As he celebrated the Cavaliers’ championship, Richard Jefferson said he was retiring.
About that..
Chris Mannix of Yahoo Sports:
Richard Jefferson returning to the Cavs on a two-year, $5 million contract, league source told @TheVertical. RJ broke his return on Snapchat
— Chris Mannix (@SIChrisMannix) July 7, 2016
The Cavaliers can pay Jefferson $3,807,771 through the Non-Bird exception or $4,505,135 through the bi-annual exception. So, unless there’s some rounding here, the Cavs dipped into their mid-level exception -- especially likely since the bi-annual would trigger a hard cap.
Jefferson played well for Cleveland, especially in the playoffs. At age 36, his production could drop at any moment. But the Cavs just traded for another forward, Mike Dunleavy. Those aging veterans can split the burden as they back up LeBron James.
Nothing will force Jefferson to play both years of this deal, but he might. He seems eager for another run.