Trail Blazers-Nets trade:
Cavaliers owner Dan Gilbert spent more than 30 minutes presenting a positive portrait of his franchise.
The reality is the Cavs are troubled.
In his first public comments since Kyrie Irving asked to be traded, Gilbert would not confirm whether he’ll honor the All-Star point guard’s request, but he also didn’t rule out the real possibility Cleveland may deal its second best player — or if he thinks LeBron James will stay around beyond next season.
“These things are fluid,” Gilbert said. “We think Kyrie Irving is one of the best guards in the NBA. He was part of a championship, three years straight to the Finals and we value his talent — significantly.”
Despite several direct questions about Irving’s status, Gilbert would not provide any specifics about recent conversations with him or his agent. Gilbert said he expected the 25-year-old, whose jumper in Game 7 of the 2016 NBA Finals propelled Cleveland to its first championship since the Browns in 1964, to be at training camp in September.
“Right now Kyrie Irving is under contract with the Cleveland Cavaliers for two or three years, depending on the last year,” Gilbert said. “As of now he’s one of our best players and sure, we expect him to be in camp.”
The Cavs aren’t obligated to trade Irving, and new general manager Koby Altman said Irving remains an important piece for a team that has been to three straight Finals.
“He has made great contributions to this franchise, and we enjoy him as a player,” Altman said. “We’re going to keep this stuff in house in terms of what was said in those meetings, but he continues to be a core piece of who we are and what we do.”
It’s been a turbulent summer for the Cavs, who were beaten in five games by Golden State in the Finals. Next, former GM David Griffin parted ways with the club over philosophical differences with Gilbert, who was then rebuffed in adding former Pistons guard Chauncey Billups to his front office.
And while numerous teams got stronger via free agency, Cleveland was hamstrung by salary-cap issues.
Then came Irving’s trade demand.
“Well, how is your guys’ summer going?” Gilbert quipped. Portland traded wing Allen Crabbe to Brooklyn for forward Andrew Nicholson. Crabbe averaged 10.7 points, 2.9 rebounds and 1.2 assists last season in Portland. He hit 44.4 percent of his 3-pointers. The Trail Blazers are expected to waive Nicholson, who averaged 2.6 points and 1.6 rebounds last season.
The team finalized its deal with All-Star point guard John Wall, who signed a $170 million, fouryear contract extension that begins in 2019-20.
Forward Draymond Green was sued by a couple who claim he and his entourage assaulted them last year in Michigan. Jermaine Edmondson and Bianca Williams filed the lawsuit seeking unspecified monetary damages in California’s Alameda County.
Wizards: Warriors: