DawgTalkers.net Forums DawgTalk Tailgate Forum 08-09 Cavaliers...February Edition

i would dangle wally and our first and second next season in front of the clips, and see if they bite at the last second...

they say they aren't trading him, but they might be trying to sweeten their own pot...

ferry should stand firm, wally and 2 picks, or nada. we don't have to make a trade (despite what some cavs fans think)

i think we should be done with the injury bug...

you never know. but i feel very confident with this team when they are healthy...

i don't think you make a move because someone may get hurt, you make a move if someone is hurt...

and right now we are slated to have everyone back and healthy before the playoffs start.

40-11 after all the injuries and guys missing games. that's impressive.

over the next few weeks i think mike brown will slowly start to tighten things up, tighten the rotation up (when everyone is back) and start gearing up for the playoffs.

Ben cut off the afro.

Don't know if anybody else is watching, but this Lakers-Warriors game is a blast to watch. I think the Warriors could pull off the win.

The Magic got buried tonight and we won so we gained a game on them in the East.

Edit: I take it back. The refs have just been sending the Lakers to the line nonstop in the last 5 minutes of the 4th quarter.

i like stoudemire, but i think some people were overrating him...

very good player, i still wonder if he's the same guy from before that knee injury...

i think mike brown can make any willing guy a pretty good defender, but let's be serious, he'd have a rough time with kg, howard, gasol, etc...

he fits a running style, because he's an athletic big man, i've always thought of drew gooden as the poor man's amare...

the cavs run, but not that much, and they don't want to run, they will do so when they need to.

camby might be the better fit for now. defense, a bit of scoring, and experience. and maybe motivation to win a ring soon.

i absolutely love hearing the guys say they don't wanna see a move, that says a lot, especially when u think about last season.

it's funny though, espn won't pick up on lebron saying he is happy with the current state of this team, even though they may have 1, 2, or even 3 options to bring in another star.

but, oh. if he mentions the words new york, it's all over their page. i simply love the biased broadcasting from a network that should be objective.

is it me, or is it really starting to seem like lebron staying is almost inevitable?

Chad Ford is doing constant updates on ESPN.com. This isn't really a trade rumor, but more of an idea from him ... what would you guys think about Boozer back here?


Chad Ford: The Cleveland Cavaliers continue to work the phones as well. They really seem set on finding a 4 and have tried prying away everyone from Amare Stoudemire to Antawn Jamison to Marcus Camby. So far the Cavs are coming up empty. They did talk with the Bucks about Richard Jefferson yesterday, but Jefferson wouldn't fit a need the same way Stoudemire or Jamison would.

All of this makes me wonder, would the Cavs consider making an offer for Carlos Boozer?

Boozer, you might remember, burned the franchise in 2004 when he convinced ownership to let him go into free agency. The plan was for the Cavs to re-sign him to a mid-level deal. But when Utah offered him much more money, he broke a promise and ran. He's been public enemy No. 1 in Cleveland ever since.

But when he's healthy, he's one of the best 4s in the league, and from what I'm told, he's available. Boozer can opt out of his contract this summer, but chances are that he won't, as he tries to get 100 percent healthy and looks forward to free agency in 2010. Therefore, the Jazz have some incentive to let Boozer go now. Paul Millsap is a free agent this summer too, and the Jazz can't afford to pay both of them if they want to avoid the luxury tax.

Boozer would be a great fit in Cleveland if healthy. I think all of the hurt feelings would be smoothed over pretty quickly if he helped Cleveland win a title. He's hasn't played since mid-November with a knee injury but is nearing a return. It would be a low-risk move for the Cavs and would save the Jazz some serious money.

I wouldn't be opposed to bringing Boozer back.

Also from Chad Ford.

Shaquille O'Neal and LeBron James?

ESPN.com contributor Brian Windhorst of the Cleveland Plain Dealer is reporting that the Cavs have offered Ben Wallace and Sasha Pavlovic to the Phoenix Suns for O'Neal.

And sources close to the process have confirmed to ESPN.com that the teams are indeed in talks involving O'Neal, which would offer the Suns some of the payroll relief they've been seeking. Because only $1.5 million of Pavlovic's contract is guaranteed next season, Phoenix would slice $5.5 million off of its 2009-10 payroll if it agreed to send Shaq to the Cavs.

It's believed, though, that the Suns are resistant to taking back Wallace and thus trying to convince Cleveland to part with Wally Szczerbiak's $13.8 million expiring contract instead, which would turn this into a huge financial windfall for Phoenix.

I would do that for Shaq, wallace and pavlovic. But then what do they do with szerbiak? I would imagine they still trade him for another big.

I'd do Wally and Pavs for Shaq in a heartbeat. We get a pair of rings, they get cap relief at the end of the season. Shaq is playing out of his mind lately. He dominated the ASG. He ran point on a fast break last night against the Clips.

i dunno about boozer, i don't care much for the 2004 stuff, but the injuries i don't like, the guy is always hurt.

shaq? interesting... i think the move would motivate him, he fits our team more than he ever would in phoenix. and it would be 20 million off our books just in time for 2010.

it's interesting, but i dunno how likely.

and where does he fit in? do you put z and him on the floor together?

still interesting though, and fun to think about. his personality fits the team. and from what i hear, he is a huge lebron fan.

I think getting Shaq would be a good move but the site was just updated with this:

UPDATE (12:29 p.m. ET): Multiple sources with knowledge of the talks between Cleveland and Phoenix today are saying as of noontime that a deal actually coming together to team Shaquille O'Neal and LeBron James is very unlikely.

No one is denying that the teams have talked, but we're getting strong hints now that this deal is in no way close.

Easy...you give Z and Shaq about 25 minutes a night each. Start whoever matches up against the other team's D better...pick and pop jump shooting big, start Z. Low post dominant big, start Shaq.

I would love to have big diesel here.

Looks like it isnt going to happen though.


KING

I don't ever expect ESPN to report positive information on the Cavs. They've invested too much on Lebron leaving the team. Gotta take what they report about Cleveland with a grain of salt. I mean, we are talking about the network that, early in the season, referred to him on SportsCenter every day as "New York Knicks forward Lebron James".

The only problem with that deal is that with Wally and pavs for shaq, our front court is weak.

I would want Phoenixs number 1 draft pick as well.

Larry Hughes is a Knick now.

I can't understand why we haven't done it already. We're talking about trading away two pieces of depth for elite starting Big Man talent here.

Pull the trigger already!!

Purp... Ferry has pulled off buzzer beating trades the last few trade deadlines. Remember last year? The deal didn't get done until after the trade deadline. I'm confident that we will get something done. Not sure what... But something will get done to improve our frontcourt.

http://sports.espn.go.com/nba/news/story?id=3918898

Shaq to Cavs deal unlikely before deadline

NBA front-office sources told ESPN.com that a deal to make that happen is highly unlikely before Thursday's 3 p.m. ET trading deadline, but multiple sources close to the situation confirmed that the Cleveland Cavaliers and Phoenix have indeed discussed the possibility.

In a proposal first reported by The (Cleveland) Plain Dealer, Ben Wallace and Sasha Pavlovic were offered to the Suns for O'Neal as part of the Cavs' well-chronicled quests to add one more big man for the playoffs and show LeBron that they will do anything necessary to win a championship.

Yet sources with knowledge of the talks told ESPN.com that, entering the final two hours before the deadline, neither team was optimistic about reaching an agreement.

It's believed that the Suns have pushed Cleveland to substitute Wally Szczerbiak's $13.8 million expiring contract for Wallace, which would result in the huge financial windfall that initially prompted Phoenix to make Amare Stoudemire and O'Neal available in trades earlier this month.

Phoenix on Monday began informing teams that Stoudemire was no longer available after the team replaced first-year coach Terry Porter with Alvin Gentry. The Suns, though, remain eager to reduce their payroll by at least $7 million and up to $9 million to avoid paying luxury tax next season.

If the Suns were willing to accept Wallace and Pavlovic, they would slice $5.5 million from next season's books, as Wallace's salary decreases from $14.5 million this season to $14 million in 2009-10 and because only $1.5 million of Pavlovic's $5 million salary next season is guaranteed.

The Suns' desire to take back Szczerbiak and Pavlovic is understandable. In that scenario, Phoenix would erase $19.5 million from next season's payroll.

Confident that O'Neal's close relationship with James would offset any concerns about making such a bold midseason acquisition, Cleveland shifted its sights to Shaq after bids for a variety of big men -- including Washington's Antawn Jamison and Caron Butler and Los Angeles Clippers center Marcus Camby -- were rejected.

O'Neal has been rejuvenated this season at 36 in spite of the Suns' overall struggles, earning a Western Conference reserve spot in last Sunday's All-Star Game via the coaches' vote and sharing MVP honors with former Los Angeles Lakers teammate Kobe Bryant.

Marc Stein is the senior NBA writer for ESPN.com. To e-mail him, click here.

stupid front page of ESPN... ESPN can go screw themselves....

we needed to make that deal. Dang! It's the 90'sTribe all over again. Make the deal to make us stronger.

man, that would have been a great deal. yeah we're 41-11 and a tight knit team, but thats the kinda deal that puts you over the top. I think we can win the east, We don't an answer for the lakers size. Mike brown will have to get very creative in his schemes and substitutions. Shaq and center and Z at PF. nice

...." Man, that would have been a great deal. yeah we're 41-11 and a tight knit team, but thats the kinda deal that puts you over the top."
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....I am beginning to think that Danny ferry is incapable of making a deal the would put us over the top....IF I can see it and I assume many of us can see it , IMO , it's only a matter of time before Lebron makes it clear that he can see it too !....Personally , I don't see these 2 coexisting much longer and of course given that choice the odd man out will be Danny Ferry....

j/c/

Is it official we didnt make a deal? I know the deadline was 3pm, but sometimes these things arent announced until hours after the 3pm deadline.

the mo williams deal might be the deal that put us over the top...

and i know the lakers look invincible right now, but i don't care that they are 2-0 against us and 2-0 against boston, they still have questions come playoff time...

the boston celtics abused them to holy hell last year in the finals, they pick and rolled that team to death.

the nba playoffs are more physical, and that is usually where lamar odom becomes a sissy... historically anyways...

i think it's ridiculous to speculate that danny ferry is gonna get canned because he didn't make a deal today, nevermind that he has put together a top team in the league. nevermind he has gotten his superstar to be thrilled with his team...

41-11, and not only that, 41-11 after all the injuries, as well as a few games with some horrible officiating (see indiana, see chicago)

that's why the saying "if you listen to the fans, soon you'll be sitting with them" is so, so true.

You mean like trading garbage to get Mo Williams this summer? Or trading Gooden and Hughes and garbage (oh wait, that's redundant) to get Wallace and West. Yeah, Ferry is a bum.

Are you kidding me?? Just because we don't have some GM on another team making a wink-wink trade like McHale trading Garnett to the Celtics ...

Quote:

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I assume many of us can see it

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I hate when people make this statement especially when they are in the minority and sound like their just pouting because they didn't get what they thought they expected. This is all about you, don't assume I see what you see because guess what? I don't

This team with or without a move is still damn good.

Quote:

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This team with or without a move is still damn good.

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Exactly, 41-11, after 52 games this is one of the best if not the best (someone else maybe able to confirm) starts in Cavalier history.

Ferry is fine.. Guy did everything in his power to make a move. It is obvious he thinks we need another big to win a title.... Ferry getting canned? why the hell would someone say this?..

The problem for us with Odom and Gasol has nothing to do with not being physical enough.. the problem is that they are WAY quicker than our bigs, thus getting themselves in position to utilize the length they have.. LA has recently done a great job of getting Gasol the ball on the wing and having Odom slash into the paint from the other side.. this is extremely tough to stop since you have Kobe lurking around the top of the key, thus eliminating the help side D you would normally have to deal with Odom when he is cutting... Add in the fact that this opens up all kinds of weak side rebounding opportunities...

Honestly, the best way to deal with Gasol when he faces up on the wing is to LET HIM SHOOT.. guy does not hit that mid range jumper with consistency (see 2008 NBA Finals)

j/c....

There is so much of the 2010 free agent class.. But people don't realize that a lot of these players won't hit the market that year. The top names that have contracts that expire in that year are...

Tracy McGrady, Steve Nash, and Chris Paul. Then there are guys like Ray Allen, Manu Ginobili, and Shaq that expire in that class. I wouldn't call that a stud free agent class.

Chris Paul and Steve Nash can opt out of their contracts after this season. Which, with all the talks about how good the 2010 class is, if they are going to test the free agent market, and not re-sign with their current teams, they will do it this year in order to get more money and not have to compete with that free agent class.

The following players have contracts that expire in 2011, but can opt out in 2010...

LeBron James, DeWayne Wade, Chris Bosh, Amare Stoudamire, Dirk Nowiski. This is the class everyone is drooling over. But how many of these guys will opt out in 2010?

LeBron will easily be the most coveted free agent if he opts out. Wade would probably be #2. I would expect Bosh, Stoudamire, and Nowiski to not opt out, and wait until 2011 to test the free agent market... When the market doesn't contain guys like LeBron and Wade. It makes sense for them financially not to compete in the free agent market with those two guys.

I don't want to sound like a Ferry Hater because I'm not....It's just Frustrating when I know that we are close to winning an NBA Title if that final piece is added...Who that will eventually be - I don't know ....I just really want to see us acquire that player and I will admit i was count up in the Amare scenario pretty deep-I would have loved to have him....