Cade Cunningham is already putting in work to keep Detroit pointed in the right direction.
The Pistons’ franchise player is running a players-run minicamp in San Diego this week, according to ESPN’s Dave McMenamin. It’s the kind of move that fits the moment in Detroit, where the team came out of last season as the top seed in the Eastern Conference and hasn’t made any sweeping offseason changes to the core. The front office did bring in power forward John Collins in a sign-and-trade and added guard Isaiah Joe from the Thunder, but the biggest unresolved item still hanging out there is the standoff with restricted free agent center Jalen Duren.
Miami’s situation looks far less settled, even after the addition of Klay Thompson. Ira Winderman of the South Florida Sun Sentinel writes that Thompson doesn’t solve everything for the Heat, who still need another playmaker, another shot creator and another frontcourt piece.
The team can fill its final two roster spots with veteran’s minimum contracts, and there’s also a lineup question to sort through: Thompson could come off the bench, or he could replace Pelle Larsson, who started 54 games last season. Beyond that, the perimeter rotation remains in flux.
Nikola Vucevic also had thoughts on how roster-building has changed under the league’s current rules. Speaking to SKWEEK, the veteran big man said the Celtics were limited last season by the size of Jayson Tatum and Jaylen Brown’s contracts.
“I think there were some signs, mostly because the big contracts and the NBA’s new rules made it difficult for them to build the team,” Vucevic said. “With Tatum and Brown both on such big contracts, it wasn’t easy to fit the rest of the team around those two.”
Vucevic added that he was still surprised Brown was dealt to Philadelphia after the season. He had played 16 games with Boston on an expiring deal after being acquired from Chicago in February.
Elsewhere, the Cavaliers’ part in the five-team trade that brought restricted free agent Peyton Watson to Cleveland included sending out $4.35MM to the Hornets and $3MM to the Wizards, according to Bleacher Report’s Eric Pincus. Watson reportedly agreed to a four-year, $88MM contract with the Cavaliers that comes with a fourth-year player option and a 7.5% trade kicker.
In Other News...
Cavs Are Closing In On A Move That Changes Daily Life
The Cavaliers are getting ready for a significant shift in their day-to-day routine, with plans to move into the new Cleveland Clinic Global Peak Performance Center during the NBA All-Star break in February. Located downtown, the new facility is expected to be a major upgrade from the teams current practice site in Independence, giving the organization a much larger footprint and a more centralized home base for players and staff.
For a franchise that has spent years operating out of its suburban setup, the move changes more than just the commute. The downtown center is designed with multiple amenities in mind, while the old Independence facility is set for a different future as the training home of the Cleveland Sirens, the WNBA expansion team due to arrive in 2028. [Read more 🡒]
Cavs Latest Roster Upgrade Came From A Twist Fans Didnt Expect
The Cavaliers latest roster shuffle came together in a way few around the league likely saw coming, with the club moving Dennis Schroder and landing Peyton Watson in a sign-and-trade with Denver that also sent Max Strus to the Clippers. It was the kind of multi-team business that can reshape a roster quickly, and for Cleveland it created a path to add a young, rangy piece without waiting around for the usual offseason market to settle.
The twist behind it is what makes the deal stand out. James Hardens decision to decline his player option and then sign a new deal later than expected gave the Cavaliers more cap flexibility than they anticipated, opening the door for the move to happen. Harden also reportedly recruited Watson to the team and has been active in workouts, adding an unexpected layer to a transaction that now looks less like a simple roster swap and more like a timely break that Cleveland was able to turn into an upgrade. [Read more 🡒]
Cavaliers Suddenly Have A Real Path To The Easts Top Seed
Cleveland finished its offseason by adding James Harden and Peyton Watson, with Watson agreeing to a four-year deal, and the result is a roster that suddenly looks deeper and more athletic than it did a few weeks ago. The front office has also brought in players like Mario Hezonja, giving the Cavaliers more options on the wing and more ways to keep the rotation from thinning out over the course of the season.
For a team that has spent plenty of time trying to turn talent into consistency, the bigger question now is how quickly all of those pieces come together once the games start counting. The East does not leave much room for hesitation at the top, and Clevelands path to finishing first may end up depending as much on chemistry and fit as on star power or depth. [Read more 🡒]