Sasha

Kaun

The Cavs still retain Kaun’s draft rights, but the team has made no decision on his NBA future. The Kansas product was drafted No. 56 in 2008.

That’s 2016 NBA champion Sasha Kaun to you. Kaun was never really in the mix for playing time last year in his only season. He did play just 25 games and was traded to the 76ers on July 15.

“I kind of feel my ankle has been bothering me awhile. With the amount of pain I was going through, I just wanted to be done. It’s something I’ve had all my career,"Kaun said. “It was definitely getting worse and worse, year by year.” Even if healthy, Kaun wouldn’t have cracked the rotation in Cleveland last season anyways.

It’s basically just a salary dump to allow the Cavs to sign Chris Andersen. Unless the Cavs are resting guys, Kaun hasn’t really been in the rotation. He won’t be in the rotation for the 76ers with their current roster.

This was the plan all along as Philly simply acquired him to dump his salary, and while the 31-year-old will now be free to join a team of his choosing, he may need to go back overseas to earn another contract.

The Spurs and Nets have both contacted Cleveland about acquiring Kaun’s draft rights but it sounds like the Cavs would rather keep the 30-year-old center, whether or not he jumps to the NBA this season. He’s not a fantasy target no matter where he begins the season.

The Cavaliers own Kaun’s draft rights and teams are lining up as the 30-year-old plans to leave for the NBA. We’ll keep Kaun’s status updated as we enter free agency, but he won’t be much of a fantasy asset next season outside of deeper leagues.

Kaun said his contract with CSKA Moscow expires that expires in July will be his last European contract and the 30-year-old hopes to land in the NBA. “It is too early to say that I’ve decided to retire,” Kaun said. “I have just ended my European career. If I have the opportunity to sign in the NBA, I will play. I still want to try to play in the league. I hope that it will happen.” The Cavs own Kaun’s NBA rights, but he won’t be a fantasy target outside of deeper leagues even if he does end up in the NBA.

Mozgov underwent arthroscopic knee surgery in early-July, but with his timetable set at 6-weeks, he’ll have more than enough time to recover for training camp. He averaged 10.6 points, 6.9 rebounds and 1.2 blocks per game with the Cavs last season, but he’ll have some increased competition for minutes this upcoming season with Anderson Varejao (Achilles) on track to be 100 percent for training camp, and newly signed Sasha Kaun (who also will not play for Russia) on the roster. We’d wait until the later rounds before spending a draft pick on Mozgov.

Kaun would have to take a significant paycut if he wants to come to the NBA, but the chance to play for a championship with LeBron James will obviously be tempting. Regardless, the Cavs have Timofey Mozgov and Anderson Varejao under contract, so Kaun wouldn’t have more than a limited role in Cleveland.