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NBA Knicks to deal Smith and Shumpert - ESPN
Wow didnt think the Knicks could get any worse. lol. Thunder got way better.
Wow didnt think the Knicks could get any worse. lol. Thunder got way better.
The Cleveland Cavaliers, New York Knicks and Oklahoma City Thunder engineered a multi-faceted six-player trade Monday night.
As part of the deal, Dion Waiters will go to the Thunder, J.R. Smith and Iman Shumpert go to the Cavs and three players with nonguaranteed contracts -- Alex Kirk and Lou Amundson from the Cavs and Lance Thomas from the Thunder -- join to the Knicks. As part of the deal, the Thunder are sending a protected future first-round pick to the Cavs and the Cavs are sending their 2019 second-round pick to the Knicks.
The Thunder are sending a protected 2015 first-round pick to Cleveland in the trade. The Cavs will get the pick if it falls outside the top 18 this year or if it falls outside the top 15 in 2016 or '17. If it doesn't convey in any of those years, it becomes two second-round picks, according to sources.
The Cavs are attempting to bolster their bench with the trade by adding Smith, a mercurial shooter, and Shumpert, who specializes in wing defense that the Cavs badly need. The Knicks had been attempting to trade both for some time.
Shumpert is currently out with a dislocated shoulder he suffered last month.
Team officials spoke with LeBron James about his willingness to play alongside Smith before executing the deal, sources said.
The Thunder, who used a trade exception to execute the deal, gain the offensively talented Waiters, who had struggled to fit at times over the past two-plus seasons. With Waiters the Thunder are adding some scoring off the bench and provide insurance for Reggie Jackson, their standout guard who is in the final year of his contract.
This trade for the Knicks was financially motivated both short term and long term. They have the option to waive all three players they traded for by Wednesday and not owe them anything. The team also waived center Samuel Dalembert, a move that will save $3.8 million. In all, the moves to unload Shumpert, Smith and Dalembert will save the team more than $20 million in salary and luxury taxes.
"These transactions improve our flexibility to the current roster and the salary cap for future seasons," Knicks team president Phil Jackson said in a statement.
Smith has a $6.4 million player option for next year but with that now off their books, the Knicks are looking at having in excess of $30 million in cap space next summer. Smith gets a $533,135 trade kicker bonus as part of the deal.
Waiters, 23, is averaging 10.5 points, 1.7 rebounds, 2.2 assists and 1.3 steals for the Cavs this season while shooting 40 percent from the field. He has one year left on his contract at $5.1 million.
"Dion provides another proven scorer that positively impacts our roster and adds depth and flexibility," Thunder general manager Sam Presti said in a statement.
Smith, 29, is averaging 10.9 points on 40 percent shooting from the floor in his 11th season.
Shumpert, 24, is averaging 9.3 points, 3.4 rebounds and 3.3 assists for the Knicks this season. He will be a restricted free agent next summer.
All three teams were in action Monday night with the Cavs losing at lowly Philadelphia, the Knicks falling at Memphis and the Thunder playing in Golden State.
Waiters, a Philadelphia native, was pulled from the team's lineup Monday night.
"We didn't find out until it was time to go out there for the jump ball," said Cavs forward Tristan Thompson after Cleveland's Monday night loss. "So we said our see you laters, not goodbye because you're going to see them down the road. So, see you later and wished them all the best, but we know we got a game to play and we can't stop. We got to keep pushing. We got to keep moving forward."
As part of the deal, Dion Waiters will go to the Thunder, J.R. Smith and Iman Shumpert go to the Cavs and three players with nonguaranteed contracts -- Alex Kirk and Lou Amundson from the Cavs and Lance Thomas from the Thunder -- join to the Knicks. As part of the deal, the Thunder are sending a protected future first-round pick to the Cavs and the Cavs are sending their 2019 second-round pick to the Knicks.
The Thunder are sending a protected 2015 first-round pick to Cleveland in the trade. The Cavs will get the pick if it falls outside the top 18 this year or if it falls outside the top 15 in 2016 or '17. If it doesn't convey in any of those years, it becomes two second-round picks, according to sources.
The Cavs are attempting to bolster their bench with the trade by adding Smith, a mercurial shooter, and Shumpert, who specializes in wing defense that the Cavs badly need. The Knicks had been attempting to trade both for some time.
Shumpert is currently out with a dislocated shoulder he suffered last month.
Team officials spoke with LeBron James about his willingness to play alongside Smith before executing the deal, sources said.
The Thunder, who used a trade exception to execute the deal, gain the offensively talented Waiters, who had struggled to fit at times over the past two-plus seasons. With Waiters the Thunder are adding some scoring off the bench and provide insurance for Reggie Jackson, their standout guard who is in the final year of his contract.
This trade for the Knicks was financially motivated both short term and long term. They have the option to waive all three players they traded for by Wednesday and not owe them anything. The team also waived center Samuel Dalembert, a move that will save $3.8 million. In all, the moves to unload Shumpert, Smith and Dalembert will save the team more than $20 million in salary and luxury taxes.
"These transactions improve our flexibility to the current roster and the salary cap for future seasons," Knicks team president Phil Jackson said in a statement.
Smith has a $6.4 million player option for next year but with that now off their books, the Knicks are looking at having in excess of $30 million in cap space next summer. Smith gets a $533,135 trade kicker bonus as part of the deal.
Waiters, 23, is averaging 10.5 points, 1.7 rebounds, 2.2 assists and 1.3 steals for the Cavs this season while shooting 40 percent from the field. He has one year left on his contract at $5.1 million.
"Dion provides another proven scorer that positively impacts our roster and adds depth and flexibility," Thunder general manager Sam Presti said in a statement.
Smith, 29, is averaging 10.9 points on 40 percent shooting from the floor in his 11th season.
Shumpert, 24, is averaging 9.3 points, 3.4 rebounds and 3.3 assists for the Knicks this season. He will be a restricted free agent next summer.
All three teams were in action Monday night with the Cavs losing at lowly Philadelphia, the Knicks falling at Memphis and the Thunder playing in Golden State.
Waiters, a Philadelphia native, was pulled from the team's lineup Monday night.
"We didn't find out until it was time to go out there for the jump ball," said Cavs forward Tristan Thompson after Cleveland's Monday night loss. "So we said our see you laters, not goodbye because you're going to see them down the road. So, see you later and wished them all the best, but we know we got a game to play and we can't stop. We got to keep pushing. We got to keep moving forward."