DawgTalkers.net Forums DawgTalk Tailgate Forum Cavs vs. The Offseason Official Thread

Well ... interesting year to say the least. Now we need to look towards next year. Even though "the trade" was a bit of a sideways move, nobody can really say that we would of done much better this year with Larry Hughes and Gooden still here.

On that note, we have close to $30 million in expiring contract for next season. That's going to be gold on the trading market. Are there any big names out there that might want a change of scenery? I can think of Michael Redd off hand, but I'm not sure if he'd be the best fit for Mike Brown.

We've also got draft picks to look forward to again (Thank god Paxson is gone!) and possible low cost free agents to pick up ... although I can't think of any.

I think Delonte is showing signs of being our PG. It will be interesting to see how he looks after some summer programs and a training camp. I thought he was starting to look much better as the season wore on.

Hopefully Gibson will come back stronger (and more durable), or Sasha can step it up and be our starting SG. I think Wally will be trade bait for anything that goes down next season ... although the guy we bring in with any big trade might be a SG himself ... T-mac possibly?

I think we're "okay" for SF ... some guy named Lebron. They say he plans to use the whole summer to work on his Free Throw Shooting. Hopefully he'll learn to not take so many desperation threes as well. :P

PF and C is trickier. We've got 4 guys that are pretty interchangable at those positions, but each with their flaws. A few years ago, I thought Andy would be the Ben Wallace of the future ... and well, er ... his free throw shooting matches that of Ben. I was kind of disappointed with Andy this year. It was like his contract dispute sucked the life out of him, and he was never the same. Joe Smith is perfect in the role he's in now. Z and Ben are like polar opposites of each other that are getting up there in age ... if only we could clone them into one person and make him 10 years younger.

Guys like Damon Jones, Devin Brown and Eric Snow will probably be referred to as "expiring contacts" all of next season ... but they will be valuable trade assets.

Post it here to I guess.

There are two players that I would love to see the Cavs take.

Mike Miller and Elton Brand. Both are very good and fit our system...well, kinda. Miller will need to learn how to play better defense, but other than that, these two, IMHO, would put us over the top.

Just think...

Boobie or West
Miller
LeBron
Brand
Z

I'd take that in a second.

Also, players I'd look at during the draft...

Russel Westbrook from UCLA
Chris Douglas Roberts from Mem
I like Joey Dorsey out of Mem...reminds me alot of a Ben Wallace type player.
Darrell Arthur from Kansas, don't expect him to be there.

Lebron cost them the game IMO...

don't really care though.. haven't been an NBA fan since my boy Reggie Miller retired...

As for the current roster / FA's....

I think our bigs should be fine next year. I'm not thrilled with them offensively (mainly Andy and Ben) but they're not hurting us all that much either given that they contribute in other areas. We're faced with the prospect of sitting on our hands and adding a big in a trade or drafting a guy that might be more project then player. I'd prefer to save the DP for a scorer and look for big in a trade.

Keeping Smith is a must IMO. If we have to use our entire MLE, I don't even bat an eye if I'm Ferry. He's a great guy to have coming off the bench. Solid defender, great mid range game and a steadying influence in the locker-room.

West and Gibson. No brainer. Re-sign them both.

Devin Brown. If we're getting him at 1.3 million again, I think that's a no brainer as well.

Draft....

What we really need is a perimeter scorer. Boobie can shoot but he's not a pure scorer who can create off the dribble.

As I mentioned in another thread, the player I really want is Courtney Lee out of WKU. Just a guy who can flat out score the basketball . A double figure scorer (for 4 years) at a good mid-major program......15, 17, 17 and 20 PPG respectively in his career. Not just score but do so in an efficient manner (48% FG, 40% 3PT). Has a good frame for a SG (6'5'' 200+ LBS) and he's a mature player / high character guy.

Well.....while looking through some stuff about Lee, after finding this, I would guess he is surely on our radar. Apparently he participated in the LeBron James Skills Academy this past summer (2007) and looked good....

http://www.draftexpress.com/article/LeBron-James-Skills-Academy-Day-Three/

Courtney Lee, 6’5, 215 lbs., Senior, SG, Western Kentucky

Sun Belt star Courtney Lee did not face the fiercest of competition this past season at Western Kentucky, but don’t tell him that. He was absolutely fearless going up against LeBron James, attacking the Cavaliers guard at every available opportunity. Those in attendance could not stop gawking about the confidence that this small school guard had going up against arguably the best player the NBA has to offer. Lee shot the ball with consistency from beyond the three-point arc, displayed a nice pull-up jumper, and got to the rim via his explosive first step. He did not seem to be playing the strongest defense here, but his offensive prowess more than made up for that.

We might very stand pat and basically go with what we have this season in 2009 +/- any Draft picks....Ideally the Cavs , once $ is available to spend step up and get another Star to compliment Lebron....Our Bench is only going to improve and our current Starters will GEL next year after playing together in 2008....However IMHO while we might become appear frequently in the Playoffs with this squad , I don't see a NBA Championship in Cleveland unless Lebron is given that All Star counterpart....

You just jinxed our offseason by starting/posting this thread

It's a shame we've wasted the greatness of Lebron ther past few years, and have nothing to show for it. Ferry and brown don't impress me. I'm an offensive guy, so I'll never agree with brown's system. I prefer a Byron Scott or Mike Dantonio's brand of basketball. Ferry has yet to bring the players in that fit brown's system. Hughes is an open court player, yet we brought him here to play half court offense. Brown has no imagination on offense. Just let Lebron play 1 on 5. that's what I seen most of the time. when they doubled stiffs like wally and amon couldn't hit shots. if lebron wasn't on the team, we'd be back to ther days of pretty ricky shooting at his own hoop for a triple double.

but anyway, we need a speedy point guard number 1 priority. someone like nash or parker. we need to push the tempo, and stop playing half court basketball. lebron is the best open court player in the league. get rid of wally and bring in a sharp shooter.

find a replacement for Z. i don't know how he still does it. more heart than talent.

Lebron can't do it himself. I think we need to upgrade in those 3 areas. If not Lebron will go play elsewhere.

What if we got Baron Davis in here? Last I heard he wasn't officially tied and locked up with the Warriors was he? That would go great with up-tempo basketball...

Look... the bigs are okay, but that's just it... they're average. Get Elton Brand in there and you actually have an all star and scoring threat inside to Take Pressure off Lebron.

You just need someone else who can score on their own aside from Lebron... if you find just one you can probably win a freaking championship. Lebron is just too good to not be winning titles. Get a freaking valid #2 option and that'll probably be enough to get over the hump... thisis just stupid.

yea you're right, Lebron needs his pippen. someone to take the pressure off Lebron and make some tough shots down the stretch. a guy that could take over a game on a given night. we don't have that. we have lebron and some role players. heck some of them are sorry role players. how wally didn't average at least 15pts a game when he was here is mind boggling. how many OPEN shots does he get. Lebron makes it easy for these guys, and they can't hit open shots. wally is a true stiff, just like Damon, and sasha. they will be out of the league once they leave here. they won't have it any better than here. Gibson is our only consisten shooter. West is a back-up point guard. he's not a starter either. it's amazing the stiffs james is playing with.

I don't know if we could afford davis. would have to be some sign and trade. I would be targeting andre miller. he could run, and has some nice size that could match up with billiups in the playoffs. if not, just draft one in this years draft.

Here is an interesting, if not frightening article.
http://sports.espn.go.com/nba/playoffs2008/columns/story?page=lebronlookahead-080519

Here is the article for those of you too lazy to click on the link!

After his team's playoff exit, LeBron sees room for improvement
By Brian Windhorst
Special to ESPN.com
(Archive)
Updated: May 19, 2008
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BOSTON -- When last season ended, LeBron James surveyed his surroundings and the situation and decided he needed to improve his game for the Cavs to win a championship. When this season ended Sunday night, his view was more personnel than personal.


After losing to the Spurs in the 2007 Finals, James felt he needed to upgrade numerous areas of his game, especially his midrange jumper. Though he had mixed results against the Celtics -- he shot just 36 percent, though he did average 26.7 points a game in the series -- he has made strides in that area and others, as this regular season showed.

He'll still have an intense summer routine, built around playing for Team USA in the Olympics. But he made it clear following the Cavs' Game 7 loss that while he's away he'll be turning up the pressure on the Cavs' front office. James said he was pleased with the results of February's massive 11-player trade that brought in four key players.


[+] EnlargeAP Photo/Winslow Townson

LeBron might have fewer reasons to grimace with an improved roster.
But as he looks around the league, including at the team that just eliminated them, he feels more needs to be done.


"I think what we have is very good, but we need to continue to get better, we know that," James said. "If that means some personnel changes that need to happen, then so be it. The teams around us in the league are continuing to get better."


Despite efforts in the free-agent market and with trades, the Cavs have yet to land another reliable offensive threat next to James. They also have failed to land a difference-making point guard, which James called for in the regular season when he made a public plea for the Cavs to try to trade for Jason Kidd.


Import Delonte West made some strides during the postseason and worked well with James at times. In fact, he was the only Cav on Sunday besides James to elevate his game as he scored 15 points with six assists. But West and fellow young guard Daniel Gibson are restricted free agents, and their futures with the team are a little murky at the moment.


One thing Cavs general manager Danny Ferry has been able to do, even with swapping out nearly half of his roster at midseason, is keep roster flexibility. With the exception of Ben Wallace, the Cavs are not tied down by huge long-term contracts past next season.


They will have more than $30 million in expiring contracts to barter with heading into the summer -- with Wally Szczerbiak's $13 million salary as the largest carrot -- and the stage is set for Ferry to make another impact trade. This time, perhaps, for a reliable All-Star that many feel is the team's biggest missing piece.


Expiring contracts don't always get it done in the summer, but they were a huge part of the trades that brought Kevin Garnett to the Celtics and Pau Gasol to the Lakers over the past year. The Cavs, who rank fourth in overall payroll at more than $81 million, are not expected to be players in the free-agent market.


James has two years left on his contract, but the pressure is set to start soon. The Cavs can offer James an extension on July 1, 2009. If he passes, the 2009-10 season will likely become a giant James contract watch. It may be inevitable: James only took a three-year extension to his rookie contract because he wanted to allow himself the chance to become an unrestricted free agent sooner. Short of the Cavs winning a title next season, nothing may be good enough for James to stray from that intended path.


Still, for the first time since 2005-06, the clock will start to tick on the Cavs as next season opens. With James now openly calling for some changes to the roster, a voice that will likely get louder if the Cavs have another quiet summer, the onus is on the Cavs to improve, and soon.


Publicly, James will always support his teammates and he seems to be in tune with coach Mike Brown, who got a two-year extension in the winter. But he is clear on what he expects, and that is resounding enough to a Cavs team that regressed this season.


"I am not disappointed in any of my teammates or any of my coaching staff," James said. "I always want to win. I've always been a winner and I am a winner."

Brian Windhorst covers the Cleveland Cavaliers for the Akron Beacon Journal.

This would be a small trade but seems like one that might be worth exploring. I know a lot of people hate the guy but he would be a nice compliment around LeBron. Wouldn't be a starter but could fill a bench roll as a shooter. We're probably losing DJ, so Reddick could fill that roll and surely his defense can't be worse then Damon's. Could possibly get him for a small, expiring contract.

Redick Not Backing Off Trade Request

J.J. Redick | Magic

Orlando Magic shooting guard J.J. Redick expects to return next season, but he didn't back off his request to be traded if he can't find playing time.

"I want to play . . .There were a lot of things that were said last summer and in the preseason, you know, and I thought I was going to play. It didn't happen," Redick said on Wednesday after the team met for a final time this season.

"I'm certainly not going to sit there and hear the same stuff and think I'm going to get the same results. I'm going to put some of this on myself to get better, but there's got to be an opportunity for me to get on the court." -- Orlando Sentinel

Actually I think our depth is improved and , although I doubt that we will not try to improve at least 1 Starter IF Not 2.....We were a Fluke in 2007 , we IMHO made trades that will benefit us in the future , but we add a few more pieces to the puzzle , we are right where we should be ....IF we do try and upgrade any Starters IMO we should focus on the PF & SG position....Booby should play/be groomed at PG , add a Veteran to Mentor Gibson at PG(?) ....I'm Not sure who would be on the market at a Fair Price to fill that role ...Wallace & Smith as well as our Guards could split time , but the $ is costly to pay basically role players....Ideally we would be paying 1 main player at each position PF/SG....IF we do basically nothing than IMO I doubt we get worse in 2009 ....It ALL comes down to IF you want to be a a Team that makes NBA Playoffs frequently and goes home or Team a that is Not satisfied by just making the NBA Playoffs but actually will make a move to go get a ring....Let's hope they spend that $ that they are supposed to soon....

I wonder what we could get if we traded James??

We always talk about what we need to build around him. I wonder if we could be a better team if we looked at building around a few of the others???

Just a question to ponder.

Anyway...once the draft if over since it is a rigged lottery, I would see what it takes to trade with whoever gets Derrick Rose.

That would solve or PG problem.

we've had lebron but nothing to show for it?

it's been 5 years... jordan didn't win his first title until his 6th year, not to mention he had a few years under dean smith in college...

relax, we're fine...

also, i'm dragging this out from the game 7 topic, since it's closed

Quote:

---

With hindsight being 20/20 do you think this big trade we did helped us?

---

yes.

before the playoffs started, my stance was that this trade would help us more in the future, than it would in the near future (the playoffs)

turned out i was wrong... 3 of the 4 guys found their niche... they were able to play within brown's system, and adapt to playing with lebron...

wally sczerbiak did not.

joe smith, deltonte west, and ben wallace all played very well...

but think of it this way, we lost larry hughes, who was an ok player but not exactly a great fit for our team (not to mention his comments about not wanting to sacrifice things to win) drew gooden, who is another good player that doesn't fit our system, and some dead weight (donyell marshall, ira newble) for productive players

and we didn't have to take on any real dead weight... the only big contracts we have past next season are lebron and big ben...

actually, you can look back at this trade, and wonder what the hell chicago and seattle were thinking... some in the know think the gm in seattle was doing a favor for danny ferry, but i'm still scratching my head on why the bulls would help us out while not gaining anything but mediocre players...

but ferry essentially made this team better, and actually kept our financial structure in tact, in the next 2 years, we will have the money to make this team better...

depth was a problem in the past, so was that "second" option for lebron

we took care of depth, and in the next year or two, we will be able to get that second guy.

people are ripping the cavs up and down today, but if you watch this team, and look at this roster, we have depth, which is so important in the nba

if we can get that second guy, that other guy that can get you 20 points a night, play solid defense, create off the dribble, the eastern conference is there for the taking...

we almost beat the celtics in a 7 game series without all that, think what we'd do with it.

Who do you think are the All-Star worthy "dis-contents" that we should be keeping an eye on until the trading deadline? I'm thinking definitely Michael Redd. There's also a possibility of T-Mac and even Nash, like I mentioned earlier. I'm also wondering about Carmelo Anthony. He didn't seem really happy the last few weeks of the season. Donno if he would demand a trade, but it would be interesting to watch at any rate.

Right now I pretty much DON'T want Jason Kidd anymore. He's been exposed as a very weak defender, and he didn't bring Dallas to the next level.

No thanks to Redd. I've heard he's a locker room cancer and he's about as good on defense as Damon Jones.

I've heard rumblings that the Nuggets might be interested in moving Carmelo Anthony (Nuggets/Nets talking trade) and that Gilbert Arenas (although injury prone) would LOVE to play in Cleveland.

The only players on this team that should be untouchable are LBJ, Delonte & Boobie (and I'd trade Boobie in a package for a megastar).

One of the things that makes sense in that potential Melo to the Nets trade is that the Nets are going to want to make a run at Lebron when his contract is up and they may use a "Robin" like Melo as an enticement. I don't think Bron is going anywhere but that might be their thought process.

I don't know if the Nets are thinking that far ahead honestly.

I really hope we make something happen this off season. Can we let Phil make the moves for the Cavs FO this year?

Also, I really want to keep Joe Smith, or as I have come to call him Joe "Clutch Money" Smith.

I think Shapiro and Ferry have both done a pretty decent job.

... and they've both been to the playoffs more than Phil.

Ferry just needs to trade Damon Jones for Chris Paul and Joe Smith for Dwight Howard.. then I'll be happy.

To boot Excl - I think we have 2 MLEs(5.5m each) and a bi-annual exception too(1.8m). Not sure if we can combine those or not to free up almost 13M.

Will be interesting to see what Wally's expiring 13M and exceptions gets us. I also like the idea of taking our 1st rounder and an exception or two and see how far we can move up in the draft - while Beasley and Mayo are pretty much out of the question, I don't see why guys like Koufos, Randolph, and Westbrook are out of the question. Just not Kevin Love please.

Why would you not want Kevin Love? You honestly would want Koufos over Love for THIS basketball team? Love is the kind of guy that would work very well in a Mike Brown system, plus I think LB would enjoy a guy like Love that is always trying to make the long outlet pass and get out and run. Can you imagine Love grabbing a board and hitting LB in stride with one of his long outlet passes? It would mean MORE easy buckets...

He is much more crafty than guys like Koufos, and has a phenomenal basketball IQ and desire to get dirty on defense. Mike Brown would be all over a guy like Love.

Add to that his passing ability, as well as he is a better shooter than Kosta, and its a no brainer as far as I am concerned. Love can also play with his back to the basket, something Kosta is just starting to learn.

Upside and potential are great, but we need to WIN NOW. Love can help us do that the minute he enters the league..

Say all you want about his lateral movement, I will take Love any day of the week. He is the kind of guy that will outwork someone on the boards and be intense as well. The guy "gets it" when it comes to the game of basketball, and those are the guys we need around LeBron.

I was just about to post the same thing playoff, well said.

kevin love=brad miller?

Well.....seemingly worse case scenario in the NBA lottery. A young team in our division, that already has a lot of talent, gets the #1 pick.

Hopefully Chicago continues to underachieve.

And D'antonio has to be kicking himself.

good for them.

if they don't take derrick rose, the local kid, paxson should be fired

yeah, i was just gonna say, rose would be a great point guard to build that kind of offense around...

but now, he has to deal with the bricks... hahahaha

Why not want Kevin Love? Good question. Probably part because I'm sick of hearing about him - went to HS here in Portland (Lake Oswego) and then was on TV every week in college. I love the heart he plays with, unquestionably. Dominated in college as a freshman - good too. Good passing game, smart player. Yes - all good things I just don't think he'll be able to use his strength in the NBA as he did as a college player. I think a lot of centers will outsmart him early, as well as shoot over him if he ends up playing there. And no way does he have the athleticism/quickness to play with the elite PFs in the league, or even the above average ones. And I believe weight will be an issue, if it isn't already.

As per why Koufos - he's another Z in my eyes - simple as that. Though, don't get me wrong, he has his issues too.

Its just a preference.

Now that we have the lottery done and I think I heard on the radio we're at 18 or 19. If we don't move, there's no way we get Love. Unlikely, but possible Koufos drops. What do you all think of Brandon Rush as SG at that pick - or is that a little too high? Not much of a shot creator, but shoots well. and defends well.

I think Koufos will fall to us, although I prefer not to draft him. I am not a fan.

I would love to see Rush actually, I think he could contribute right away. In my mock draft I have Rush going a few picks before us and Koufos falling to us.

well we'll see if ferry makes the cut in the next year or two, when all the expiring contracts are off the books.

I have nothing against him or brown, but I don't think they have done anything too impressive, especially when you have the best all around player in the game. go watch the spurs, suns, or lakers, and you'll see a better brand of basketball. the ball actually moves, with everybody touching it before the ball goes up. you don't see that during the playoffs with the cavs. game seven against the celtics was a 1on 5 game.

the cavs success over the past few years is watered down from playing in the weak east. look who we beat the past few years. the over-hyped wizards, nets, and pistons when lebron went crazy in game 5. my point is I'm giving more credit to james for our success than brown and ferry. if we've played in the west we win 1 series tops the past few years and don't even get close to the finals. that's how things should be judged: how close we are to winning a championship.? at this point I think we're 2 players away............... in my mind everybody is trade bait on that roster. I would rate Z as the most valuable, only becuase he is 7'3, which is hard to replace. when you have a lebron james player on your team, you could find a bench anywhere. james makes the game easy for the role players. theese guys are interchangeable parts. in 06 we had stiffs like damon jones, donyell, ronald murray, and eric snow. this year, we had west, wally, ben wallace, and joe smith. the net result was the same, a seven game seris loss in the conference semis. so to me, in the past 2 years we've stayed in neutral, not going foward to getting any better towards a championship.

I would defintely take koufous over love. koufous has an outside game that is rare for bigs. he is soft as a pillow right now, but you could at the very least develop his inside game. I see kevin love as a bench player. I just don't see how he will match up with nba bigs. he lacks size and quickness.

Honestly, I'm just glad we have a first round pick.

AND two second rounders! Or at least I think we have two seconds

what about chris douglas-roberts out of memphis?

bigger guard that can also play forward...

memphis ran a very good offensive system, and with brown's teaching, can probably become a good defender...

I like CDR, I would love to see him or Rush.