The Cleveland Cavaliers are in a bit of a pickle.
Having agreed to new contracts with Peyton Watson and James Harden, the team is now hardcapped at the first apron. To translate that technical jargon, it means that they cannot spend more than $208 million on their total team salary. And they have spent very nearly that much with one spot left they must fill.
The solution to their problem may be sitting right in front of everyone, in the fine print of the Watson trade: a French center named Ismael Kamagate.
Who is Ismael Kamagate?
The NBA is currently seeing a renaissance of French big men, headlined by Victor Wembanyama and Rudy Gobert and featuring young up-and-comers like Alex Sarr, Maxime Reynaud and Joan Beringer.
Ismael Kamagate has not yet proven himself to earn an NBA invitation, but he was an intriguing prospect when he entered the 2022 NBA Draft. He has NBA size and athleticism, a quick leaper both as a finisher and shot-blocker. He has been playing in Europe, adding strength and seeking to prepare himself for an NBA arrival.
Kamagate played last season in the Basketbol Super League in Turkiye, now 25 years old. His draft rights have bounced around from the Detroit Pistons to the Portland Trail Blazers to the Denver Nuggets and most recently the LA Clippers. In the deal that sent Max Strus to the Clippers and brought Peyton Watson to Cleveland, the rights to Kamagate were thrown in by LA.
How can Kamagate help the Cavaliers?
It is possible that Kamagate will blossom into an NBA player, but the odds are not extremely high at this point. Why, then, should the Cavaliers sign him?
The answer is that they will have a very narrow band of financial space with which to sign a player. Adding a free agent, even at the minimum, would be too expensive. Signing a second-round pick, however, is the least expensive way to sign a player to a full-season contract.
To illustrate the gulf in contract amounts, the Cavaliers signed veteran center Thomas Bryant to a one-year minimum contract of $3.52 million for this season, which the league will subsidize down to $2.45 million. Meleek Thomas, by contrast, will make only $1.35 million.
Signing Kamagate would come in at a number very similar to Thomas, substantial savings in terms of both the cap (over a million dollars) and luxury tax (another few million) compared to a veteran addition. While Gabe Vincent or Nick Richards or Bruce Brown would help much more than Kamagate, the Cavaliers just might not be able to afford them.
Cleveland can go into the season briefly with only 13 players, but they will need to sign a 14th within two weeks. Perhaps Kamagate is signed then, held onto for a few months, cut in January before his contract guarantees, and then the Cavaliers are free to add a veteran player for the rest of the season. There are more machinations they could attempt such as stringing together 10-day contracts to save a few pennies as well.
Is Ismael Kamagate a player who will help the Cavaliers win basketball games this season? Almost certainly not. Could he get signed anyway? Yes, he could, because of the financial savings he will give to the team.
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