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So anyone else watching the Summer League this year?

Obligatory, something about LeBron and the Cavs and how David Blatt's Summer League offense is amazing and just a sneak at the regular season.

I have watched a bit. Probably the first time ever that I've watched any of it. Mostly curious to see how Wiggins looks and to see if Bennett has made any progress. I've been pleasantly surprised on both fronts so far.. as for Blatt, I've been impressed with him too.

I have watched most of the Cavs games so far and also a little of one of the Utah games, checking out Dante Exum.

After watching the Cavs, I still don't see a lot in Mr. Bennett. I know they have put together a decent highlight reel from his summer league games but I just don't see it watching the games. He still looks a step behind to me, not very active, not a great shooter.

Hope I am wrong though.

Summer League? Why haven't we talked about that before today?

I like the progress shown by Bennett, and the promise shown by Wiggins. I think that Wiggins is going to be deadly with Lebron and Irving driving hard to the basket, and hitting an open Wiggins. He also has a nice step back jumper. He is further ahead on defense than offense, but he has massive physical ability

I am impressed with the defense Wiggins has shown so far. His quickness and athleticism serve him well, but he seems to have an understanding of defensive concepts, and a desire to be a great defender. His comments about wanting to make the All Defense team really say a lot about who he is as a player. Oh, and he blocked Nerlens Noel! That was impressive.

Bennett looks like a completely new player on the court. He looks a lot like an NBA player this year ..... which is a huge upgrade over last year. He is still a work in progress .... but I am extremely encouraged by what I see so far.

We need bigs ...... and will probably try to sign a veteran or 2 ..... but I suspect that we will also wind up with a young big man on the roster as well.

In very limited duty, The new kid, Powell, did nothing. That's not a huge surprise, as he barely practiced with the team. Kirk looks like a lumbering man in pain running down the court. His mobility is ..... shall we say ..... limited. Very limited. I like a bit of what I have seen out of Cooley. He is a kid who played overseas last year. He played for the Cavaliers, but also played in the earlier Summer League as well. He has shot the ball very well, and rebounds effectively. He sets a nice screen. I think that he is the best of the bigs we have had in the Summer league. I think that he stands a chance of making the preseason roster for the Cavaliers, and from there, who knows? He's from Notre Dame, so he almost has to be a plus level kid as far as intelligence. He also moves nicely, and actually looks somewhat athletic on the floor, and appears to have a decent jump shot.

Delli has been very good in this preseason. I like a lot of what he has shown as far as leadership. It's funny ..... he had one game where he grabbed 9 boards ..... one where he had 7 assists .....and another where he score 19 on an effective 6-9 shooting. He is a scrappy guy, although one who is a limited minuted kind of guy. He is not a guy who is going to consistently do everything well, but he can create a bit for his teammates, shot a little, he can defend effectively, and can grab a board here and there. He's not a starter, but he is a nice piece for a quality team,

Harris, Felix, and Cherry will have to do something really spectacular to make this team,. (unless a Guard is moved prior to the season) Same thing with Edwards.

I see our roster right now like this: (without any trades)

PG: Irving, Delli
SG: Wiggins, Waiters, Miller
SF: Lebron (Duh!)
PF: Thompson. Bennett
C: Varejao, Haywood

That's 10 spots, with 5 to fill. I know that we will look for some veterans to help fill out the roster, especially the bigs. However, this roster will be in flux from now till the season opens. (and beyond)

As far as Blatt, I think that he'll be alright. He is a quality coach, and he has Lue by his side to help him acclimate to the NBA. He understands setting the agenda, and managing the big picture, which is important for a head coach in any sport. He has a track record of motivating players to be buy into his concepts, and the players seem excited about playing for him. I like the ball movement in his offense ..... but it remains to be seen if he can get guys like Irving and Waiters to cooperate and share within the offense.

Overall, I like the direction of the team. Obviously Lebron is a huge piece of that ..... but I also like the growth, granted very early on, by Bennett, and the potential of Wiggins. I can't wait to see how thing start to come together in the pre-season.

I think Bennett added zero to our win total. It seriously seemed like we had our 1st round pick sit out the year anyways.

We signed James Jones.

http://m.espn.go.com/nba/story?storyId=11223408&city=dallas

So James Jones and Mike Miller so far, with rumors that we have an offer out to Ray Allen as well.

Media reports have said that LeBron has always stayed out of "Upper Management" decisions, but it seems like he has some say in all of this so far. That or Griffin is to focused on making LeBron feel at home and is signing people he THINKS LeBron wants to play with.

Not complaining as they fill a shooting need, but just weird that these are all Heat retreads.

likely just trying to find shooters and LeBron's besties are the guys who are most willing to sign on the cheap

Sure would be nice if Mike Miller and Ray Allen could teach Wiggins to shoot with range the way they do.

Blatt did an interview with Grantland. Just fluff, but some of it (Especially the anecdotes about Alexey Shved were hilarious).

Also LaVine is looking ballsy in today's game against the Suns. He misses about every shot , but he's just letting them fly. However, he has made some good passes.

absolutely love the Blatt interview with Lowe.

my favorite part was his not so subtle dig on SVG's pompous stance of saying he immediately watched all 82 Detroit games from last year.

love Blatt's dry wit.

I laughed because that reminded me of something a buddy told me a while back.

Damon Jones' name is actually pronounced Amon Ones. No D and no J.

LOL

Well .. Summer League Tourney time .....

The Cavaliers are the #3 seed (at 3-0) and will face the winner of the Toronto/Houston game. The game will be Thursday at 5:30.

If we play Toronto, then will Drake have to wear a Cavs hat with his raptor jersey?

J/C...

Didn't feel this required its own thread - just a low talent Pittsburgh jag trying to rile up the masses... (always good to fan the flames of the Cleveland/Pittsburgh rivalry)



Nothing Says I Need To Feel Good For Cleveland

By: Colin Dunlap
July 15, 2014 11:31 AM

Apparently it is fashionable right now to feel good for Cleveland – especially the sports landscape in the town not far to the North and West of us here in Pittsburgh.

Seems as if the return of native and prodigal son LeBron James to Northeast Ohio has everyone washed over with Cleveland mania.

Not me.

I’m from Pittsburgh.

I don’t like Cleveland, never will and don’t need to apologize for it. I hope the Cavs, Browns, Indians and whatever other team represents that city loses each and every game they play in. And I don’t say that with one millimeter of my tongue in my cheek.

There, I said it. Don’t agree? I’m really not all that concerned. Again, I’m from Pittsburgh.

You see, you seemingly can’t click onto any area of the Internet now without being inundated by LeBronmania and, more to the point, how the man who scrambled from his hometown for Miami for four years — only to now come crawling back — could be a $500 million boon to that area’s economy.

Great for them, I guess. But again, nothing says I need to feel good for that city — a city so willing to take back a man who ran away from them in July of 2010 on that farce of a television special entitled “The Decision” wherein on ESPN he opened his heart up in phony form to Jim Gray.

At that time, James’ so-called allegiance to Northeast Ohio couldn’t even allow him to face those people, as “The Decision” was broadcast with James sitting safely in a chair in Greenwich, Conn.

Some hometown pride, huh? Cleveland must have rocked so much for James that night he couldn’t even face those people, huh?

But now I’m supposed to feel good for James? Now I’m supposed to feel good for Cleveland?

Sorry. That’s not going to happen.

How can I feel good for a fanbase that burned their jerseys and used unconscionable words toward James when he bolted for South Beach, only now to do a 180 and take him back?

Talk about having no pride, having no shame — the Cleveland sports fan has proven that they are willing to backtrack on hating someone for the sake of strengthening their club and bringing financial gains to their region. And that’s only a few years removed from demonizing and disparaging James to a point few in recent sports history have.

I’d like to think if someone in Pittsburgh did that here, we’d hold our grudge — in this instance, it would seem nobler to hold a grudge and not welcome someone back than glorify him when he decided to return.

LeRoy Brooks, professor of finance at John Carroll University in suburban Cleveland recently told “Time Magazine”: “The Cleveland fan can expect the LeBron Effect to provide a lot more positive and less negative experiences then most of them have had in any prior year, or imagined that they would ever see in the future prior to LeBron’s announcement. Many would view this as priceless.”

I guess, in a way, it is.

A priceless example of how comical of a sports landscape Cleveland really is — willing to forego their backbone, integrity and uprightness as sports fans and welcome a man back who left them not long ago forcing great shame.

You see why I don’t like Cleveland and never will?

By the way, don’t wait for me to apologize for it.

http://pittsburgh.cbslocal.com/2014/07/1...-for-cleveland/

Welcoming back a guy who chose to play somewhere, and made a mistake in doing so > blindly supporting a quarterback who rapes people.

Dear Colin I bet you still like Terry Bradshaw and he hated the city of Pittsburgh in his early days, and bashed the hell out of them once he retired, yet you never hear anybody from Pittsburgh claiming to hate the guy

Pittsburgh makes noise because it's the summer and no one cares about the Pirates or the Pens anymore.

I bet that he was more than happy to welcome ol' Ben back after the bathroom incident though .......

Nice article Colin, it was written on about an 8th grade level.. ending sentences in prepositions, dangling modifiers, overall poor structure... yep, you're from Pittsburgh.

That wasn't in an actual newspaper, was it?

Source: Cleveland Cavaliers now willing to include Andrew Wiggins in Kevin Love trade offer
By Bob Finnan, The Morning Journal & The News-Herald
Posted: 07/17/14, 3:07 PM EDT

Ever since LeBron James returned to Cleveland, talks have intensified for All-Star power forward Kevin Love.

Rumors have surfaced that the Cavaliers wouldn’t include rookie swingman Andrew Wiggins in any possible deal for the Minnesota Timberwolves’ star.

A league source said on July 17 that the Cavs are now willing to trade the No. 1 overall pick in the 2014 draft.

Wiggins, a 6-foot-8, 194-pounder, has played well at the Las Vegas Summer League, where he’s become a crowd favorite. The former Kansas star has averaged 13.7 points and 3.0 rebounds in the Cavs’ first three games. However, he’s shooting just 37.8 percent from the field.

Up until this point, it was assumed the Cavs wanted to hang onto Wiggins, largely because of comments made by Coach David Blatt.

However, a source said James wants the 6-10, 250-pound Love on the roster.

And, what James wants, he normally gets.

The thinking is that Wiggins is going to be a very good player, a possible All-Star player, in time.

But he’s raw. He’s a long way away from reaching that potential.

Love is an All-Star caliber player now. The union of James, Kyrie Irving and Love could be a championship in the making.

The Cavs are under the gun to win now. James is playing on a two-year contract that includes an out clause after the 2014-15 season if he decides to use it.

The addition of Love could push the Cavs to the top of the Eastern Conference. Without Love, they are still a playoff team, but might fall behind Chicago and Indiana in the East.

The latest offer could include Wiggins, power forward Anthony Bennett and a first-round pick. Center Brendan Haywood might be included in the deal to make it work contractually.

That would be a lot of potential talent heading Minnesota’s way. Bennett was the top overall pick in the 2013 draft and appears to be poised to take a major step in his career. He’s now in top shape and the “stretch 4” appears to have high scoring ability.

The Cavs also would be able to hang onto starting shooting guard Dion Waiters in the latest proposal.

The Golden State Warriors are also attempting to trade for Love, who averaged 26 points and 12 rebounds last year. Up until this point, they wouldn’t include shooting guard Klay Thompson in any possible deal.

Love will make $15.7 million this season. He can become an unrestricted free agent after the 2014-15 season. A deal might be contingent on him agreeing to sign an extension with the Cavs.

Wonder if it's true.

What a change that would be. From a "maybe" playoff team to likely to win a championship in one offseason.

No, it was written for the KDKA-FM 92.3 "The Fan" website. He was however a beat writer for the Post-Gazette not all that long ago - take that for what it's worth.

I listen to the station quite often for the Pirates and Pirates coverage, just happened to listen the other night while he was talking about it and Cleveland and figured it was too "good" not to post on here.

If this is true, I'd expect the trade to go down pretty soon.

Minnesota is gonna get the last two #1 overall picks and another first round pick for a guy they have 0 chance at re-signing past this year anyway?

If they think they're gonna get a better offer than that, they're crazy.

It's hard to argue against the trade. There is no guarantee Wiggins ever becomes the player Love is, and if he does, Lebron will have wasted 2-4 yrs of his prime..I would do that trade in a heartbeat, if I'm the Cavs. We still would have Waiters, TT, and the veterans off the bench..

allstar players on rookie contracts are the biggest non-LeBron commodities in the NBA. doesn't hurt your cap while giving you bigtime play (see Kawhi Leonard, Spurs).

no reason for the Cavs to make that trade. noone is offering Minny what they want and they can always come back and ask us for Wiggins if someone puts up a bigger offer.

and remember, it would only be 1 year of guaranteed Love. he has financial reasons to not sign an extension until next July and Boozer should have taught us to not trust hand-shake deals, no?

Yeah, it would be extremely foolish of Love to sign an extension with us.

In the end, you're essentially trading for a one-year rental. Maybe you get a verbal and a handshake.

Not saying I'm for it or against it...just don't expect Love to ink a contract if we trade for him. It's highly unlikely.

I have mixed feelings about this, especially because Wiggins has shown nice early returns in summer league.. but by the same token, Love is a proven NBA talent at a position of serious need for us.... which allows LeBron to play the 3 a lot more than the 4.

The only other option the Cavs have is to wait out the Twolves and start the season with what we have, let the Twolves struggle through the first half of the season, then realize that they are going to lose Love anyway and end up with nothing.. that might drive the price down but it's a gamble...

Ok, I have a plan. Make the trade.. then in 4 years when Wiggins becomes a FA and has proven his NBA value, then bring him back to provide the youth that LeBron will need around him at the end of his career.

KL can activate a 2nd year after the trade, like CP3 did.

How does that work?

I would friggin hate this.

Sit on what we have for a year, and if KLove wants to be here, we can sign him next offseason. That will give everyone we have a year of experience, we don't lose any of our talent (much less three players!), and we still get KLove and keep all three of our picks next year.

So reading through the NBA salary cap/CBA stuff has been on my to do list for a while, but here's a question in the meantime for any cap gurus out there:

What would the feasibility of signing Love in free agency this coming off-season be? e.g. LeBron opts out, any other relatively minor cap clearing moves, sign Love with cap space, re-sign LeBron with non-bird exception. Possible or no? How about practical?

I would make it have to be a sign and trade.

I would try to make the trade Wiggins for Love straight up. Plus whatever salary we need to include to make it work. I suspect the t-wolves accept that trade without so much as a blink.