Cleveland Cavs (2016 NBA Champions)

[exhawg]

My main reason for wanting them to keep jones had to do with the very real need for a backup pg with some scoring ability. Kid might not be the prototype pg but he balled out during the national championship game. Admittedly that was the only duke game I watched. Will be interesting to see what GM Lebron does this off season

I have no doubt they find a backup PG that will be better than Jones for at least the next couple years. For a team like the Wolves that are a few years away from being ready Jones is a great pick, but the Cavs need to win next year so they are better finding a vet and stashing Osman for a few years until he is more NBA ready. I doubt the other 2 picks even see the Cavs summer league.

 

[LordJeffBuck]

I have no doubt they find a backup PG that will be better than Jones for at least the next couple years.

Agreed. The Cavs would rather have a veteran PG with a proven track record than a 19-year old kid who does not have any skills/talents that the Cavs need - he's small, average shooter, average athlete, below average defender.

I doubt the other 2 picks even see the Cavs summer league.

I think that the Cavs package the Christmas and Pointer with Haywood to a team looking to unload a big contract.

 

[NJ-Buckeye]

Media now fussing about LeBron opting out and planning to "wait-see"

LeBron is working hand-in-hand with Griffen... he'll hold off so the Cavs have maximum flexibility with contracts within cap rules....
then he'll get the max deal when it's all over... helps the Cavs immensely

 

[jlb1705]

Media now fussing about LeBron opting out and planning to "wait-see"

LeBron is working hand-in-hand with Griffen... he'll hold off so the Cavs have maximum flexibility with contracts within cap rules....
then he'll get the max deal when it's all over... helps the Cavs immensely

Worth noting that this is the opposite of how he behaved in his first stint in Cleveland, and it played a role in their inability to get him help and get the team over the hump.

 

[BuckeyeMafia]

Agreed. The Cavs would rather have a veteran PG with a proven track record than a 19-year old kid who does not have any skills/talents that the Cavs need - he's small, average shooter, average athlete, below average defender.

I understand what you're saying, but more proven commodities, especially those who have the skills that Jones doesn't, won't come at a price that the Cavs can afford. They basically need to stock the bench with players who can defend, shoot the three, and drive to the hole on occasion to keep the defense off balance. I think it would help if those guys were 18-24 years old so they could come in and play big minutes if another injury occurs, but it seems like the Cavs are content going after old guys.

We saw how well that worked during the Finals when we couldn't get Shaun Marion off the bench, and Mike Miller was only available for five minutes a game. A famous Einstein quote seems applicable here. Something about insanity.

 

[AKAK]

So if we're basically tanking the draft in order to save the price of 1 contract... does that bode well for keeping the team together?
Sorry if somewhat pessimistic... having that early 2000s Indians feeling.

Tanking the draft in order to have the flexibility to acquire known commodities. You should feel more like the late 90's Yankees. That may have bit the Yankees in the butt not developing their own guys in the mid 00's... But, they did ok for a while.

 

[ethan]

Free Agency is all about power.
Lebron wont take Dan Gilberts word that he will pay a steep luxury tax to keep the team together.
Lebron would opt-out and leave if Dan Gilbert didn't...and single handedly crush the value of Dans greatest asset...the cavaliers.
The question is, does Dan Gilbert want to pay 100M in luxury tax or lose 500M in value of his asset. He doesn't have a choice.
You know who owns the Cavs right now? Yeah Lebron James.

Lebron already left once, don't fool yourself if you think he wouldn't do it again.
If we lost Love, Smith and traded Thompson to avoid the luxury tax...Lebron would be gone.
The worst thing Lebron can do is get locked up for 5 years. Even at 30M a year...Lebron will need opt-out clauses.

Lebron already seen Billionaire Mickey Arison waive Mike Miller to avoid alittle tax. He wont let that kind of thing happen now.
Player, Coach, GM...Owner

 

[ethan]

I agree that a young talented backup for Kyrie would be nice, but any rookie drafted wont be ready for the Finals next year.
I liked Tyus Jones, but he really isn't the backup PG we need next year. I'm fine with the Cavs settling for a older vet who at least has experience under his belt.

 

[AKAK]

Free Agency is all about power.
Lebron wont take Dan Gilberts word that he will pay a steep luxury tax to keep the team together.
Lebron would opt-out and leave if Dan Gilbert didn't...and single handedly crush the value of Dans greatest asset...the cavaliers.
The question is, does Dan Gilbert want to pay 100M in luxury tax or lose 500M in value of his asset. He doesn't have a choice.
You know who owns the Cavs right now? Yeah Lebron James.

Lebron already left once, don't fool yourself if you think he wouldn't do it again.
If we lost Love, Smith and traded Thompson to avoid the luxury tax...Lebron would be gone.
The worst thing Lebron can do is get locked up for 5 years. Even at 30M a year...Lebron will need opt-out clauses.

Lebron already seen Billionaire Mickey Arison waive Mike Miller to avoid alittle tax. He wont let that kind of thing happen now.
Player, Coach, GM...Owner

Well, right, and while I'm not entirely familiar with Arison's business interests. Gilbert not only owns the Cavs, but operates the Arena, the Casino, and probably a lot of other stuff I'm not even thinking of... so... where Arison is thinking 100M in luxury tax for 6 years is worth killing 500M in assets - after all, Lebron is going to retire someday and do it either way... Gilbert on the other hand stands to gain significant lift across a large portion of his interests by guaranteeing the cavs are good.

 

[LordJeffBuck]

I understand what you're saying, but more proven commodities, especially those who have the skills that Jones doesn't, won't come at a price that the Cavs can afford.

Here are a few names:

Aaron Brooks - 30-year old unrestricted free agent who made $1.145 million last season.

C.J. Watson - 30-year old UFA who made $2.0 million last season.

Jeremy Lin - a 26-year old UFA coming off a huge salary who might sign for the mid-level exception (about $3.4 million for the Cavs).

Patrick Beverley would be a perfect fit, but he is a restricted free agent and he might not be interested in playing a reserve role. If he could accept being Kyrie's back-up, a sign-and-trade might make sense, with the Rockets signing Beverley and then trading him and Trevor Ariza ($8.2 million) for Haywood's expiring contract ($10.5 million) and maybe the two second round picks (Christmas and Pointer). It's no secret that the Rockets want to dump Ariza and use the cap space to sign a third "max" player to go along with Harden and Howard. The Cavs would get two defensive-minded players in Beverley and Ariza (still only 29 years old), but would pay dearly in luxury tax.

 

[ethan]

The problem AKAK, is that the Cavs would be good...with just Lebron.

 

[AKAK]

The problem AKAK, is that the Cavs would be good...with just Lebron.

Yes, but your point is (as I understood it) that LeBron mightl leave without a full commitment to winning championships... thus... then... not so good.

And my point being that Gilbert has, probably, additional incentive that they may not have had in Miami.

 

[ethan]

Absolutely, Gilbert has a ton of incentive for the Cavs to win it all. Not just next year, but every year. It increases value in many of his assets.
Just, don't be mistaken, if you think Gilbert is happy to spend 100M in penalties.
I would argue, that Gilbert would be happy to just have Lebron and Kyrie, taking the Cavs to the Finals every year and NOT paying 100M in tax.

If Lebron was on a multi year contract. Thompson would be on the trading block.
As it is now, Gilbert cant risk any changes to the roster to save any money. So he will pay Thompson 15M to rebound.

 

[Buckeye737]

If San Antonio really wants the rights to Sasha Kaun, they could send Cory Joseph our way for the back-up PG role.

Adrian WojnarowskiVerified account‏@WojYahooNBA
Sources: Brooklyn, San Antonio among teams checking with Cavs on deal for rights to sign center Sasha Kaun. He's leaving Russia for NBA.

 

[Buckeye737]

BTW, the bigger variant on that deal that I've seen mentioned is that the Cavs send Haywood and whatever else to SA for Splitter and Mills. I like Mills better than Joseph for offense, but not so much for defense. I also think there would be too much of a crowd at the PF/C spot with Splittler, assuming everyone stays healthy.