NBA Trade: Cleveland Cavaliers’ Richard Jefferson, Kay Felder Headed To Atlanta Hawks
The Cleveland Cavaliers have finally found a trade partner for their forward Richard Jefferson and guard Kay Felder. Jefferson and Felder are being traded to the Atlanta Hawks, reports say.
The Cavs are sending Jefferson and Felder to the Hawks in a deal that also includes two 2019 and 2020 second-round draft picks, plus cash worth $3 million, ESPN reported. This would enable the Cavs to trim its roster to 15 players and save about $12 million in luxury taxes. Jefferson makes $2.5 million this year and a non-guaranteed $2.6 million for 2018-19. Felder earns $1.3 million this season, half of which is guaranteed for 2017-18.
The Atlanta Hawks, in return, will give the Cavs the European draft rights to Dimitrios Agravanis and Sergiy Gladyr. The Hawks also intend to waive Jefferson and Felder once the deal has been finalized. Both Jefferson and Felder would be free agents then. A trade call with the league is expected to happen on Saturday before the deal is sealed.
Rumors of Jefferson’s last days with the Cavs emerged the other week as the Cavs brought in Dwyane Wade. The team then had 16 players with guaranteed contracts on its roster, which means it has to let go at least one player before the NBA season opens on October 17. This week, the Cavs confirmed that they were trying to trade the 37-year-old veteran, and if no deal was made, Adrian Wojnarowski said they might end up simply waiving him and paying $10 million in luxury taxes.
Jefferson is set to enter his 17th season. He played in 79 games last season and had been a key part of the team’s championship win in 2016, per Fox Sports. Kay Felder’s spot on the team had been threatened after the Cavs signed Jose Calderon and Derrick Rose. The second-year player appeared in 42 games with the Cavs last season.
Cavs in "advanced talks" to trade Richard Jefferson and Kay Felder to Hawks, per @ShamsCharania pic.twitter.com/fknaBYcaBW
— Bleacher Report NBA (@BR_NBA) October 13, 2017
Jefferson had been contemplating retirement that past two offseasons, but league sources say he plans to continue with his NBA career after the Atlanta Hawks waive him, Chris Mannix of The Vertical wrote on Twitter. Some fans expressed on Twitter their disappointment over the Cavs decision to cut Jefferson, with some saying they should have let go of Calderon instead.
[Featured Image by Peter Larsen/Getty Images for David Yurman]
