It’s a prime time to join the Cavaliers.
Cleveland has just 12 players with guaranteed salaries, plus J.R. Smith and/or minus Mo Williams. And the Cavs still have that championship shine that makes everyone associated with the team look better.
Sir’Dominic Pointer, the No. 53 pick by the Cavs last year, is not taking advantage.
Roey Gladstone of Sport 5 (hat tip: Chris Reichert of Upside & Motor):
Exclusive: The @cavs are coaperating with Israeli club Hapoel Eilat. Their 53rd @NBADraft pick @Sirdom1 signed there for 2 years
— Roey Gladstone (@RoeyGladstone) August 28, 2016
Pointer already rejected the required tender – a one-year contract, surely unguaranteed at the minimum, teams must extend to second-round picks to retain their rights – last year. To do it again is curious.
If Pointer accepted the tender, he would’ve gone to training camp to compete for one of Cleveland’s three or so available regular-season roster spots. Winning an NBA job would’ve obviously paid more than Israel. Even the worst outcome in that scenario – getting waived – would’ve at least brought the advantage of making Pointer an NBA free agent.
As is, Pointer is doing the Cavs a favor. He’s allowing them to keep his exclusive negotiating rights without paying him (although perhaps they helped arrange his Israeli deal).
At some point, Pointer should consider accepting the tender if the Cavs don’t offer more in a multi-year deal. Even getting waived can jumpstart a player’s NBA career by making him a free agent.
Taking the tender this year made sense with so many roster openings, but apparently Pointer felt otherwise. We’ll see whether he ever gets a better opportunity.