NBA notebook: Cavs head to draft clueless about LeBron's future

[June 20, 2018]  Entering the 2018 NBA Draft, the Cleveland Cavaliers must operate without knowing the status of LeBron James, who can opt out of his contract before the end of the month.

James, Cleveland.com reported, has been in touch with the team through his representatives. However, James himself is not certain whether he will return to Cleveland, according to the report, and therefore cannot share his intentions with the franchise.

The Cavaliers hold the eighth overall pick in Thursday's draft.

James has until June 29 to exercise the $35.6 million player option on his contract for next season. Cleveland is well over the luxury tax even without James on the books. Kevin Love is scheduled to make $24.1 million, George Hill's salary for next season in $19 million and Tristan Thompson is set to earn $17.5 million, just ahead of JR Smith ($14.7 million).

--Sterling Brown filed a lawsuit against the city of Milwaukee and its police department, stemming from an incident in which a stun gun was used during an arrest for a parking violation in January.

Brown, who plays for the Milwaukee Bucks, is the son of a Chicago police officer. Milwaukee police chief Alonso Morales issued an apology on behalf of the officers he said acted "inappropriately."

Brown was talking with officers while waiting for a citation for illegally parking in a disabled spot outside a Walgreens. Officers swarmed Brown and took him down because he didn't immediately follow orders to remove his hands from his pockets.

--Brad Stevens and the Boston Celtics are expecting All-Star reinforcements by Aug. 1.

Kyrie Irving, coming back from knee surgery, and Gordon Hayward, out since his debut with the team Oct. 17 with a fractured left ankle, are progressing toward five-on-five pickup games and should be cleared weeks in advance of the start of training camp, Stevens said.

"I've been told they'll both be going, if not full tilt, then pretty close to full tilt by the end of July, so August first-ish," said Stevens. "Probably won't be playing five-on-five at that time, but will be real close. When guys start playing pick-up games, they'll be in that mix, if they continue on the path they're on, but there's no indication they wouldn't.

--Former NBA guard Nate Robinson says the pressure he faced from coaches while playing in the league caused him to experience depression and led him to therapy.

Robinson, who played for eight teams across his 11 seasons in the league, said in an interview with Bleacher Report that coaches were constantly asking him to tone down his fun-loving personality, which caused him to question himself among other things.

Last season, Toronto Raptors guard DeMar DeRozan opened up about his bouts with depression and Cleveland Cavaliers forward Kevin Love wrote about his experience with panic attacks and anxiety. Cavaliers coach Tyronn Lue discussed before the start of the NBA Finals his absence from the bench, which was caused in part by anxiety.

--After Real Madrid clinched the Spanish league championship, Slovenian star Luka Doncic will head to Brooklyn and attend the 2018 NBA Draft on Thursday night at Barclays Center, according to an ESPN report.

Per ESPN, Doncic will fly to New York on Wednesday and be joined by his mother, her boyfriend and his grandmother at the draft.

Once considered a possible contender to go first overall, Doncic could fall out of the top three based on recent reports. The Phoenix Suns are expected to take Arizona's Deandre Ayton at No. 1, and the Sacramento Kings (No. 2) and Atlanta Hawks (No. 3) are not believed to be interested in the Slovenian wing.

--Field Level Media

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