As most of you have probably come to learn over the last few months, I tend towards hyperbole when writing. I have a flair for the dramatic, so sue me. But what I am about to say comes from deep down. It’s not hyperbole, it’s my honest to god belief. This loss was catastrophic for the Cavs.
That score tells only a small portion of the story. The Cavs lead by as much as 17 in the first half, and went into the third quarter leading by 12. They weren’t playing their best, but the guys were staying tough, and, behind a great first half from Jamison and a fantastic second quarter by Gibson, looking well on their way to a big win. Then it all fell apart. Casspi’s D on Melo was horrific, Scott waited too long to sub Gee in. Then, of course, Novak caught fire and it was over from there.
But the catastrophe extends beyond a heart-wrenching loss to a rising team. Considering how the first two post-All Star break games have played out, I’m starting to worry. Irving has looked far more lost than I’ve ever seen him, and suddenly we’re depending on the bench a little too much. Our D looks confused and the heart just doesn’t seem to be there anymore. To be up by so much and then fall so badly is a giant red flag, especially after last night’s loss. I have a horrible fear that what we’re witnessing is the rapid deterioration of a once promising season.
Two more points of note are how horrible our interior offense was, and how many fouls we committed over the course of the game. Yes, Chandler is a top tier center, but Thompson, Erden, and Jamison showed zero muscle in this game. Every time they’d go up for a shot inside they were immediately rejected. And, since our outside shooting wasn’t really falling (beyond Boobie) this spelled disaster for the Cavs. As for the fouls, I believe that was the catalyst to the downfall. Even in the first half, the Cavs came out a little chippier than they should have. Erden spent most of the game on the bench because of it, and Thompson had 5 at the end of the game. In total, the Cavs had 31. That’s bad.
I could go on and on, but I suppose it’s time to move on. One quick happy note – Harangody had easily his best game as a Cav. He played for 10 minutes, and his +/- was 0(!!!) on the game. He had some nice disruptive D and hit a nice shot. I think my opinion on him could be swayed with a few more performances like this.
An aside – this was the first game I’ve attended at the Garden in nearly 8 years. I had a fun little idea planned for the game, but with this loss I decided to keep it simple. Still, it’s worth noting that even though Lin had a pretty unmemorable game, the crowd was living on every moment he was in there. It was also pretty funny to hear them chant for Novak when he wasn’t in the game. The crowd was dead for most of the first half, too. Too bad it didn’t last.
Until next time…
Let’s calm down. It’s just a bad team being bad. It’s ok.
yo lin had 10 points and 13 assists how you gonna call that forgettable? outplayed ya boy irving!!
Lin had 19 pts, 13 assists, 5 rebounds and a steal, how is that unmemorable.
“Erden” and “Harangody”
ThreeGee – Thanks for that. Updated.
As for Chris and Blitz – did you watch the game? Did you ever feel like Lin took over and won this for the Knicks? He was on the bench for the majority of the come back, and got the bulk of his points while the Cavs were up by 10+. I’m sorry, but in my book that’s unmemorable. Novak and Chandler had FAR more impact on this game than Lin did.
More posts like these and I’m going to stop reading this blog. It’s your job as the blogger to frame the discussion in a manner that considers your audience first, not your “flair for the dramatic,” which in this case was more like hyperventilation and anxiety.
Mallory, I think you have fallen victim to live event syndrome. As in, it’s much harder to get a grasp of the play of individual players when one is actually at the arena because the viewing experience it so drastically different. I agree that Lin had a boring night, but it may have been his best game as far as playing all around ball. Novak was the huge difference. BUT, Kyrie didn’t play nearly as badly as you seem to think. He got screwed by his teammates on many occasions by not finishing his passes and on defense, he did play poorly at times, but the help D was really atrocious. In general, the biggest culprit to this loss was disgusting play by Casspi to start the 3rd quarter and the Knicks and Baron being smart enough to involve Sessions and Jamison in Pick and Rolls. I really don’t care too much if we lose games because Sessions, Jamison, Casspi and Erden play crappy ball. This falls under the “who cares” category except for trade value and the sinking depression that is Casspi’s game.
Kyrie’s outside shot wasn’t falling. It happens. Was he a disaster or “lost” otherwise? Absolutely not.
Ben –
I agree that being there in person totally changes the reality of the game because of 1. the home fan bias and 2. the bad tends to stand out much more.
That being said, I think this game could potentially spell disaster for this season (which many people on here don’t seem to torn up about, but that’s another debate). To lose two games in completely different but equally rough manners is terrible for a team’s psyche – especially a young vulnerable one like the Cavs. Without much of a veteran presence it can be very difficult for a young team to refocus. You realize our next three games are against top tier talent in Chicago, Denver, and OKC? Things don’t look good for the near future, and it worries me to know we may now be on the free fall. We needed at least one of these games.
As for Irving, he has played pretty poorly when it has mattered the last two games. I don’t think this is an indication of regression, but it’s worth noting none the less.
Kevin – I’m sorry you feel this isn’t up to par with what’s usually on here. As a blogger, I think it’s our duty to put this game into the context of what we think it means for the team. I happen to think this was a big deal loss. Against Miami, I wasn’t too worried because we knew we didn’t have a shot after the first 5 minutes. To let a 34 point swing occur in just 26 or so minutes is awful. You may disagree on the implications, but you can’t argue that last night wasn’t a miserable time and at least a mild step in the wrong direction, especially given Tuesday’s game.
Quick end note – when I say commentators on here aren’t torn up about losing, I mean the debate about whether or not tanking for a lottery pick is the smart move. We’ve debated that enough, so I don’t think we need to go on about it. But for those who fall into that camp, these two games must be a welcome sign.
Mallory,
I think your comment that “this game could potentially spell disaster for this season” is appropriate. As far as it spelling distaster in a larger sense…not so much.
The attitude to take this season is “wins are great, losses (barring injury) at least have the silver lining of higher draft position”. I’ve seen enough to know that Kyrie is going to be good and TT has a place on a winning NBA team.
The Cavs just don’t have enough talent to compete every night. That will get better over the next few years.
Sorry that a game you attended was such a downer. Also Novak’s shot is amazing.
The Cavs are an awful interior defensive team without Varejao…their only viable option at center that is not a “project”…
…this also causes them to crowd the paint and give up uncontested 3-pointers when the defender is too slow to close out…
If the other team is on fire the Cavs lose…I am not surprised…
I think more needs to be said about the ridiculous rotation that for one (fairly extended) stretch included:
PG: Sessions
SG: Boobie
SF: Irving
PF: Gee
C: Jamison
I understand that for most of that time they didn’t have Chandler or Amar’e in, but that’s still ridiculous. I was not amused…
Pete -
You bring up something I completely forgot about over the course of the game. That lineup was horrendous. I can’t remember what the context of it was, but I know everyone in my section – Cavs fans and otherwise – were commenting on how ridiculously small the lineup was. I guess Byron thought he’d try something new.
Kevin – Novak has been pretty amazing the last few games. I’m not sure how no other team realized how effective he could be against second units (as long as he has a decent PG to dish it to him) but he’s been pretty special as a 3pt expert for the Knicks.
Also, for those Cavs fans longing for the good ol’ days of last season, Baron had a pretty nice game. He actually did a fantastic job of acting as a distributor.
I’ll say that this Knicks team has something special going on, but we can’t discredit the Cavs for this loss – they blew a huge lead and lost some major mojo in the 3rd quarter.
I still think the Cavs are better off in the long run by missing the playoffs this season. We have minimal talent surrounding Kyrie and still can hold our own against many teams that were thought to be on a different level. This one hurt, no doubt, but it also showed what we are capable of. Kyrie continually put the ball in the lap of our big man, particularly Erden, and rarely could they finish the play.
Please Chris Grant find a big man with good hands who can finish STRONG and this team is going to in great shape for a long time.
Sidenote: Can we get someone who seems to genuinely like the Cavs to start writing for this blog?
Standard freak out to get people commenting. Did Chris Chase from Yahoo write this article?
Cavs play at Wizards and home vs. Jazz between Chciago and Denver…nights like this should be expected from a team that starts two 35+ year olds, a Turk named Semih and an Israeli named Omri.
Expectations should be more realistic than overreacting to what happens on the court in the moment.
Mark me down as one of those “unconcerned” by a loss like this, in the big picutre. If it happened 7 or 8 times in a row, that would bother me, but this season the vast majority of games have been competitive in the 4th quarter even after losing Varejao. No one was expecting that prior to the season. I also strongly suspect Kyrie has hit the legendary “rookie wall.” Remember that he only played 11 games at Duke, and this season has been far more accelerated and compressed than normal – and lacked a proper training campe — due to the lockout, so Kyrie’s probably feeling the grind more than a typical rookie would. Nor did he get much rest over All-Start weekend. So he’s going to have dead legs for awhile. It’s all part of the development process.
Cavs lose a game to a far more talented, far deeper team on the road, on the 2nd night of a back-to-back.
Yup, definitely a catastrophic loss worth worrying about.
Any team that trots out a starting 5 that includes Semih Erden, Anthony Parker, Omri Casspi and Antawn Jamison shouldn’t expect to win any games against non-bottom feeder teams. That’s just the reality of it. Despite their surprisingly mediocre record thus far, this Cavs team is at a serious talent deficit against 90% of NBA teams. They only have 4 players that play passable defense – one of them is injured and the other 3 come off the bench. Semih is end of bench fodder and most teams, Omri Casspi is playing like a D-leaguer, and Anthony Parker has no business getting meaningful minutes, let alone starting, at this point in his career.
Mallory needs some perspective and some tempered expectations.
Can someone explain to me why Parker is even getting minutes? I can’t stand it…My expectations are extremely low for our 2-guard spot…but goodness, give Harris some burn.
With the amount of vitriol being slung right now, I think I should set the record straight on a few things:
First off, I am a Cavs fan, so put that to rest.
Second, I do not see this loss as the end of the Cavs franchise, the destruction of Kyrie Irving, or anything else along those lines. I simply see this as a major turning point IN THIS SEASON. I realize almost everyone here has already given up on this year, but I think being a fan means living within the moment (while still contextualizing that moment to the year and the future.) Yesterday was a terrible day for Cavs basketball THIS YEAR.
Despite what others have said, I still believe this loss is more meaningful than any other blowout that we should expect with the amount of talent we have. If you watched closely last night, you saw a Cavs team come out with confidence and a plan, and then completely abandon all of that. That goes beyond growing pains and talent. To let a team outscore you by 29 in one half should not be taken lightly ever. As fans we should demand more from our team – after all they exist for us. This may be a harsh mentality, but imagine the countless Cavs fans who have watched this team for 40+ years – losses last night are hard for them to stomach, and writing this off as a just a loss isn’t fair to their dedication to the team.
There are pluses and minuses to a losing season this year, we’ve discussed them at length. But, if you fall into the same camp as me, which is that a winning mentality is important for future success, a loss like last night should be appropriately viewed of the antithesis of progress.
Obviously much of what I believe is debatable, but that’s the fun of a blog – if you disagree you have the platform to voice your opinion.
I appreciate the constructive criticism, and look forward to discussing this season with you all more.
Yeah, that was a pretty horrific game to watch. I have to take issue with some of the coaching though. The Boobie, Kyrie, Sessions, Gee, and Jamison lineup that was going on about 4 minutes into the 4th quarter? What was that? If you’re playing a 6’2″ small forward, your odds on a comeback aren’t good. Why the team looked so lost with that lineup? They’d never played it before and no one knew where the hell they were supposed to be. Yes, Semi played awfully, and couldn’t stay on the floor (can’t play the glacial Kevin Garnett every night). So why didn’t they bring back Samuels who’d had a decent first half? Casspi was atrocious, and so was Gee (1-9). Parker hit some shots, but couldn’t defend anyone, and had a couple cover your eyes turnovers. Boobie lost his shot, and Jamison did not seem to care. I think they were deferring to Kyrie and Sessions way too much, and no one save Sessions and Irving were being agressive.
I think the Cavs got caught in the headlights. MSG is a tough building to play in when the crowd is in it, and those players feed off that crowd. Also, this was one of the first games with all of the Knicks players healthy. That team can now go ten deep, and keep pouring on the scoring with Baron, Novak, Shumpert, and JR Smith on the second unit. Plus they can go offense/defense now with Chandler, Jeffries, Shumpert… In short, we caught the Knicks on the night they realized how good they can be, and the night Scott was tinkering with bizarre lineups. Of course we were goign to get steamrolled. The Knicks laid in the weeds for three quarters, smelled blood, and devoured us.
In other news, how frustrated must Mannie Harris be right now?
Mallory,
I had the same thought last night about Novak…his shot is so fast and accurate, it’s surprising that someone hasn’t found more use for him over the years. Sure he doesn’t rebound or play defense well, but 300-ish players are getting rotation minutes in the NBA at any given time; it’s suprising that he’s only been able to get 500 minutes a season with a skill like that.
Also, Novak and Lin are case in point of how GMs get WAY too locked into their rosters, and don’t pick up guys who can help them off the street. It goes in keeping with my point yesterday about how the bottom half of the NBA and the top 20% of the D-League are interchangeable. There are good players out there who aren’t playing with any teams, but teams are so locked into their rosters, that they won’t try to bring in new players. Only when the injuries piled up for the Knicks did they go to the well. Novak has been among the most effective catch and shoot players for years, yet couldn’t stick on a roster (though the Spurs kept him most of last year)… Which is why I want the Cavs to trade Sessions and bring in Blake Ahearn (the Crash Davis of the D-League).
Also, remember that time the Cavs played the Knicks, and Jamison and Kyrie were guarding Lin on the pick and roll in the fourth quarter, and Jamison screened off his own man? That was awesome.
Pete, HoopsDogg, Mallory,
The “smallest lineup ever” was confusing.
We all need to look on the bright side, this loss should finally put a rest to that ridiculous rumor of Kaman to the Cavs for a first rounder that has been floating around on ESPN the last couple of days.
Keith, I completely agree re: Manny Harris. As I posted after the Celtics game, it is completely astounding to me that BScott would keep him on the bench when the other players at his spot (Parker and Gibson) have been less than spectacular. Also, I would like someone to acknowledge the fact that if Parker’s salary was commensurate with his skill (thus far less than the $3 million he is actually getting paid) he’d be in the D-League right now. He has been awful since coming back from injury and he is not going to be a part of this team going forward. Free Manny!
Finally, I understand that the Cavs blew a significant lead in this one, but for me, the loss against the Celtics was much more disheartening. The Celtics are far less talented than the Knicks right now and we were playing at home. Plus, Kyrie’s uncharacteristically poor decision-making in the last two minutes cost us the game.
Kevin –
I will say it provided me with some much needed entertainment last night. Oh wait, that wasn’t entertainment, that was frustration. And it wasn’t needed.
Thanks B-Scott!
Keith, I completely agree re: Manny Harris. As I posted after the Celtics game, it is completely astounding to me that BScott would keep him on the bench when the other players at his spot (Parker and Gibson) have been less than spectacular. Also, I would like someone to acknowledge the fact that if Parker’s salary was commensurate with his skill (thus far less than the $3 million he is actually getting paid) he’d be in the D-League right now. He has been awful since coming back from injury and he is not going to be a part of this team going forward. Free Manny!
Finally, I understand that the Cavs blew a significant lead in this one, but for me, the loss against the Celtics was much more disheartening. The Celtics are far less talented than the Knicks right now and we were playing at home. Plus, Kyrie’s uncharacteristically poor decision-making in the last two minutes cost us the game.
We all need to look on the bright side, this loss should finally put a rest to that ridiculous rumor of Kaman to the Cavs for a first rounder that has been floating around on ESPN the last couple of days.
HoopsDogg,
I am really intrigued by your idea of bottom of the NBA / top of the D-League being interchangeable.
A couple weeks ago, there was discussion in the comments about the next “value” frontier. That’s not how it was described then, but the basic sentiment was that in the late 90′s / early 2000′s, high schoolers and internationals were sources of value that some teams were able to use greatly to their benefit.
You suggested the D League could be that new frontier. Players that didn’t quite make the cut at 21 or 22, but keep working hard and expanding their games…and could make an impact with the right opprotunity (but aren’t getting that opportunity). I do think that’s an interesting source of potentially undermined talent. If I get a chance, I’d try to research the successes and failures of d-leaguers when given a chance…test your theory out.
Keith, I agree re: Manny Harris. As I posted after the Celtics game, it is completely astounding to me that BScott refuses to give him playing time despite the atrocious play from Parker and, to a lesser extent Gibson. Parker has been completely ineffective on both sides of the ball and is clearly not going to be a part of this organization going forward. If not for his salary and his veteran status, he’d be sitting right next to Harangody.
In other words, farewell Manny. We hardly knew thee.
The was a painful loss to me, to see such a first half perfromance and then fall apart in the second half was horrible. I’m not sure what or how it happened. A tough game against the aging Celtics and now this – I can’t explain it. Where was all the second hal confidence and execution, what happened to the game plan? We aren’t a very talented team and I don’t expect to win many games against clearly superior teams, however, I don’t expect to lose them like this. If this was one of the first games of the season, or if they were getting blown out since the first quarter, I’d have an easier time accepting the loss and making excuses for them, but at this stage of the season, I’m not sure what it means. I’m hoping this game was just a ‘fluke’ and we’ll come back and play consistent mediocre basketball for the rest of the season with an occasional glimpse of what Kyrie and Tristan can become and what Jamison once was (when that happens we can beat anyone). But if the second half of this game continues through the second half of the season, then it’s really a shame to regress to that point.
Now, I know it’s only one half of one game, but we played so uncharacteristicaly badly in it, I’m not sure what to make of it. My heat and gut tell me that we’ll rebound perfectly well and get back to mediocrity by next game. However, with such a young and talent limited team, I’m not sure how easy that will be. I guess it’s time to wait and see what the next few game show and what happens with the next two weeks and the trade-deadline.
On the positive side, Kyrie and TT are both very young and can only get better and more consistant. They both are reported to be high character guys that work hard to improve with good basketball I.Q. – so these types of games should serve them as learning experiences and motivation to get better (rather than demoralize them and put them in a spiral downwards).
On the negative side, I don’t see guys like Casspi or Erden responding well to this loss at all. I’ve been a supporter of Casspi getting so much burn (although clearly outplayed this year by Gee) because I think he’s shown to be a better player through his NBA tenure. I’ve kept hoping he would get out of this ‘slump’. I think for him, more than any other player this could be the start to the big spiral downward.
I’m not sure what this means for guys like Jamison and Sessions who are 95% likely not with the team next year (maybe gone in two weeks). If they want to be traded (no confirmed reports I’ve heard) and they don’t get traded, I’m not sure how much team ball they’ll want to play versus trying to get stats for next years contracts (which can only hurt the team). If they do get traded for picks and ‘garbage’ players, that can create a lot of hope for next year, but even worse performances for the rest of this one.
Like always, we can only wait and see how this all falls out.
Keith,
Manny Harris riding the pine while 36 year old AP plays 20 minutes or the Cavs go super small plays perfectly into HoopsDogg’s comment.
Given the last two losses, I’m curious to hear everyone’s take on the various trade rumors floating around. Personally, I’d prefer M. Williams to a late first rounder from the Lakers for Sessions. I would be extremely upset if we acquired Kaman in exchange for, what now looks to be, our lottery pick.
NUPE -
You nailed my sentiments. Had this been a regular blow out, it would’ve been easier to digest. But to flip the switch from GREAT to TERRIBLE so quickly is really out of character and makes me wonder if we’re seeing a new wrinkle to this team – one know I’d hate. I guess time will tell.
James A,
I was intrigued by the Marvin Williams rumor.
I haven’t seen much specific on Kaman rumors. Trading the Cavs 2012 1st rounder is obviously a bad idea, and that’s coming from a big “no tanking” proponent.
The Nupe, yes, its much better to assume the absolute worst because we are a young team. So of course we’ll play the entire second half of the season exactly like the last 3 minutes of the most recent one particularly bad night (the second night of a back to back against a well rested, more talented team), just throw those first 33 games out of the window.
Seriously, I love the cavs, but I hate being a cleveland fan as everyone in this area has such a freaking panicky disposition and think the sky is falling at the smallest hiccup. It was one game, it was a bad second half, but there are pretty obvious reasons for it. The knicks are better than us and started playing like it, they had fresher legs to go the distance, and Byron Scott basically handed it to them by playing Kyrie at SF for 4 minutes, like he forgot which recent Cavs 1st overall pick he had on his roster. Did they play poorly on top of that? Yes, everyone has bad nights, oh well.
If it becomes a trend then we can look to this game as the start, but there is no indication this is a trend yet. (the celtics are a more talented team than the cavs too, the only reason our records are similar is because we had verajoa before, but without him the celtics should win at least 2 of every 3, home or not. And Kyrie will have his share of crunch time flameouts, everyone does. If you foolishly thought otherwise- that kyrie permanently got that out of his system against the pacers – then yes, I guess that game was cause for alarm) Ugly losses to good teams are going to happen to below average teams, which,without verajoa, the Cavs certainly are. Mallory, I’m sorry your expectations we so hi for the cavs this year, but the playoffs were never realistic as soon as Verajoa went down. Adjust your expectations to the adjusted roster, and you’ll have an easier time accepting that this year won’t be as exciting, but the next decade will likely be better because of it.
Sorry, I meant the last Half of the last game, not the last 3 minutes.
If Irving ever looks “lost” it is because:
Casspi Sucks
Erden Sucks
Samuels Sucks
Boobie Sucks
Hollins Sucks
Harangody Sucks
Parker is old
Jamison is only contributing when he is shooting well, otherwise he’s a liability in every aspect
Andy is hurt
Gee is inconsistent
Let Kyrie have the Knicks supporting cast, they are title contenders. Put Lin on the Cavs, they are the worst team in the league and it’s not close.
They need to trade Jamison and Parker for whatever they can get, get value for Sessions, and drop Casspi/Hollins/Erden/Samuels in the scrap heap. Do not trade the 1st round pick…hope they can snag Beal or Kidd-Gilchrist, and not end up stuck with a Zeller. Also Manny Harris needs a look…I am sure Byron knows more than us, but at least he has size and could possibly guard someone…I think we know Casspi can’t.
I actually am kind of a fan of Scotts lineup decisions. Not during the games by any means while I’m rooting for my team, but when I step back and look at bigger picture stuff. What is the one thing he can do to simultaneously increase the trade value of our unneeded veteran assets and boost our draft position, while not letting the team think he isn’t trying his hardest to win this season and in result brooding a losing mentality? PAY HOMAGE TO THE VETS!
Yes, gee, you could learn a lot from Parker, just watch him! Jameson, take more and more ugly shots at 42%, you are our veteran presence! Just as long as you aren’t a defensive presence at all, we’re good! Kyrie, play more than 30 minutes a game? Not with sessions on the roster he isn’t, gotta play the vet, and have kyrie be the off gaurd when they are both on the court.
Its not working as well as I hoped, but now that Verajoas not mucking it up with stellar play, its a strategy with potential.
Jeff P, I agree trading sessions for value is a must, as it doesn’t make sense for us to give him real money to play 10 minutes a game behind Irving, and he’s going to demand real money or a starting shot at least. I would flip him to the lakers for their first if we could, as Kevin Hetricks article points out, a late 1st round pick has about the same chance to help you as the 12th pick. Lets go cavs!
I’m really excited for our future either way, but now we have the perfect combination of :
- youth,
- time without immediate pressure to win now to develop players and focus on youth, –
- A legitimate star who will prevent us from being permanent bottom feeders (something people concerned with developing a losing mentality seem to ignore when they site all the teams stuck forever in the lottery, or maybe I just have more faith that Kyrie in his prime will be in the playoff regardless of teammates anyone else’s preferred culture. Dude’s a gamer and will create a winning culture all by himself, of this I have no doubt.)
- and a stocked incoming draft class
To watch veterans walk for nothing would be a big dissapointment if we could have gotten a first round pick for them and still have the ability to be big time Free Agent players in the next two or three years. regardless of when we do it, we are only going to be able to sign one HUGE or two big free agents in that time frame, so I personally don’t care when it happens. I know Mallory and a lot of other fans are constantly in win now mode, I am just weary of that after watching what it did to the lebron years. We aren’t competing for championships in the next year or two, we have this knowledge, now lets use that it our advantage and plan accordingly. C’mon Grant!
I’d give up 10 years of failing in the playoffs for one ring for the city of cleveland. The best part though right now is that if we get all this youth, we might miss flaming out in the playoffs 1 year, but could be contending for championships for a decade.
Jeff P, I agree trading sessions for value is a must, as it doesn’t make sense for us to give him real money to play 10 minutes a game behind Irving, and he’s going to demand real money or a starting shot at least. I would flip him to the lakers for their first if we could, as Kevin Hetricks article points out, a late 1st round pick has about the same chance to help you as the 12th pick. Lets go cavs!
I’m really excited for our future either way, but now we have the perfect combination of :
- youth,
- time without immediate pressure to win now to develop players and focus on youth, –
- A legitimate star who will prevent us from being permanent bottom feeders (something people concerned with developing a losing mentality seem to ignore when they site all the teams stuck forever in the lottery, or maybe I just have more faith that Kyrie in his prime will be in the playoff regardless of teammates anyone else’s preferred culture. Dude’s a gamer and will create a winning culture all by himself, of this I have no doubt.)
- and a stocked incoming draft class
To watch veterans walk for nothing would be a big dissapointment if we could have gotten a first round pick for them and still have the ability to be big time Free Agent players in the next two or three years.
You guys want to hear something depressing? On January 24, 2012 Chris Broussard wrote that the following trade made sense for both teams:
Cavs – O.J. Mayo
Grizzlies – Daniel Gibson and Omri Casspi
If Chris Grant called Chris Wallace and proposed that trade today, he’d get laughed off the phone.
By the way, I’d love to get O.J. Mayo. Unlike some others on this site, I think he’d be a great value at $5 to $7 mil/season as a starter. He should be the Cavs’ primary target in the offseason.
O.J. Mayo just seems like a 2″ taller Boobie Gibson who can’t shoot the 3 as well but drives slightly better and takes more shots, but when you shoot under 44% without a lot of FTs or 3s, its probably better to shoot less. They are both good defenders and… thats about it. Mayo’s got name recognition, and I’d trade him for boobie straight up, but honestly this missed trade doesn’t haunt me at all, it would be the smallest of upgrades.
And the cavs already have enough perimeter defenders who can’t don’t score very well in Boobie and Gee, I would much rather have a better offensive wing or true center as our FA target, if we are going to make a movie in free agency.
No way the Grizzlies would take that now…it would be addition by subtraction at the very least for the Cavs. Boobie offers almost nothing, he can’t drive, can’t handle the ball, is an undersized defender, and is a streak shooter. Casspi is probably the worst starter in the entire league. What kind of starter gets benched EVERY single game for the last 8 minutes+ because his replacement is so clearly superior? He is trash, and I hope they can somehow dump him.