Cavaliers acquire ex-Oakland guard
Associated Press
CLEVELAND
The Cavaliers added a point guard to the party.
Still celebrating their NBA title, the Cavs bought the No. 54 overall pick in the draft from Atlanta and used it to select Oakland guard Kay Felder, a prolific scorer who led the NCAA in assists last season.
Cleveland sent cash considerations to the Hawks for the 5-foot-9 Felder, who averaged 24.4 points and 9.3 assists last season, when he was named Horizon League player of the year.
“We are excited to welcome Kay Felder to the Cavs’ family,” general manager David Griffin said. “Kay is a dynamic playmaker, and most importantly, the type of person and competitor that we want to add to our locker room.”
The deal comes a day after the team was honored with a massive parade through downtown Cleveland, which finally got to celebrate a title after a 52-year wait.
Felder was the only player in the country to rank in the Top 5 last season in scoring and assists. He’s just the fifth player in Division I history over the last 20 years to average over 23 points and six assists in a single season.
The Cavs entered this year’s draft without any selections, but decided to add some backcourt depth. Cleveland already has three point guards on the roster in star Kyrie Irving, Mo Williams and Matthew Dellavedova. Williams is expected to pick up his option for next season while Dellavedova is a restricted free agent who lost coach Tyronn Lue’s trust and playing time during the finals against Golden State.
Felder already has an ally in Cleveland as Cavs scout Brandon Weems, a close friend of superstar LeBron James, spent two seasons as an assistant at Oakland.
The Cavs aren’t expected to be active in free agency, mostly because they don’t have any salary cap room. However, they will be busy.
James will opt out of his contract in the coming days, but he’s already said he intends to re-sign for next season. J.R. Smith will test the free agency market and it’s still unclear what veteran Richard Jefferson will do after announcing his retirement and then changing his mind after fans chanted “one more year” during the team’s massive rally on Wednesday.
And then there’s forward Kevin Love, who sustained a concussion and struggled throughout much of the finals before contributing in Game 7. Love’s name continues to swirl in trade rumors and the Cavs could be intrigued enough to listen to offers.