Emergency Cavs: The Podcast, Episode 58 — The Sixers loss and the Waiters trade.
2015-01-06We all watched perplexed as Joe Harris started tonight against the Sixers. Then, we were all shocked when news trickled in that J.R. Smith and Iman Shumpert were going to be Cavaliers, and that Dion Waiters, Alex Kirk, and Lou Amundson were going to be moving on. In the game, the Cavs blew a seventeen point lead to the worst team in the NBA and suffered a stunning defeat. It was overshadowed by an even more stunning trade of the fourth pick of the 2012 draft. Ben Werth will have a recap in the morning, but in the mean time Mallory Factor, David Wood, and I hopped in the emergency podcast booth to discuss the game, the state of the Cavs, the trade, and it’s implications. We’re as shocked as you are. And if you haven’t read Cory’s piece on Dion from this morning, it’s even more poignant now.
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don’t believe the cavs are done ( that 1st rd pick from okc that everyone fails to mention could be huge )—-al reports from media favor cavs in the trade —honestly we can’t answer that until 2-3 months from now / or later —yes dion was the # 4 pick but honestly was he # 4 talent ?—he needed to get away from here to get a fresh start–it just wasn’t going to happen here for him—- ALOT OF ” IF’S “—IF LEBRON/ KYRIE / LOVE STAY HEALTHY—–IF WE CAN GET J.R TO PERFORM AT HIS 6TH MAN OF THE… Read more »
There is nothing bad about this trade. We lost waiters whi has sucked and clearly was never going to be great with the cavs. He may be great with the Thunder but it was time to trade him. We got back a starter who is better than dion right now and smith who was 6th man of the year a couple years ago. Plus a draft pick. I don’t think griffin could’ve got a better return than this.
Waiters was our best asset and you net an injury prone SG, who a NYK beat reporter said this morning he hasn’t been the same since his ACL trade, and JR Smith who I don’t need to elaborate on. But I would hide your kids. The pick is interesting, but will probably be a late first and as a team that has been awful at assessing players in the draft I’m not confident they will use it appropriately. If they can flip that pick for a player like Mosgov then I’ll be satisfied.
Never liked Dion but this seems like a low return. The pick is essentially 2 2nd rounders. Hopefully they aren’t done.
Let’s stop with the D-League talk. Seth Curry…yeesh. Remember when Luke Harangody played with Cavs? Several games before coming up or a night after going down he would drop 20-10s. Thabeet avg’d 21 ppg down there too.
We got back two players in shumpert and smith who are better than dion is right now. It was a great trade.
Seth Curry can’t be any worse than AJ Price. There are plenty of guys who came from the D League who have contributed to NBA teams in a positive way.
Never said D-League did not produce a single winner. Just saying to temper enthusiasm that some guy out of D could suddenly fix the Cavs bench PG issues.
I’m not sure I could temper my enthusiasm with anything Cavs related any further than I already have this year. Never suggested a guy out of the D league could suddenly fix the Cavs bench PG issues. Just saying they couldn’t do worse than they have so why not try a guy who is ripping up the D League and also happens to share DNA with arguably the best PG in the NBA.
How is this pick essentialy 2-2nd rounders? Do you really think that the Thunder are not going to make the playoffs in each of the next 3 yeas? It’s a mid-to-late first rounder all but guaranteed. It is quite likely we see it this yer. This year is a good year to have multiple first rounders because it is supposed to be a deep draft for Centers.
Also, to all of the Delly lovers out there, can we finally acknowledge that he is a lovable guy who brings a lot of good things to the table, but who is also severely limited and has a very low ceiling? If this team is going to be good, Delly needs to be getting 10 mins a game at most.
Agreed. But definitely worth the 10 minutes as a momentum changer off the bench.
Yeah. He sucks. I wish I was wrong about him, but nope. He really doesn’t do anything good.
Except for defense, passing, and rebounding…
Those attributes don’t make sportcenter. He sucks. Cut him.
Delly’s problem is that he’s a low usage player who excels as a distributor, defender, and rebounder but can’t score. He’s fine if you put him with high usage players, but if you force him to be a scorer, he fails. I still think he can improve in that area. He obviously has a confidence problem right now, offensively. He’s a guy you love as a third point guard, and it’s obvious he’s not ready to be a starter. Last night’s game has to be haunting him.
He sucks. If a player is only good enough to play on a team that has other great players then he just isn’t good. It’s OK. You can admit you are wrong. Delly sucks. Say it once it’s like music playing. Say it twice and it’s almost like praying.
At work today walk around muttering “Delly sucks” at least once every 10 minutes or so. YOu’ll feel so much better.
Saying someone “sucks” is not an intelligent take. Odd that your brand of blind positivity regarding the Cavs doesn’t extend to a hard working player like MD. It’s clear that he’s overmatched for the amount of time he’s being required to be on the floor. He was only ever supposed to be the third PG on this team. In that role, he thrives. He does good things for the team, but when he’s asked to do too much he gets exposed. But keep saying he sucks if it makes you feel better. Maybe you just can’t deal with losing and… Read more »
Cols being Cols. Give him this, he is amost always sure of himself. Delly is a good role player in the right situation. Askig him to start and run a team is way above his ceiling. Even against the woeful 76ers.
The Waiters trade was solid. It seems like Shump + 1st rounder is what they wanted, and taking on Smith was part of the cost of the deal.
But its going to get worse before it gets better – schedule coming up is tough. We may be sub .500 by All-Star break.
Espn ran a 5 on 5 about the trade and everyone seems to agree that the cavs did well here. I love this trade. I hate losing waiters because I think he’s good, but I also realize that he wasn’t ever going to live up to his potential as a Cav. Griffin just keeps amazing me with these trades. First Love and now this. Hes easily GM of the year.
Griffin is the GM of the year?!?!?!?! What the hell are you smoking? Oh yeah you live in Colorado.
Yeah this is overblown hyperbole. Griff is the same GM who let the Cavs come into the season with the least athletic bench in the NBA, no servicable big men outside of TT and AV, and little depth to the point that a team with championship aspirations started a backcourt of Delly and Joe Harris last night. Basically, his hope was that a bunch of guys who have had injury problems throughout their career would stay healthy. It was not a smart bet.
Griffin resigned irving, signed james, traded for love and now shumpert and smith and gave up almost nothing besides wiggins to get it done. Waiters had potential but he’s sucked for most of his career. I loved him but it was clear he wasn’t going hit his peak with the cavs.
I like Griff, but let’s be honest, Gilbert was the one hell bent on getting Kyrie re-signed. LBJ was coming back regardless of anything Griff had to do with it. Yes he made the Love trade, but he gave up a lot to get him and probably could have waited Minny out for a better deal. Lord knows Golden State doesn’t need KLove anymore. This may turn out to be a good trade with Dion, but the jury is out on Griff. He’s made some questionable additions to the bench that haven’t panned out yet as well. When it’s all… Read more »
So Love isn’t a servicable Big man?
This is a great trade. We solved our SG problem and the scoring from the bench problem in one trade. I like Dion and I think he will be good for the Thunder. However it was obvious that he was never going to figure it out in Cleveland.
Great trade by the Thunder. Great trade by us.
As for the loss to the sixers? Who cares. It’s going to be weird playing against Waiters in th Finals though. Ibthinj this gives the Thunder the edge to win it all.
I wouldn’t call this a great trade. If Shump can stay healthy ever (he has proven he can’t… Just like Kyrie, and AV) then he fits better at SG. I’m just disappointed we invested so much in Waiters, you know by drafting him 4th overall and we trade him for the Knicks trash.
Did you really just say “who cares” to a loss to the worst team in the NBA where they choked away a 17 point lead in the third quarter? Come on Cols, that’s delusional even for you.
I am upset with LOVE —I predicted LOVE due to kyrie’s injury ( and before the news / trade of dion ) would have to score 40 pts and get 20 reb’s vs the 76er’s—–way to go kevin —” way to lay down ” and not perform —0nly 28 pts and 19 reb’s —-LET’S TRADE THE BUM !!—–RIGHT NOW THE WAY HE IS PERFORMING / LEADING IS THE ONE BRIGHT SPOT WITH THE CAVS——WE NEED TO RESIGN HIM DURING OFF SEASON—-ANYONE HEAR IF DELAMBERT HAS BEEN PICKED UP ( OR DO WE HAVE TO WAIT 48 HRS FOR THAT )
Chris Grant was just fired again by Dan Gilbert.
Sometimes this team is very hard to root for. You watch them make three questionable trades in one season and just ask yourself, if these moves don’t work, what do we do? At this point the cupboards are pretty bare. On a soft team, Dion wasn’t.
Well, at least they still have three number one picks next year to either use to trade for a big man or keep to fill out the roster next year. Agree Dion wasn’t soft, but neither are Shump or JR.
When Mallory said “I’m going to Houston to watch the Cavs-Rockets game with my girlfriend and her friends, any chance I have any fun that night?” (or something to that effect) I have to admit my first thought was “I dunno, it would depend on how open-minded they are I guess. Oh, and I also think the Cavs will lose by 20.”
Also, apparently, Kanye’s Butt had very little to do with anything. My apologies. That’s not a nice way to talk about Sir Paul McCartney.
I’m glad you guys touched on the record. I posted this on the game thread. Cavs have now lost 16 games. That’s halfway to 32 which is the most they can lose if they want to win 50. They likely lose 5 of the next 6 without LBJ between Houston and the road trip. That would give them 21 losses at the true halfway point of the season. If LBJ comes back for the Bulls game on 1/19, the Cavs still have to go 30-11 to get to 50 wins. That’s a tall order.
The silence after Mallory’s question about the Houston game was deafening. Gonna be a rough couple of weeks ahead…
“Tara Reid’s got skin like rich Corinthian leather…” Awesome
Yes! Seth Curry is a terrific idea! Good call
Larry Sanders = Dreary Snarls
Don’t ask where J.R. came from, but…
Earl Joseph Smith:
A Sheepish Jolt Mr
Jailers Hemp Shot
Nice! Yeah, where the hell did JR come from? Dude’s crazy…
I know you guys are averse to put any blame on Blatt, but there’s no reason a well-coached team should choke away a 17 point lead in the third quarter against the WORST team in the NBA, even with the short bench. No excuse. I like Blatt, but he’s got to wear some of this loss.
I will say: get the ball out of Wroten’s hands late. Dude’s a turnover machine. Double him.
Meh, it was an even matchup. This team, without Kyrie, Andy, Bron, Marion, Waiters/Smith-Shump, isn’t much better than the 76’ers. A Delly/Joe Harris backcourt isn’t very imposing, lol.
The Spurs dropped a 20-point 3rd quarter lead to the Mavs in the playoffs last year, winning on a buzzer beater from Diaw. It happens. I would still consider the Spurs “well-coached”
OKC lost by 26 last night. Fire the coach.
Right, cause that’s what I was asking for. Also, both above examples were against superior competition. Spurs lost a 20 point lead in the playoffs to a very talented Mavs team. OKC lost last night to probably the best team in the NBA. Neither of these examples is equivalent to choking away a 17 point lead to the WORST team in the NBA. Period. I’m not blaming Blatt solely and don’t want him fired by any stretch. But he’s not blameless in last night’s loss. He certainly can’t make jumpers for guys, but he can make adjustments on defense to… Read more »
I love Mallory’s quote about JR being one of the most insane people in the NBA
he took over where latrell spreewell left off.
In honor of Saint Weirdo, one last anagram for one of his replacements, Iman Shumpert…
On the positive side – Means Triumph
On the negative side – Hairnet Mumps
Nate, you’ve got to stop comparing TT and Lavoy Allen. It’s ludicrous…
It’s a discussion. Sometimes one has to play the foil. Thought David put me in my place fairly well.
That’s true. Maybe I just have a Lavoy Allen allergy ;)
Lavoy Allen = Anal Volley
Stop it!