NBA News and Notes: Cavs name new GM & sign Derrick Rose

The Golden State Warriors greatest obstacle to another title appears to be imploding, as the Cleveland Cavaliers have been left in scramble mode after star guard Kyrie Irving expressed his desire to be traded . . .

Cavs name Koby Altman GM

What a week in Cleveland.

Throughout this offseason, the Cavs have functioned without a General Manager, having failed in their attempt to court Chauncey Billups out of the television studio and into their front office.

Then point guard Kyrie Irving dropped a bombshell, demanding to be traded after reportedly expressing to management that he no longer wanted to play with LeBron James.

Throw in the fact that James will be a free agent next year and arguably has his sights set on a true glamour franchise -- the Lakers -- and it becomes obvious that the Cavs three-year run of Finals appearances may be quickly coming to an end, even in the watered-down Eastern Conference.

In response, this week the Cavs made a couple of last minute moves to stabilize things a bit.

First, Koby Altman was named General Manager, at least putting a face to the front office.

Altman has the thankless task of trying to get reasonable value for Irving prior to the start of the season.  In the alternative, he could wait things out and perhaps find better value at the trade deadline, but that would mean a potential chemistry nightmare while Irving and James share the court for much of the season.

Altman has been a member of the Cavs basketball front office for the past five years, most recently serving as Assistant General Manager, having been promoted to that position in September 2016. He has been an essential part of a front office that formulated a roster and coaching staff that have been to three straight NBA Finals, including winning the NBA Championship in 2016. Altman has also led the team’s front office over the last five weeks.

“Over the past month, Koby Altman has led our front office group through this transition period, impressing many inside the franchise and outside the organization, as well. We are very excited that he will now be officially leading the basketball side of our franchise. Koby has the credentials, knowledge, experience and instincts to be an outstanding General Manager. In addition to these positive attributes and outstanding relationships around the league, Koby will inspire and impact the best possible culture throughout the organization. We are going to see a capable and passionate leader who will also cultivate new ideas and innovation,” said owner Dan Gilbert.

Originally joining the Cavaliers in August of 2012 as pro personnel manager, Altman was promoted to director of pro player personnel in September 2013. In his role as assistant general manager, Altman was tasked with player evaluation across all levels of basketball, both domestically and abroad. Altman also oversaw the team’s NBA and G League scouting efforts and played a core role in all aspects of the team’s basketball operations, working closely with the team’s coaches, players and staff.

"I am incredibly grateful to Dan for the opportunity to become general manager of the Cavaliers. His confidence, support and strong commitment to achieving our collective goals is very clear to me and I look forward to continuing our efforts. I am also excited and proud to lead a front office team that will continue to be sharply focused on competing for championships. That challenge is what drives all of us,” said Altman.

Altman has extensive experience with the USA Basketball program as well. In the summer of 2010, he served as the Team Manager for USA Basketball’s Under-17 team at the inaugural FIBA Under-17 World Championship in Hamburg, Germany. That 17-and-under squad won the first gold medal to ever be awarded for that age group and featured three players selected among the top 10 in the 2012 NBA Draft. In 2009, he assisted Team USA’s 19-and-under team in the FIBA Under-19 World Championship in Auckland, New Zealand. That squad also won the gold, its first in that age group since 1991.

As for the Cavs second move . . .

Cleveland signs Derrick Rose

The Cleveland Cavaliers may have already found a capable short term replacement for Irving, as the team announced that it signed guard and former MVP Derrick Rose. Other outlets have reported that the deal is for one year at $2.1 million.

“We are very excited to be able to add a player of Derrick’s caliber and experience to the team,” said GM Koby Altman. “Derrick could have gone to a number of other teams, but his specific mindset, goals and total focus and commitment to winning are what resulted in him signing with the Cavaliers. We are confident he will be a very good fit with our organization and we look forward to the many ways he will contribute to the team.”

With Rose, the issue is always health, as he has battled numerous injuries over his career.

Last year, Rose (6-3, 190) played in just 64 games (all starts) for the New York Knicks in 2016-17 and averaged 18.0 points on .471 shooting from the field, 3.8 rebounds and 4.4 assists in 32.5 minutes. He scored in double figures on 61 occasions, including 24 contests with 20 points or more, and registered two double-doubles. The 6-3 guard also shot .874 (221-253) from the free throw line, which ranked 16th in the NBA, and was one of just six players in the league to average at least 18.0 points, 3.0 rebounds and 4.0 assists while shooting .870 or better from the charity stripe.

“I have a single focus and purpose of wanting to play to win,” said Rose. “Being part of a roster and organization that shares that type of commitment and being able to play with the Cavaliers and compete for a championship is the only thing that matters for me. I am very happy to be in Cleveland and look forward to getting to work.”

Over his eight-year NBA career, the 28-year-old Chicago native has averaged 19.5 points, 3.7 rebounds and 6.0 assists in 34.7 minutes through 470 games (469 starts) with the Chicago Bulls and Knicks. He earned league MVP honors in 2010-11 after posting career highs with 25.0 points and 4.1 rebounds while adding 7.7 assists in 37.4 minutes per game and leading the Bulls to the best record in the NBA (62-20). He also won the 2009 NBA Rookie of the Year award and has three NBA All-Star selections (2010, 2011, 2012).

Golden State officially announces its free agent signings

The 2017 NBA Champion Golden State Warriors confirmed today what has already been known for weeks, as the team announced that it re-signed free agents Stephen Curry, Kevin Durant, Andre Iguodala, Shaun Livingston, Zaza Pachulia, and David West to contracts.

Curry, 29, averaged a team-high 25.3 points per game (10th in the NBA) in 2016-17 to go with 6.6 assists, 4.5 rebounds and 1.81 steals (seventh) in 33.4 minutes over 79 games, earning All-NBA Second Team honors. The two-time MVP led the league in three-point field goals for a fifth consecutive year, following his NBA-record 402 threes in 2015-16 with 316 triples in 2016-17, including an NBA single-game record 13 threes on Nov. 7 vs. New Orleans. Curry upped his averages to 28.1 points, 6.7 assists and 6.2 rebounds in 35.4 minutes over 17 games in the 2017 postseason, helping Golden State capture its second title in three seasons.

Durant, 28, tallied averages of 25.1 points (13th), a career-high 8.3 rebounds, 4.8 assists, a career-high 1.60 blocks (ninth) and 1.06 steals in 33.4 minutes over 62 games in his first season with the Warriors in 2016-17. The 6’9” forward earned All-NBA Second Team honors after hitting a career-best 53.7 percent from the field and becoming the first Warrior to average at least 25 points and eight rebounds per game since Rick Barry in 1966-67. Durant led the Warriors in postseason scoring with 28.5 points per game to go along with 7.9 rebounds, 4.3 assists and 1.33 blocks in 15 games, scoring at least 30 points in all five games of the NBA Finals on his way to Finals MVP honors. Durant joined Michael Jordan as the only players to earn NBA Finals MVP honors with averages of at least 35 points (35.2), eight rebounds (8.2) and five assists (5.4).

Iguodala, 33, averaged 7.6 points, 4.0 rebounds, 3.4 assists and 1.00 steals in 26.3 minutes over 76 games for the Warriors in 2016-17, while shooting a career-high 52.8 percent. A 13-year NBA veteran, Iguodala led the NBA in assist-to-turnover ratio (4.50) and was a finalist for 2016-17 NBA Sixth Man of the Year honors, leading all reserves in plus/minus with an on-court differential of +6.9. The 2015 NBA Finals MVP scored a playoff season-high 20 points in Golden State’s series-clinching Game 5 win over Cleveland in the 2017 NBA Finals, hitting 9-of-14 from the field in 38 minutes.

Livingston, 31, shot a career-best 54.7 percent from the field and posted averages of 5.1 points, 2.0 rebounds and 1.8 assists in 17.7 minutes over 76 games in 2016-17. The 13-year NBA veteran upped his accuracy to 57.6 percent from the field in the postseason, averaging 5.2 points over 14 games and scoring in double figures three times (twice in the NBA Finals).

Pachulia, 33, averaged 6.1 points, 5.9 rebounds and 1.9 assists in 18.1 minutes over 70 games (all starts) in his first season with the Warriors, while hitting a career-high 53.4 percent from the field. The Georgian native led all centers in plus/minus (+6.0) and led the Warriors with 140 offensive rebounds in 2016-17. In 15 postseason games (all starts), Pachulia averaged 5.1 points and 3.8 rebounds in 14.1 minutes, scoring in double figures four times.

West, 36, tallied averages of 4.6 points, 3.0 rebounds and 2.2 assists in 12.6 minutes over 68 games in his first season with the Warriors. The 14-year NBA veteran was one of only four players to play in all 17 of Golden State’s playoff games, averaging 4.5 points, 2.7 rebounds and 2.1 assists, and 13.0 minutes in his eighth career postseason appearance.

Spurs sign Pau Gasol
 
The San Antonio Spurs, arguably the Warriors greatest competition, announced that they have re-signed forward/center Pau Gasol.  Other outlets have reported that the deal is for three years at $48 million.

Even at this late stage in his career, Gasol remains a versatile offensive big man who can post up, pass, and hit an occasional trey.

During the 2016-17 season, Gasol appeared in 64 games in his first year with the Silver and Black, averaging 12.4 points, 7.8 rebounds, 2.3 assists and 1.09 blocks in 25.4 minutes while shooting .502 (303-604) from the field, a career-best .538 (56-104) from beyond the arc and .707 (130-184) from the foul line. On April 12 at Utah he scored his 20,000th career point to become just the second European player to eclipse 20,000 points for their career, joining Dirk Nowitzki.

A 16-year NBA veteran, Gasol is a four-time All-NBA selection who has won two NBA Championships. The six-time All-Star was named to the All-NBA Second Team in 2010-11 and 2014-15 while earning All-NBA Third Team honors in 2008-09 and 2009-10.

In 1,119 career NBA games (1,081 starts), Gasol has averaged 17.9 points, 9.4 rebounds, 3.2 assists and 1.65 blocks while shooting .510 (7,651-15,008) from the floor and .754 (4,569-6,062) from the free throw line in 34.7 minutes. He has appeared in 131 career playoffs games, averaging 15.8 points, 9.3 rebounds,  3.2 assists and 1.77 blocks in 36.1 minutes.

Gasol is one of four players in NBA history to reach 20,000 points, 10,000 rebounds, 3,500 assists and 1,500 blocks in his career, along with Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, Kevin Garnett and Tim Duncan.

By Staff of TheDailySportsHerald.com and news services