The Point Four-ward: Four Things I’m Thinking About the Cleveland Cavaliers
2014-05-29
1.) An interesting name popped up amidst the New York Knicks current coaching search: Luke Walton. Walton, the former Laker and Cavalier, has never been more than tangentially connected to the top spot on the Knicks’ bench and his name was floated mostly in the same way that anyone who has a previous working relationship with Phil Jackson has been linked to the job at some point post-Steve Kerr pursuit (and, yes, it is too bad that Shaquille O’Neal is part owner of the Kings now taking that tasty morsel off the rumor rotisserie). But Luke Walton as a head coach is not as crazy as it might sound.
Anyone who watched Walton and Shaun Livingston run a fluid, efficient second unit offense for the Cavaliers in 2012-13 could tell just how much the game is in his bones. Walton has had the benefit of growing up around the pro game and then learning under two of the better coaches around: Lute Olson at the University of Arizona and Phil Jackson in Los Angeles (sorry, Byron Scott… we’re leaving you off this particular list). During the NBA lockout of 2011-12, Walton spent his extra dose of free time by joining former AU assistant coach Josh Pastner’s staff at the University of Memphis. Then following the conclusion of his playing career, Walton was named player development coach for the Los Angeles D-Fenders.
Does this mean he’s ready to step right into a head coaching gig? Not exactly, but it is already more actual coaching experience than Jason Kidd, Mark Jackson and Steve Kerr had before their first head coaching jobs. It’s more than Derek Fisher, who hasn’t even retired yet and is already being courted by Jackson and the Knicks.
So, picture this, if you’re the Cleveland Cavaliers: Lionel Hollins makes his round of coaching interviews and, for whatever reason, doesn’t get hired. The Cavs feel that a younger voice might reach their young squad, so maybe they talk to Walton, who already has a relationship with Dan Gilbert, David Griffin and several of the Cavs current players from his time with the team. Maybe Walton talks to Hollins, who was his father, Bill Walton’s, teammate on those Jack Ramsay’s Portland teams of the late-70s, about coming on board as associate head coach. Hollins could mentor Walton, run the defense and allow Walton to design the offense. Plus, if they end up drafting Kansas’s Joel Embiid, you’d have the added plus of your head coach’s father, who just happens to be one of the greatest centers of all time, around for some extra tutoring.
To this point, Walton’s name has not been publicly linked to the Cavs head coaching job, so it’s a long-shot that any of the many dominoes that would need to fall in this scenario are even being set up. But Walton is an unconventional option who might just be the perfect fit for this team.
2.) Ryen Russillo’s recent Grantland piece gives a nice picture of the sort of muddy slough of great the Cavs will be navigating leading up to the draft. One scout has his top tier as “Embiid, by himself.” Another says of Jabari Parker, “I’d take him no.1 … He’s the safest pick.” And, while all scouts were critical of Andrew Wiggins’s offense (“He needs to add a whole bunch of other stuff to be the scorer people think he can be.”) they agreed that he can play defense in the NBA right now. The trending narrative for each player right now seems to be the following: We will continue to talk about Embiid’s back because, while other players have suffered and effectively rehabbed from the same type of injury, to quote Dr. Hibbert on The Simpsons, “Modern medicine has a lousy record with treating the back. We spend too much time on the front.” Parker may be the best out of the gate, whose high basketball IQ and passing ability probably make him more than just an NBA volume scorer, but his ceiling may never be “multiple All-Star.” And the “how much is Wiggins a basketball player and how much is he just a ridiculous athlete” questions will continue to pick at his game like a murder of circling crows.
On first blush, I was a Wiggins guy all the way. But the Embiid-sayers have started to creep in. I’d still be happy with the Cavs getting either one, but if you project both out to their full potential, Embiid might be pulling forward by just a hair.
3.) Here’s another question for “coaching staff to be named later”: how do you work in a(nother) number one pick without stunting the development of your current players? The Cavs already have a ball dominant player with an alpha dog mentality (Dion Waiters) and a ball dominant player who will soon be making alpha dog money (Kyrie Irving), not to mention last year’s number one pick who should come into next season looking to dust the “bust” off every Google search of his name.
This is an organization that wants to start winning, but it might be in its best interest to build a team that can maximize some of its current talent while allowing whoever goes number one to develop slowly(ish). That gives the Cavs the chance of having greater flexibility if, say, Waiters, Tristan Thompson and/or Anthony Bennett develop into real trade chips that the team can move when “number one pick to be named later” is ready to take the team’s collective wheel. That’s another reason Embiid makes sense for the Cavs: he’s the player who would most allow them to see what their current roster might still become. You plug him in at center and let him be a factor on defense and on the boards. He gets the time he needs to learn the game and, since there’s no positional overlap, the Cavs get more time to properly evaluate the rest of their roster going forward.
4.) So what about the 33rd overall pick? The beauty of this draft looks like its going to be its top three or four players and its depth. That means the Cavs are going to be in great position to get a player of value in the early-second round, should they choose to stay with the pick. There will be big guys available, should the Cavs take a forward, and there are a slew of small-to-combo forwards, should the Cavs take Embiid. Right now, nbadraft.net has them taking 6-11 center Jusuf Nurkic at 33 (who I was seeing as high as nine or 10 recently), while DraftExpress has Wichita State’s 6-7 forward, Cleanthony Early, slotted for the Cavs’ second round selection. Look for players 20-35 to be bouncing all over the place between now and draft day.
Dion over MKG easily. I don’t even see how this could still be a debate. Beal or Dion is still questionable though.
@hot sauce
I would take Dion too- but I was curious about people’s’ thoughts here. I know a lot of folks were, and still are, hot for MKG…
+1 for Vesus.
While there may be some talented SF/wings available (I’m looking at you Gordon Hayward) I generally prefer the FA/trade market for C this year, assuming LeBron doesn’t take his ETO.
Should have mentioned: I’m always the guy who prefers to allow other teams to draft the project big man, then just acquire him once you know he isn’t a bust – like Dwight Howard. Or, in the case of a guy we actually could get, Asik.
I prefer Wiggins and Asik/Gortat/FA Big Man X over Embiid. I guess that’s my main point.
Yeah, I’m still in the Wiggins camp. I just have a bad feeling about Embiid: the foul rate, the potential back issues, this is Cleveland, etc. The worries about Wiggins’ offense are overblown – he will never be the passer that Lebron is but he has the potential to be his equal in every other area. Wiggins will be a better defender/shooter as a rookie than Lebron was and he won’t have the same massive burden that Lebron had on his shoulders. Embiid has the higher ceiling based on his size, but I feel Wiggins is more likely to reach… Read more »
I’m not sure where the praise for Embiid’s defense is coming from. Have you seen his foul rate? Atrocious. Not saying he can’t learn to control that, but if you’re saying his best asset will be his defense you’re thinking of a different player than I am. The more I think about it the more firmly I am in the Wiggins camp. Back injuries scare the bejeezus outta me, and Wiggins just feels like a can’t miss prospect. He complements our two ball dominant players well. He’s the Iguodala to our already-in-place Curry and Thompson. We can try to trade… Read more »
I understand the thought that building around a “big” does not tend to equal championships in today’s game. However, we are in a different situation. We’re not drafting Embiid as the only talented young player on our roster. We can surround him with Kyrie, Dion, and Bennett. Kyrie is a sharpshooter (let’s hope he returns to that form), and Dion was a 20 PPG scorer in the second half of the season. That’s a much different story than the likes of Dwight Howard in Orlando surrounded by role players. Embiid has the highest ceiling and aside from the back injury,… Read more »
David N,
Ill agree with most of that. Ibaka’s defense is what makes him so valuable and what we need on this team. An all-star he is not but a serviceable big that can alter shots he definitely is and we definitely lack that. Embbid would fill that. We also lack a serviceable SF who can alter games on his defense by guarding the toher teams best perimeter player and containing him. Wiggins fills that.
Trading Kyrie is not a crazy idea. Vonleh might be a better fit than Embiid for the post-modern NBA game. He has Dwight Howard’s frame, insane hands, range out to three, and can play both big positions. Think a better shotblocking/rebounding Chris Bosh. Watching Embiid and Wiggins’, you can just throw a lot of stats out the window. Kansas’ offense was a mess at times last year, and the iso stats on Wiggins? He just didn’t have a lot of driving lanes. The top of the NBA draft is littered with busts at center. You know who else has a… Read more »
@pedro – I would take Dion 100 times over MKG.
I would actually play Bennett with Embiid and Thompson with Hawes.
@joeyjoe Actually Gasol is an UFA, so that fake trade is trash….. How about the CAVS trade K.I. to Orlando for the 4th, Tobias Harris, and their 2016 pick? I would do that in a heartbeat. I do think that KI is the best PG in the league; PGs do not win titles. I think Exum and Jack should be good enough to compete for an 8 seed (as a GM, I would doubt that). PG Jack/Exum SG Waiters (UFA – Stephenson, Meeks, Marshon Brooks or Shannon Brown) SF Harris/Miles PF Thompson/Bennett C Embiid/Hawes Very young team, but I do… Read more »
Deng doesn’t like it in Cleveland, so try to sign him if you want, but I don’t think he’d take it. The KI/DW thing doesn’t work, so one or both have to go. This is Gilbert, so I see KI staying, DW & Deng out. Keep Hawes, who can spread the floor. Andy would be good to keep, but the long-term payoff would be for his mentoring young guys on rebounding, hustle and D… not playing. No, that doesn’t give you an all-star at C … which would be nice, but isn’t mandatory for championships (unless you consider the Birdman/Bosh… Read more »
@grover13
It bore true for Barnes, but would you take Dion over MKG? Or which do you think is closer to being an all-star?
The joeyjoe/kj banter has been fun to follow. I’m looking forward to the days just before the draft. Someone on ESPN (I forget who- maybe Hollinger?) posted a statistic (PER?) ranking the players from top to bottom by position….and noted that this metric tended to be the most accurate in projecting the success of wing players- and least reliable with bigs. Want to see where Wiggins/Parker fall there. I’ll see if I can find out what it was, but I do remember this….this metric LOVED Dion Waiters. I think he was ranked higher than both Barnes and MKG at the… Read more »
Blind reliance on advanced stats is what led the Cavs to draft TT, Waiters and Bennett. There’s a meaningful place for analytics, but blindly ignoring complimenting your best player leads to a bunch of pieces to different puzzles. I don’t doubt that Waiters and Thompson can have long successful NBA careers, but it just might not be in Cleveland paired with Kyrie. You can argue that Bennett is the only one of those three who’s skills shown in college actually compliment Kyrie’s strengths. Fortunately for us, Embiid is an analytical stud who also fits the rim protector need and could… Read more »
@kj
The advanced stats against Wiggin are based on a small sample size. The advanced stats for Embiid are for an even smaller sample size. Not of your arguments about advanced stats respond to the counter argument that Embiid has had two seasons marred by back injury. Another counter example- it hasn’t worked so good for Houston, having drafted the gifted physical marvel and next great center, Yao.
@ KJ yes I mean higher floor. At worst wiggins is a defensive stopper with the atheleticism to attack the rim and finish from day one. Talk about advanced stats all you want but embiid is still putting up 11 and 8 and was limited due to foul trouble and fundamental flaws on d. His college coach said that he had a ways to go before he could really impact the game the way he should. But I guess you were to busy looking at projections to listen to that. Read Chad Fords article about the top three picks from… Read more »
When I see a “1.)” I want to jump to my death.
@joeyjoe, Wiggins’ advanced stats are not good. Deal with it. I’m talking in like in 10-12 different categories. Not one. I was adding Pelton’s for EVEN MORE proof. You give absolutely ZERO evidence to back statements like such as Wiggins “has a higher (I assume you meant higher) floor!” Based on what? Cuz the stats seem to show he has a lower floor than a lot of potential picks. Also, this canard: “his flaws are easily fixable.” Says who? His handle is not good and his stats for plays in isolation are not good (bad, actually) at all for a… Read more »
@kj Not a troll but I do get sick of people talking themselves into size year after year when the size isn’t proven and when almost all the most important players in the league are perimeter players. Peltons system has some successes and failures (last year he was low on mcw and oladipo and plumlee all of whom were great as rookies) his system has favored all of the cavs recent picks and although I love the team their are multiple guys that are underperforming based on their draft spot. As far as the top four bigs in the league… Read more »
@joeyjoe: I understand that there are reasons to have an all star at small forward…but you really didn’t respond to what I said. Were it not for Lebron James, the Heat aren’t in the conversation for the championship this year…but there is only one guy with his skill set on offense in like the last..ever? Nobody sees the court as well from the SF position. But since w’re probably not getting that guy back, we have to play like the rest of the league…find a big guy to compliment our good players. Ibaka’s influence on the west finals is a… Read more »
Perhaps they look at Wiggins and say that advanced stats don’t apply to a kid that is clearly Stull growing. I certainly don’t think they do.
Typo. Meant to say “clearly” not “cleverly.” And not repeat “clearly” 4 words later either…d’oh!
@Joeyjoe, anyone who would take a player based on ONE advanced stat would be an idiot so, I can only assume you’re trolling here. As anyone can cleverly see, Embiid is clearly ahead of Wiggins in multiple advanced stats. Btw, Pelton had Embiid #1 on his board too, FWIW…
Oh, and 3 of the best big men in the league are still playing. So, ya know, there’s that too…
@ KJ so by that rational should we take Marcus smart because his projected warp is higher than embiids?
@ scotch four of the best defenders at sf are still playing , while elite defensive centers like Gasol and Noah got bounced in the first round.
I don’t know how any sane person can look at Embiid’s and Wiggins’ advanced stats that I posted yesterday and come to the conclusion that Wiggins’ should be picked first. FWIW, Pelton’s Warp or Ramp score (whatever it is called) has Embiid like 4th and Wiggins like 28th.
There is not a single adavnaced stat that indicates Wiggins’ should be taken ahead of Embiid, back concerns or not. What the hell are people thinking here?
I just think it’s so much easier to cover for not having a great SF than for not having a defensive stopper who makes teams question coming to the rim. Currently the Cavs defense I’ve a sieve of massive proportions and offers up layups to whomever can get by Kyrie…who is trying to figure out how soon in the possession he should start cherry picking. Gotta go after Embiid…if not, Griffin needs to hock some young talent to find a rim protector on another team. None spring to mind as remotely available…so… Also…Tyron Lue and Alvin Gentry?!! Are you kidding… Read more »
@ David: Its kind of a chicken or the egg argument with perimeter and interior defense. Hibbert and Gasol are great defensive anchors, but they also have long the long armed, active defenders like Hill, Stephenson, George, Conley, Allen, and Prince. I’m not sure if its the back line that provides the communication and safety net for the perimeter, or if its the perimeter guys that prevent the the ball handlers from getting into their offense early in the shot clock and shrink passing and driving lanes. My point is to say either Embiid or Wiggins will be entirely responsible… Read more »
I like Wiggins and even Parker. But after seeing Drummond play well, I am all in for Embiid. I would trade KI for the Lakers 7th pick (and 2016, throw Varajao in there for Gasol and Nick Young). I don’t know what the cap space looks like but my lineup would look like this: PG SMART/UFA SG WAITERS SF DENG/YOUNG PF GASOL/Bennett C EMBIID/Zeller/Thompson I would need a coach to find out how viable Thompson would be, can he guard Durant or Lebron on the wing? I am finding a way to keep him and Bennett. Maybe drop Zeller and… Read more »
Nate, I love Andy but can he be at that level when we are ready to be true contenders? Probably not. Not sure…, would we really need to give up Irving and Thompson for #6? I sure hope they wouldn’t. kojo, I would consider Ibaka a borderline all star, at least he has stepped in and played near that level right now. We really need a good rim protector with our lack of perimeter D and I would agree a 4 is more typical than a five but more so it’s a rim protector that can rebound and if he… Read more »
Grover: George had multiple steals and break away dunks last night in the fourth quarter alone. Westbrook, Wade, and Lebron get a bunch of them as well. The freak athletes who can play passing lanes are going to get steals that lead to easy buckets. Not to mention there’s secondary breaks that athletic guys get all the time. Wiggins is elite when it comes to his first step and second jump and those translate into easy buckets. Also the sports science thing about him on Sportscenter talked about the radius that he and Lebron have for finishing lobs, and that… Read more »
Grover,
I think it’s less no defender fast break and more 2nd fast break, where the defense is back but not set because the offense is charging down the court. He can excel early in that tempo. He needs to develop offensively. Aside from his last game in the NCAA tourney he averaged 28+ in his final 4 or 5 games.
Dude can ball but your worries are why I compare him to Paul George. Defense is there offense is there some and goes away some. He is more athletic though.
David N, OKC doesn’t have one. You could argue Indiana is in the ECF in spite of one. Miami has a stretch 4 all-star caliber player. Dallas had Dirk but he is not your typical big. Teams have usually won with an all-star caliber 4, not 5 in the recent past. Miami has Bosh (stretch). Dallas has Dirk (stretch). Lakers had Pau (4). San Antonio has Duncan (4). The last team to win with an all-star caliber center was Miami with Shaq and Wade. You need bigs that comliment the type of lineup you have. Kyrie, Dion, Wiggins = 3… Read more »
I’m not sure why so many people here are projecting all of these “easy transition baskets” that Wiggins is going to score. Fast breaks are much less prevalent in the pros than in college….and in the playoffs they are virtually non-existent. I think there’s some serious delusions of grandeur going on here. Is he super athletic? Absolutely. Can he help on D right away? Yes. But the notion that he’ll get 4-5 easy dunks a game until his skills (hopefully) develop is not realistic. That’s why when I see stats like 50% of his college points were in transition, it… Read more »
LUKE WALTON YEAH. I want him as head, with Price, Karl, and Griffin as assistants. I’d take Z as well. Too bad I’m probably dreaming.
Embiid has a Oden-Ibaka-Hakeem chart, while Wiggins has an Alonzo Gee-Iguodala-??? chart. I like both. Any way the Bucks would take Boston’s #6, a future CLE pick and another player if we sent Boston KI and TT to get the Bucks #2?
The Cavs do have an all-star caliber big. His name is Anderson Varejao, and he needs his minutes managed. And people are right. The pickings at small forward a really thin outside of the draft. There’s a reason the Cavs ran so much three guard last year. As much as I hate to say it, the Cavs have to re-sign Deng if they draft Embiid, and they probably have to over-pay him. Once again, he’s a player who needs his minutes managed.
Kojo, I like the lineup a lot. I think Deng and potentially Tristan are the ‘fit’ guys that keep coming up with Griffin, but I really like that team’s floor spacing and transitional abilities. I will say we might turn into the Suns or Blazers and try outscore people and worry less about defense, but it would be fun to watch.
Someone like McGary seems like a good fit to add toughness to the second unit and play either the PF or the second unit C.
I agree w this article. Gilbert is so determined to “win now” he could really screw up the team. Personally I take Wiggins, but am ok with Embiid (I guess), but would be upset if the Cavs took Parker. You need to take the guy w most upside and have this player grow with the younger talents on this team.
Forget winning now, build this team to win big in a year or two. Then start looking for vets to supplement. Gilbert needs to take a chill pill and let the young talent mature.
Don’t be surprised if we trade down and pick Justin Gilbert . . . I mean Dante Exum . . . or somebody.
Kojo’s lineup looks fine to me once the players become seasoned veterans. However, Griffin has said on more than one occasion that there will likely be major changes to get all the pieces to fit. He has spoken about the boatload of assets the team has and turning the assets into talent. I don’t think we have any idea of what’s in the works. The only thing that can hold the current roster together has to do with him saying, “it’s important to make RIGHT decisions . . . not just decisions” – meaning we won’t make changes just for… Read more »
Embiid does not start right away anyways. Hawes can play PF as well.
kojo,
That lineup ha no all star caliber bigs and you definitely need one to be a contender.
@nate smith – you need to consider stats like foul rates in perspective. Embiid has only been playing basketball for 4-5 years and only has a single season of college ball. He improved a great deal over the course of that season. In terms of scoring, do you think Coach Self wanted Embiid trying to score from outside of the blocks (especially with the talented wings on that team)? Every scouting report says he has a nice touch and you can see it in the film. This is a guy who ought to kill it on the block. How many… Read more »
Cody,
I’d try to resign Hawes and roll with Hawes and an improving Zeller.
Kyrie
Dion
Wiggins
Thompson
Hawes
with a bench of Delly, Jack, Miles, Bennett, Zeller …
is a ridiculous lineup that is going to get better and better. Resigning all these players when their contracts are up is going to be tough but that is a ridiculous lineup, one that can win now and can win A LOT later. If Wiggins becomes the Paul George I think he can be that is a ridiculous team.
Ugh, the comment monster hates me today…
Hot Sauce, I think that team would win 40-44 games. So I’m only slightly more optimistic than you. W C, I agree that’s close to the path of least resistance. To be clear, I’m not saying that’s my preference (although it resembles my preference as I prefer retaining Deng and drafting Embiid) or my prediction. It just helps me to see it all written out to see what directions the Cavs could go. However, Jason Lloyd mentioned in his recent article that the Cavs aren’t interested in resigning Deng. That’s a head scratcher to me. Predicting free agency and trades… Read more »
@ Nate Smith
Suppose they do take Wiggins, who do they sign for center? Gortat, Hawes, or try to poach Greg Monroe from the Pistons?
Ross, I’d say that’s the path of least resistance (apart from Deng, who is unlikely). But I think the path of least resistance is unlikely, given that Griffin has said the “pieces don’t fit.” I have no clue what to expect from this offseason, except that there will be changes… and that hopefully the changes add up to something more like 45-48 wins with a bullet.
@Ross – Interesting depth chart. How many games does that team win? 38-42? Or are you more optimistic?
After reading this piece and the Grantland story, I’m slowly shifting my opinion to Embiid over Wiggins. Still, the problems with his back invoke visions of Brad Daugherty.
But I wonder what the FA options are for SF if they do draft Embiid. Deng isn’t coming back. They won’t land Hayward. Let’s not even bring up LeBron. And even if Rudy Gay does opt out, he would cost too much and wouldn’t be a good fit on the team. Ariza seems like the best bet, unless they’re willing to go with CJ. Hopefully Karasev is ready for backup minutes.
I’d love both those players at 33
Does anyone else see Wiggins having a curve much like Paul George has had through his career. Great defensively but can struggle sometimes offensively. I see Wiggins as more athletic than George but similar players. If that is what he turns out to be …. and Embiid turns out to be Hibbert, give me Wiggins.
http://www.ohio.com/sports/cavs/adrian-griffin-becomes-first-candidate-to-interview-for-cavs-head-coaching-job-1.491363
Although, Lloyd seems to think the Cavs aren’t even interested in resigning Deng. Really?? Not even interested. If not, we better have a good plan for free agency OR we are going to resign Hawes and draft Wiggins or Parker to slot in as our starting SF.
I woke up this morning and I was back on Wiggins. Embiid’s foul rate and lack of production (outside of blocks) in college scared the crap out of me. Wiggins: highest floor, highest ceiling.
Rescued, Ross!
I have posted (basically) the same comment about 4 times. Please just save one of them from the comment monster. Thanks!
@Robert – I wish Dan Gilbert would read your blog post. Keeping our pick and drafting Embiid #1 is BY FAR the best option for the Cavs. Really, the only guy in the past five years I’d draft ahead of him is Anthony Davis and I think he’s the only guy who could be as good as Davis. embiid has many gifts/talents that can’t be taught – great size and length, quick feet, soft hands, a great motor. Imagine when his basketball IQ catches up to all that. I mean, he’s only been playing basketball for 4-5 years. He’s not… Read more »
PG – Kyrie/Jack/Delly SG – Waiters/Jack/Miles SF – Deng/Miles/Karasev PF – Thompson/Bennett C – Embiid/Varejao/Zeller There’s a 12 man active roster. Felix, Hopson, and 2nd round draft pick (#33) round out the 15 man roster. Doesn’t take into account the possibility of Hawes being resigned. I’d be shocked if we picked up the $3M team option on Alonzo Gee. And technically, Deng and Miles are unrestricted free agents. I’d definitely try to resign Miles, and I’d resign Deng too IF the price wasn’t too steep. That would leave Deng, Jack, and Varejao to be the veteran presence on a very… Read more »
Interesting piece. I read the Rusillo article a bit differently. I thought there was a clear consensus across all three scouts that IF Embiid is healthy, he is the consensus #1 guy. Scout 3 is the only confused one. He says HE would take Parker #1, but he also says Embiid, if healthy, SHOULD go #1. I read those two statements to mean that Scout 3 views Embiid as the consensus #1 guy, but that if HE was Griffin, he would go against the grain and take Parker. What is interesting is that none of them have Wiggins 1. Your… Read more »
Great piece, Robert. Put me in the Cleanthony Early camp (though i don’t think he’ll be there at 33). He’s the perfect fit for a winning team at the end of the first round like the Spurs who need someone to back up Kawhi Leonard, or a team like Indiana who clearly won’t be re-signing Evan Turner. I love self-made players, and Early is that: a guy who worked himself into a great situation and a great college career, instead of having it handed to him out of high school. Also, with as nutty of a coaching candidate list as… Read more »