The Cleveland Cavaliers own Sasha Kaun’s draft rights. Kaun, was a second round pick in 2008, but he has played for powerhouse CSKA Moscow. The Seattle SuperSonics selected Kaun with the 56th pick in the draft, but traded his rights to the Cavs for cash considerations.
Kaun, 30, has played for CSKA Moscow since 2008. He played college basketball at Kansas.
Kaun was at the Cavs summer league game last week and sat with Cavs superstar LeBron James, head coach David Blatt and others. Which, raised more speculation that Kaun could soon be set to join the Cavs.
Kaun is a 7 foot center from Russia. If he does sign with the Cavs, he will be teammates with fellow Russian and starting center for the Cavs —- Timofey Mozgov.
Overseas, playing for CSKA Moscow, he is a five time VTB United League champion. Also, an NCAA champion with the Kansas Jayhawks. Kaun also plays for the Russian national team.
Kaun, of course would not be starting for the Cavs and money should not be an issue for either side. Kaun would be an insurance big and could earn some minutes. A third backup center is needed for the Cavs if Anderson Varejao goes down again, as he has not been healthy in the past three seasons.
The Cavs need the length of Kaun. He can also play some power forward to take the pressure off of Kevin Love and Tristan Thompson.
While playing with powerhouse CSKA Moscow, Kaun, in his career (2008-2015), averaged 7.6 points, 3.6 rebounds and 0.8 blocks. While averaging 70.2% from the field and 58% from the free throw line.
