DawgTalkers.net Forums DawgTalk Tailgate Forum Cavs, NBA Continued .....

From everything I have read about Dirk, he's pretty loyal to Dallas/Cuban, and he doesn't strike me as the type to go ring chasing. He got his, and I see him finising out what will probably be some tough years in Dallas with what the Spurs have done, as well as the Warriors not going away and all the other good West teams.

But hey, I wouldn't rule it out completely.

I know everyone gets stuff wrong from time to time in that business, but he has had some real duds over the last 12 months. He's not a good reporter at all. Windy has been wrong quite a bit lately too, but he also does a good job putting facts and information out there, whereas Broussard seems like a girl in the schoolyard who goes around telling other kids lies about each other. Besides quoting his garbage sources and making stuff up, what else does he do?

Saw today that he can wait 2 years, and then sign something like a 5 year 200m deal.

I get a crack out of people who freaked when Lebron opted out a week and a half ago.

This is a great tweet:

RT @lindacohn Wow! RT @WindhorstESPN: LeBron James has notified the Cavs he will opt out of his contract and become a free agent, sources told ESPN

Either that is some serious trolling, or Linda Cohn, who I love, because she's huge into hockey is incredibly dumb. She works at freaking ESPN, and it's a well known fact that ever since Lebron returned to Cleveland, he was going to do 1 year deals until this new TV deal gets put in....

Another gem I've been loving is this whole "well Lebron is playing out these one year deals to hold Gilbert's feet to the fire" or some variation of Lebron pressuring Gilbert by not committing long term.

For one, as I explained above, he's doing this for his own benefit, which anyone in his position would do.

For two, why do these national guys keep going with this narrative that Lebron has to pressure Dan Gilbert into doing a good job? Just because Dan Gilert got angry at Lebron when he left and wrote a regrettable letter to his fans doesn't mean he's some sort of cheap/crappy owner who's going to start playing Dolanball once Lebron locks in for 5 years... I mean come on. Dan Gilbert has made it very clear from the day he took ownership that winning was the most important thing, and since that day he has not made one move that has said otherwise. Even tanking was for the greater good. Funny how no one brings up the Baron Davis contract which was brought in during an extremely low point in the season. I even think he almost screwed himself earlier when he took Luol Deng in, because if that move works out a little better, maybe the Cavs don't end up in the lottery, and maybe Andrew Wiggins is never a Cav, which means that Kevin Love may never be a Cav.

I don't think the assumption is that he's going to hold Gilbert's feet to fire to do "good", it's to do what Lebron wants. And maybe he is as great a GM as he is a basketball player, but when the front office's opinion and his collide you don't think it's in the back of their mind that he's not signed long term?

Who really knows, but I don't think the move for Mozgov was a Lebron/GM move. I thnk that is a move Griffin had eyed for months. His name was brought around before the season began... I know JR Smith has a good relationship with Lebron and they work out a lot but I don't think those moves were all Lebron. People need to understand that Lebron is pretty much friendly with most of these guys.

Lebron was definitely influential into bringing in Mike Miller and James Jones. Obviously Miller gave us next to nothing, but James had his moments.

I think Griffin talking with Lebron about players he likes isn't a bad thing. He has a great feel for the game. If I were running the team I'd pick his brain about different players, different scenarios.

I've heard it several times from people that they think Lebron is doing this to somehow make sure Dan Gilbert is trying his hardes to put forth a good team, and it's just flat out wrong. I think Lebron feels like he has been underpaid most of his career, considering the impact he has on the game and the teams he's played for. He's going to maximize the rest of his career. I don't think he's going to take a ridiculous paycut to help the team. I think he feels like this team has a young core with Love and Irving in for the long haul, as well as Tristan (eventually) and Shump. Mozgoz is going to get retained. He can have his cake and eat it too.

J/C >.... Nice to see that our guys actually signed when they said they would .....

I do wonder is JR Smith is having any second thoughts about dropping his, what, almost $7 million deal? It has been reported that he wants a 3 year deal, and the Cavaliers are not willing to do that. However, i wonder if he eventually signs for a 2 year deal.

Cleveland Cavaliers re-sign Iman Shumpert | cleveland.com
http://www.cleveland.com/cavs/index.ssf/2015/07/cleveland_cavaliers_re-sign_im.html#incart_m-rpt-1

CLEVELAND, Ohio -- The Cleveland Cavaliers have re-signed shooting guard Iman Shumpert, the team announced Thursday afternoon.

"Iman is a versatile, two-way player who embodies much of the grit, determination and defense-first mentality our group became identified by," Cavaliers GM David Griffin said in the team's press release announcing the deal.

Terms of the contract were not revealed per league and team policy, but earlier reports indicated Shumpert had agreed to a four-year deal worth $40 million. The final year of the contract includes a player option.

Shumpert, a feisty defender who arrived in a three-team trade from the New York Knicks on Jan. 5, averaged 7.2 points, 3.8 rebounds and 1.3 steals in 38 regular season games. His role grew in the playoffs, starting 16 of the 20 contests while playing through injury.

"He is evolving as a playmaker on both ends and his impact on our group was enormous throughout our Finals run," Griffin said.

The 6-foot-5 guard averaged 9.1 points, 4.9 rebounds, 1.2 assists and 1.3 steals in 34.8 minutes per game during the Finals, which ended with the Warriors winning the series, 4-2.

Shortly after the Cavs announced the deal, Shumpert, who is active on social media, sent out a picture of him signing his contract.

j/c:


https://twitter.com/ESPNCleveland

I posted this just because I think ExclDawg gets a twitch every time he sees a Brian Windhorst comment. I can only imagine what happens when he sees a Chris Broussard one....

I've got a weird feeling if TT doesn't sign here he's going to Toronto. If he does that we'll never hear about him again.


Leaving a Lebron team doesn't usually end up being a good thing if you're a role player.

We still have his restricted rights though. I think the only way he goes anywhere is if someone throws a max at him. We're going to match pretty much anything else. I don't think we're offering him the 85m/5y deal he wants because we know nobody else is going to offer him that unless they are desperate.

He's signing tonight then!

Windy gets a few things right. I think he does have one contact within the front office that knows when deals get done because he's usually pretty good with those breaking reports. It's all the "inside the locker-room" and player's feelings reports that he's completely wrong on.

And it's not just him reporting it that bugs me, it's that every crappy reporter in the country takes that newsbit, takes it as gospel and spins their own story about how so-and-so on the Cavs is disgruntled.

j/c

Okay, I'm not a true Cavs fan. I watch some and like LBJ but my world doesn't revolve around the Cavs like it does the Browns. So let me give you my honest opinion from the outside looking in.

LBJ left the fans of Cleveland high and dry. Many moaned and cried about his leaving. That part I understood. So then he decided to come back and fans welcomed him home with open arms. He talked about how much it meant to him to come home.

The reality is, he's holding the Cavs FO and the fan base ransom on a year to year deal with zero commitment to the fans. He's a control freak who will dump you on a dime if things don't go his way.

He's a great basketball player and a complete player which is something I love about his game. But the Cavs fans need to realize he could be gone after any season if he doesn't have control over what the team does. He loyal to LBJ only.

Nothing wrong with that as long as fans take it for what it is.

You know that he is only doing this 1 year contract thing so he can make money when the cap jumps, right?

That's not the reality. That's conjecture. He really has no reason to dump North East Ohio again as it would absolutely ruin his legacy. He has no reason to leave and he's said he's not leaving. Most the reports of him trying to control the Front Office and do what he wants to do is crap that ESPN keeps spewing.

He's explained the reason he's doing year-to-year deals as well. It maximizes the possible salary he can receive, because frankly, he's been underpaid for his first 12 years in the league. Once the new TV deal goes through and the cap goes way up, he'll lock himself into a longer deal and take the biggest possible maximum he can get to be a Cav till he retires. Considering what he does for the NEO economy, he probably deserves it.

If anything, a year-to-year deal is probably beneficial for the Cavs. Lebron isn't as young as he used to be. He could get hit by the age bat at any time. Lots of NBA big men see their production drop steeply around the age of 31-32. He could also have a severe injury. If he's on a year-to-year deal, the Cavs wouldn't be locked into an Alex Rodriguez type deal where they couldn't get rid of him. Lebron is doing this to max out his contract potential, but he's also taking on quite a bit of risk himself in doing it.

I've come around to accept that he's not necessarily using his leverage to get what he wants, to an unreasonable level, but I don't understand this "he thinks he's been underpaid"...?

Other than when he decided to take less money to go to Miami, when has he ever made less than the most he possibly could? Unless he should have signed a max contract out of high school?

I think most of it has to do with the way the NBA sets up their maximum contract restrictions. Despite being the undisputed best player in the league for several years he never even cracked the Top 20 in Player salaries until he went to Miami. Even then, he's never been in the Top 5. (He will finally be #3 this coming season) ... considering that if the NBA was an uncapped league, he'd probably be making close to $40 million a year, he's been pretty underpaid.

I've seen rumors and speculations that he could sign a 200 million contract. Lebron would be out of his damn mind to keep signing 1 + 1 year deals and risk losing millions.

LeBron has never signed a maximum deal in his career. He's left money on the table every time.

He would make more than $40 million even with the current salary cap (if maxes on contracts were abolished.) Heck, I bet some teams would offer him the full salary cap and then piece together a roster based on draft picks and the various exceptions. That team wouldn't seriously compete for a championship, but it's a better situation than probably half the teams in the league are in.

Take away the cap and he gets over $100 million, easily. Gilbert will be paying like $250 million this year in combined salary and tax and 1) LeBron makes up a large part of that value and 2) Gilbert will still make a ton of money between the Cavs and the casino.

What would Prokhorov pay for Lebron if there were no cap? If that crappy Nets team of recent years was worth how much he paid, Lebron would be even more of a gold mine for him.

1 year ago today-

http://youtu.be/kqj-dYLDZ0o

I think the Internet crashed that day.

You could argue his value to the Cavs, or any franchise really, far exceeds the 24 million or whatever he will earn this year. When you factor in attendance, tv ratings, merchandise, etc... On an open market he'd command a ridiculous contract.

If you recall, Michael Jordan signed for 33 million in 1998, even though the cap was set at 26 million (LOL). And that was on a Bulls team that was a 50+ win team while he was on "leave". Look at what the Cavs were the last 4 years prior to Lebron coming back. Look at the Heat last year.

His true value to the Cavs is a lot. As Candy has mentioned, he has always passed up the true max. I see him chasing that 35-40m per year contract. What happens after that, who knows.

I don't have a link, but I read an article a couple of weeks ago that the Cavs market valued doubled since LeBron returned.

That's not really a surprise. I would think that it would be an even bigger increase than that.

Yeah, the greatest player in the game will have that effect. Just like I'm sure the market value decreased when he went to Miami.

That's more what I'm saying. The value of the franchise is only increased based on the expected winning. If the team is in cap hell when he's gone the value is going right back into the toilet but if we can build for long term success then that additional valuation makes sense.

As it stands, we're going to be right back where we were we are now in 4 years when all these deals come up and Lebron is declining/declined. Will the free agents still come flocking?

My advice to you is to not worry about 4 years from now.

Yeah, we have a chance to win a championship to three. I don't think worrying about just being competitive 4 years down the line circumvents winning championship[s.]

exactly.

man bro, just ONE and i'll be happy.

NO! It is time for the Cleveland sports fan to have their VENGENCE!!! Multiple championships!

Maybe not 5,6 or even 7, but a few.

And this is why Cleveland is the city of "Maybe next year"... If there are 2 or 3 banners hanging on the wall in 4 or 5 years, I don't honestly care if the Cavs go through a rebuilding period. Maybe they will be the Colts... 4 years from now the Cavs have won 2 Championships, LeBron pulls a hammy in week one of the 5th year after Love and some of the other pieces have moved on and LeBron misses most of the year... the Cavs win 18 games and draft the next great player to rebuild around for the next 10 years... Could happen.

You're totally right on all of that.

The NBA is a tough league. We should really be enjoying this ride and not worrying about cap issues when Lebron is in his mid to late 30's..

I posted this before the finals. If I get to witness and experience a moment like this, I'm not gonna give a flying damn about what happens 4 years from now.


http://youtu.be/EiOB5cby2-w


Most fans are timid when it comes to this, but eventually you need to put all your chips on the table and let it ride.

I would say this ...... we have so much talent that even if it costs us down the road, we need to take advantage of the talent we have today.

Exactly

We have currently the GOAT Cavalier player in Lebron and possibly (if he can manage to not break down) the 2nd greatest Cavalier of all time in Kyrie. The time is now. Not 4-5 years from now.

The time is now.

Read an article that said Delly is looking for multi year contract, 4m per year.

Sorry Delly, but 4 million? Not seeing you worth that.

Wow, PJIII (who admittedly has done nothing yet in the league) was just traded for a protected 2nd round pick.

Wish we'd have gotten in on that action.

I don't know who in this league would actually offer that.

But man it would be nice to see him back now that they've got williams who can start as an insurance policy. If you bring Delly back too, it would be easy to manage kyrie's minutes. Delly at 10 mpg would really help the team. At this point it's not a must though, which hurts his leverage.

He was #14 in the NBA in jersey sales though! Gilbert needs to consider the "Delly" brand.

j/c:

So the Clippers just signed another scorer in Josh Smith. I wonder if that makes a deal for Crawford more likely for the Cavs? It's not a money thing as Smith will be making league minimum as it would be a factor of who will be getting the minutes...Lance Stephenson signed there along with Wesley Johnson along with other guards, it just seems real hard for Crawford, who is getting older, to get as much minutes has he has in the past.

I'd love to have him, Mo Williams, and Varejao as backups. That's some nice depth. I'm hoping the Brendan Haywood deal leans in that direction.

Hmm ... this is interesting. The team kept saying that he would not be playing in Cleveland this coming year .... but they appear to be trying to make exactly that happen. I also wonder just how concerned they are about Andy's recovery. He looks like he is strong, and he is a legitimate 7 footer ..... and he absolutely wants to play in the NBA.He also says that money should not be a problem.



Russian center Sasha Kaun says money "shouldn't be a problem" to play for the Cleveland Cavaliers next season | cleveland.com
http://www.cleveland.com/cavs/index.ssf/2015/07/cleveland_cavaliers_sasha_kaun.html#incart_2box

LAS VEGAS – The Cavaliers are talking to Russian center Alexander "Sasha" Kaun about joining their crowded, expensive frontcourt, albeit at a discount.

The Cavs control the NBA rights for Kaun, 30, who's played for CSKA Moscow since 2008 and worked under Cleveland coach David Blatt on the Russian national team in 2012.

Kaun told the Northeast Ohio Media Group that the Cavs contacted him Wednesday with an invitation to join general manager David Griffin and other team personnel in Las Vegas this weekend to discuss the possibility. He sat courtside for the Cavs' NBA Summer League finale on Friday next to none other than LeBron James, and was to have dinner with member of the Cavs' front office.

The rub here could be money. Kaun earned a reported $2.9 million annually for CSKA Moscow. Because of their already sky-high payroll that will obliterate the $70 million salary cap and $85 million luxury-tax line, the Cavs are greatly limited in what they can offer him, and it almost certainly wouldn't add up to Kaun's Russian salary.

Kaun, who's belonged to the Cavs since they purchased his draft rights from the then-Seattle SuperSonics in 2008, made it sound like money wasn't a hurdle.

"That's probably something that shouldn't be a problem," he said. "Hopefully coming to this team, it will give us an opportunity to win, and winning is more important to me than money. I don't think I want to do it (play basketball) because of the money. Just play basketball and enjoy it and play with some really great players. That's the more important thing."

Griffin confirmed the team's interest in Kaun to the Northeast Ohio Media Group on Friday, saying "we would love to have him if something could be worked out."

Griffin said the 7-foot Kaun, who posted career highs in points (9.9 per game) and rebounds (4.5 per game) in the Euroleague last season, was "somebody who could be rotational for us and if it could work out great."

(Stats in European hoops are harder to track in the U.S., as the numbers kept are split depending on the quality of opponent).

"It's difficult because he's coming off making an incredibly large amount of money and he is literally a first-team, all-Euroleague-caliber center, and it's a difficult proposition to come to a team like ours for the type of money we have to offer," Griffin said.

The Cavs have $113 million tied up in starting power forward Kevin Love and $4.95 million (for one season) in starting center Timofey Mozgov, a friend and former teammate of Kaun's with the Russian national team.

Reserve power forward Tristan Thompson is a restricted free agent and negotiating with the Cavs – by the time those negotiations are over Thompson could have somewhere between $80 million and $90 million coming his way. And Anderson Varejao is tied up for three years and $30 million, though he's coming off a torn Achilles.

If Kaun were a "rotational" player as Griffin suggested, he would likely play minutes as Mozgov's backup. The veteran's minimum for a player with no experience in the NBA is about $525,000, though Cleveland has north of $1 million left to use from it's taxpayer's salary-cap exception.

Kaun's not only stating that he wouldn't balk at a lower salary, but he's also said he wouldn't play anymore for CSKA Moscow and was done playing in Europe. Kaun played for the 2008 national champion Kansas Jayhawks and married an American, a source said they were considering opening a business in the U.S.

The Cavaliers quietly denied European reports last season about preparing to bring Kaun to Cleveland for 2015-16, but the team's situation has evolved, too. Concerns over Varejao's ability to return from injury linger, and the Cavs struck out in trying to attract big man David West as a free agent this month.

"My interest level is very high," Kaun said. "I definitely would like to play here, especially with the Cavs, you know, a team that's got a chance to win a championship."

Kaun's relationship is strongest with Blatt, who coached the Russians when they won the bronze medal at the 2012 Olympics. They shared a few hugs during the Cavs' summer league finale, which Cleveland won 78-73 over the Minnesota Timberwolves.

"it was good catching up," Kaun said. "I didn't see him all of last year because he was over here. I like him, he's really smart guy, really educated, and he knows his basketball for sure.

"People gave him a little bit of doubt, whether he can do this or not, I think he proved everybody wrong."

Kaun is a very good defender. He's better than Mosgov. I believe he actually started ahead of Mosgov for the russian team. He'd be a great guy to have on the bench. I think Andy is probably done in Cleveland. Andy would more than likely be a backup at the 4 instead of the 5 in a perfect world anyways