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Seven remaining targets for the Cleveland Cavaliers in free agency | cleveland.com
http://www.cleveland.com/cavs/index.ssf/2014/07/seven_remaining_targets_for_th.html

CLEVELAND, Ohio -- It's been a busy yet successful off-season for the Cleveland Cavaliers.

They agreed to deals with LeBron James, Mike Miller and James Jones. They locked up Kyrie Irving with a new max extension, keeping him in Cleveland for at least six more years. They have been the epicenter for NBA trade rumors, many of them surrounding Minnesota's Kevin Love coming to Cleveland in a deal for Andrew Wiggins. Those rumors continued to gain steam last week while many teams in the NBA were gathered in Las Vegas for the 2014 NBA Summer League.

The Cavs likely won't stop in their attempt to pry Love away from the Timberwolves, but the Cavs also have work to do to fill in the rest of the roster.

With their recent moves, the team has very little financial flexibility remaining, and their best shot at another impact move is via trade.

They have around $2 million to spend, making free agency deals difficult. The Cavs will likely be looking for the same luck Miami got the last few years with veterans willing to take less money for a chance to win.

The Cavs have looked for shooters this off-season, and Miller and Jones will help, but they still need more depth on the perimeter. The team also has to find another big body to limit the minutes of Anderson Varejao and improve the interior defense. Also, it wouldn't hurt for Cleveland to find a replacement for Jarrett Jack, a backup point guard for Irving.

Here are seven free agents that may be affordable while also helping the Cavs in pursuit of a championship. Some are capable of making a big impact. Others are for depth purposes. It's about finding value now because the amount of money the Cavs have won't buy much.

1. Ray Allen, Shooting guard: Allen can choose to hold off retirement for one more shot at a title and reunite with James or he can hang up his sneakers to spend more time with his family. That's it. That's his internal debate.

At 39, Allen is one of the greatest shooters to ever play the game. He is a 40 percent three-point shooter in his career and knocked down 37 percent of his attempts from distance in Miami during the 2013-14 season. Aside from spacing the floor and giving the Cavs a lethal shooter off the bench, Allen also brings championship experience and much-needed leadership. One of the hardest workers in the game, Allen has played with James and won with him. It's clear Allen has earned the trust of the four-time MVP. Unaffected on the biggest stage, Allen's clutch shooting helped Boston and Miami during its title runs.

2. Emeka Okafor, Center: The 31-year-old center did not play last year because of a herniated disc in his neck, and there's no guarantee he returns to health this season. If he does, he could be a cheap option that fits what the Cavs need. Okafor doesn't offer much scoring, but he's a big, strong body who has shown an ability to defend in the paint and protect the rim. He averages 12.3 points, 9.9 rebounds and 1.7 blocks in his career. Prior to his injury, he helped transform Washington into more of a defensive team while helping to ignite the culture change.

3. Jameer Nelson, Point guard: He might be out of the Cavs' price range. Nelson, 32, was released by the Magic this off-season after spending his entire career in Orlando. As it stands right now, the Cavs backup point guard is Matthew Dellavedova, and Nelson would provide more of a stable force off the bench and insurance policy for oft-injured Irving, if Nelson were willing to accept a lesser role on a contender. His shooting numbers dipped this past year, but still averaged 12.1 points and 7.0 assists on a team bereft of talent. He is a career 37 percent three-point shooter with NBA Finals experience.

4. Shawn Marion, Small forward: Yes, the Cavs have the best small forward in the NBA, but he needs to rest eventually, and James could also be forced to play some power forward in a small-ball lineup, which was very successful for the Miami Heat. Marion has played over 42,000 minutes and remains a strong target in free agency thanks to his resume and playoff experience.

Marion, 36, made his mark in the league as a defensive stopper, and that talent was on display during the 2010-11 NBA Finals when he played a big part in limiting James. Signing Marion to handle some of the wings would take pressure off James as well. He has averaged double-digits in scoring every year he has been in the NBA. He would need to take a significant pay cut as he made over $9 million with the Mavericks this past season. He's probably a pipe dream.

5. Al-Farouq Aminu, Small forward: He's 23 years old and a former top 10 pick. Gifted athletically, Aminu is at his best in transition. His length can help on defense and he is a very good rebounder. While he's incredibly limited on offense, there is untapped potential, which could blossom playing alongside James and Irving. In the NBA, teams need players that understand their role and execute it. Aminu fits coming off the bench. He might be something or he might be nothing. He's young enough and likely cheap enough for the Cavs to take a shot.

6. Jermaine O'Neal, Center: After a forgettable stint in Boston, O'Neal showed last year that he still has something left. It's not much after 18 years in the league, but it's something. He averaged 7.9 points in 20 minutes with the Warriors last year while shooting 50 percent from the field. There were times Golden State went to O'Neal in the post on offense and he delivered. He also showed enough presence defensively - blocking shots, rebounding and banging inside while Andrew Bogut was dealing with injury. O'Neal's a backup center that brings plenty of experience and an edge with him when he takes the court. He would likely be willing to take the veteran's minimum

7. Ekpe Udoh, Power forward: He has hardly lived up to his draft position (6th overall in 2010). Injuries and lack of offense have been big reasons for it. The athletic 27-year-old is a decent shot-blocker, and could give the Cavs a needed rim protector at a cheap price. There's some untapped potential there if he can finally stay healthy.

I think you guys are overreacting when it comes to team defense. You could have not so good individual defenders, but still play good team defense. Defense is just effort, and communicating. The first time around with Lebron we had some average defenders like Mo, Wally, Z, Jamison, and were still able to win 60+ games. Even the Heat had plenty of liabilities as far as individual defenders. I know we lost most of the time, due to our inability to score enough, especially against Boston.. I would much rather have another scoring option like Love over a good defender. San Antonio won this yr because of great ball movement, and the ability to score at will. They shot Miami right out of the gym..

They also defended well, especially in games 4 and 5.

I think that the fact that they were able to put the clamps on Bosh and Wade in games 4 and 5 was one of the main decisive factors. I would go so far as to say that defense won those games for them. The Heat scored only 86 and 87 points in those 2 final games. Holding that team to only 86 and 87 points is quite a defensive effort.

Not to mention outside of Bosh and Lebron, Miami couldn't defend the San Antonio machine either.

Yep.

J/C

Coach K chimes in with his opinion

http://www.cbssports.com/nba/eye-on-bask...-for-kevin-love

Coach K: 'Not one second of hesitancy, I'd trade for Kevin Love'
By Matt Moore | NBA writer
July 21, 2014 12:29 pm ET

Coach K is a fan of Kevin Love. (Getty)
Team USA coach Mike Krzyzewski is a fan of Kevin Love. (Getty)
Offseason: Free Agency | Latest from Ken Berger | Rumors

In an interview with John Feinstein on CBS Sports radio, Duke and Team USA coach Mike Krzyzewski broke down what he would do in the Cleveland Cavaliers' position of trying to decide whether to trad for Kevin Love.

The verdict? He'd trade for Love.

"There's absolutely not one second of hesitancy. I'd trade for Kevin Love," Coach K said. "That's not saying anything bad about any of the other youngsters. Love's an All-Star and he's a double-double guy. But he's a double-double guy who can spread the court. There aren't many double-double guys who can spread the floor; he can go inside and outside. There may be a low post player that gets you a double double, but Love, you can do a lot of different things with him."

Krzyzewski went on to make the "you know what you've got" argument with Love, which essentially stipulates that while Wiggins' ceiling may be higher, his actual value is unknown, vs. with Love, you know you're getting an All-Star caliber player.

"I've coached him on two teams, and no pun intended, I love Kevin Love," he said. "You look at LeBron, and you have the best player in the world. He's 29, I'm not saying he's at the end of his career, but he's in the second-half of his career. And in the first half of his career he was becoming a great player. It took time, just like with Andrew Wiggins, it takes time. LeBron is a great player right now, you do not want to waste any year of a great player's career. Love is close to being that. He's not as great a player as LeBron, but he's there. You know who Love is right now."

"They're always developing, but he's a consistent outstanding player. And to put that with LeBron and a great player with Kyrie [Irving] who will get there quicker with LeBron around and with Love around he'll get there even quicker, because you're influenced by your environment; we all are."

The Cavs are reportedly inching closer to signing Andrew Wiggins, which would put a hold on any trade of Wiggins for Love for 30 days. Cleveland is said to be trying to find a way to trade for Love without giving up the No. 1 pick they selected in June's draft. Minnesota, meanwhile, continues to negotiate with multiple teams including Golden State, who has balked at the inclusion of Klay Thompson

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Like what?

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--Wiggens never becomes polished and is just an athlete.

--Bennett doesn't make the next step.

--Wiggens inability to stretch the defense hurts the passing game that would prosper if Love was on the team, which is VITAL to the Princeton offense.

--The first overall pick probably won't be squat anyway.

--Wiggens is good, but chokes like he did in the NCAA tourney, when he scored 6 pts in their elimination game.

--LeBron is no spring chicken. The window is not going to be open forever. Get the best players you can as soon as you can.

--Look at the last two champions. Miami and San Antonio. Both had a "big three" and role players. Who is the next best team? OKC? Didn't they have a big three when they were at their best?

--LeBron wants Love. He doesn't think the current group is good enough to contend. We need positive energy.

--Players will play for less w/LeBron and Love than they would w/other teams. Love previously said he wanted no part of Cleveland. We sign LeBron and he now wants to play for us. LOL............

--To follow up on that. Did you guys read Miller's comments. The LeBron thing is real. Getting Love would make it more real.

--Love makes other players better. Does Wiggens, or is he just an athlete w/potential?

It is a freaking no-brainer. I am not saying to rush into the deal. What I am saying is that this deal makes us immediate contenders. I don't know who has the most leverage, but I do know that if I were the Cavs, I would do what I have to do to get Love on my team. I would also pick-up Ray Allen and Okafer. Not sure about the back-up PG, though. Maybe you guys can help me out. I will tell you one thing.........in the Princeton offense, putting the ball in LeBron's hands as a distributor would be way better than letting Irving--or any other PG--pound nails.

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"There's absolutely not one second of hesitancy. I'd trade for Kevin Love," Coach K said. "That's not saying anything bad about any of the other youngsters. Love's an All-Star and he's a double-double guy. But he's a double-double guy who can spread the court. There aren't many double-double guys who can spread the floor; he can go inside and outside. There may be a low post player that gets you a double double, but Love, you can do a lot of different things with him."

Krzyzewski went on to make the "you know what you've got" argument with Love, which essentially stipulates that while Wiggins' ceiling may be higher, his actual value is unknown, vs. with Love, you know you're getting an All-Star caliber player.

"I've coached him on two teams, and no pun intended, I love Kevin Love," he said. "You look at LeBron, and you have the best player in the world. He's 29, I'm not saying he's at the end of his career, but he's in the second-half of his career. And in the first half of his career he was becoming a great player. It took time, just like with Andrew Wiggins, it takes time. LeBron is a great player right now, you do not want to waste any year of a great player's career. Love is close to being that. He's not as great a player as LeBron, but he's there. You know who Love is right now."

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Hey, this guy sounds like he knows basketball.

I usually agree w/your basketball takes, but man, I think you are way off on this one. Sorry man, it is a no-brainer and the btw.......the rest of my post was not moot. You asked for reasons and I gave them to you.

He said that he would not resign w/Cleveland, which is essentially the same thing.

Look, you guys are missing out what LeBron brings off the court. Guys will NOW want to play here.

I do think this is a no-brainer. We need a guy to stretch the defense. We are running the Princeton offense. Did you all forget that? This is not Paul Westhead's offense. We are going to move the ball. We will have slashers to the basket. We need spot up 3-pt. shooters. We will run clock. We do not need a dominant center. We will limit the number of possessions which makes defense a bit less important.

LeBron wants Love on the team. He is not as young as he used to be. The time is now. I could care less about the cap and draft choices at this point. There are ways around that, especially when you have LeBron. The time is NOW!

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No offense to anyone, but I can't believe this is even a debate. You trade Wiggens and Bennet for Love in a heartbeat.

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Here are my issues with that trade:

1st - You cannot make a trade of Wiggins and Bennett for Love because the salaries don't match up. There needs to be at least one other player. More likely two.

2nd - Multiple news outlets have reported that the Cavs have a trade offer on the table centered around Wiggins, Bennett and a 1st round pick for next year and that the Timberwolves are rejecting the offer. They want more. I here that they want all 3 of our 1st round picks next year.

I agree that Wiggins and Bennett for love would be a no brainer. But would you trade Wiggins, Bennett, Thompson and Waiters (TT and Waiters to make the salaries balance - I know we would need to include at least one and I think both but not sure about needing to include both) AND all 3 of next year's 1st rounders? Because if we want Love, right now that is the price that we would have to pay to obtain him.

Love for Wiggins, Bennett, Waiters, Delledova and Felix works fine.

http://espn.go.com/nba/tradeMachine?tradeId=pfx3pdp

Count me in with the no brainer crowd. I'm sick of counting on draft picks, give me proven over unproven any day.

This deal needs to be done ASAP. If everything turns out to be rosey Love will resign, if not I consider it well worth the risk of losing just Wiggins. I have no hope in Bennett and the percentages of a happy Love/Lebron relationship feel very high to me.

No, I don't have a link. I did a quick search last night after I read your previous post but could not find it. I do remember seeing it across the bottom an ESPN station. No biggie if you don't believe it. Not sure it changes anything.

If you don't want to believe that having LeBron changes the thinking of guys wanting to play here or not, well...........that is your right.

I understand playoff basketball just fine. And if you look at the last two champions, you will see that both had a Big 3 who gave them all kinds of options on offense. Defense is effort. Believe me, there are guys on our roster who can pick it up defensively, especially w/LeBron coming here and if we are chasing a championship. Many great teams only became good defensively after they were contenders.

On the other hand, Wiggens and Bennett are not suddenly going to give you what Love can give you on offense. Not a chance.

I do realize that most fans are infatuated w/superior athletes and don't appreciate the nuances of the game as much as thundering dunks. I get that. I really do. However, I will take a team that can move the ball, exploit the defense, and hit open jump shots over a team that relies on a thundering dunk at the conclusion of a fast break.

To expound on that, I really think that is one of the biggest reasons San Antonio is so good. They play more of an European game rather than an American playground game.

To each their own. It's still a no-brainer for me.

No matter what works, it's a buyer's market.... and we're the only legit buyer. Everyone else is a renter, and they aren't going to give up a boatload for a rental.

We just need to sit and sweat them out. We're in the driver's seat - not Minnesota.

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So the trade on the table for consideration is:

Love for:

Wiggins
Bennett
Waiters
Dellavedova
Felix
3 - 1st round draft picks in 2015

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If that trade were on the table, and Minnesota balked, that would be a case of 2 fools meeting, bumping heads, and walking away ..... us for making such a proposal, and Minnesota for thinking they can get more than that.

There is no way I trade what amounts to 6 first round picks, and a really nice backup Guard for one player ..... unless that player was the guy we already signed as a free agent, or a certain guy who played his peak years in Chicago. That is the kind of deal you make for a guy who can change the fortunes of a franchise all by himself ...... not a guy who has never made the playoffs, and t whom defense is a foreign concept. I hope and pray that we are not foolish enough to offer anything near that. Remember that we have no Center at all next year, and if we ave to re-sign Love, then we would have to re-sign Andy, because we wouldn;t have assets to go get a Center. (except fr a veteran's minimum type) We would not be able to use all of the exemptions, because a maxed out Kyrie, Lebron, and Love, plus the other contracts on the roster, and using that $10 million non guaranteed contract as a trade sweetener (though we'd have nothing left to trade, so I don't know what good it would be at that point anyway) would put us over the luxury cap limit, and thus we would not be able to use a full mid level exemption. (I remember this being a key in Miami signing the PF they signed with regards to the cap)

With Lebron, Waiters, Lebron, Love, and ..... someone (Andy?) we would be an awful defensive team. Awful. We would have no means of improving that status, unless a 2nd round pick does that job.

I understand the desire to get Love. What I don't get is taking what could be a long term, dominating team. with quality all around, and reducing it to rubble around a "big 3". One of the reasons that it worked in Miami was the versatility of their "big 3". Wade, obviously has fallen off, on bth sides of the ball. However, Lebron can play anything, except maybe Center. He is a skilled defender, as well as being a skilled offensive player. Bosh, for all the grief I gave him, is a skilled 2 way player, and can play either PF or C. He can also play some defense. Want to see Love play C? LOL He already has. It was an unmitigated disaster. The opposing C scored at will. Want to see him play defense? So would Minnesota. Let's be charitable and say that we better give him help on defense in the form of a rim protector at C. How do we acquire that player if we have no assets left?

I want to get Love on this team ..... but I don't want to destroy the team in order to do so. If we are going to have Love on this team, then we will need a defensive C. If we are going to have Love and Irving on the court, then we are going to need defense elsewhere to help them. If we trade Wiggins, Waiters, Delly, and 3 1st rounders, then who plays SG? We would have no 1st this year. We wuld next year, but we have already traded our 2016 1st rounder in the deal to make cap space. So we would have 2 1st rounders over the next 4 years, and all guaranteed to be low 1st rounders.

Ugh. I hope that we don't sell the farm for Love. Like I said earlier, I would do so for Lebron. I would do so for Michael Jordan in his prime, I would do so for Kobe in his prime. Kevin Love, while a darn good player, is not in their league ..... or close. He is a complimentary piece, not a foundation piece. I only sell the store for a foundation piece.

Also, and this is an important consideration. Irving has been injury prone in his young career. So has Love. What happens if we give everything away .... then Love and/or Irving miss 20+ games? Ugh ..... welcome back to Lebron and the crap ... only worse.

Nah, the more I think about it, the more I am less inclined to sell the future for Kevin Love. If I can make what I feel is a fair trade, I would do so. However, to give up every single asset we have for him is not a smart move IMHO. Once we get this team locked in, we will pretty much have to run with what we have. We can either lock in this year with Love, or lock in next year ... quite possibly with Love, (if he truly wants to play alongside Lebron) and with a tremendous number of assets as well. I would rather go that route. We could then also either trade Haywood and get back a huge exception ...... or trade him for a player.

Right now, as assets for next year, we have the options on Waiters and Thompson ...... and Andy's salary slot (which I admit I am not 100% sure how that works in the NBA, and if it has any value, beyond us being able to re-sign him)...... and Haywood's $10 million no guaranteed deal ........ and Bennett, should he prove to be a player. That is a lot f stuff to work with, I hope we don't play "Lottery winner", and blow our whole wad on one huge purchase, leaving ourselves with a bad roof, no AC, and no assets to fix them,

I just think that we are in a GREAT position as far as players and assets are concerned, and we need to maximize what we have. We had a huge stroke of good luck when Lebron decided to come back to the Cavaliers, and the worst thing we could do is blow everything up looking for a quick fix that doesn't fix all, or even most of the problems.

Why are you narrowing the focus so much? Just to be disagreeable?

Are you really missing the point that badly? Or, would it pain you to agree w/me?

Blow up what, YTown? How many games did we win last year? Did we make the playoffs? Did we win a playoff series? Did we compete for the championship? How was team chemistry? Were we consistently good at anything?

I laid our my reasons above. You can read them there is you wish,

LOL..........okay. Love would not help this team. LeBron is an idiot for wanting him on the team. Coach K doesn't know basketball. Those people who rank him as a top 10 player are all stupid.

We don't want to "blow up" that great chemistry that we had last year. It would be stupid to blow up such a juggernaut.

I was just pointing out that Love never said the things you claimed he did.

No more, no less. Don't read into it.

j/c:

Take it for what it is worth, but in the media world it is picking up steam:

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A trusted source in the industry tells me the Kevin Love to Cavs deal is done. #NBAscoupsinPortland

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https://twitter.com/travisleesports/status/491570076483870721

I've never heard of the guy but apparently it is a story he is running with.

From Adrian Wojnarowski

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Cleveland's searching league for non-guaranteed contracts that potentially could be included in a bigger deal later, sources tell Yahoo.

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https://twitter.com/WojYahooNBA

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Love would not help this team. LeBron is an idiot for wanting him on the team.

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NOBODY SAID THAT!

Good lord, learn to read! We are not saying not to add Love, just what price we would pay to add him.

I mean, seriously, if the price were Irving, would you pay that? How about Irving, in addition to Waiters, Thompson, Bennett, Wiggins, and the 3 first round picks next year?

What if Minnesota wanted Lebron and Irving for Love? I mean, come on, there is a limit that we would pay for Love (which sounds a lot like prostitution) and THAT is what we are talking about,

We aren't debating whether or not to add Love. We all agree that he would be a quality add. However, giving up every asset we have, thus eliminating any ability for the team to add ANYTHING except minimum wage players around our (then) shrunken core, with no draft picks left to use to help add to the roster, and no cap space left, makes no sense to me. Love is a quality player, but he is not a Lebron James, who can load his team on his shoulders and turn a bad team into a good team. He is an outstanding player, and one I want on the Cavaliers, but not a guy I want to give up every asset for. I don't feel that he. alone, completes this team and makes it a championship team. I think that we need another piece, along with Love, otherwise we will get destroyed defensively. We do hold one valuable card, in that this is where he wants to come, and where he will re-sign. We need to utilize that card. Face it ... Lebron can quietly, and behind the scenes, have a casual and off the record conversation with Love about what the long term plans are.

Via Tom Withers:

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AP Source: Cavs to Sign Andrew Wiggins to Contract - ABC News http://abcn.ws/1nay7Cd via @ABC

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https://twitter.com/twithersAP

Excellent. That takes him out of any "official" trades for 30 days anyway.

I am not talking about trading everyone of our pieces. Where did I say that? Where did I say that I wanted to do the deal right now? In fact, I even said that there is no rush in an earlier reply to you.

I would give up Wiggens and Bennett for Love. I might even throw in the first round pick because it isn't going to be a high one.