DawgTalkers.net Forums DawgTalk Tailgate Forum 2008/2009 Cleveland Cavaliers

this team is easily the best team the cavs have had..i put them maybe even above the price/daughtery teams. They are incredible to watch and we are 1-13 deep..its amazing..ferry found a couple good kids in hickson, tk, and DJ..and williams has been better than advertised and i think he is been the biggest difference because he is running the offense not mike brown. Brown hasn't had to do anything really this year..thats when you know you've got a good team. This team finally has an identity and everyone has bought into the all for one. Even wallace has had a resurgence and is playing like he did in detroit

nice article from ESPN about who is and who isn't likely to be traded:

1 The Top 20 Expiring Contracts
By Marc Stein
ESPN.com

(Archive)
A new month approaches with the over-under firmly set. Three more trades in December, anyone?

I suspect you won't complain if we do see three more deals between now and New Year's Day after such a lively November. I'm also guessing you could use a list of the 20 most lucrative last-year salaries in circulation, since the pursuit of players in the final year of their contracts has never been more aggressive, as teams all over the league seek salary-cap flexibility in advance of some tantalizing free-agent classes during the next two summers … or payroll relief in this brutal economy.

Says one Western Conference executive: "I honestly think it has more to do with the economy for some teams than the summer of 2010."

Either way, here we go with a detailed look at the 10 biggest expiring contracts and a quick run through the next 10, all after consulting with a few team officials for guidance:

1. Jason Kidd (Dallas Mavericks)
Expiring Salary: $21,372,000
Soon to be traded? HIGHLY UNLIKELY

All the regret the Mavericks are supposed to feel about parting with Devin Harris in February's megatrade for Kidd fails to account for a few key developments in Dallas. 1. Kidd's arrival, if nothing else, rejuvenated Dirk Nowitzki to the point that Nowitzki carried the Mavs into the playoffs late last season, which might have been the only way Dallas was going to get there. 2. Kidd is quietly playing quite well this season under Rick Carlisle, leading the Mavs to believe that one successful trade addition to fortify their woeful bench -- which they presently are pursuing hard by offering up Jerry Stackhouse's cap-friendly contract -- could keep their Nowitzki-Kidd-Josh Howard-Jason Terry core in the West elite. 3. Sources say Dallas has been rejecting all Kidd inquiries because it would prefer to (A) put off any drastic alterations until after giving this group an entire season with its new coach and (B) play out the season without taking back any salary that extends past the 2009-10 season and into the free-agent bonanza that will follow.

2. Allen Iverson (Detroit Pistons)
Expiring Salary: $20,840,625
Soon to be traded? HIGHLY UNLIKELY

The Answer, as you undoubtedly know, began the season with "HIGHLY LIKELY" next to his name and indeed was already traded once. He'd have to skip out on numerous practices for the Pistons to consider trading him, since their desire to have loads of salary-cap flexibility to replenish their aging team -- either in July or in the summer of 2010 -- outweighs any concerns about in-house tension Iverson might cause or fears that the Chauncey Billups-for-Iverson gamble is already backfiring. You also have to believe that Pistons president Joe Dumars, who began chasing Iverson when he moved into management at the turn of the century, wants to give his dice roll a full season to pan out.

3. Stephon Marbury (New York Knicks)
Expiring Salary: $20,840,625
Soon to be traded? HIGHLY UNLIKELY

Trading Marbury is more like impossible … as much because of New York's unwillingness as anything. It's almost inconceivable that the Knicks could concoct a trade for Marbury that wouldn't require them to take back an unpalatable contract or two, which could undo all the future promise created by their recent deals that shed the contracts of Jamal Crawford and Zach Randolph. Buying out Marbury or releasing him outright and paying his full salary always have been the only options here. (Malik Rose, by contrast, is No. 13 on this list and does still rank as a trade candidate, but only if the player[s] coming back to the Knicks, as you probably could have guessed, has a contract that runs out after the 2009-10 season.)

4. Shawn Marion (Miami Heat)
Expiring Salary: $17,810,000
Soon to be traded? SOMEWHAT LIKELY

Marion's fate is one of the hardest for folks around the league to forecast. Some teams remain convinced Miami is determined to keep Marion on its books through the end of the season and then let him walk so the Heat can use the resulting salary-cap space to make a run at Utah's Carlos Boozer seven months from now. Others believe the Heat are willing to trade Marion between now and February if they can get back "star quality" or at least players they like whose contracts don't extend beyond 2009-10, when Dwyane Wade hits free agency. The strongest thing we can say is that Marion does have trade suitors (like Toronto) and is the most likely to be moved of the players in our top five. Which might or might not be saying much.

5. Mike Bibby (Atlanta Hawks)
Expiring Salary: $14,983,603
Soon to be traded? UNLIKELY

Bibby is a good fit with the Hawks fiscally and on the floor, as an accomplished shooter who plays well off star guard Joe Johnson … without taxing Atlanta's well-documented financial restrictions. It remains to be seen whether the Hawks will defy the skeptics and try to re-sign Bibby at season's end, but things have gone so well since Bibby arrived -- with Atlanta halting its long playoff drought and taking Boston to seven games in the first round, then starting well this season in spite of multiple injuries -- that you'd expect them to knock back any trade interest. One scenario floated this week suggested that Portland is putting Bibby proposals together.

6. Lamar Odom (Los Angeles Lakers)
Expiring Salary: $14,148,596
Soon to be traded? UNLIKELY

Odom repeatedly has insisted that, even in a contract year, he's OK with his new role as the Lakers' sixth man. If the Lakers are convinced of that, why would they dare mess with their chemistry by trading Odom during the season, especially given how well they've played in November? Even an Odom-for-Marion swap, which does make some sense for both teams, represents a risk for L.A. because Marion isn't big enough to stand in for Andrew Bynum should Bynum's injury issues return. So it's probably smarter for the Lakers to wait until the offseason and bank on the idea that they could convince Odom to participate in a sign-and-trade -- and thereby avoid losing him without compensation -- if the current harmony doesn't last.

7. Rasheed Wallace (Detroit Pistons)
Expiring Salary: $13,930,000
Soon to be traded? HIGHLY UNLIKELY

As with Iverson, Sheed offers a one-of-a-kind presence and skill set combined with a contract that folds perfectly into the Pistons' plans to enter the offseason with numerous options. It's a package way too valuable, in other words, to surrender between now and the deadline.

8. Wally Szczerbiak (Cleveland Cavaliers)
Expiring Salary: $13,275,000
Soon to be traded? LIKELY

As expensive as it'll be for a tax-paying team with Cleveland's $91 million payroll to take on more long-term salary by parting with Szczerbiak, imagine how costly it could be to the value of owner Dan Gilbert's asset if the Cavs don't load up as much as they can between now and July 1, 2010. They already know LeBron James is going to consider all his options in free agency, and they know 10 (or more) teams are going to try to sign him away. The Cavs' best counter is getting as good as they possibly can before James hits the open market in an attempt to convince him that Cleveland is the place to stay. One plugged-in exec insists he can see the Cavs parting with Szczerbiak only in a deal for New Jersey's Vince Carter, but I'm (grudgingly) more inclined to agree with Bill Simmons' belief that the Cavs are after Michael Redd, Mike Miller and several other recognizable names.

9. Raef LaFrentz (Portland Trail Blazers)
Expiring Salary: $12,722,500
Soon to be traded? UNLIKELY

If the Blazers could get an undeniable impact player or a top-notch veteran point guard who doesn't carry a long-term contract, such as Kidd or Bibby, I suspect they'd part with LaFrentz's last-year deal, which is largely covered by insurance payments. In the likely event that they can't? The Blazers have other pieces to keep offering in trades -- such as Sergio Rodriguez, Channing Frye and Ike Diogu, although teams prefer to ask for Travis Outlaw -- and good reason to hang onto LaFrentz and let him come off the payroll at season's end, with several talented kids on the roster soon to be looking for contract extensions.

10. Andre Miller (Philadelphia 76ers)
Expiring Salary: $10,333,334
Soon to be traded? UNLIKELY

There will be no shortage of interest in Miller if the Sixers do decide to make him available. Most teams don't expect that to happen, given Philadelphia's playoff aspirations and the fact that Miller and high-profile newcomer Elton Brand already have some familiarity after playing together with the Clippers. But there is a sense that if the Sixers continue to disappoint/underachieve, Miller could end up on the market, since he's the most movable player Philly has and since the Sixers already are out of the 2010 free-agent frenzy.

The best part is this team could become better....Either by more experience with one another or by bringing in superstar someone like Michael Redd, Vince Carter...etc

was at the game friday night... awesome experience, much better than my experience with the other team yesterday.

cavs are still #3 in stein's power rankings (probably the best power rankings of any sport, any writer)

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2010 talk ain't going away no matter what Charles Barkley says, but don't forget to spare a good word for what the Cavs are doing now. Example: Cleveland just swept four games in five nights ... by a combined 80 points.

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friday night was just unbelievable. the cavs come out cold, they work their way back to the game, and by the third quarter, they basically had the warriors in the position that a boa puts his prey... i looked up when the 4th quarter ended and couldn't believe we were up by 26... it didn't even really feel like we had a huge lead

man, can you guys remember when we couldn't blow anyone out? we were able to win 50 games a year by mostly close margins?

now we don't even get to play lebron in the 4th, although maybe for the better, because when we did need him, like saturday, he went nuts.

i love how this team took the loss in detroit personally, by going out and starting another streak. the teams weren't great, but 4 in 5 nights is hard to sweep.

I had a free offer to attend that game as well, but had plans with friends that I didn't want to break, even for the Cavs. Funny thing....both from Chicago, and almost both at the game.

Just to bring this up....

For everyone that thinks that Cleveland is irrevocably snakebit we did win that pingpong ball lotto that gave us LBJ.

Thank God.

I hope we win a championship in the next two years and LeBron goes where he wants to in 2010. If it's Cleveland all the better.

being 14-3 right now, i'm not concerned with 2010

if the cavs keep playing well, people will maybe stop bringing it up. this is one of the elite teams in the nba. we've been waiting a long time to say that.

i've said a million times that the group of elite in the nba is so small, and so hard to get into, the cavs went to the finals without being in that group. they're now in that territory...

every power ranking has them at #3, and i think they're about even with the celtics, the only difference is that boston beat us on their court... however, they have yet to play us at the q...

with that being said, i know it's hard to nitpick a team that has won some 13 of 14 games... but if there was one thing to look at, it's the bench. they have been good, but they need to be better. boobie gibson has not been very good this year... he's had his spots, but not much consistency... maybe it's because our guard play has been stellar... west and williams are getting it done.

it's hard to imagine one guy changing the entire attitude of a team, but mo williams has... it's amazing that it happened this quickly. he didn't have a great start when we were 1-2, but he has gotten more comfortable, and he's averaging about his number from last season... and he takes good shots for the most part, the whole team does, every team, takes dumb shots, every game, but they've really limited them this season. and the turnovers are down too. it's good basketball

Orlando is really banged up, and Boston kicked their ass tonite. I hate Boston. Having been a league pass subscriber for 3 seasons now, Tommy Heinsohn makes me angry just hearing his voice.

Not gonna get into it right now cause it's really early, but we need to be VERY strategic in terms of who we may potentially bring in for Wally/Snow's expiring contracts. When I say strategic, no I am not talking about when they expire, cause that is obvious. What I am getting at, is we probably need to look at the move and how it compares specifically to how we match up with Boston. It is of my belief that if we can CONTAIN Pierce in a series, we will WIN. I am starting to think that bringin someone in who can really man up with Pierce may be the way to go. Sasha has that capability, but he can be a TRAIN WRECK at times, and mentally we know that story with Sasha. A name to remember is Gerald Wallace. I watched a good portion of the Boston/Charlotte game the other nite, and he spent time on both Pierce and Garnett. Overall he did a hell of a job.

If we go for a big, I think we should look at Chris Wilcox. Guy can play, it's just no one ever sees him cause he has been in the Seattle/OKC abyss. It would be sick if we could bring him and Andy both off the BENCH.

I am gonna give Boobie the benefit of the doubt right now. He has stayed aggresive with his shot, and I gotta believe they are gonna start falling. What is nice about Boobie is that he has added the dribble drive which makes it easier to deal with him missing the open looks from beyond the arc.

Cavs are rolling up the Knicks yet again.

A 36 point win? Seems to be the norm this year.

I love it

Cavs have an average margin of victory of just over 12 points a game (that's factoring in the negative points from our losses as well). That's second in the league behind the Lakers.

Man this is INSANE...This team's clickin' everywhere...

Takin' these teams that average 104-105 a night and just "B Slappin' em' is a testiment to our defense...

Detroit's beginning to show their age...

Wallace??? Player Option in 2012...9 and 9 and 10 and 11 till then...

This team is kickin' some serious bouty...Regardless of who it is...

Offensively it's like night and day...IF Williams is in fact running this thing...DON'T CHANGE IT...

Once again, the ESPN tools on Sportscenter said, "New York Knicks Forward LeBron James" going into last night's game highlights.

I swear those a-holes on ESPN couldn't find their asses with a map and a three day head start.

Could just be one of those years like Chicago ala Jordan, completely dominant, win 69/70 games, and sweep The Finals.

Wonder if any of the Browns watch this stuff; you can't coach "it."

Thank goodness we still have the Cavs to lift our spirits.

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ak-47 would be a good pickup,

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fsn plays utah games here in salmon, ive seen a lot of them. sloan is awesome.

kirilenko is a really good player, he does everything except create his own shot. he is a very good defender, gets blocks and steals. cleveland would be phenomenal defensively with this guy roaming around helping.

don't know where you put him on this team, however. he's too light to play PF and he's not quick enough for SG. do you go small with LBJ playing PF or big with him at SG? kirilenko is too good to be coming off the bench.

guy to watch in utah is paul milsap. that dude puts out an effort. he's been laying it out there lately with boozer hurt.

.02

i know everyone here is a hardcore cavs fan, im sure you have already heard this song. but for all the newbies, click on the record.

http://www.nba.com/cavaliers/news/gotta_make_it_happen_030909.html

gotta make it happen

J/C..

Tonite is not gonna be a cakewalk at home vs. Indiana. As some of you may know, they have beat both Boston and the Lakers at home this year aleady. They had a road game at Boston on Wednesday and played pretty tough through the first half, then the wheels came off in the second half. Pacers have been in most of their games on the road, but have had trouble closing the deal...

We played these guys earlier in the year at home and they took us down to the wire. Granger, TJ Ford and Troy Murphy can really do some damage if you let them get going. If we are focused and bring the heat defensively, we should be ok.

Gotta stay hungry! Go Cavs!

no doubt. indy is tough this year, granger looks like a completely different player...

i don't think we'll coast through this game, it's gonna take a 4th quarter effort...

but it's nice when you can take care of business against crap teams like the knicks, so that you can have your starters ready for a battle like we may be in for tonight...

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granger looks like a completely different player...

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He showed that last year, but not many people outside of Indiana and nba junkies saw.

Yeah, your right, You can tell he is embracing the role of star player. I like his game a lot.

he's a tough sob too, he stayed in the game after face planting into the floor, lost all his front teeth, it was ugly, a hockey player would have been proud

this team is miles ahead as the best team in cleveland..they are so fun to watch..Cavs will be the team to break the championship drought...browns probably won't ever get there. And to think we have 33 mil to trade this year for another star...wow

Yet another punking by the Cavs. Granger and Murphy are lucky they didn't get knocked out. Why they didn't toss Murphy for cussing out the ref is beyond me.

No help from the Blazers up in Boston tonight, unfortunately.

I know it is early in the season, but man does this team look good!

I was reading through the sportsline.com recap and came across this at the bottom of the article...

http://www.sportsline.com/nba/gamecenter/recap/NBA_20081205_IND@CLE

Ilgauskas has been with the Cavs since 1996 and has seen the franchise through its best and worst times. He has been a special player and James feels the Cavs will retire "Z's" number one day. "It's going to happen," James said. "No. 11 will hang in the rafters." ...

I love the way LeBron leads this team and the way they all mesh together. I remember reading a piece either in this thread or another that had Mo or Delonte quoted as saying something along the lines of "We are a team on and off the court.."

I fear the worst with LeBron leaving and all just because we may or may not be cursed as a town, but reading things like this and watching the team play the way they are makes me think LeBron may just stay.

Plus the cap room we are going to have soon? If we can somehow land Bosh and get LBJ to stay, this team would be unstoppable for 3-5 years.

pull your mark price jerseys out of the closet.

richfield coliseum has relocated a few miles north

My sis got to sit behind the Cavs bench tonight. I'm jealous. Actually, I'm jealous that I haven't gotten to enjoy but part of one game all year so far.

Hopefully I can relax one night when I'm not working and enjoy the Cavs laying down the law in the NBA....

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I fear the worst with LeBron leaving and all just because we may or may not be cursed as a town, but reading things like this and watching the team play the way they are makes me think LeBron may just stay.

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Of course we fear the worst with LBJ leaving b/c this is after all Cleveland where nothing good seems to ever happen. So of course he will prob leave, right? I'm not so sure. It all boils down to the 2 most important things; money and a title. The money in Cleveland is just as green as it is in L.A, or NY, and this organization looks like it is committed to giving LBJ the talent needed to bring us home a title. If we can get guys to play together for a few years ala Chicago in the 90's then he will be here. Guaranteed!

Well, nothing is guaranteed but you know what I'm sayin LBJ doesn't seem like the type (granted I don't know him personally but, lol) that's all about the spotlight like Dennis Rodman was, and the guy has more money already so I doubt that will be a huge factor in 2010, but winning championships should be. And it seems like Gilbert will open up the wallet to make that happen. He realizes without us getting LBJ there prob wouldn't have been the Cavaliers for him to buy in Cleveland.

And the team in general is fun as hell to watch aren't they? You can see they have developed a strong bond and have a lot of fun playing with each other! This start is amazing! The CAVS usually start a little sluggish at the beginning, but not this year,,hell no! I don't think anyone could have dreamed 16-3 and 11-0 at the Q!!!! And there not just winning buy 2 or 3 bringing every game to the very end,,there stomping the opponents! This is so awesome, GO CAVS!!!!!!

I apologize, but any hint of the LBJ10 talk I skim over and dont read the post.

can purple delete any of that talk while we speak of this team , This team that is setting records and is a pleasure to watch. Only a cleveland psyche can bring it down.

no rain on this parade lets all sit back and relish (witness)

ANDERSON on wig night, his dad apparently speaks highly of his hair

J/C....

On we move to tonight at Charlotte.

Both teams played last nite, so no advantage either way. Bobcats lost last nite at Milwaukee.

I noticed that MJ was sitting courtside for their game against Boston last week. Wonder if he will be courtside to check out LBJ and the Cavs??? Hmm, that would be interesting. You know LB would not want to lose with MJ sitting courtside...

Also, for anyone that watches, check out Gerald Wallace. This is a guy that I think we could potentially have some interest in as we get toward the trade deadline..

Another 20 pt win tonight.

Article I just read said that we are one of 8 teams in NBA history to win 8 consecutive games by at least 12 points. No team has ever done it 9 straight. I really think we can do it against the Raps, plus Lebron and Z will be setting franchise records for steals and boards, respectively, in that game.