Cavaliers agree to deals with Caris LeVert, 76ers 3-point specialist Georges Niang as free agency opens

The Mini-Van is puttering his way to Cleveland. The Cavaliers made a splash on the first day of free agency by agreeing to a reported two-year, $32 million deal with swingman Caris LeVert and then acquiring unrestricted free agent forward Georges Niang to a fully guaranteed three-year, $26 million contract. Players can officially sign a contract on July 6 when the NBA moratorium ends. Cavs president of basketball operations Koby Altman wasn't done. He reportedly worked into the night trying to orchestrate a three-team deal that would land Miami small forward Max Strus. The Cavs would send forward Cedi Osman to San Antonio, the Heat would get a trade exception and possibly a second-round pick and the Cavs would execute a sign-and-trade for Strus. The 6-foot-5, 215-pounder averaged 11.5 points, 3.2 rebounds and 2.1 assists in 80 games for Miami last year. He shot .410 from the field and .350 from the 3-point line. Niang, nicknamed Mini-Van by teammates for the slow pace in which he moves on the floor, is a "stretch 4," a power forward who launches a lot of 3-pointers and stretches the defense. He is a career .403 shooter from beyond the arc — outstanding in today's game and has shot better than .400 from distance in each of the last five years. What he does best — shoot the long ball — is something desperately needed by the Cavs. Even though they needed to find a starting-quality small forward, Niang's prowess should give the team a boost. In 78 games last year for Philadelphia, one start, the 6-7, 230-pounder averaged 8.2 points, 2.4 rebounds and 1.0 assists. Niang shot .441 from the field and .401 from the 3-point line. Niang has played seven years in the NBA after being a second-round pick of Indiana in 2016. He played sparingly for the Pacers in 2016-17 and was waived after his rookie year. He signed a two-way contract with the Utah Jazz in 2018, where he was a teammate of Cavs guard Donovan Mitchell. He spent four seasons in Utah before signing a two-year, $6.8 million with the 76ers in August 2021. Niang made $3.3 million with Philadelphia last year. Niang, 30, has appeared in 46 career playoff games. He will likely come off the bench for Cleveland and is not known as a strong defender. Interestingly enough, LeVert and Niang were the Pacers' two draft picks in 2016 – LeVert was the 20th pick from Michigan and Niang the 50th pick from Iowa State. LeVert was dealt to Brooklyn two weeks later. He was later traded back to Indiana in 2021 in a multi-team trade that netted the Cavs center Jarrett Allen. LeVert, 28, came to Cleveland in February 2022 in exchange for Ricky Rubio. In his two seasons with the Cavs, he's been a part-time starter. He appeared in a career-high 74 games last season and started 30 games. He shot .392 from the 3-point line and converted 127 3-pointers last year – both career highs. He averaged 12.1 points, 3.8 rebounds and 3.9 assists in 2022-23. After the season ended, LeVert and Altman both said they hoped the two sides could reach a deal in free agency. Contact Bob Finnan at rfinnan30@gmail.com. Follow him @BobCavsinsider on Twitter.