A three-team trade that gave the Cleveland Cavaliers more NBA salary cap room to chase superstar LeBron James was among the deals confirmed Thursday as the official signing period began.
The Cavaliers, who will be guided by new coach Dave Blatt next season, sent guard Jarrett Jack and Russian swingman Sergey Karasev to the Brooklyn Nets in a three-team deal that also involves the Boston Celtics.
The complex transfer sends Nets guard Marcus Thornton and Cleveland center Tyler Zeller to Boston and gives Cleveland the rights to three players who have never played in the NBA -- Turkish big man Ilkan Karaman, Danish forward Christian Drejer and Bosnian forward Edin Bavcic.
That opens salary cap room for the Cavaliers that would allow them to offer James, who has led the Miami Heat to two NBA titles and the past four NBA Finals, a maximum deal for four years at nearly $100 million.
James reached his first NBA Finals as a member of the Cavaliers but in 2010 left for Miami, causing many Cleveland fans to burn James jerseys and evoking a stinging letter of rebuke from team owner Dan Gilbert.
That letter had remained on the team's website for years until being removed in the past few days as the Cavaliers joined a number of teams seeking to lure James to a new deal, a list that includes the Heat.
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