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Sources say the 23-year-old Kuminga wants an annual deal in the $15-20 million range, which would necessitate a sign-and-trade with Atlanta involving either swingman Max Strus or Dennis Schroder. The Hawks, already with 17 players on the roster and incredibly close to the luxury tax, would have to cooperate — and actually want what Cleveland, the Los Angeles Lakers, Los Angeles Clippers or Milwaukee Bucks are willing to offer in a sign-and-trade.
League sources, who spoke on the condition anonymity to discuss ongoing negotiations, said what the Lakers are prepared to offer Atlanta in a trade is underwhelming, whereas Cleveland has potentially more appealing trade pieces. The Cavs have been linked to possible trades of veteran forward Max Strus ($16 million) and point guard Dennis Schröder ($14 million). To execute a sign-and-trade transaction, Cleveland must remain under the NBA’s first salary apron of roughly $209 million, which is why James Harden remains unsigned.
Tyler Nickel dropped six treys on 10 attempts Friday against the Nets, the lone positive in a blowout defeat that featured ugly performances from summer league vets Mohamed Diawara, Pacôme Dadiet and Dillon Jones. On Saturday, Nickel again was the Knicks’ leading scorer with 16 points on 6-for-14 shooting in 30 minutes in the Knicks’ 70-49 loss to the Spurs. “I definitely feel like I have some comparisons in the league. I feel like I’m a mix of some different guys: my size, my strength, my shooting ability,” Nickel said. “I feel really comfortable shooting off the move, so like [Detroit’s] Duncan Robinson, [Cleveland’s] Max Strus, [Boston’s] Sam Hauser. But then I have my own type of way of being. So it’s kind of a mix of a lot of people but also myself.”
Joe Vardon: Count the Cavs in that group. Cleveland has one or two roster moves to make to be able to pay LeBron James $15 million next season instead — unloading Strus and Schröder — but hasn’t done either yet. I am told they, like other teams pursuing James, are in a holding pattern. The Cavs might make those moves even if James doesn’t pick them. They also might not make those moves if he picks them. Ostensibly, trading Strus for nothing (to increase James’ salary) makes them worse after the departure of Wade. So, if James doesn’t care about the dollars, maybe they hold onto Strus, and possibly even Schröder. That said, removing either one of them without taking anything back gets Cleveland under next season’s first apron, giving the Cavs much more flexibility to upgrade the roster at the trade deadline.
92.3 The Fan: "It's being reported, not by me, but it makes sense and I had past conversations that would align with this, that if LeBron came here, there would be interest in Bronny. I'm more looking at what the Cavs do or how they move on from (Dennis Schroder and Max Strus) more so than I am what big move can they make beside LeBron." 🚨 @joevardon w/ @RuiterWrongFAN and @LanceReisland on the #Cavs positioning for LeBron James
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To that end, the Cavs are trying to trade forward Max Strus, league sources told The Athletic, so they could sign LeBron — or perhaps another player — into that midlevel exception. Strus is slated to make $16.6 million next season. If Harden signs for $30 million, and if Cleveland can deal Strus and take back no salary in return, it would be able to give James the midlevel exception.
Since Cleveland’s season ended in a Game 4 loss to the New York Knicks in the Eastern Conference finals, sources say the team has had discussions about the possibility of trading Max Strus and Dennis Schroder. Strus is set to make $16.6 million in the final year of his contract. Schroder is still owed nearly $31 million over the next two seasons. Those moves would help Cleveland’s salary cap situation. If the Cavs get below the punitive aprons, they could also theoretically orchestrate a sign-and-trade for James.
ESPN Cleveland: "I definitely think it's something to keep an eye on, that's one to keep an eye on," - @WindhorstESPN on the Cavs potentially trading Max Strus.
ESPN Cleveland: “I think the Cavs might have been involved a little bit, I heard in the Miles Bridges discussions,” - @WindhorstESPN on the Cavs. Windy notes that the Cavs could trade Max Strus for an upgrade.
Meanwhile, as the Cavaliers navigate James Harden’s return and Wade’s free agency, Cleveland’s Max Strus and Dennis Schroeder have been mentioned in trade talks with the franchise currently projected over the second apron.
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Brian Windhorst: "I would keep an eye on Max Strus. Dean Wade is going to be expensive, I think more expensive than the Cavs were hoping. I think Keon Ellis could be gone unless they lose Dean Wade. If they lose Dean Wade, I think they re-engineer the concept of Keon Ellis. Max Strus's extension eligible has one year at $19 million left on his contract. I want to see if the Cavs are extending Max Strus or if they have to trade Max Strus. And the reason you would trade Max Strus is so that you could potentially afford to keep Dean Wade."
Kevin O'Connor: Always heard good things about Mike Gansey. He was very involved in targeting guys like Sam Merrill and Max Strus — pro personnel types of decisions. Should be a good hire for the Sixers.
Atkinson took the 2025 playoff failure hard and rewatched every possession from the series against Indiana, looking for what went wrong. He was hard on his staff, numerous league sources said, in part because he felt he couldn’t be overly hard on the players. But at the same time, with Darius Garland and Max Strus out to start the regular season, Atkinson tried to lean on Evan Mobley to be more of an offensive threat. Both he and the team struggled with that priority.
The Cavs and the Realest also auctioned off a Lakers bench seat from their game on Jan. 28 for $1,905. A game-used rim and net from that same game sold for $2,305. Another fan paid $1,505 for Max Strus’ city edition game-worn warmup pullover ahead of the Cavs’ game against the Orlando Magic on March 24. And yet… “We don’t want to sell only $10,000 items,” Keeney said. “That’s not accessible for the kid that’s growing up. We need to onboard a new generation and demographic of collectors.” Hence, the Cavaliers and the Realest also oversaw more modest purchases. That included an Allen pin ($57), a Mobley bobblehead ($50) and a Harden mockup beard ($30).
