The Cleveland Cavaliers may have sat out the Trade Deadline, but they added a player who may have been just as good as anyone available to them via trade. After securing a buyout with the Houston Rockets, three-time champion Danny Green has signed a one-year, $2 million deal with the Cavs.
Green had a host of suitors, including the title favorite Boston Celtics and the Los Angeles Lakers, with whom he won the 2020 championship. That same Lakers team traded him and a first-round pick for Dennis Schroder immediately after, though, so it makes sense he wasn’t leaping at a chance to return there.
Even so, the Cavaliers winning a race for a top-tier buyout candidate is impressive. It signals that the Cavs aren’t just playing well, they look legit to at least some people on the outside. Cleveland will give Green a rotational role right away, which will hopefully ease a few minutes off of the core players. He meets all three of the Cavs’ greatest needs, making him the absolute best fit out there.
It’s a full-circle journey for Green, who began his career with the Cavaliers back in 2009-10. After he was drafted with the 46th pick in the 2009 NBA Draft, Green played in 20 games, averaging 5.8 minutes and shooting only 27.3 percent from 3-point range. It’s no surprise the Cavaliers waived the former North Carolina product, but he then caught on with the San Antonio Spurs and the rest is history. He returns after 802 games and three titles, quite the journey.
More Cavs news
The Cleveland Cavaliers have the league’s best defense, holding opponents to just 109.4 points per 100 possessions. Jarrett Allen and Evan Mobley are an absolutely nasty combination inside, and Isaac Okoro is one of the league’s best guard defenders. If their top spot holds, this will be the first time that the Cavs finish first in defensive rating since the 1997-98 season, when Brevin Knight and Wesley Person were the best defensive backcourt in the league.
Last night was the biggest football game of the year, the Super Bowl. One of the key storylines was the meeting of former Cleveland Heights residents Travis and Jason Kelce, the first time two brothers faced each other in the Super Bowl. Travis and the Kansas City Chiefs came out on top 38-35 in a wonderful game. Isaac Okoro, though, was just excited for the Rihanna halftime show; Spida was having none of that:
https://twitter.com/spidadmitchell/status/1624936014048264192
NBA news
It was a light day of basketball given the attention that the Super Bowl receives. The marquee matchup was the Boston Celtics hosting the Memphis Grizzlies, and even with Jaylen Brown out and Jayson Tatum struggling the Celtics his 21 3-pointers and pulled out the 119-109 win. The Toronto Raptors also scored 119 points in a home win, but they allowed 118 in a tight game with the Detroit Pistons.
The news from the NBA yesterday was bigger than the scores. The Golden State Warriors decided to go through with the four-team deal involving Gary Payton II, but they lodged a formal complaint with the league and are alleging that the Portland Trail Blazers witheld important medical information. The New Orleans Pelicans, on the other hand, supplied medical information when they announced that Zion Williamson had re-aggravated his hamstring injury and will miss multiple weeks after the All-Star Break.
Coming up: The Cavaliers host the San Antonio Spurs tonight at 7:00 PM ET.