The News Herald (Willoughby, OH)
Report: Cavs give Osman 3-year deal
Deal with 2015 draft pick acquired in trade with T-Wolves would be for three years
The Cavaliers and Turkish star Cedi Osman have agreed on a three-year, $8.5 million deal, according to various reports.
The news was reported by Adrian Wojnarowski of ESPN, Bobby Marks of ESPN and Brian Windhorst of ESPN.
Osman, 22, played in 35 games last season for Anadolu Efes in the Euroleague. He averaged 7.1 points and 2.8 rebounds in 18.5 minutes a game.
Former Cavaliers general manager David Griffin, in an interview with fearthesword.com on April 21, said he was thrilled about adding Osman to the roster. Griffin left the Cavs last month when he and team owner Dan Gilbert did not agree on a new contract.
“Really excited about Cedi,” Griffin said in the interview. “He’s about all the right things. He’s a Tristan Thompson of a swingman mold.
“Koby Altman (Cavs director of pro personnel) and our staff have done an amazing job of making him identify himself as a Cav. The kid will tell you he’s a Cleveland Cavalier. When we drafted Goran Dragic in Phoenix he was like my son. This kid is that type of human being. He’s that good of a kid, and about the right things. He’s not that athletic. He’s not that comparatively unguardable (to Dragic). But he’s going to defend and make open jump shots and knows how to play and he’s got size.”
Osman — 6-foot-8, 210 pounds — was drafted by Minnesota with the first pick in the second round of the 2015 draft. The Cavaliers acquired his rights in a draftnight trade by shipping Tyus Jones to the Timberwolves.
The Cavaliers have been busy since being eliminated by the Warriors in five games in the NBA Finals. Griffin walked away and Chauncey Billups declined the chance to be the Cavaliers president of basketball operations. Altman has assumed the role of leader in the front office.
In addition to Osman, the Cavaliers have signed 6-foot-9 forward Jeff Green
and Jose Calderon.
Green, a first-round draft pick by the Celtics in 2007, has averaged 13.5 points, 4.7 rebounds and 1.6 assists in 31.1 minutes per game playing with Seattle/Oklahoma City, Boston, Memphis,
the Los Angeles Clippers and Orlando Magic. He averaged 9.2 points and 3.1 rebounds for the Magic last season — both career lows.
Calderon will be 36 by the time the 2017-18 season
begins. The 6-foot-3 guard has averaged 9.6 points and 6.2 assists in a career that began in 2005 with Toronto. He has also played for the Knicks, Mavericks, Pistons, Lakers and Hawks.