Mon, Jul 27, 2015 at 1:50pm

CAVS MOVE VETS HAYWOOD, MILLER TO BLAZERS TO SAVE MONEY

The Portland Trail Blazers acquired center Brendan Haywood, swingman Mike Miller, and a 2nd-round draft pick in 2019 and a 2nd-round draft pick in 2020 from the Cleveland Cavaliers for a trade exception worth $10.5 million, a trade exception worth $2.9 million, and cash.

What does it give the Portland Trail Blazers
The young and re-tooling Trail Blazers have mostly overhauled their roster this off-season, but Haywood and Miller don't seem likely to be part of the new look. Haywood's contract can come off the books if he's waived by August 1st, and the aging Miller may be moved again before the off-season ends. For Portland this deal is much more about the future second-round draft picks, which they get in return for helping the Cavs save luxury tax money.

What does it give the Cleveland Cavaliers
This trade is all about financial breathing room for Cleveland. Having three superstars in LeBron James, Kevin Love, and Kyrie Irving creates luxury tax issues for the Cavaliers, and dumping Haywood's massive salary (along with Miller's) saves them millions. This deal (along with another recent swap, sending rookie Rakeem Christmas to Indiana) also gives Cleveland the financial flexibility to possibly add another player or two in the coming season without feeling the money squeeze--especially if by trade, thanks to the trade exceptions.

Fantasy impact
Even if Haywood and Miller somehow find bigger roles on new teams in the coming campaign, both are aging role players at this point (and so aren't fantasy radar-worthy). Meanwhile this trade has little fantasy impact on the rosters of either Portland or Cleveland.