Derrick Williams is a free agent again. The Cavaliers did not re-sign him to a second 10-day contract after his first one expired during the All-Star break, although that could still happen after Thursday’s 3 p.m. trade deadline passes.
The Cavs return to practice Wednesday afternoon, but they don’t play another game until Thursday night against the Knicks. It’s conceivable at this point Williams will not be in attendance at Wednesday’s practice.
For now, the Cavs have elected not to re-sign him to save on their luxury tax bill, since there obviously were no games or practices over the All-Star break, and to leave the roster spot open in case something presents itself in a trade between now and Thursday. As it stands, the Cavs have two open roster spots.
Williams averaged 9.8 points and three rebounds in his brief four-game tryout with the Cavs following his release from the Miami Heat. Coach Tyronn Lue seemed pleased with Williams’ performance, particularly his athleticism and ability to guard multiple positions. LeBron James has already indicated he expected Williams to be around for much longer than just 10 days.
“We hope that this is a long-term thing,” James said after Williams signed. “Obviously, we know that he’s on a 10-day contract, but we believe it’s going to be long term.”
The Cavs have limited trade assets remaining. They do not have a first-round pick to trade until 2021 and they don’t own a second-round pick for at least the next three years.
One trade exception they possessed already expired this week: the balance of the exception created by Anderson Varejao’s trade last year. By NBA rule, Varejao is now eligible to return to the Cavs since it has been one year since he was traded and released. He was released by the Golden State Warriors earlier this season and has not been picked up.
The Cavs still possess a $4.8 million trade exception created when they sent Mike Dunleavy to Atlanta last month.
With so few assets left to trade, the Cavs may have to wait until the buyout market begins to set itself following the trade deadline, when free agents on non-contenders will start to become available. They are still in need of a point guard and could be open to adding a big as well.
Cavs personnel were talking a few days ago as if Williams would be part of their postseason rotation. Turning and walking away from him now would be a surprising change of direction.
If they wait until after Thursday’s 3 p.m. trade deadline to re-sign him, the Cavs could elect to sign him for the rest of the season rather than another 10-day deal first before signing him for the rest of the year.
The tax implications in the two scenarios are the same.
Jason Lloyd can be reached at jlloyd@thebeaconjournal.com. Read the Cavs blog at www.ohio.com/cavs.