It looks like the Cavs still didn’t finish dealing and tweaking their roster. ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski reports that the Cleveland Cavaliers have a principal agreement to send forward Richard Jefferson, guard Kay Felder alongside two second-round draft picks and $3 million to the Atlanta Hawks. According to Wojnarowski, the trade will be finalized on a Friday night or Saturday morning.
Cleveland will Richard Jefferson, Kay Felder and cash to Atlanta, league sources tell ESPN. Deal is agreed in principle.
— Adrian Wojnarowski (@wojespn) October 13, 2017
ESPN reports that the Hawks plan to waive Richard Jefferson and Kay Felder, enabling them to become free agents after clearing waivers. Jefferson was set to make $2.5 million and Felder $1.3 million. When it comes to the draft picks, the Hawks will get lesser of the second round picks that are owned to the Cavaliers by the Minnesota Timberwolves and Los Angeles Lakers in 2019 and Portland in 2020.
If you are wondering what are the motives of the Cavs, let’s break it down. First, the Cavs will get the draft right to Dimitrios Agravanis and Sergii Gladyr and create two trade exceptions. The Cavaliers will have one year to use them. But the most important thing for the team is that they will get their roster to 15 players and save $12.8 million in luxury tax.
Richard Jefferson has been a member of the Cleveland Cavaliers since 2015 and played an important role in 2016 NBA Finals clash against the Golden State Warriors which ended up with the Cavs taking the title. Although Jefferson thought about retiring after the title, he was persuaded by the Cavs to sign a 2–year, $5 million deal. Last season he averaged 5.7 points, 2.6 rebounds and 1 assist per game.
Kay Felder was drafted by the Atlanta Hawks with the 54th overall pick in the second round of the 2016 NBA draft. He was traded to the Cavs on the draft night. In his rookie season for the Cavaliers, Felder averaged 4.0 points, 1.0 rebounds and 1.4 assists per game.
