Links to the Present: January 12, 2012

“The Cleveland Cavaliers drafted Kyrie Irving last summer to be their point guard for the next decade. Only for the next few months, they need him to be a shooting guard. He’s already shown a knack for getting his shots up. With limited scoring options on the roster, the Cavs are asking their 19-year-old rookie to carry a heavy load. He is second in scoring and leading the team in assists. He’s shooting the highest field-goal percentage of all the guards and he’s second on the team in shots taken.” [Jason Lloyd]

“The Cavaliers were 3-2 in their first five games, shooting 42.3% from long range. So far, after four games on this road trip, the team is shooting 26.2% from three, going 1-3 in those games. After shooting 50% on his threes in the first two games (4-of -8 shooting), Ramon Sessions has gone 2-for-9 since (22.2%). Anthony Parker’s 32.4% is by far the lowest of his career since he returned from Europe in 2006. Omri Casspi’s 29.2% is almost an eight percent drop on his career low and a nine percent dip from last season. Antawn Jamison’s 28.9% is his lowest since his second year in the league. He hasn’t shot worse than 34% from three since 2007-08, which was the only time in the last 10 seasons he shot below 34%.” [Andrew Schnitkey]

FTS’s Conrad Kaczmarek speculates on possible Varejao (and Ramon Sessions) trades that might happen over the coming months. My personal favorite: OJ Mayo and a first-rounder for Andy. But then, I have an irrational love of OJ Mayo; in reality, he would probably take a ton of bad shots in Cleveland and be out the door by the time was 27.