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CAVALIERS
Brendan Haywood

Cavaliers trade Brendan Haywood, Mike Miller to Trail Blazers

Jeff Zillgitt
USA TODAY Sports
Cleveland Cavaliers guard Mike Miller (18) rebounds in the first quarter against the Chicago Bulls in game one of the second round of the NBA Playoffs at Quicken Loans Arena.

The Cleveland Cavaliers reached an agreement to trade center Brendan Haywood and guard-forward Mike Miller to the Portland Trail Blazers, three people with direct knowledge of the deal told USA TODAY Sports.

They requested anonymity because they were not authorized to speak publicly until the trade was official.

The Cavaliers will also send two second-round picks to the Blazers – a 2019 second rounder and a 2020 second rounder.

While the Cavaliers will receive no players in return on the deal, they will receive valuable trade exceptions – one for $10.5 million and one for $2.85 million, and this allows the over-cap-Cavaliers to acquire players in a trade without sending the same amount of salary back to another team in the trade.
Ultimately, this means the Cavs can acquire contracts that do not exceed $10.5 million without trading $10.5 million in salary to the other team. Same rule applies on the $2.85 million trade exception. It gives the Cavaliers a chance to obtain a quality player without trading much. The Cavaliers have one year to use those two trade exceptions.

Haywood’s $10.5 million deal for 2015-16 is non-guaranteed if the Blazers waive him before Aug. 1, so expect that to happen, and Miller is a buyout candidate with 2.8 million due to him in 2015-16.

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