DawgTalkers.net Forums DawgTalk Tailgate Forum NBA Offseason continued

What role player(s) will counter what Golden State just did? Unless you're upgrading a super star, it's foolish to sacrifice draft picks for role players.

Wade on a plane to Cleveland to meet with Gilbert.

You could see in the Western Conference Finals and the Finals that the Warriors were not as dominant as their 73-9 record would suggest. They would have gone into the 16-17 season as favorites even without Durant, but they should be even bigger favorites now. He's a 27 year old former MVP, very well rounded player, and known as a team guy. The team has great culture, they run a good offense, and many of their players' skills (good shooting and defense) don't really clash anyway. If nothing else, it's not like all four stars have to be on the court at all times. Kerr could just as easily rotate them so that at least two are playing at any given time.

Curry
Thompson
Durant
Green
Pachulia

Livingston
Iggy
Damian Jones??
A few ring chasers

That is an outstanding team. Depth is obviously a bit thin there but this improves their team both this year and into the future.

Questionable source though.

http://brobible.com/sports/article/cavs-fans-believe-dwyane-wade-is-on-this-plane-to-cleveland/

Brobible? That rumor cannot be legit.

They're quoting Joe Lull, who predicted Dan Gilbert talking to LBJ in 2014.

These stories are kind of funny on here.
http://brobible.com/

A luxury jets group Twitter account, established quite some time ago, just tweeted congrats to LeBron, Wade, and Gilbert.

Oh the Twitter madness.

jc

http://www.cleveland.com/pluto/index.ssf/2016/07/cleveland_cavaliers_scribbles_37.html

^ some cap notes from Pluto. I don't see how Wade to the Cavs can happen unless Wade would take an enormous pay cut to fit under the MLE. I'm skeptical that he would want to leave Miami anyway.

I had a weird thought .....

Durant lost in the WCF with OKC. He signed a 2 year deal with GS. What happens if they don't make the Finals this coming year?

hmmm ...

At least he's insured not to be kicked in the junk by Green.

j/c:

A few thoughts:

--Golden State is now a better team than they were. They will be the favorites to win it all.

--Some are bad-mouthing GS, but they won the most regular season games in history and were only one win away from winning consecutive NBA Championships.

--The Cavs would be a better team if they can somehow sign Wade. He had a very good year and his intensity would be needed in the finals against the Warriors.

--Worrying about the future [as in after LeBron leaves] is pretty stupid. The Cavs window is NOW. Do everything you can to give yourself to win another championship or two. Worrying about 5 years down the road is absurd. Worrying about Wade retarding Kyrie's progress is bizarre.

Strongly agree with these two points, especially the last one.

I see Durant going to GS as another opportunity for LeBron to continue to build his legacy, and I think he will as well. After doing the impossible, the league has upped the ante. Beating GS after adding Durant probably elevates LeBron passed MJ. I don't think things like that are lost on LeBron.

Sign Wade and this could get interesting.

It's this kind of mix that I see easily folding under pressure.
They'll win a ton of games in the regular season on talent alone, but like we see all the time in the NFL, when the pressure is on it will ignite some infighting and they'll implode.

I was thinking the same thing last night. We'll still be the "good guys" now. Taking on the evil empire that is Golden State. If Lebron knocks off that team, he'll cement his legendary status.

As for Wade, I think it's just a smoke screen. He's using New York and Cleveland as leverage against Miami. He would have to be willing to sign an MLE if he really wanted to come here, although there is an off chance that Miami would agree to a sign and trade for draft picks or something. They could sign him for $10 mil and we could use our Trade Exception.

That very well could of been what happened in the Finals this year. They lost 3 games in a row and couldn't make a shot in the final 5 minutes of Game 7.

Having a super-team is also no guarantee of a title either. The stacked Heat team couldn't even win in Year 1. Even the Cavs couldn't do it their first year of a Big-3. The Lakers have had a few "stacked" teams, and they imploded.

I'm in the "call it already" ballpark. Durant fits like a glove there in GS. If that team doesn't go the distance now with that firepower, then it's either because of injury or sheer disgrace.

Maybe the Rumors are True?
While the Kevin Durant sweepstakes have come to an end, there are still plenty of high profile free agents on the open market and one of the biggest names was just linked to the Cleveland Cavaliers.

Late Monday night, the son of Cleveland legend Austin Carr, Jason, posted on his personal Facebook page that he's hearing Dwyane Wade to Cleveland is a "done deal."

With Durant choosing the take his talents to the Bay Area, the Cavaliers need to make some sort of corresponding move to help their chances of repeating as NBA champions and adding Wade to the fold would be a step in the right direction.

At this time, Carr's son is the only one that gone as far as to say that a deal between the two sides will happen but it wouldn't be surprising in the slightest to find that he has connections within the organization when you take into consideration his family's longstanding relationship with the franchise.

We'll find out soon enough whether Carr's son knows something that the rest of us don't.

I saw that the Heat offered Wade a 2 year $40M deal last night (well, it was reported they did). I don't see how he passes that for a $10M? deal to run with the Cavs.

I guess we'll find out soon enough.

This is my quote on page one... my, have the tables turned now lol.

GS is a team that is loaded with talent and devoid of leadership. The only one that stepped up and put the team on his back can't control himself on the floor. Durant was never able to take his talent laden teams to glory. Luke Walton is replaced by Mike Brown? We've already seen how he manages star power. Kerr took to whining about the refs when things weren't going his way. I think they have serious problems in the leadership department.

Unless they don't make the Finals. Then all bets are off.

I agree with that, about building the legacy.

The way I see it, the pressure is on GS, big time.

They struggled in the Western finals, and came close to not making the finals. This is after setting the record for wins in a season.

Then, in the finals, all they needed was to win 1 of 3 games. Two of which were at home (IIRC they also set the record for home wins in a season). When was the last time GS lost 3 games in a row? And we all know that 73 wins or not, they were the first team to blow a 3-1 lead in the NBA finals. The way I see it, GS is not getting enough flak. Their collapse was epic. Epic.

Face it, they struggled against an injury riddled Cavs the previous year.

Not to take anything away from the Cavs. GS's lack of leadership, and heart, was evident. After game 4 LeBron basically said that the Cavs were not losing, and then led them to the trophy.

Them signign KD was a reaction to their collapse. They have more talent, but we'll see how it plays out. If they fail win the championship this year then they need to look inwards. When going against a team playing with heart, you may need more than talent.

People forget that the Lakers did something similar when they had Nash, Kobe, Howard and World Peace; remember how that ended?

Everybody in a wheelchair.

I thought I had seen a stat that they had not lost three in a row since 2012, IIRC.

They are mentally fra-gee-lay. When LeBron started imposing his will they folded like an Arkansas suitcase. Until they learn to play with a little more physicality, they can be beaten.

They're all smiles and high fives when everything they throw up goes in. They still need to learn how to deal with adversity. Losing Bogut was really the only adverse thing that happened to them all year.

The Dallas Mavericks look like they are going to sign Harrison Barnes and trade for Andrew Bogut. They also picked up Seth Curry in Free Agency as well. Are they trying to create the Pseudo-Warriors? Jason Thompson is still a free agent. Iggy Azalea might be available too.

What was their original plan?



The Heat players had never played together before. And they were older.

Nash was old and broken, Kobe is a giant douche, and Artest? Come on. Also, Mike Brown was the coach.

The perfect storm of ego issues; Howard ain't not saint, either.

My goodness. I still contend it's just a smoke screen, but Wade has cancelled meetings with other teams and told the Heat he wasn't interested in their $20 mill a year offer. He also followed the Cavs on Instagram. That's some Hall of Fame level trolling.

Is he really telling the Heat, "Give me a near max $25-$35M a year contract or I'll play for the Cavs at $3.5M a year"??

How does Wade even fit? I'd use him as an overqualified sixth man. The Cavs need guys who can space the floor and Wade is an atrocious three point shooter.

Smart.

They'd run an offense similar to how they did in Miami.

Basically all we need to do is worry about matching up with Golden State IMO ... however that would work. If it's with Wade, great. If it's with some other vet pieces, great.

The only positive about Durant going to GS: we destroyed them when they went small and Durant doesn't change that.

Kyrie on Curry
JR on Thompson
Lebron on Durant
TT/RJ on Iggy/Green
Love/RJ on Iggy/Green

Free agent David West opts for Golden State over Cleveland

David West
Free agent forward David West elects to play for the Golden State Warriors. (David Zalubowski)
Print Email Chris Haynes, cleveland.com By Chris Haynes, cleveland.com
Email the author | Follow on Twitter
on July 05, 2016 at 5:16 PM, updated July 05, 2016 at 5:24 PM
Cleveland Cavaliers 2016
Free agent David West opts for Golden State over Cleveland
The Cavaliers followed Dwyane Wade on Twitter, then social media had a meltdown
Cavaliers don't have to play chess with the Warriors in July -- Bud Shaw's Sports Spin
Dwyane Wade to the Cavaliers: Why it won't happen
Cavs summer league 2016 roster and schedule announced
All Stories
CLEVELAND, Ohio. – David West has chosen the Golden State Warriors over the Cleveland Cavaliers.

The unrestricted power forward has agreed to sign with the revamped Warriors for one year at the veteran's minimum, NBA.com reported. Cleveland expressed interest in acquiring the 13-year vet.

Free agents can officially sign on July 7.

West, 35, opted out of a salary that would have paid him $1.5 million for the 2016-17 campaign with the San Antonio Spurs to enter free agency. He contemplated retirement the last few days, but with Kevin Durant joining the Western Conference champs, it was viewed as too good of an opportunity for West to pass up.

This off-season Cleveland has lost center Timofey Mozgov to the Los Angeles Lakers and Matthew Dellavedova is headed to the Milwaukee Bucks.

For his career, West has averaged 14.8 points and 6.9 rebounds. He's played for New Orleans, Indiana and San Antonio.


http://www.cleveland.com/cavs/index.ssf/...art_river_index

Windy said earlier that the Cavs will look at Chalmers, Norris Cole, and those types of guards. We want guards.

They just amplified what killed them in the finals. They just got skinnier, less physical and even more reliant upon the 3-ball.

Should be a fun team to watch on a random night during the regular season. Come playoff time when physicality is what wins over finesse, they'll struggle to get past the Spurs.

Sign D-Wade and the Cavs will amplify what helped them win during the finals.... even more physical.

If the clippers can find a way to stay freaking healthy come playoff time, they have the bigs to put some damage on GS