The big thing on the minds of Cleveland Cavaliers fans right now is the contract situation with Tristan Thompson. The Cavaliers and Thompson are reportedly not close to coming to a deal any time soon, but it is still likely to get done before the season starts. While the Thompson situation is on hold, the Cavaliers are reportedly looking into bringing Sasha Kaun over from Russia for next season, according to Joe Vardon of the Northeast Ohio Media Group.
The Cavaliers gained Kaun's rights in 2008 from the Seattle SuperSonics when he was drafted with the 56th overall pick in the 2008 NBA Draft. Kaun has never appeared in an NBA game, as he has been in Russia since 2008. But now, at age 30, he seems like he is ready to make his way over.
The Cavs have reportedly been in contact with Kaun recently, but they have yet to come to a deal despite Kaun's interest in coming over. The main issue might be money because the Cavs are way over the luxury tax and could likely only offer Kaun the league minimum. In Russia, Kaun made about $2.9 million a year and would have to take a major paycut to come over to the U.S., something Kaun says he'd be willing to do.
"That's probably something that shouldn't be a problem, hopefully coming to this team, it will give us an opportunity to win, and winning is more important to me than money. I don't think I want to do it (play basketball) because of the money. Just play basketball and enjoy it and play with some really great players. That's the more important thing," said Kaun.
Kaun played his college basketball at Kansas for four years before going over to Russia and has played for head coach David Blatt before on the Russian national team. Kaun was never a star in college and still is not in Russia, but he is a big body at 6 foot-11, 255 lbs, and the Cavaliers hope that he can develop like Timofey Mozgov did in Cleveland last season. Last season with CSKA Moscow, Kaun averaged 9.9 points and 4.5 rebounds per game on 69 percent shooting from the field.
If Kaun and the Cavaliers were to come to an agreement, he would be a depth signing as Mozgov is the starter at center, and Anderson Varejao is working his way back from a torn achilles. If Varejao weren't ready for the start of the year, Kaun would likely be the backup center and could then earn himself more minutes.
