The Cleveland Cavaliers have been actively trading and acquiring NBA stars this off season. As the NBA team looks to build its roster to add more depth and experience to the thriving group, the Cleveland Cavaliers eye potential stars who could not only serve as effective support systems to LeBron James but also contribute to the team's goal of finally bagging the highly coveted NBA title.
One of the names that has been constantly attached to the Cleveland Cavaliers is Tayshaun Prince. Throughout the off season, the NBA team has been widely rumored to have expressed interest in signing the free agent who last played for the Detroit Pistons. Sources share that the plan with regard to Prince's inclusion the Cleveland Cavaliers' roster is linked to the NBA team's desire to give LeBron James more rest time during games. As of the last report linking Prince to the Cleveland Cavaliers, it was revealed that the NBA star has not yet responded to the speculated offer given him.
With the latest update regarding Prince's NBA career, however, it looks like the Cleveland Cavaliers got beaten by the Minnesota Timberwolves. According to Pro Basketball Talk, the former Boston Celtics and Detroit Pistons star now found a home in the Minnesota Timberwolves locker room. In an effort to inject a bit of experience and wisdom in a relatively young NBA team, the Minnesota Timberwolves chose to sign the 35-year-old wing defender to presumably guide the No. 1 NBA overall draft pick in 2014, Andrew Wiggin.
Apart from Wiggin, both Ricky Rubio and Zach LaVine could benefit from the experiences of Prince as well. In addition to the wisdom he could impart to the up and coming NBA stars is the support he could lend to Minnesota Timberwolves vets Kevin Garnett and Andre Miller. While the Cleveland Cavaliers failed to sign the former Memphis Grizzlies star, the NBA team is reportedly still interested in a bunch of other players to boost their play.
Included in the list of potential free agency players to be added to the Cleveland Cavaliers roster is Stanford University alum Landry Fields who played with the Toronto Raptors in the past NBA season. The former Miami Heat and Portland Trailblazers star, Dorell Wright, is also seriously considered by the LeBron James-led NBA team. Rasual Butler of the Washington Wizards and Shawne Williams from the Indiana Pacers are under scrutiny as well. Jordan Hamilton and Turkish player Hedo Turkoglu of the Los Angeles Clippers, who played with Orlando Magic prior to the move, might also join the Cleveland Cavaliers locker room. Miami Heat star Michael Beasley is in the list as well. With the decision of Prince to sign with the Minnesota Timberwolves, it could be expected that the Cleveland Cavaliers will be pursuing some of these players soon.
Meanwhile, the Cleveland Cavaliers have yet to reach an agreement with regard the future of Tristan Thompson on the team. As the discussion regarding the potential contract of one of LeBron James' most trusted NBA stars looks to find no end in sight at the moment, some experts weigh in on the wisdom of the Cleveland Cavaliers giving in to the demand of Thompson.
Terry Pluto of Cleveland.com points out that the Cleveland Cavaliers will eventually benefit from the Thompson deal especially in light of the rise in salary cap soon. To highlight the suitability of this suggestion, Pluto shared that other NBA teams already signed the maximum contracts of lesser known players earlier this season.
Pluto notes that the Detroit Pistons agreed to the $80-million five-year deal of Reggie Jackson, while the same wisdom must have governed the Oklahoma City Thunder in their decision to sign the four-year contract of Enes Kantner worth $70 million. The Dallas Mavericks also thought of the ramifications and opted for a cheaper route via the four-year deal of Wes Matthews worth $70 million as well.
