Report: Cavs trade Haywood, Miller, picks to Blazers for 2 trade exceptions
Tap here to view theScore's NBA Offseason Tracker, which includes the latest transactions and rumors.
It took a while, but the Cleveland Cavaliers finally traded Brendan Haywood.
Haywood and Mike Miller are on their way to the Portland Trail Blazers, Yahoo Sports' Adrian Wojnarowski reports.
In addition to the two veteran players, the Cavs will also send two future second-round draft picks to the Blazers, according to ESPN's Brian Windhorst.
Cavs sending Haywood & Miller plus better of 2019 2nd round picks from Lakers & Wolves they own plus their 2020 2nd pick.
— Brian Windhorst (@WindhorstESPN) July 27, 2015
In exchange for its outgoing assets, Cleveland will receive two separate trade exceptions. The Cavs will have one year to use the exceptions in any future trades they choose to pursue.
In January, Cavaliers general manager David Griffin utilized a trade exception gained in an earlier transaction in order to acquire center Timofey Mozgov.
Cleveland will also receive cash in the deal.
Haywood, 35, is under contract in 2015-16 for a non-guaranteed $10.5 million, and will likely be waived by Portland, Wojnarowski reports. If the Blazers waive Haywood by Aug. 1, they will be off the hook for the aforementioned amount.
Miller, also 35, whose remaining salary is $2.85 million, is expected to be released by his new club as well. He will be free to sign with any other team, as he will become an unrestricted free agent as soon as he clears waivers. However, he cannot re-sign with the Cavs, specifically, for one year.
Although he's leaving the 2015 Eastern Conference champions behind, Miller will receive a $400,000 payout as part of a trade kicker in his contract.
This marks the second time Miller, a LeBron James favorite, has been shipped out with the aim of saving dollars. This time, however, James seems to have approved swapping Miller for financial relief.
When Heat cut Mike Miller 2 years ago it upset LeBron James. This Cavs trade of Miller "was right thing to do" according to James source.
— Brian Windhorst (@WindhorstESPN) July 27, 2015
This latest maneuver by Griffin will end up saving the Cavs nearly $10 million in salary and luxury tax payments, and certainly helps since the team has yet to sign power forward Tristan Thompson, backup guard Matthew Dellavedova, and, possibly, streaky shooter J.R. Smith to new pacts.