Cup of Cavs: Markkanen earns his payday with Jazz

Cavs news and links for Thursday, August 8.

We’re one step closer to the weekend. Here’s your Cleveland Cavaliers news and links for the day.

The first sip

Lauri Markkanen has officially signed a five-year, $238 million deal which could keep him in Salt Lake City through the 2029-30 season. The Utah Jazz would likely trade him before that happens, but Markkanen will get the money he’s earned all the same.

Giving Markkanen this type of deal was unfathomable when the Cavs traded for him three summers ago. Even the four-year, $67 million contract Cleveland signed him to was widely panned at the time.

If you don’t believe me, here’s a sampling of opinions from then.

Ricky O’Donnell for SB Nation:

Ultimately, $67 million for Markkanen feels like a lot of money. He certainly could improve on a new team with a different supporting cast, but his stagnation in Chicago is worrisome. At this point, Markkanen is a player who can’t create his own shot, and isn’t a plus passer, rebounder, or defender on either the interior or perimeter. To live up this contract, he’ll have to be a high volume, highly accurate shooter.

Jasmyn Wimbish for CBS Sports:

But [Markkanen is] not going to be doing a bulk of the scoring in Cleveland in a crowded frontcourt, so this move is somewhat confusing. There is a world in which Markkanen acts as a great floor-spacing big for the Cavs knocking down 3s while Allen is down in the paint, but he was essentially used as a spot-up shooter in Chicago and has expressed before that he’s not wild about that role. He also hasn’t proven to be able to fill that role on a consistent basis, so then it begs the question of why did Cleveland just spend $67 million on him?

Alec Liebsch for FanSided:

This move was unnecessary. If you were going to move Nance (which you didn’t even have to do, assuming Love gets moved or bought out soon), it didn’t have to be for a markedly worse player who plays the same position. Nor did you have to throw in a pick. Sure he’s 24 and has upside that could warrant an even bigger cash-out in a few years, but you didn’t have to pay him for it now. You weren’t bidding against anyone.

Markkanen showed flashes of the type of player he became in Utah during his stint in Cleveland. Being forced to play small forward alongside Evan Mobley and Jarrett Allen gave him much more on-ball responsibility than he originally had with the Chicago Bulls. He was able to do this while still showing that he could be an elite outside shooter and a good team defender.

Markkanen built upon what he did in Cleveland with Utah. Head coach Will Hardy has given him the freedom to make the most of his skill set and he has. This has led to him averaging 24.5 points on .490/.395/.885 shooting splits with 8.4 rebounds per game over the last two seasons. Those are numbers worthy of the extension he’s received.

Koby Altman correctly identified Markkanen as someone who had untapped potential. He likely didn’t see him getting to the level that he has in Utah and understandably so. While he showed promise in Cleveland, he wasn’t able to become this type of scorer for them. Even when he had chances to do so on an injury-riddled Cavs team late in the 2021-22 season.

Altman pulled off two magic tricks in 2021. First with the Jarrett Allen trade and then with the Markkanen deal. He likely won’t pull off a trade that one-sided for the rest of his career. But he will likely need to find another diamond in the rough for the Cavs to reach the next level.

The second sip

It seems as if the Cleveland Browns are going to get a domed stadium in Brook Park. There’s varied opinions on this, but Donovan Mitchell is in on the proposed stadium. And he’s willing to tell former Fear the Sword writer Evan Dammarell as much.

Random Cavalier of the Day - John Johnson

John “J.J.” Johnson has the distinct honor of being the first rookie the Cavs drafted in franchise history. He was selected with the 7th pick in the 1970 NBA Draft. He was also the team’s first All-Star as he made the team his first two years in the league.

Johnson played only three seasons for the Cleveland before being traded away in a deal for future draft picks. He averaged 15.9 points, 7.1 assists, and 4.9 rebounds per game during those three seasons. His 3,684 points with the team are 29th most in franchise history.

Johnson was a part of the Seattle SuperSonics only championship in 1979. He passed away in 2016.

Men’s Olympic semifinal basketball on today

• France vs. Germany - 11:30 AM
• United States vs. Serbia - 3 PM on NBC

Links of the day

• SLC Dunk breaks down Markkanen’s extension
• Markkanen’s extension takes the summer’s last title-chase-swinging target off the board
• The intergenerational bromance between Anthony Edwards and KD
• Every team’s best new weapon for next season