Name: Cleveland Cavaliers not interested in buyout with JaVale McGee, who showed his value days before the deadline
Brand: cleveland.com
SKU: cleveland-com-331
Availability: OnlineOnly

critic

Cleveland Cavaliers not interested in buyout with JaVale McGee, who showed his value days before the deadline

preview

NEW!CLEVELAND, Ohio -- Pregame intros wrapped, and backup center JaVale McGee jogged toward the table near the Cleveland Cavaliers’ bench, hopped on top and waved at the fans inside Rocket Mortgage FieldHouse. Then he clasped his hands together in front of his chest -- the real-life version of social media’s prayer emoji -- as the Cleveland faithful returned the adulation.That’s McGee’s customary pre-tip ritual. At least, for home games. But it hit harder Monday night.The clock is ticking toward 3 p.m. on March 25, the NBA’s trade deadline. McGee is at the center of speculation, generating interest from playoff teams in need of a battle-tested big man. The Cavs are headed on a four-game road trip starting Wednesday night in Chicago. Monday might have been his final home game in the wine and gold. If that’s the case, McGee saved his best for last -- a memorable adieu. He also gave interested NBA onlookers plenty to contemplate.“He’s impactful on both ends. His energy’s infectious. He’s leading the group,” coach J.B. Bickerstaff said of McGee following . “I was extremely pleased with him tonight.”Anything can happen. Deadlines have a way of sparking meaningful conversations. Things can change in an instant. But more than 48 hours before the trade buzzer, it wouldn’t be a surprise to see McGee remain with the team. Multiple sources tell cleveland.com that the Cavs wouldn’t be interested in a buyout. Their current plan: Trade or keep him.Even though McGee has an easily moveable $4.2 million expiring contract, he’s also Cleveland’s lone backup center with Andre Drummond on the outs. Getting an asset in return (if possible) is one thing -- a justifiable decision for a team with 16 wins. But getting rid of him for nothing? Just so a title team gets an interior boost and the organization saves a few bucks? That doesn’t make much sense -- unless the Cavs add another center elsewhere.McGee’s role crystallized Monday night. He’s the sage veteran called on to spell starter Jarrett Allen, provide a spark off the bench and help anchor the second unit. He’s been one of the team leaders since arriving in an offseason trade with the Los Angeles Lakers, has served as Allen’s mentor and enjoys his influential role surrounded by impressionable youngsters. His voice booms on an otherwise quiet team.“We call him Champ around here because he’s Mr. Three-Time,” Collin Sexton said with a smile, referring to the three titles McGee has won with Golden State and Los Angeles. “He’s bringing that winning mentality to our team. We all listen to him because that’s what we want to do. We want to be winners and we want to get to that point.“He’s a huge part of all of our development. He’s been helping J.A. tremendously and they’re really close. It’s good to have him on the bench and it’s good to have him in the locker room because he’s an amazing locker room person. You know what type of energy he’s going to bring every day. He’s just one of those goofy guys that you always know what you’re going to get.”Sexton said losing McGee would be “very difficult.”“We’ll definitely miss (him) if he’s gone,” Sexton said. “But hopefully he’s here with us until the end of the season. He’s not one to be afraid to let us know if we’re messing up. That’s the leadership that we need, and he also leads by example. He’s out there talking on defense, he always talks about how we have to make sure we’re communicating, we have to make sure we’re talking.”Playing the second of a back-to-back and fourth game in six nights against a fast-paced team, the Cavs got off to a poor start. Defensive breakdowns. Feeble point-of-attack efforts. Slow rotations. Sacramento scored 23 points in the first six-plus minutes. While on the bench, McGee was pumping up the other members of the second unit, letting them know it would soon be up to them to bring the defensive intensity that had been lacking.Only he didn’t expect a full line change. Following another De’Aaron Fox attack at the 5:16 mark that resulted in a trip to the free-throw line, Bickerstaff called for five reserves.McGee, Quinn Cook, Dylan Windler, Cedi Osman and Dean Wade provided a lift, trimming the Kings’ lead to just one point by the end of first quarter. McGee spearheaded the turnaround. In a little more than five minutes, McGee scored eight points, grabbed three rebounds and dished out a pair of assists. He also mixed in a few of his typically hysterical celebrations, including one in which he made a jump hook and then stared at his right hand before waving it above his head.“We needed that spark,” Sexton said of McGee. “He came in and he was next man up. He came in, ready to go and he did his thing. That’s what we need from him. I felt like the guys that came in for us played a huge part. Quinn Cook he was the floor general. Dean Wade. The guys definitely did their part. We just have to make sure we do ours at the beginning of the game.”McGee finished with a season-high 18 points to go with nine rebounds, three assists and two blocks in 19 impactful minutes.“I take my leadership role extremely serious,” McGee said. “I really just feel like it was my teammates, the guys I was in with, they were finding me, they were moving, they were keeping opponents occupied by moving without the ball, so it was opening up the lane and then as I was passing it off, they were making quick moves and quick decisions, giving it back. It was definitely a team effort.”Prior to the game, McGee received a text message from his mom. She told him to score 18 points, grab 10 rebounds and dish out three assists. McGee got close.“I thought that was crazy that she told me to do that. Was one rebound away,” he said at the end of his Zoom call. “Even though we lost, which isn’t good, I had to say that because she’d be mad at me because she literally texted me before the game and I thought that was crazy.”Every night hasn’t been as productive. He’s had his share of puzzling moments. Even in his best game this season, he still took an early-clock triple and tried a strange post-up that ended with him dribbling the ball off Richaun Holmes’ leg and crumbling to the floor. There have been plenty of foul-riddled games and spacey sequences. That’s McGee in a nutshell; hope there’s enough good to overshadow some of those other moments.But the Cavs have been happy with his contributions. They’d be fine keeping him if they don’t get a reasonable trade offer, especially since there’s no one capable of replacing him and a lack of playable centers available in free agency.McGee showed his value Monday night. To the Cavs. And the rest of the NBA.“It’s definitely hard when you’re in the trade talks as a younger player, but as an older player myself, I’ve been in trade talks plenty of years and plenty of times. I’ve figured out how to block it out, play my game and focus on what I have to do,” McGee said. “Just lock in and play your game. Don’t worry about anything else. All you can control is what you do on the court in the minutes that you’re given.“If something happens at the trade deadline it happens. If it doesn’t it doesn’t. You really never know.”New Cavs face masks for sale: Buy Cavs gear: , , ,More Cavaliers coverageNote to readers: if you purchase something through one of our affiliate links we may earn a commission.

NEW!CLEVELAND, Ohio -- Pregame intros wrapped, and backup center JaVale McGee jogged toward the table near the Cleveland Cavaliers’ bench, hopped on top and waved at the fans inside Rocket Mortgage FieldHouse. Then he clasped his hands together in front of his chest -- the real-life version of social media’s prayer emoji -- as the Cleveland faithful returned the adulation.That’s McGee’s customary pre-tip ritual. At least, for home games. But it hit harder Monday night.The clock is ticking toward 3 p.m. on March 25, the NBA’s trade deadline. McGee is at the center of speculation, generating...

Cleveland Cavaliers not interested in buyout with JaVale McGee, who showed his value days before the deadline

No article scores yet.

CRITIC REVIEWS

PUBLIC REVIEWS