Cavs trade Richard Jefferson and Kay Felder to the Atlanta Hawks
The Cleveland Cavaliers have traded Richard Jefferson and Kay Felder to the Atlanta Hawks.
According to ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski, the Cleveland Cavaliers have traded 37-year-old small forward Richard Jefferson, second-year point guard Kay Felder, two second-round picks and $3 million in cash to the Atlanta Hawks in return for the draft rights to 22-year-old power forward Dimitrios Agravanis and 28-year-old shooting guard Sergii Gladyr.
Agravanis, who plays for the Greek League’s Olympiakos, is a rather skilled big man with both post moves and the ability to knock down outside jumpers. At 22-years-old, there’s a legitimate chance that the Cleveland Cavaliers could bring him stateside if their scouts like what they see from him in international competition.
Gladyr is an accomplished three-point shooter who is more than likely going to continue playing for Monaco but interestingly enough, Gladyr is currently teammates with former Ohio State point guard, former Kent State and Canton Charge small forward Chris Evans and one of LeBron James’ best friends from high school, Dru Joyce III.
With that said, there’s a lot of hometown talent for the Cavs to analyze should they ever scout Monaco’s games. Instead of coming back with Gladyr, they may just return with an Ohio-native
Trading Jefferson and Felder was necessary for the Cavs, as evidenced by how much they gave up to facilitate the trade. It wasn’t just about saving $12.8 million in luxury tax, as evidenced by the $3 million they spent to get the trade done. The Cleveland Cavaliers had to move a guaranteed contract off their team and by trading both Jefferson and Felder, the Cavs did just that. There was added incentive in that only trading a player would save them money though, which is likely why Felder (who was unlikely to make the 15-man roster) was also traded.
Both players will be waived by the Hawks (and ineligible to re-sign with the Cavs). It’s possible that Felder signs a deal with the Canton Charge, the Cavs’ NBA G-League affiliate, if he clears waivers. Jefferson will almost certainly sign with a team in title contention.
Felder is an explosive player who is undersized at 5-foot-9 and possesses a scorer’s mentality. Despite the game looking like it was moving too fast for him, even this offseason, Felder was starting to show that he was making strides as a floor general in the Cavs’ most recent preseason outings.
With the success of undersized point guards like Isaiah Thomas, Tyler Ulis and Yogi Ferrell last season, Felder’s size is unlikely to prevent him from earning another shot in the league. He would just be best playing for a young team where he can get on-court playing time and develop or go to the G-League (where he averaged 29.9 points per game last season).
Jefferson is an intelligent and experienced forward who can knock down open three-point shots and get to (and above) the rim on straight line drives can still provide value for a team like the San Antonio Spurs. If Jefferson has any hard feelings towards the Cavs organization though, he may very well sign with a conference rival like the Washington Wizards (a team that lacks depth).
The Cleveland Cavaliers just played their preseason finale on Friday and the season opener is on October 17th against the Boston Celtics.
The only other roster move the Cavs have to make now is waiving undrafted rookie shooting guard Isaac Hamilton, who could have his training camp deal converted to a two-way contract with Felder traded.
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