CLEVELAND, Ohio – The Cleveland Cavaliers made a couple of moves before Tuesday night’s deadline, bringing their NBA roster to a maximum of 15 players.
League sources tell cleveland.com that the Cavaliers agreed to a two-year contract with forward free agent Jordan Bell and turned striker Dean Wade’s two-way deal into a multi-year deal.
Wade, who originally signed a round-trip contract with the Cavaliers after exiting the Kansas state draft in 2019, will occupy one of two open positions on the list. Bell, a 2017 second-round pick who spent his first seasons with the Golden State Warriors before signing in Minnesota as a restricted free agent in 2019 and then ending the 2019-20 campaign in Memphis, will take the other.
A versatile 6-foot-10-inch big, Wade played 12 games in Cleveland, averaging 1.7 points and 1.6 rebounds. He spent most of the year with Canton Charge, the Cavaliers’ G-League affiliate. With Canton, Wade averaged 14.2 points with 46.1% from the field and 39.9% from the 3-point range to go with 7.6 rebounds, 2.3 assists and 1.4 blocks.
Bell averaged 3.2 points and 2.8 rebounds in 8.8 minutes last season, dividing his time between Minnesota and Memphis.
Sources say Wade, who has been earning interest from the Washington Wizards in recent weeks, will receive a team-friendly four-year contract that will pay him $ 375,000 for the remainder of the 2019-20 season. The past three years, beginning in 2020-21, are not guaranteed. The fourth year is a team option. According to sources, Bell will get $ 250,000 for the rest of 2019-20. Your second year is not guaranteed.
The Cavs entered the NBA transaction period, which officially reopened Tuesday, about $ 980,000 below the luxury tax. They did not cross that threshold with the two signings, the sources say.
Since the season ended, the Cavs have considered a number of possibilities. With limited salary space, and a desire to avoid the tax, they couldn’t claim Theo Pinson or Allonzo Trier. While reviewing a deal with Trier after he cleared the waivers, the former Knicks guard was looking for more money and a different contract structure than the Cavs were willing to give. Members of the central office also questioned his fit alongside young guards Darius Garland, Kevin Porter Jr. and Collin Sexton.
The Cavs also scoured the G League charts. They considered former Xavier star Trevon Bluiett, a 25-year-old guard who averaged 14.9 points with the Salt Lake City Stars this season. Escort DeVaughn Akoon-Purcell took a look, but he played for assistant general manager Mike Gansey in Fort Wayne a few years ago and the information was not overly appealing. Forward Justin Patton, a former first-round pick, was in the mix before signing with the Detroit Pistons. The Cavs also explored the possibility of signing 22-year-old forward / power center Donta Hall, selected for the G-League All-Rookie team after averaging a double double.
But they didn’t like his options, especially on the wing, a position of need based on his roster composition. The Cavs then chose to reward Wade with a multi-year deal Monday morning as they made a decision on the dismissal of Bell, who was stepped down by Memphis nearly four months ago, shortly before the coronavirus pandemic.
Because Bell was resigned after March 1, only the eight teams that did not participate in Orlando were eligible to sign him.
Cleveland executives believe they both have a chance to be part of the team in 2020-21, with Bell playing the role of a smaller athletic 5, able to record minutes alongside Kevin Love and Larry Nance Jr.
The conversion of Wade’s two-way contract allowed the Cavs to create one of those slot machines. However, only teams going to Orlando for the NBA restart can sign two-way players at this time.
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