CLEVELAND — The Cleveland Cavaliers wasted no time in NBA free agency, agreeing to deals with forwards Caris LeVert and Georges Niang in the first hour Friday.
LeVert, who bounced back and forth between starter and reserve last season, agreed to a two-year, $32 million contract, a person familiar with the negotiations told The Associated Press.
Niang agreed to a three-year, $26 million deal with Cleveland, his agent, Mark Bartelstein, told AP.
The moves improve the Cavs' depth and gives them two proven scorers to go along with their core of Donovan Mitchell, Darius Garland, Evan Mobley and Jarrett Allen.
Niang will be reunited in Cleveland with Mitchell, his former teammate in Utah.
Cavs general manager Koby Altman vowed he would be making "sweeping" changes following Cleveland's first-round playoff exit. Altman, though, has addressed some major needs for the Cavs, who won 51 games in the regular season before losing to the New York Knicks in the playoffs.
The person spoke to AP on LeVert's deal on condition of anonymity because league rules prohibit teams from announcing deals until next week.
LeVert averaged 12.1 points, 3.9 assists and 3.8 rebounds last season. He was expected to have a larger role before the Cavs acquired All-Star guard Donovan Mitchell in a blockbuster trade last summer.
Still, the 28-year-old LeVert, who came to Cleveland midway through the 2022 season, found his niche and was also one of the team's best on-ball defenders.
