Cleveland Cavaliers trade guard Jarrett Jack in three-team deal with eye toward LeBron James

In a move that will free up cap space and facilitate the potential signing of LeBron James should he elect to leave Miami, the Cleveland Cavaliers have acquired Boston’s 2015 second round pick as well as the rights to Ilkan Karaman and Edin Bavcic in a three-team trade that sends Jarrett Jack and Sergey Karasev to Brooklyn, and Tyler Zeller and the Cavs’ 2016 top 10 protected first round pick to Boston, Cavaliers General Manager David Griffin announced today. As part of the deal, Boston will also acquire guard and long-range gunner Marcus Thornton from the Nets.

The key for Cleveland was ridding the team of point guard Jack, the franchise's free agent prize last offseason, whose salary was a barrier to adding James or another potential star to the roster.

The 2015 second round pick that Cleveland received from Boston is top 55 protected. If Boston does not convey its 2015 second round pick to Cleveland, Boston’s obligation to convey a second round pick to Cleveland as part of this trade will be extinguished. Cleveland’s 2016 first round pick to Boston is top 10 protected in 2016, 2017, and 2018, and if not conveyed, will be unprotected in the 2019 draft.

The Cavs also receive the rights to forwards Ilkan Karaman and Edin Bavcic. Karaman, 24, was selected by the Brooklyn Nets with the 57th pick of the 2012 NBA Draft and most recently played in the Turkish Basketball League for Fenerbahçe Ülker. Bavcic, 30, who was originally selected by the Toronto Raptors as the 56th overall pick of the second round in the 2006 NBA Draft, currently plays for KAOD in Greece.

In addition, Cleveland also announced that standout point guard Kyrie Irving signed a contract extension. Other outlets have reported that the deal is worth $90 million over 5 years.

“We couldn’t be happier to have Kyrie firmly at the core of our Cavaliers team and family for years to come,” said Griffin. “He’s already proven he’s among the best in the NBA and we’re excited to watch his continued growth and success. To know that he is all in and shares our high expectations and championship goals is something we’re extremely proud of. It is a clear reflection of how we all view our future together, with Kyrie fully vested in this franchise and the city of Cleveland.”

Once again, the Irving signing is critical in creating an environment enticing enough to lure James back to the Cavs.

One of the NBA's best young point guards, the former first overall pick in the 2011 draft has career averages of 20.7 points, 3.7 rebounds, 5.8 assists, and 1.4 steals. An NBA All-Star the past two seasons, Irving was MVP of the 2014 All-Star Game where he became the second-youngest player to win the award. Since Irving, the 2011 NBA Rookie of the Year, entered the league, he has the third highest scoring average among all NBA point guards. In 2013-14, he led all Eastern Conference point guards with 20.8 points, while also averaging 3.6 rebounds, 6.1 assists and 1.5 steals in 35.2 minutes per game.

"We are excited that Kyrie has officially committed to be here long-term with the Cleveland Cavaliers,” said Cavs Majority Owner Dan Gilbert. “The future has never been brighter as we are building the team and franchise for sustainable success. Kyrie is obviously a very big piece of our plan.”

Ironically, Gilbert was one of the most vocal owners in demanding harsher luxury tax penalties during the previous CBA negotiation. Should Cleveland indeed land James this summer, at some point it will be forced to build an expensive roster around him in order to contend for a title. Jumping ahead a bit, that could mean luxury tax penalties for Gilbert, the very same man who screamed against the unfairness of a soft cap system for the small market teams.

By Staff of TheDailySportsHerald.com and news services