DawgTalkers.net Forums DawgTalk Tailgate Forum Cavs/NBA Preseason

The Cavs open up their preseason tomorrow against Orlando. There are some roster battles looming this preseason too with Mo retiring and JR still un-signed.

As of now, the set roster probably looks like this:

C: Tristan Thompson
PF: Kevin Love
SF: Lebron James
SG: Iman Shumpert
PG: Kyrie Irving

C: Chris Anderson
PF: Channing Frye
SF: Richard Jefferson
SF: Mike Dunleavy
SG: James Jones

That leaves 5 spots, one of which will probably go to JR. Of the guys left, here's the guys that are most likely to make it:

SG: Jordan McRae - Has a 1 year guaranteed contract and was with the team last year. He looks like he's been improving and has a much higher ceiling than guys that have been on the bench previously.

PG: Kay Felder - Second round pick and also has a 1 year guaranteed contract. With the lack of any back-up point guard, he probably makes the team by default. But he's looked good in summer league and the scrimmage anyway. Really athletic.


And guys that are on the bubble:

SG: Dahntay Jones - I think he has a one year guaranteed vet minimum contract at 1.5M, so it's possible they keep him just for that. He's 35 though, so I'm not sure what he really brings to the team that a younger guy couldn't. We already have a "locker room presence" in James Jones taking a roster spot. A lot depends on if the Cavs want a "Savvy vet" or "Youth Potential".

SG: DeAndre Liggins - Tore it up last year in the D-league and is a 3-and-D kind of guy. Perfect for this team, but could be at risk if JR comes back, they don't want to carry any more Guards, and they don't want to eat Dahntay's salary.

PF: Corey Jefferson - A good athletic big man and a good rebounder. Kind of a Tristan-lite. We don't have a whole lot of big-men, or young big-men for that matter, so I think he might have a decent shot at getting on the team if they want some youth to eat-up early-season big-man minutes.

SG: Markel Brown - Has been decent so far but could be on the outside looking in with all the Guards we have on the roster. If we play him at point guard and decide we need to carry three points, he might be an option here.

PG: Toney Douglas - I had him as a camp body earlier, but he might have the best chance of being the 3rd point guard if the Cavs decide to go with one. He's a vet and has experience, but he's on a non-guaranteed deal.


D-League candidates and camp bodies:

SG: John Holland
PF: Jonathan Holmes


If it was me running the team and picking the last 5 spots. I'd eventually sign JR Smith obviously, take McRae and Felder, cut Dahntay Jones, and go with Liggins and Corey Jefferson. Use those young guys to eat milage early in the season and save our vets for the post-season run.

I tuned into the Bucks and Bulls game last night because I'm in Chicago. I initially started looking for Wade, Rondo and Lopez and how they look with Butler on the floor. Just then, out of the corner of my eye, I see Delly. Dang, miss that guy.

He was playing well. I think he had 12 points in 20-something minutes. I saw him hit three 3's. The Bulls announcers kept praising his hustle and shooting, assuming he doesn't stay in that late-2016-season offensive funk he was going through. I think the Bucks could make a move this year as long as they stay healthy. Jabari, Antetokounmpo, Greg Monroe, & Delly....maybe they can get the 8th seed.

I watched some of the Warriors game against the Clippers last night. Ouch. Scary.

Yes, it was the preseason and they played the same way all of last years regular season and look how that turned out, but damn.

very scary last night ... they are so good

yeah if the warriors stay healthy, i don't think any team touches them this year and they coast to another title..they don't really have any weakness right now, but KD is injury prone and Curry has shown to get dinged up for extended time.. so who knows. As long as we stay healthy i think it'll be another cavs/warriors finals for the 3rd year in a row..kinda nice having a nemesis after being in the basement so long

I was going to the grocery store this afternoon and was listening to KNR. There is this guy on......Goldhammer or something like that. He's teamed w/some dude named Emmitt.

Anyway, he is railing on ESPN because they were over-hyping GS's win last night. I think he was right, but goodness, how does that guy have a job? He is so freaking obnoxious. He's acting like he is talking to Curry and says something like: "hey Steph, it's just a preseason game, stop shimmying....." Like he knows Curry or like Curry would listen to a clown like that guy.

I heard him one other time and he was dissing Ohio State fans who root for the Buckeyes even though they didn't attend the university. And then he starts pimping Colorado.

What an obnoxious jerk!!!

That guy needs gone.........sooner rather than later.

JMO, but I think they are weak in the paint. I think that's the key to beating them.

Jordan McRae reminds me of Livingston.

No doubt. They lost any semblance of an interior (and that's how we beat them last season anyways) ... but you still need the stars and moon to align (last year we just needed the stars)

Tune into 92.3

They've got the best sports talk. Ken Carman is the best.

GS choked last year and they will choke again. #cavswin

Thanks.

Just a few notes about the first pre-season game:

- Sure, it's just pre-season, but Love and Shump both look tons better. I think both worked themselves into great shape in the off-season, and they look like they want to make a huge difference this year. I think the haircuts on both helped too. Shump looks much more aerodynamic now.

- The ball movement looks great so far. I think the Cavs are finally getting to the point where they are familiar with each other and know the offense. The passing has been really crisp so far.

- Kay Felder may help us forget Delly. He's looked good so far. If he was 6'3", he would of been a #1 pick. He can slice through the lane, he can pick out open guys, and he can manage on defense.

- Jordan McRae is going to be dangerous off the bench. The dude can score. I hope he sees a lot of early season minutes so that guys like Lebron can rest for the later part of the season.

- Liggins is still my interesting bubble guy. He got a lot of minutes against Orlando, but didn't do anything eye-popping. He played decent defense and had some decent plays though. The fact that he can play D and hit threes is going to give him some value to the roster. If he gets cut, it'll be a numbers thing.

- Dunleavy has been money so far. Getting open and drilling threes. Yet another guy that can sit back and stretch the floor for Kyrie and Lebron.

- Birdman is probably the only guy I can give criticism to so far. He just looks old and immobile. He's a savvy veteran though, so it's not like he's making bad plays. He just seems like he might be a liability if we get into a track meet. As a backup center, I think he'll be okay.

I like McRae, too.

He had a great summer too. Not great defensively, but explosive and can score. He'll play some minutes

This isn't important, but I thought it was cool as hell.

Lebron is a high class guy.

That is a real leader if I ever saw one. Way to go Lebron!

I've always thought that treating everything and everyone with respect is the best way to gain success ... I enjoyed that anecdote

It seems to me that James gave the locker room attendants a bonus when we went to the Finals. (before he left)

“You can easily judge the character of a man by how he treats those who can do nothing for him.”—Malcolm S. Forbes.

Have you read the book Give and Take by Adam M. Grant? If you haven't you might enjoy it.

The shirtless assassin has finally signed with the good guys.

JR Smith signs a 4-yr $57m contract.

http://www.thescore.com/news/1127743

Marc Stein ESPN Senior Writer

J.R. Smith and the Cavs have come to terms on a four-year $57 million deal, league sources say
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NBA 2m

good news!

wow 4 years

Hopefully he ages as well as Ray Allen did.

That's 14.2 a year as well. I hope he ages well. I see Lebron has managed to hold another successful hostage situation for Klutch.

I know we should overpay for the guys that won is a title because it could prevent us from repeating or contending in the future, but it's a good freaking problem to have.

Welcome back JR!

I think jr is worth that contract more more so than shumps 10 a year. Watching shump try to play the two is painful, JR deserves this contract. He was a big part of our success and he did everything expected of him. I'm glad it got done

Bout time! Thank God, I did not wanna see JR get away.

There were rumblings of him and Boston talking about a week ago. I didn't post it because I saw it on another site referencing an unverified Twitter account. That would have sucked.

Boston was never realistic , they only had 9 mill in cap, he would have had to take less than our original offer of 12/year. It was just a matter of when not if IMO

That's the way I always felt too, but I'm still breathing easier now that he's signed.

Yeah, it would have been a signing out of spite for sure. I didn't know how many years they would offer if they couldn't match the Cavs amount per year. I'm just glad the contract is signed and we don't have to worry about anyone poaching him.

Glad to have him back.


One thing the Cavaliers have been able to do is handle the bad contracts when they have to .... so I am not worried about how JR ages. Also, he is taking Lebron's lead extremely well. He works hard, and has done everything asked of him. Yeah, he's a bit older, but even if he implodes at some point, I trust that Griffin will be able to make something out of him.

JR will be 35 when this deal is up. Not a big deal. This is his last contract with the Cavs.

It's not really the age that concerns me. More the "desire" to stay on top of his game. I hope Lebron can keep him focused.

JR doesn't get enough credit for what he did in game 7.

https://youtu.be/skk_8pFcnpI

You could feel an avalanche about to pour on the Cavs up to that point. JR went on a 8-0 run of his own.

maybe this means Lebron doesn't plan to leave?