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Cleveland Cavs (2016 NBA Champions)

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LordJeffBuck said:
Here's a look at the Chris Grant legacy.

The 2009-10 Cavaliers finished with a record of 61-21, the best record in the Eastern Conference.

Then came The Decision.

The 2010-11 team, the first of the post-Lebron era, finished with a record of 19-63, and included a 26-game losing streak. The highlight of the season came on February 24th, when the Cavaliers traded Mo Williams and Jamario Moon to the L.A. Clippers for Baron Davis and a first-round draft choice. Davis was a salary dump, but the first-round pick turned out to be the number one overall in the 2011 draft. The Cavaliers also had their own selection, at #4.

This is the Cavaliers' roster at the end of the 2010-11 season:

Baron Davis
Semih Erden
Christian Eyenga
Alonzo Gee
Daniel Gibson
Joey Graham
Luke Harangody
Manny Harris
J.J. Hickson
Ryan Hollins
Antawn Jamison
Anthony Parker
Samardo Samuels
Ramon Sessions
Anderson Varejao

It would be difficult to assemble a worse team than that, and it's not surprising that the Cavaliers were such a terrible team - Davis and Jamison were aging veterans, way past their primes; Gee and Sessions were decent bench players; and Varejao a solid starter or sixth man. The rest of the roster was garbage.

In the NBA, there are really three ways to build a championship-level team - around a point guard (Magic, Isaiah, John Stockton, Iverson), around a dominating big man (Olajuwon, Ewing, Shaq, Tim Duncan), or around a high-scoring wing player (Jordan, Kobe, James, Durant). There are a few exceptions to the rule, like the 2007-08 Boston Celtics, who had four very strong starters (Garnett, Pierce, Allen, Rondo) but no true superstar.

So, entering the 2011 draft, the Cavaliers had one legitimate building block (power forward Varejao) and two high draft choices. Of course, I don't know how Chris Grant preferred to build the team (around a point guard, a big man, or a wing), but he didn't really have any choice. Kyrie Irving was clearly the best player in the draft, and he was a point guard. So, Grant (wisely) selected him first overall. The Cavaliers now had their potential superstar to build around.

With his second pick, #4 overall, Grant made the first of his "hipster" selections (credit to Ken Carman of 92.3 The Fan for that term). Thompson was an undersized power forward with limited offensive skills. However, he was a hard worker and good character guy who was a decent rebounder. Even though Thompson played the same position as Varejao, I can't kill Grant for that pick - in the short term, Varejao could play center alongside Thompson, and in the long term, after the Cavaliers acquired a true center, one could go to the bench and be a valuable rotational player.

The problem with Grant's drafting began in 2012. After another dreadful season (21-45 in a strike-shortened year), the Cavaliers again had the #4 overall selection; they were also able to trade for the #17 selection.

Although Kyrie Irving is a budding superstar, he still has some weaknesses - he is undersized, he shoots too much, he doesn't play well off the ball, and he plays no defense. So what does Christ Grant do with the #4 pick in the 2012 NBA draft? Selects Dion Waiters, an undersized guard who shoots too much, doesn't play well off the ball, and plays no defense. And he's a shooting guard who can't shoot - Waiters is shooting .413 from the field, and there are 17 players in the NBA who are currently shooting better than that from three-point range! (Waiters is shooting .333 from behind the arc). And top top it all off, Waiters had known work ethic and character issues at Syracuse, a program that is not known for producing good citizens. If Jim Boeheim had problems with Waiters, then he must have been pretty bad. So to sum up Dion Waiters - no shot, no defense, bad fit with Kyrie, bad guy in the locker room. If any one move doomed Chris Grant, it was the selection of Dion Waiters.

Very few NBA teams besides the Cavaliers (probably none, actually) had Waiters rated as the fourth-best player in the 2012 draft. In overvaluing Waiters, who was a complete misfit for the Cavaliers, Grant passed on small forward Harrison Barnes and center Andre Drummond, each of whom (especially Drummond) would have fit in better with Kyrie on the court, and wouldn't have been a problem in the locker room.

At #17, Grant took Tyler Zeller. Of course, you don't really expect #17 picks to be All Stars, but Zeller has been exceptionally bad, averaging just 6.6 points and 4.9 rebounds for his career. Zeller is an end-of-the-bench guy. Again, you can't expect much from mid-round picks, but Grant did pass on Jared Sullinger to select Tyler Zeller.

In the 2013 draft, Grant again had the #1 overall selection, and again he made a strange selection - Anthony Bennett. Clearly a tweener, Bennett doesn't have the athleticism to play small forward, especially on defense. Although his rookie campaign has been historically bad to date, Bennett has enough skills to eventually become a functional NBA player. The problem is this - Bennett is a power forward, and the Cavaliers already have two in Anderson Varejao (the original building block of the post-Lebron era) and Tristan Thomson (the #4 selection two years prior). Again, another mismatch on the court.

With the #19 pick in the 2013 draft, Grant selected Sergey Karasev, a 6-foot-7 shooting guard. Karasev is a long-term project.

The players whom Grant brought in for the start of this season - Andrew Bynum, Jarrett Jack, and Earl Clark - have all been busts. Luol Deng, who was acquired for Bynum, has severely underperformed in Cleveland despite being a two-time All Star.

Finally, Grant brought in Mike Brown as head coach for the 2013-2014 season. Brown is a defensive-minded coach who has excelled with veteran teams, and Grant gave him a bunch of youngsters who had no interest in playing any defense (especially Irving and Waiters). Another bad fit, and it is showing on the court.

It is clear at this point that the Cavaliers have quit on the season. They don't respect their head coach, and they don't get along with each other. Mike Brown and Dion Waiters will have to go - those moves must happen. The big question is this - Is Kyrie Irving part of the problem, or part of the solution? If Waiters and Brown are sent packing, will Kyrie be able to flourish with a new head coach and a new running mate at shooting guard? If not, then the Chris Grant's tenure in Cleveland will have been an even bigger failure, as his cornerstone player will also have to be moved in a complete tear down of this team. That is not a happy thought.
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Don't be so hasty about trading my guy Dion:
http://sports.yahoo.com/nba/cleveland-cavaliers-washington-wizards-2014020727/
 
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stowfan said:
Don't be so hasty about trading my guy Dion:
http://sports.yahoo.com/nba/cleveland-cavaliers-washington-wizards-2014020727/
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if anyone bothered to watch the game, there were some telling things that went on last night. cleveland moved the ball like they should for most of the game, and the result was that they scored well. jarrett jack barely played and earl clark sat on the bench. both positives as neither really fit what this team does.

the bad. kyrie irving can't defend a lick. sometimes he doesn't even try. for all those "pundits" on the radio and such saying that cleveland's lack of defense was a product of their frustration on offense are full of shit. kyrie was -2 last night. the other elephant in the room is that tristan thompson is a backup 4. he's totally fallen off a cliff as the season has gone on. the wizards deliberately left him wide open from 12 feet out and laughed in his face. he tried 3 shots from that range and missed by a combined total of about 5 feet. he was -16. that is nearly impossible.

for all the consternation about bennett being such a botched pick, he had yet another solid performance last night. this season is a wash right now. you may have to think about pulling the trigger and putting him in the starting lineup if for no other reason, than to space the floor. plus, he at least makes an effort on defense and tries to move without the ball. yeah, he looks like me running a 5k when he goes up and down the court, but tristan thompson just limits this team way too much when he's paired with AV.
 
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tsteele316 said:
the other elephant in the room is that tristan thompson is a backup 4. he's totally fallen off a cliff as the season has gone on. the wizards deliberately left him wide open from 12 feet out and laughed in his face. he tried 3 shots from that range and missed by a combined total of about 5 feet. he was -16. that is nearly impossible.

for all the consternation about bennett being such a botched pick, he had yet another solid performance last night. this season is a wash right now. you may have to think about pulling the trigger and putting him in the starting lineup if for no other reason, than to space the floor. plus, he at least makes an effort on defense and tries to move without the ball. yeah, he looks like me running a 5k when he goes up and down the court, but tristan thompson just limits this team way too much when he's paired with AV.
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I agree with most of this. Either the Bennett pick was a stupid pick because you already had a 4 in Thompson. Or the Bennett pick was an admission that the Thompson pick was stupid. Of course, both picks could end up being stupid. In any event, you can't waste top draft picks on back-ups and tweeners, unless the tweeners end up being Charles Barkley.

At this point, you might as well give Bennett 30 minutes a game and see what he can do.
 
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LordJeffBuck said:
I agree with most of this. Either the Bennett pick was a stupid pick because you already had a 4 in Thompson. Or the Bennett pick was an admission that the Thompson pick was stupid. Of course, both picks could end up being stupid. In any event, you can't waste top draft picks on back-ups and tweeners, unless the tweeners end up being Charles Barkley.

At this point, you might as well give Bennett 30 minutes a game and see what he can do.
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Exactly my thought, start Bennett at the power forward, and go through the growing pains. His increased shooting range spreads the floor, and that is exactly what Irving and Waiters need to increase the shooting percentages and assists. If Bennett started the year as well as he's playing now, we would be thrilled. Maybe even saying, "he's only a rookie, wait till next year".

Andy and TT, although not the same players, give the Cavs the same result. Trade one to Houston for Omar Asek if possible. The team is better than their record.
 
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LordJeffBuck said:
I agree with most of this. Either the Bennett pick was a stupid pick because you already had a 4 in Thompson. Or the Bennett pick was an admission that the Thompson pick was stupid. Of course, both picks could end up being stupid. In any event, you can't waste top draft picks on back-ups and tweeners, unless the tweeners end up being Charles Barkley.

At this point, you might as well give Bennett 30 minutes a game and see what he can do.
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When they drafted Bennett I basically said this exact same thing. Bennett was insurance in case Thompson was not going to improve. Is Thompson horrible? No... but can he a rotation player on a playoff team? Yep... I always said their secret hope when they drafted Bennett was that he would start over Thompson and then Thompson would be his sub and provide energy like Andy use to do when he came off the bench.
 
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So it looks like the Cavs just need to fire someone or make a trade every few games to keep the team playing hard. I'd be surprised if Deng lasts past the trade deadline. If course if it was up to me the whole roster would be turned over by the deadline and the Cavs would have 12 picks in the draft this year.
 
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exhawg said:
So it looks like the Cavs just need to fire someone or make a trade every few games to keep the team playing hard. I'd be surprised if Deng lasts past the trade deadline. If course if it was up to me the whole roster would be turned over by the deadline and the Cavs would have 12 picks in the draft this year.
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i think it's a fairly safe bet that jarrett jack will be gone by the trade deadline. maybe to denver since nate robinson is done for the year and they had interest in signing jack this offseason. but he's a major liability right now and is one of the main culprits in the lack of effort department.
 
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tsteele316 said:
i think it's a fairly safe bet that jarrett jack will be gone by the trade deadline. maybe to denver since nate robinson is done for the year and they had interest in signing jack this offseason. but he's a major liability right now and is one of the main culprits in the lack of effort department.
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Please do this, I thought the Cavs overpayed for him and he really is not that good of a player.
 
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Looks like Bennett has finally lost the neccessary weight to be able to contribute. You have to feed the young guy atleast 20+ minutes every night though and ride his ups and downs the rest of the season, absolutely no reason not to.
 
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http://sports.yahoo.com/news/how-cl...-chance-at-lebron-s-return-023906652-nba.html

But the real gem of the article is the reason Bynum got tossed from practice and suspended...

Only Bynum never made it to the early January guarantee date for his full $12.5 million salary in 2013-14, and self-destructed. He stopped trying on the floor, and became a disruptive presence in practices. Before Bynum was thrown out of his final practice and suspended, he was shooting the ball every time he touched it in a practice scrimmage, sources said – from whatever remote part of the court he had caught the ball.
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