National Basketball Association

Cavs seeking replacement after Mo Williams changes mind and retires

Published Sep. 27, 2016 3:42 p.m. ET

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The Cleveland Cavaliers have contacted Kirk Hinrich, Mario Chalmers and Norris Cole after veteran Mo Williams changed his mind and told the team he's retiring, according to Joe Vardon of cleveland.com.

Williams, who averaged 8.2 points last year in 41 games, including 14 starts, had indicated he was returning just a week ago.

But the 33-year-old apparently had a change of heart, leaving the Cavs looking for a veteran free agent to back up point guard Kyrie Irving. Chalmers and Cole both played with LeBron James on the Miami Heat. Cole, the youngest of the three at 27, had career highs in points (10.6), assists (3.7), rebounds (3.4) and minutes (26.6) last year in New Orleans, while Chalmers' season in Memphis was cut short by a torn Achilles. Hinrich, the oldest at 35, came off the bench for Chicago and Atlanta last season.

Cleveland also traded for rookie point guard Kay Felder on draft night. Cavs reserve small forward Richard Jefferson re-signed after initially announcing he was retiring, while starting shooting guard J.R. Smith remains unsigned.

Williams wasn't a big scorer for the Cavs, but he wasn't far removed from his peak. He scored a career-high 52 points with Minnesota in January 2015. 

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