Daily News - February 4, 2019

**NOTE: The news clips and articles listed don't necessarily reflect the views or beliefs of the Cleveland Cavaliers or their Basketball Operations staff, partners, or sponsors.**

Mavs coach touts former Cavaliers coach Bill Fitch for Hall of Fame
Author: Marla Ridenour
Publication: Akron Beacon Journal

CLEVELAND — Dallas Mavericks coach Rick Carlisle believes so strongly in Bill Fitch’s credentials for the Basketball Hall of Fame that he spent $150,000 for a granite bench honoring the former Cavaliers coach outside the Springfield, Mass., shrine.

At the helm for the Cavs’ 1975-76 “Miracle of Richfield” in just the franchise’s sixth season, Fitch is once again on the North American Committee’s list of nominees. With the finalists from that group and the Women’s Committee to be announced Feb. 15 during NBA All-Star weekend, Carlisle stated Fitch’s case Saturday night before the Mavs defeated the Cavs at Quicken Loans Arena.

Fitch, 86, lives in Conroe, Texas, outside Houston and recently told the Fort Worth Star-Telegram’s Mac Engel that he just got a new pacemaker. Should Fitch make the Hall finalists, he must wait until the NCAA Final Four in Minneapolis to see if he will be among the class of 2019 to be enshrined Sept. 5-7.

Calling Fitch’s accomplishments “staggering,” Carlisle explained how Fitch took five downtrodden franchises to the playoffs. That impressive feat began during Fitch’s nine seasons with the Cavs, which started with the inaugural one in 1970-71.
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Cleveland Cavaliers agree to trade Rodney Hood to Portland Trail Blazers: Sources
Author: Chris Fedor
Publication: Cleveland.com

CLEVELAND, Ohio -- The Cleveland Cavaliers have agreed to a trade sending Rodney Hood to the Portland Trail Blazers for Nik Stauskas, Wade Baldwin and a pair of second-round picks, league sources told cleveland.com Sunday afternoon.

According to league sources, the Cavs will receive Portland's 2021 and 2023 second-round selections, both of which are unprotected. Stauskas and Baldwin are both on expiring contracts.

Hood, who had veto power over any deal because he signed a one-year $3.4 million qualifying offer this summer, has signed off on the trade.

League sources told cleveland.com Saturday night that Hood, one of the most coveted wings on the trade market, would only waive his no-trade for a playoff contender that provides a clearly-defined role. The Blazers fit both parameters, as they have been seeking another offensive option to take pressure off Damian Lillard and CJ McCollum.
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Cleveland Cavaliers Scribbles: Salvaging something from the Rodney Hood deal – Terry Pluto
Author: Terry Pluto
Publication: The Plain Dealer

CLEVELAND, Ohio Scribbles in my notebook after the Cavaliers traded Rodney Hood to Portland for a pair of second-round picks along with Nik Stauskas and Wade Baldwin:

1. When the Cavaliers acquired Rodney Hood a year ago, it came with high expectations. The Koby Altman front office was in a trading frenzy, trying to salvage the 2017-18 season and the possibly last season of LeBron James in Cleveland.

2. As the 2018 trade deadline loomed, the Cavs made deals with the Lakers, Utah and Sacramento. I’m not going detail where all the players landed. But the Cavs came away from the trades with Larry Nance Jr., Jordan Clarkson, George Hill and Hood.

3. They knew Hill could be a short-term stay. That turned out to be the case, as he was traded early this season to Milwaukee. The Cavs turned him into a 2021 first-round pick, a 2021 second-round pick, John Henson and Matthew Dellavedova.
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