Cleveland Cavaliers Rumors: Front Runners To Add Deron Williams Once He Clears Waivers
Cleveland Cavaliers Rumors: ESPN’s Marc Stein is reporting that Deron Williams has already decided he will join the Cavaliers once he clears waivers.
Despite the NBA trade deadline being Feb. 23, Cleveland Cavaliers rumors are still persisting. The Cavaliers were quiet at the trade deadline as they didn’t make any moves. While they didn’t make any additions at the deadline, more moves are expected to come.
The Cavaliers are expected to be active on the free-agent market in the coming days. Players will be bought out and the Cavaliers will scour the market for players to add.
The Cavaliers could use another big man and we all know that LeBron James wants the team to add a playmaker. He made that clear about a month ago in a post-game rant.
The Cavaliers should be able to fill at least one of those voids with players that are bought out. Derrick Williams has played well during his 10-day contracts and has probably earned a spot on the team for the remainder of the season.
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That leaves Cleveland with one roster spot left to sign a player.
They were rumored to be a landing spot for Andrew Bogut once he is bought out by the Philadelphia 76ers, who acquired him from the Dallas Mavericks in a deadline deal.
There will be a lot of competition for Bogut’s services and the Cavaliers would have to open up another roster spot to sign him.
Why would the Cavaliers need to open up another spot if they only have 14 players currently on the roster? Because the 15th spot is expected to be filled by Deron Williams.
Williams reached a buyout with the Mavericks on Thursday after they couldn’t find a place to trade him. The Mavericks held Williams out of practice the past two days looking to make a deal, but nothing came together.
Williams’ former team, the Utah Jazz, showed some interest, but talks never got to the serious stage.
With no takers for a trade, the Mavericks decided to buy out the remainder of Williams’ contract. He will earn the remainder of his contract, which is roughly $2.5 million, according to ESPN’s Marc Stein.
Stein also reports that Williams has already made up his mind on where he will play once he clears waivers, as he wants to head to Cleveland.
Multiple teams interested in Deron Williams tell ESPN they believe Williams has already decided to join Cleveland upon clearing waivers
— Marc Stein (@TheSteinLine) February 23, 2017
Williams would certainly fit the bill as a playmaker that James asked for in January. Cavaliers general manager David Griffin won’t address Williams by name, but spoke about the need for a playmaker and how they would fill it.
"“Obviously we have a great deal of interest, and we’ve said it for a long time, in a playmaker,” Griffin said. “I won’t speak to specific names just because nobody’s free currently that’s out there for us to talk about. But, obviously the need for a playmaker still exists, and we hope in all of these cases that we’re the kind of organization and the kind of team that people want to be part of, and we feel that we’ll be competitive in that market for sure.”"
The 32-year old Williams has had a solid season with the Mavericks when he has been able to get on the court. In 40 games he is averaging 13.1 points and 6.9 assists in 29.3 minutes per game.
He will make for an excellent backup point guard for the Cavaliers, filling a need they have had since the offseason.
Cavaliers head coach Tyronn Lue spoke highly of Williams, saying that he is a fan of his.
"“I always liked D-Will,” said Lue. “He’s a good player. Anytime you have a guy who is an All-Star, he’s a great talent. So, he can make the plays, he’s a great pick-and-roll player, he can shoot the basketball, he has size so you can switch 1 through 4 with him defensively. He can post smaller guards, so I’ve always been a big fan of D-Will.”"
Williams will give the Cavaliers another capable ball handler that can lead the second unit. He will help take pressure off Kyrie Irving and James, as they have handled the brunt of the ball-handling duties this season.
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Williams should not be fazed by postseason play either. He has made the playoffs eight times in his career, reaching the Western Conference Finals once with the Jazz in 2007. He should make his second career conference finals, and probably first NBA Finals, with the Cavaliers this June.