Having already used part of it to acquire Sam Dekker from the Clippers, the Cavaliers are unlikely to use the rest of the Kyrie Irving trade exception, according to cleveland.com’s Joe Vardon. There is about $3 million left on the trade exception and it is set to expire today.
The Cavs were unlikely to find a player making $3 million readily available, so this is not a significant waste of an asset. Taking a flier on Dekker — who is making $2.76 million next season — with part of the exception makes sense, and if another player had become available, it might have been worth it.
Cleveland already does have its roster mostly accounted for. The team currently has 12 players signed for next season and roster spots Nos. 13 and 14 are allotted to free agent David Nwaba and restricted free agent Rodney Hood. Nwaba has yet to officially sign his deal but is committed to the Cavs. Hood is expected to be back in some capacity, although it’s unclear if he’ll sign his qualifying offer or sign a multi-year deal. That does leave one roster spot open, but it appears as if the Cavs will decide who earns that spot in training camp.