimistic he’ll return to the court in the 2017-18 season and contribute at a high level.
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And here is Osman doing things in Instanbul.
https://twitter.com/FIBA/status/905872906445578244