Utah Jazz Obtain Carrick Felix and Second Rounder from Cleveland in Four-Player Deal
On July 22nd, 2014, the Utah Jazz traded guard John Lucas III, forward-center Erik Murphy and forward Malcolm Thomas to the Cleveland Cavaliers for guard Carrick Felix, a 2015 second round draft pick (Dani Díez) and cash considerations.
The Cleveland Cavaliers drew headlines in the 2013 NBA Draft, taking forward Anthony Bennett with the first pick in the draft. Along with Bennett, the Cavaliers had the 19th, 31st and 33rd picks.
At 33, the Cavaliers selected Arizona State guard Carrick Felix. Known as a defender in college, Felix had been named to the second-team All-Pac-12 and Pac-12 All-Defensive teams.
Felix played with Cleveland’s 2013 Summer League entry in Las Vegas. In five games, the guard averaged 7.2 PPG on 40% from the field and 5.4 RPG in 24.2 MPG.
Cleveland signed Felix to a four-year contract worth about $3.3 million in total. The first two years were guaranteed while the third year was not guaranteed and the fourth year was a team option.
A skateboarder in his formative days, Felix was on the grind his rookie season, splitting his time with the Cavaliers and their Developmental League affiliate, the Canton Charge. With the Charge, Felix played in nine games, averaging 11.0 PPG, 5.2 RPG and 2.0 APG in 28.8 MPG. He suffered a stress fracture in his left knee that caused him to miss a couple of months.
With the Cavaliers, Felix rarely played, putting up 2.7 PPG, 0.9 RPG and 0.6 APG in seven games and 5.4 MPG.
The Cavaliers had hopes to compete for a playoff spot with young star Kyrie Irving, but the team still struggled. Though Cleveland improved from the previous year, the squad still finished out of the playoffs with a 33-49 record.
In the 2014 offseason, Felix once again played for Cleveland’s Las Vegas squad in Summer League, putting up 4.4 PPG and 3.1 RPG in five games and 14.2 MPG. This would be the end of Felix's run in Cleveland after he was traded to Utah
John Lucas III joined the Utah Jazz in the 2013 offseason, signing a two-year, $3.2 million deal with the last year not guaranteed. Utah brought the guard in to be a veteran backup to rookie point guard Trey Burke.
At the start of the 2013-14 season, Lucas backed up Jamaal Tinsley after Burke fractured his finger in training camp. Eventually, Lucas took the spot from Tinsley and started a handful of games before Burke’s return.
Utah struggled early on, going 1-14 in its first 15 games. The Jazz improved their play as the season continued, but it was a year of development as the team finished with one of the worst records in the NBA at 25-57.
Lucas saw sporadic playing time, as the Jazz opted to give some of his minutes to younger guard Diante Garrett off the bench. The veteran guard appeared in 42 games (six starts) and put up 3.8 PPG, 0.9 RPG and 1.0 APG in 14.1 MPG.
Malcolm Thomas joined the Utah Jazz in late January of 2014 after he was claimed off waivers from the San Antonio Spurs. The Jazz also claimed Erik Murphy off waivers from the Chicago Bulls in April of 2014.
Thomas played in just seven games with Utah, posting 1.9 PPG and 1.7 RPG in 6.9 MPG. Murphy never played in a game for the Jazz.
Thomas (11.8 PPG and 5.8 RPG in 23.8 MPG) and Murphy (5.0 PPG and 4.2 RPG in 15.4 MPG) both played for Utah’s 2014 Summer League team in Las Vegas.
Cleveland made the deal to add trade flexibility to its pursuit of Minnesota Timberwolves star Kevin Love on the trade market. By dealing Felix’s guaranteed salary for the non-guaranteed contracts of Murphy, Thomas and Lucas, Cleveland added over $3 million in non-guaranteed salary that could potentially make a deal more palatable for a trade partner. To sweeten the deal, Cleveland also sent Utah a 2015 second round pick and $1 million in cash.
The Cavaliers did eventually acquire Love, but didn’t include the three players in the trade.
A few months after the Jazz-Cavaliers trade, the Cavs packaged Thomas, Lucas and Murphy with rookie Dwight Powell and two future second round picks to the Boston Celtics for Keith Bogans and two future, top-55 protected second rounders.
The move gave Cleveland the flexible trade chip of Bogans’ contract which was non-guaranteed both in the 2014-15 season for $5.3 million and the 2016-17 season for $5.5 million.
The second rounder that Cleveland sent Utah became the 54th pick in the 2015 draft. The Jazz selected Spanish forward Dani Díez and subsequently traded his draft rights to the Portland Trailblazers for cash considerations.
Carrick Felix went into training camp with the Jazz and suffered a shoulder injury in the first practice. He was scoreless in four preseason games before he was a final cut by the team, despite his $816,842 guaranteed salary for the 2014-15 season.
Utah Jazz general manager Dennis Lindsey on Carrick Felix (via Deseret News):
“We’ve been looking for wing depth, and Carrick is a young player with a defensive mindset. We’ve watched him at Arizona State and at Cleveland and in the D-League and feel like with his defensive mindset and toughness, he could be a good complement to our young group.
“If you can defend the athletic wings in this league and make an open shot and can move the ball, you have a chance to play for Quin Snyder and the Utah Jazz.”
How defense is Felix’s specialty (via The Salt Lake Tribune):
“He’s another young wing, but he’s a little different from what we’ve got. He sees himself as a defender first. Anybody that can defend and move the ball and make the corner three, that’s a role we can envision we’ll have going forward. Certainly Carrick’s game defensively is where he hangs his hat.”
How Felix left an impression on the team during his draft interview:
“He was one of the guys that stood out, who said, ‘I defend. That’s what I do. That’s how I get on the court.’”
How the Jazz had interest in Felix during the 2013 draft and kept tabs on him:
“We don’t really close the book on any player unless we think they’re just not good enough or not of the right character. We kept that book open and [director of pro player personnel] David Fredman tracked. We watched him a little bit this summer. This is a chance for us to take a look at a young developing defensive wing.”
Image via Getty Images/NBAE/Melissa Majchrzak
