I’ve gotten lots of e-mails over the last week asking me about players the Cavs may want to trade for this offseason. Nobody asked about the draft, which I wrote about in Sunday’s paper. I guess LeBron’s comments at the end of the season are the reason for that. Anyway, let me go over some things to answer some questions I’ve been getting.
A couple of things before we start.
1. The Cavs probably aren’t going to be signing anybody to a significant contract straight up this summer. All they have is their exceptions ($5.5 million mid-level and $1.8 million bi-annual). Neither of those are likely going to attract impact players. Considering the staggering size of their payroll, I don’t expect the Cavs to use all or maybe any of this money.
2. The Cavs have plenty of trade assets, but there are circumstances. Most of them are expiring contracts, especially Wally Szczerbiak’s $13 million Teams who are looking to clear cap space and rebuild want these deals. Not everybody wants to rebuild in the summer, usually that decision happens mid-season. So, in general, expiring contracts tend to become more valuable as the season progresses. That means a major move might well not happen until during next season. Not that it is impossible. Last season the SuperSonics broke down their team and the Celtics cashed in with Ray Allen. The Cavs also have two restricted free agents in Daniel Gibson and Delonte West they could use in sign-and-trades. However, the team likes the both and probably wants to keep them.
3. The season isn’t over yet, the draft hasn’t taken place, and not all coaches or general managers are in place. Which means there’s mostly just speculation at this point and all talk of roster movement would be by definition premature. From the Cavs perspective, I don’t even believe their coaches and front office have made certain decisions yet. So anything about the Cavs would be total conjecture. But I am paid to do it, so I will. As I did in Sunday’s story.
Ok, now…
–People are asking me a lot about Elton Brand, there is apparently some rumor that the Cavs want him. Well of course the Cavs would want him, so would almost every team in the league. He is going into the final year of his contract, which he has an option to terminate. But since he is coming off an Achilles tear nobody is 100 percent sure he will do that. Either way, the only way the Cavs would be able to get him is in a trade (straight up or in an sign-and-trade). The Clippers don’t like spending money, but they wouldn’t trade Brand just to clear cap space. He’s their franchise player right now and Corey Maggette may be leaving them soon. At this moment, I don’t think it is possible.
–Lots have e-mailed about Michael Redd. The Bucks have a new coach and a new general manager and may be looking to move numerous players as they look to rebuild. In time, this could be a legitimate scenario. The Bucks have not prospered with Redd as their centerpiece and his maximum contract ties them up. However, this is not the same Redd from three years ago. He’s suffered a knee injury since, his shooting percentage has dropped two straight seasons (he only shot 36 percent on 3s this year) and he’s coming off his lowest scoring average in four seasons. Now, he is a highly skilled shooter who has experience playing with LeBron on Team USA. We’ll have to see how things develop and what the Bucks do with the No. 8 overall pick.
–Baron Davis. Several have raised this one to me. Baron is another player who has an opt out in his contract that no one is sure he will use. The Warriors are at a bit of a crossroads, they have numerous free agents to deal with. It appears Davis wants an extension and probably a massive one and the Bay Area media has reported early talks have not gone well. So it makes sense that his name would be floated in rumors. No one has told me the Cavs would have interest and it is questionable as to whether his style would mesh with LeBron because he is a shoot first guard. But it is a situation that could be worth watching.
–Andre Iguodala, Ben Gordon, Emeka Okafor (I’ve gotten questions on all) or any other restricted free agent from the draft class of 2004. The Cavs do not have cap space required to give out an offer sheet that would scare anyone. As for sign-and-trades, the Cavs don’t have the young talent that would make such a deal possible. Teams don’t want to give up their young stars, just as the Cavs wouldn’t.
I’ll have more as things develop and more about the season as a little more time passes. People still aren’t talking much.
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Yeah…Heinrich does make 11 million, but I believe it decreases to 8 mil by the last year of his contract.
He’s average as far as PGs go, but better than anything we have.
man if we could get Mo Williams, that would be nice.
He’s a great player. That’s instantly 3 more wins for us just because we don’;t have him KILLING US!
I think the Cavs to a man need to get better more than anything else.
If Varajeo, Sasha, and Boobie can stay healthy and play to their potential, this team is probably still playing RIGHT NOW and has the upper hand over Detroit in my opinion. That’s still not enough to get past the best in the West, but this team is still pretty good.
I think if they added a guy like williams who could break down defenses and shoot off the dribble they would be really tough.
No one on the Cavs can break down defenses except LeBron.
They need someone who can do that.
Hinrich’s contract drops a half a million a year until 2011/2012, when it finishes at 8 million.
Regarding Baron Davis, I don’t think he’s coming to the Cavs, but where did you hear he was hung over and sat out a game. I live in the Bay Area, and I don’t remember it being reported locally. He has bad knees, but plays through pain most of the time, and played a lot this season. He’s an amazing player. I agree though, he’d be a huge risk.
Do people really think Sasha, Varejao, and Boobie are going to get a lot better?I think their potential is maybe 15-20% improvement at best.
ferry’s advocate , i’m well aware when pippen was selected ,i’m saying if cdr falls to 19 , you have to take him . if still available , that’s the best overall talent available regardless of position . the cavs can not afford not to draft him , he could blossom into something special and what the cavs truly need . and to act as if you can’t find a gem in the draft outside of the lottery is crazy , everyone is clamoring for michael redd and he was not a lottery pick and i believe he was picked beyond the 19th pick . it’s foolish to think you can’t find an impact player at 19 , and if cdr is available ,it’s foolish to pass him up .
lecavalier , tony was drafted with the 28th pick of the first round , manu was drafted in the 2nd round with the 57th overall pick . those are 2 impact players that help lead the spurs to 3 titles , it’s crazy to think you can’t get an impact player at 19 . as a gm ,you have to do your homework
“With Brown’s defense, a few other good pieces would contend even without Lebron.”
Tim? What are you smoking down there in Plantation Florida? What are those “few other good pieces” that you speak of? No, the biggest part of the problem right now is that the help isn’t good enough.
Trade LeBron and reacquire Hughes–We need to get an ambulance to Plantation for Tim.
My guess is the Cavs will do very little this summer as several big name players will move.
Sadly, nothing much will change with the team while Z is still playing a central role. I like Z, but he is grossly overrated by the franchise and local media as a second option and his game demands a style of play that is at cross-purposes to LeBron’s.
I wish Lebron would just leave cleveland already,. does he not realize he deserves better then this team??? what is wrong wth him? Many other people will appriciate him more and they will give him a better team
LEBRON PLEASE DEMAND A TRADE
Hey Brian love reading your stuff…could you tell me though how we can get BD???If Barion has a expiring contract why would they trade him for another expiring contract(Walley), whos no where near the player BD is. I would love Barion in a Cavs uni but how is this possable? Ive been reading this allover and just dont understand how that would work. Thanks.
GO CAVS!!!
I have absolutely no idea who this “cdr” supposedly is, saw I immediately looked up “cdr” on Wikipedia. Based upon my Wikipedia research, Ferry intends to draft “Contents of Decrement Register in the programming language Lisp.” I especially love the very idea of drafting a guy with a “Lisp.” So forget renting Flip Wilson, uh, I mean Flip Murray for 28 games. This Lisp guy will be Ferry’s best move ever, we need a powerful influence in the locker room.
Let me start off by saying that I want to see Lebron in a Cavs uniform until he retires. That being said, if after next season, he opts out of his contract and just has the 2009/2010 season left, he turns down a max-contract extension offer from the Cavs, what are the Cavs supposed to do? If he turns down a max offer, then obviously he’s indicating that he doesn’t want to play for the Cavs anymore and will sign elsewhere after the 2009/2010 season. Remember, no-one can offer him as much as the Cavs. So the Cavs should just ride out one more year with Lebron then and hope that they win it all and then be left with nothing after he leaves? That’s why I think you have to trade him at that point to get some value in return. I’m sure some team would give up a very good young player (like Greg Oden for example) and some first round picks to get Lebron. Heck, I’d trade him to a team that thinks they can sign him long term so we could get the max value for him. I don’t want to trade him, but I just don’t want to be left with nothing either. As long as the Cavs are in Cleveland, I’ll be a Cavs fan no matter who’s on the team.
I know everyone ridicules me for my Larry Hughes re-acquisition thoughts, but if we only had to give up Wally and maybe a 2nd round pick (may not have to give that up), why not do it if Larry was OK with it? You don’t think this team would be better as it is now with Larry at the 2 instead of Wally? Our perimeter defense would be instantly top-notch again. Larry was drving to the hole alot more this year once he came back from his injury. He can run, and he can still score even though he’s a streaky shooter. Would Sasha be a better option at the 2 than Larry? As far as salary is concerned, we’d only have Larry’s salary for one extra year past Wally’s, and his contract would expire at the same time as Ben’s. Also, we could keep our #1 picks. People seem to forget how well we were playing last year with Larry, and that was with a weak front court. Now, our front court is deep and we have Delonte to take the point duties to allow Larry to not to have to handle the ball. Oh well, just my 2 cents.
So the solution is preemptively trading James without evening knowing what his intentions will be in 2 years? Unbelievable.
I’m starting to think Michael Redd is not a good idea. He’s 29, blew out a knee a season ago and makes around $17 Million/year. His numbers have also been in a bit of a decline, too.
I think if we trade for any player on MIL it’s got to be Mo Williams. He’s half the price of Redd and he’s several years younger. Williams would be the point guard who can knock down 3’s, get in the paint and push the tempo— FINALLY!
Add him to our two man team of LeBron and Coach Brown and things look a lot better.
Know if only Fairy would see things my way….
LeBron. Here are Cleveland’s best players in order:
1. LeBron
2. Zydrunas Ilgauskas = 32 years old, last made all-star team in 2005, averages of 14.1 points/9.3 rebounds/1.4 assists
3. Delonte West, = I’m a fan of West, but he didn’t even start for the abysmal 20-win Sonics. Averages with Cavs of 10.3/3.7/4.5
4. Joe Smith = 32 years old, and Sports Illustrated named him the 4th biggest bust of all time just a few years ago (that selection was unfair but still). Smith isn’t a bust in my mind, but it’s not a good sign for your team if you rely on him as heavily as Cleveland did in the postseason. Averages with Cavs of 8.1/5.0/0.7
5. Ben Wallace = 33 years old, last made all-star team in 2006, no shooting touch whatsoever, and his defense has slipped. Averages wih Cavs of 4.2/7.4/0.6
6. Wally Szczerbiak = 31 years old, last made all-star team in 2002, has quickness of an average 30-year old white male, gets abused on defense. Averages with Cavs of 8.2/3.2/1.4
Their bench is mediocre too. Most of their best players are old, slow, past their prime, and not exactly superstars in their prime either. LeBron averages twice as many points as Cleveland’s 2nd leading scorer. LeBron won’t win a championship with Cleveland unless they get him another star.
Tim, because you are jumping the gun if you do. If I understand the current cba correctly, if Lebron signs a max extension in 2009, it would be for $80 million for 4 years. If he waits until the summer of 2010 when he is unrestricted free agent, he can sign a contract for $150 million for 6 years. Bosh and Wade are in the same boat and I highly doubt either of those guys are going to sign extensions next year either.
So Biff, he can’t sign after next year and have the contract start in 2010 and get the 150 million? Well, if that’s the case, then I guess we have no choice but to stick it out and hope for the best. But we’ll be destroyed if he leaves, though. He expiring contract would do little to make up for the loss.
Sorry, I meant BB not Biff.
“They’re fine at the coaching spot. Brown has done quite well without a legit starting backcourt. The argument that Brown isn’t the guy has been put to rest by most who know the game.”
yeah, sure benny. you keep believing that.
TO CHUCK;
I also live in the bay area and therefore have many friends who follow the warriors religously…Here is the link to the game that I am referring to
http://sports.espn.go.com/nba/news/story?id=3349322
The hang over story might be a rumor, however on the warriors main blog, GOLDEN STATE OF MIND, it was talked about how Davis was having his big bday party (birthday is april 13) the night before the game dispite warnings from team to take it easy, needless to say he had the party, came in had a horrible first half, benched by Nelson the entire second half,
If he was hung over noone will really know, but from the local blogs he did have his party the night before and was probably out all night
It has to do with Lebron becoming a seven year veteran and then being able to ask for 30% of the salary cap. Click on my name for the details.
Lebron passing on the extension is more about maximizing his cash, not necessarily about where he wants to be long term.
Nick:certainly you find good players outside of the lottery, but it’s the exception. Look at the history @ 19, and for every Zach Randolph there’s a handfull of Don MacLeans and Acie Earl. Yeah, you take the best player there, and I even said I like Douglas-Roberts, but you can’t depend on anyone taken in that spot to have a significant impact. Period.
Tim:Larry Hughes burned his bridges here. You don’t trade for a player you traded because he demanded a trade. I can’t believe I just typed that.
James: Regarding Delonte West, don’t put too much stock in the Sonics’ rotation. They had two guys, Watson and Ridenour, with multiyear deals @ 6.5M each ahead of him in their backcourt when they traded for him, and with Durant he wasn’t going to see a lot of minutes at shooting guard, either, since they had to play Green, Wilkins, and Szczerbiak at the three.
I still can’t see why Milwaukee would trade Mo Williams. He’s got a good long term deal and is probably the best up tempo point guard in the Eastern Conference.
Tim in Plantation FL… cocaine must be a helluva drug.
Would I like the Cavs to pick up 2 or 3 of the free agents listed above? Sure, that’d be swell. Unlikely, but sure, we can dream. Unfortunately, these are the Cleveland Cavaliers, run by Danny Ferry, so a more likely scenario looks like this:
The Cavs wait until the NBA Draft to get the ball rolling, since they decided to take some time off after the season ended rather than using the advantage of a 2nd round playoff exit by getting a jump start on the offseason. No, Danny, dont go scouting players, or go to the predraft workouts. You’ve had a long season of sitting in your luxury suite and watching games. Just relax, it isnt like you have draft picks to work with this year right?
During the draft, the Washington Wizards pick Chris Douglas-Roberts at 18, sending Ferry into a panic induced seizure. Making Chad Ford look semi-intelligent for the first time EVER, he responds by calmly selecting Kosta Koufos, followed by quotes such as “He has really soft hands” and “You cant find a Center with an NIT championship pedigree just anywhere”. Koufos promptly tears his ACL boarding the plane to Cleveland.
After his pick, Ferry offers the Clippers Sasha, Wally, and their two 2nd round picks for Elton Brand. Donald Sterling sends a text message response: “LOL”.
In the second round, Ferry elects to take Greg Pawlus of Duke, and immediately demands that Pawlus start at PG. LeBron sends a text message response: “LOL”.
The Cavs sell their other draft pick, citing the luxury tax debacle from last season.
… No, in all seriousness, I’ll just settle for a solid draft in which the Cavs get 2 rotation players of the 3 picks they have. If they get Chris Douglas-Roberts, I’ll be absolutely thrilled. No trades seem to make sense right now, so why make one just to make one? Focus on the draft and hopefully Ferry doesnt screw it up.
No pressure, just the fate of the franchise riding on it…
Someone deleted doc’s update on the Ferry Wikipedia entry. Old Boatshoes has minions everywhere.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Danny_Ferry#Biography
hey chuck , if cdr is available at 19 , i don’t expect him to make an impact right away . but i do think he can make an impact in 2 years . with his size and ability , you don’t bypass him in the draft . a 2 guard i would like to see the cavs try and get is jr smith . sure he had his off the court problems and at times his shot selection has not always been the best . but a lot of his problems are due to his lack of maturity (he even has a dumb nickname , “young rich”) . but with age , i believe he will mature on and off the court , what he went through last summer (friend getting killed in a car he was driving) has matured him a bit this season . his skills can’t be denied , he can shoot the 3 , has a nice mid range , can handle the rock , can score off the dribble , and is athletic as hell .he’s younger than lebron . lebron can be a great influence on not only his game , but how to carry himself like a professional .can you imagine lebron on one wing and jr smith on the other running the break ? i think if you’re a gm and have a big hole at the 2 guard spot and desperately need shooting and scoring(along with youth) , you have to call denver and see what it takes to make a deal .
Chuck:
If you looked at Mo Williams in a vaccum, I agree that there would be no reason to think about trading him. But you can’t just look at the player or even just the player and his contract. You have to look at the team as a whole. The Bucks are bad, capped out team that can’t even begin to rebuild for at least 3 years unless they make some major moves.
Clearly, move number 1 will be to trade Redd. The problem, as I see it, however, is that given Redd’s age, declining production, bloated long-term contract, and injury history, the team probably can’t get much more than just expiring money in return for him (I would be shocked if a team took on on Simmons’ or Gadzuric’s horrible contracts just to take on Redd’s horrible contract….and if it’s the Cavs that do this, I will officially go ballistic). Then, a year later, the money you’ve saved by moving Redd puts you back under the salary cap (barely) and you still have a 25 win team with no flexibility.
Now, lets say instead of just moving Redd, you tell a team like the Cavs that you will also discuss Mo Williams. Now you can basically demand the moon and the stars because you’re offering up a 25 year old potential future all star who is signed to a reasonable long-term deal. Now you can tell team X that they MUST take on Bobby Simmons’ contract (and possibly even Bell’s or Gadzuric’s) and you can still demand draft picks and probably get them.
So in scenario 1 (trading Redd only) you are left with a team that is still almost capped out, can probably only win 25 games, has only their own draft picks which will be at the low end of the lottery, and still can’t really make any moves until about 2010. But, in all fairness, you have an awesome young point guard to run your crappy embarassment of a team.
In scenario 2, said point guard and his 8 million a year contract are gone along with Redd’s 18 million a year deal and Simmons’ 9 million a year deal. Your team is one of the worst in the league and can probably only expect to win 15-20 games for the next year or two. But, you are about to have basically no cap obligations, 2 high lottery picks coming in the next two years plus the number 1(s) you get from Redd/Williams deal. So a couple of years down the road, you have a couple of high lottery picks playing along with Yi and Bogut, at least one more first rounder for depth, and 1 or 2 high-level free agents to add to this mix. This team would be assembled around the same time the team in scenario 1 would finally be unearthing itself from the crushing weight of its cap obligations.
Now, I ask you: If you were a thoughtful GM (and this is about 10% of real life GM’s) which would you rather choose.
I like to think if this as what I call the Florida Marlins Theory. The Marlins have been terrible for most of the last decade or so, yet mysteriously have 2 world titles to their name (2 more world titles than a lot of other teams have that have competed at a high level with a lot more consistency over that same period). They’ve figured out that if you just tear down an organization to its core and then fill it up with the best young talent in the game while trading off all your valuable assets, eventually you will have the best talent in the game and you’ll win a title. Then, you can strip that team down completely and repeat the same process all over again. On the other hand you have teams that never completely go into rebuilding mode and always seem to be stuck in that endless cycle of mediocrity (a cycle that is a lot more prevalent in the NBA than any other sport).
As a fan base, what would you rather have? A couple world titles smashed into a lot of bad seasons or a team that is always just good enough to never get better.
This, in a nutshell, is why I think the Bucks can trade away Mo Williams. You can’t half-ass rebuilding. You either strip down and get bad before you get good or you’ll be a 25-35 win team for years.
LeCavalier: Where are Manu and Tony Parker from and now where is CDR from? You can get international players that will contribute at differant spots.
Nick: This draft might be very deep, but I don’t see him being able to contribute right away. Yeah Redd was drafted at 19, but it took time to develop him. He didn’t just come in and dominate.
KGB: Hoopshype says otherwise, 10 M in 08-09 then 9.5 M 09-10, 9 M 10-11, 11-12 8 M. Still cheaper then Redd by a lot and would give us another option to aquire a power forward as well. Redd is up to 17 M, with Snow filing disability retirement I don’t believe we can trade him which reduces what we have avalable in expirings.
James: Apparently you haven’t heard of Boobie Gibson.
If Z is still considered our “2nd best player” come opening night 2008 then the result in the 2009 NBA playoffs will be the same as it was this past May.
Changes must be made this summer. Not before the trade deadline. I’m tried of hearing the familiar chemistry spin dished out by McClown, Phelps, Campy, etc.
Get it done this off-season!
danny ferry’s advocate , like redd , i don’t expect cdr to come in and dominate right away (i never said this) . but i like my chances with him in the future than any 2 guard that’s available right now . like i said before , since lebron came to the cavs , all they have done is sign or trade for aging players on the down side of their careers with bad contracts (or signing them to a bad contract)and it seems like that is what people want the cavs to do again this summer in the name of making a deal .cdr is a talent and if you have the chance to draft him , you do so and develop him for your future
Biff: I just don’t see any team taking on Redd, Williams, AND Simmons. By my count, those three are worth $35 million alone. What team a.) would take that on or b.) could put a package to match that salary?
Even if the Cavs could put together a package that meets that salary requirement, I highly doubt they would be willing to take that all on.
The Cavs could match the salary but you’re absolutely right: the luxury tax bill would be through the roof. It would be up to Gilbert to decide whether its worth paying that kind of money to increase his chances of keeping Lebron (if he actually believes the chances would be increased).
It’s all a moot point anyway though. None of this is ever going to happen. The Bucks probably won’t discuss Mo Williams although they should and the Cavs will end up making some dumbass trade where they give up expirings and picks for Mike Redd…then they’ll proceed to win 52 games and lose in the Eastern Conference Finals. I can already see it happening.
Danny Ferry – I believe that Michael Redd was drafted in the late 2nd round – around pick # 50 something. I remember this vividly because as an OSU alum, I watched Redd alot in college and I thought he’d be a good NBA player and I couldn’t figure out why so many teams were passing on him. I remember that he was still on the board when the Cavs made their 2nd round pick that year. I was ticked that the Cavs didn’t take him. I don’t even remember who the Cavs picked that year, but I don’t think the guy made it in the NBA. Someone correct me if I’m wrong.
OK, I was close – Redd was drafted 43rd overall. I think the Cavs picked a pick or two ahead of Milwaukee that year.
Here’s a name: Rudy Gay. Love this guy, who is putting up big numbers for a young player, albeit for one of the worst teams in the league. But he’s a legit 20ppg guy with good shooting range and solid defense. What would it take to pry him away from Memphis? He seems to me like a younger, cheaper alternative to Corey Maggette.
Hey, somebody deleted doc’s Ferry update on Wikipedia. I love the reason that schmuck gave for deleting it: “Removed potentially slanderous comments that were opinion rather than fact.” Well, first it would technically be libel, not slander. Unless doc’s update contained a Podcast, or something. Second, precisely what about doc’s update did that dodo consider to be slanderous? (actually libelous). Frankly, I see nothing legally questionable in words that state Ferry is a buffoon, has amazingly ruined the Cavaliers twice in two different decades, and enjoys it when others see his little ankle hairs sans socks. It all seemed pretty factual to me.
Randolph – is Rudy a legit possibility. I like the idea a lot.
Alan – what did it say about Ferry? Wikipedia usually does a pretty good job of staying effective.
In answer to your question regarding doc’s quizessential Wikipedia update, since deleted by a Ferry-lover whose IP address is located somewhere in the Chicago area, here it was … yes, doc neglected to mention Ilgauskas’ absolutely ridiculous bidding against yourself 60-year contract with the built-in 15% trade escalation kicker, but still, the update was still quite Funk & Wagnalls-worthy:
“Unfortunately, a series of horrible personnel decisions has ruined his reputation in the eyes of most of the NBA. He gave a maximum contract to a borderline decent player, Larry Hughes. Mega deals were made for mariginal players like Donyell Marshall and Damon Jones. As s result, the Cavaliers go into the 2008-09 season a one man band, paralyzed by a bloated payroll, a roster filled with mediocre, aging players. The real reason for the Cavalier success (Lebron James) can become an unrestricted free agent after the 2010 season. The clock is ticking on the window of opportunity. Danny Ferry may yet succeed in destroying the aspirations of a Cavalier team for the second time; once as a player, now as the hapless general manager.
He also has acquired the nickname “Boatshoes” during his tenure as GM. As a an elitist, east coast Dukie, he is exactly the sort of guy you would expect to find wearing boatshoes without socks, jeans a little short so you can see his ankle hairs.”
biff: you’re an idiot. ferry has had exactly ONE 1st round pick since he got here – and that wasn’t until the what, 25th pick? how do you accumulate all-star talent:
- when you have no draft picks;
- the “marquee” players resign with their home teams for the max contract;
- the 2004 pick you inherited suffers a career affecting injury;
if you want to hammer ferry for drafting shannon brown, (i would – he’s a MSU guard who’s really only 6′1″) but who else would have been a player that would have made an impact? jordan farmar? he’s only playing 15-20MPG with the lakers.
when you consider the dregs we had to draw from, mike brown deserves a lot of credit for turning them into a cohesive defensive unit which was clearly greater than the sum of its parts. too bad most of the cleveland fans are seemingly oblivious to that accomplishment.
What is this going to do to Varejoe’s trade value?
http://sports.espn.go.com/nba/news/story?id=3416579
Barry: Ferry’s had exactly 3 picks – Shannon Brown, Daniel Gibson, and Ujobike (or however the hell you say it; it doesn’t matter cause he won’t ever play in the league).
It’s as simple as standing at the line and sinking free throws. The Cavaliers were the 4th worst team in the NBA from the free throw line and had a very small point differential for the season. Why does any NBA player shoot less than 75% from the line? It’s a lack of practice, coaching, or mental toughness. I’ve rarely coached a junior high girl who can’t approach 75% from the line. Is the Cavs practice facility in Independence making them a better team or a softer team. Get rid of the XBOX 360s and get these players on the free throw line. That’s how Ferry, Price, and Kerr did it back in their day.
“Waiting for comments on Carmelo. . .”
Yah of course, makes a lot of sense to pick up another SF when we already have arguably the best SF in the league. Not to mention, Melo and Lebron don’t work well together, Even in high school they were opponents. Never gonna happen!
More thoughts:
- Is it arguable that we have the best small forward in the league? Is there anyone who would argue this?
- I think there’s some real potential in a trade with Milwaukee, but it relies on Milwaukee pulling a Memphis or a Minnesota and basically giving away talented players for little in return. I have a tough time believing that if Williams was on the table, the Cavs would be the team with the best offer. Williams is the type of player you could package to bring in a guy like Carmelo or Arenas. And that’s what the Bucks need to do, because they aren’t going to be able to lure free agents to Milwaukee very easily, even with a ton of cap space.
- That brings up another point: you don’t win championships in the NBA through Free Agency. Big-time Free Agent signings who changed teams over the last 3 years: Larry Hughes, Ben Wallace, Mike James, Peja Stojakovic. And that’s pretty much it. Anybody who is any good signs with their current team, even if its just as part of a sign-and-trade (like Rashard Lewis last year). The only way exceptional players move is through trades (which might make some people feel better about LeBron leaving, no one near his caliber has ever changed teams without compensation).
- That doesn’t mean that salary cap space isn’t helpful. When a team is under the cap, they don’t have to make the salaries match up in a trade, so they can trade a low-priced player for a high-priced player. It’s a huge factor in good sign-and-trade deals. But you have to have something of value to trade, so you can’t sell off all of your assets.
- The point of all this is, whenever someone wants to pry a good player away from a bad team, they always talk about the value of salary cap space. But as the Cavs have proven, all salary cap space buys you is the Larry Hughes’, Damon Jones’, and Donyell Marshall’s of the world. The prospects of adding those types of players might not be enough incentive for the Bucks to pass on a young, up-and-coming star like Mo Williams. No, I’d expect they want real, tangible value for Williams, not flexibility for the future.
- Teams that would get significantly better with Mo Williams as their point guard: Cleveland, Chicago, Indiana, Boston, New York, Orlando, Atlanta, Charlotte, Miami, Denver, Portland, Minnesota, Seattle, LA Lakers, LA Clippers, Sacramento, Houston, and Memphis. And that’s being kind to the likes of Jason Kidd, Devin Harris, and Andre Miller. That’s 18 teams that would love to make a deal for Mo Williams, and I’m not sure that the Cavs are the team that could put together the most attractive package.
- Then again, most of those same 18 teams would have really benefitted from having Pau Gasol on them, and look where he ended up.
Actually, Ferry has had four draft picks in his three seasons of destruction, not three. But being the wild and crazy guy he is, a 70’s Steve Martin wearing a funny white suit and making animal balloons, he didn’t use the pick. Or don’t you remember when Ferry was the Jerry West behind the acquisition of future Euroleague megastar Martynas Andriuskevicius in exchange for a Cavaliers 2006 second-round draft pick and cash.
A rare video of Ferry in action. Or possibly this is his father Bob, the way Bob subtly tortured Bullets fans for so many goddamn years, I can’t tell, the apple doesn’t fall far from the tree.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bI–TGQGNFc
Mike C:
Excellent post. Really, I can’t dispute anything that you said. Most of my posting tried to hammer home the point that under the right circumstances, it would make sense for the Bucks to trade Mo Williams. I never actually said the Cavs would be the team with the best offer. As you pointed out, there is a good possibility that even the hint that Williams has become available would create a feeding frenzy among NBA GMs. I’m not saying we could successfully pull off the deal. I’m just saying its worth a shot.
Now, on to you Barry:
Here is why YOU, sir, are the worst kind of moron: the apologist moron.
The fundamental difference between me and you is that you apparently think that professional sports should be divorced from the rest of the world and that coaches, GMs, and other executives should somehow operate in a consequence free workplace. I, on the other hand, think that these individuals should be held to the same standard as the rest of us: when you are hired (and compensated handsomely) to do a job, it’s your responsibility to ensure that the job is successfully completed. You aren’t put in a supervisory or managerial position and paid to make educated guesses and come up with viable excuses as to why you failed to complete the tasks assigned. When you are given the title and the money, it’s because you have been given the burden of accountability. The buck is going to stop with you and when it’s time for heads to role because the organization has failed to complete its objectives, yours is going to be the first to roll.
Now, lets apply this principle to Danny Ferry. In 2005, Ferry was given a $10 million dollar contract (with no prior GM experience) and told to build a championship calliber team. As a starting point to achieve this task, he was given $28 million dollars worth of cap space and the most devastating offensive force in all of basketball (and keep in mind, Lebron is 1 player in a sport that only requires you to play 5 at a time and really only requires you to have about 9 quality players on your roster).
Now, here is where you and I take different roads. You want to look at the guys Ferry signed and tell me why all of them were good ideas at the time. Then you want to tell me that the marketplace for free agents isn’t really conducive to making impact acquisitions. Then you want to continue to play the world’s smallest violin as you tell me that Ferry was hampered by a lack of draft picks. Now, I could go through each of those points and dispute them but here’s the thing: IT DOESN’T MATTER. You don’t pay a guy $2 million a year and put him in charge of your entire operation so that he can come back to you a few years later and give you good excuses as to why he completely failed to achieve his one objective. If all that was required of an NBA GM was to make good educated guesses about roster management, you could pay any of us to do it for a lot less than $2 million bucks a year. But that’s not why GMs get paid so much Barry. They get paid that much TO GET IT RIGHT and they know that the big catch that comes with all the money and power is responsibility for the finished product. They know that if they don’t get it right, all the excuses, obstacles, and extenuating circumstances in the world are no defense. They weren’t hired to make excuses. They were hired to build a winner and in this respect, Ferry has failed. Yes, I know they went to an NBA finals, and in accordance with my theory, he gets credit for this because he’s the man in charge. But at the same time, we all know that the team was still miles away from being the best in the NBA, that the roster, aside from Lebron, is still terrible, and that the win totals from the regular season tell a sad story about how good this team really is. Danny Ferry was hired to build a winner Barry, not to make excuses. He failed.
Now you’re probably thinking, “well hell, there can only be one winner every year,” and you’re right. But again, I remind you that that’s why GMs are paid the kind of dollars they’re paid…Because it’s very difficult to succeed and chances are, they’re going to be out of a job before long and somebody else is going to be given a chance to succeed where they failed. So, in conclusion, I remind you that Danny Ferry is not so different from you and I. If we’re told to accomplish something in our careers and we continually fail, we’re going to get fired. We don’t get to make excuses or give long-winded explanations. Professionals are results oriented people Barry, and If you don’t get results, you’re out. Stop giving professional sports figures the type of benefit of the doubt that you and I would never be given.
As for Mike Brown, the same analysis I just used for Ferry applies but I’ll also give you the following little hypothetical: If every coache’s offensive and defensive abilities were rated on a 1 to 100 scale and you found a coach that was rated a 50 on defense and a 50 on offense, what would you call him? Probably a mediocre at best type of coach right? Now, same grading scale only the coach is a 90 on defense and a 10 on offense.
According to you, I should be fellating Mike Brown because he happens to be exceptionally good with respect to one attribute. You want me to completely ignore the fact that he’s pathetically deficient in regard to the other. I’m Sorry Barry but apparently I’m not as smart as you. All I see is that same mediocre at best coach in a different package….and I see him stubbornly refusing to address his deficiencies by bringing in help and I also see him wasting the career of the game’s best player.
In conclusion Barry, my advice to you is to get a life. Stop telling me how big of an idiot I am because I hold people in position’s of power accountable for their failures. Maybe in your little fantasy world, good intentions and reasonable excuses are enough, but I, for one, am sick of it.
Just for good measure, I’m including a little link to brighten your day.
http://hoopshype.com/general_managers/danny_ferry.htm
Looks like the Bulls are bringing back Doug Collins. Who says you can’t bring a guy back if you get rid of him? OK, so they fired him 19 years ago, which is a little different than the Cavs bringing back Larry Hughes after trading him a few months ago. Maybe I can start a new website – I should call it “bringlarryhome.com”.
Tim… Drop the Larry Hughes nonesense, RIGHT now. I wouldnt bring that load of crap back to Cleveland if his contract came OFF the cap, he’s that useless.
All of this talk about the Cavs roster and yet no mention of the fact that adding 1 or 2 impact players would get them to that plateau of the top 4-5 teams in the league. They took Boston to 7 games and probably should have beaten them. I believe they would beat the Pistons in a 7 game series. While the West is awfully tough, the Cavs have favorable records against many of those elite teams.
Biff, I’m not ready to write off Danny Ferry just yet. Did his spending orgy of Hughes, Marshall, and Jones completely cripple the Cavs’ salary cap? Unequivocally, yes. Have his drafts been hit or miss (when he’s had the picks)? Sure, very sketchy. The bottom line, however, is that he has the entire offseason, the upcoming draft, and two more seasons to figure out the puzzle. To sign him off as a failure would be premature at this stage.
Not that I’m defending Danny Ferry, far from it, but one has to be honest when assessing the mess he took over when he arrived. The Jim Paxson/Paul Silas combo probably hurt LeBron’s development more than anything, when you consider that:
-They gave Darius Miles a monsterous contract the year before the Cavs hit the jackpot.
-They drafted decent players like DeSagana Diop and Jason Kapono, only to give up on them and basically get nothing in return.
-They, along with Gordon Gund, completely botched the Carlos Boozer situation, allowing him to become the backstabbing scumbag he turned out to be and costing us the perfect robin for LeBron’s batman.
-They pissed away so many draft picks on their way out the door, the Cavs are just now getting back into the habit of PARTICIPATING in the NBA draft this year. Not to mention those picks brought us the likes of Jiri freaking Welsch.
A solid draft and some roster improvement this year, paired with the cap relief we’ll have following next season, and let’s see where the Cavs are when judgement day comes. I’m not fully convinced that LeBron’s left Nike is already out the door like most of you, so I’m prepared to wait it out and see where we end up. Ferry still has time in my mind, but the first 3 years havent been as productive as I’d like, no question.
Huh? Not that it matters, but the Blazers gave Miles that contract; nobody except the Mavericks thought Diop would add up to anything, and everybody in the NBA went “Huh?” when the Mavericks signed him; and last, but not least, Ferry could have easily signed Kapono after Charlotte gave up on him. The only valid thing you stated, Josh, was the Boozer thing. And they could have re-upped Boozer by matching, but didn’t.
Josh, you forgot about:
1. The contracts, Paxson gave to Snow and Newble
2. First round picks wasted on Luke Jackson, Dajuan Wagner, Haywood, and Langdon
3. Andre Miller was drafted by the Cavs, and traded.
4. Jamal Crawford, was drafted by the Cavs, and traded.
Imagine what the Cavs would have looked like with Miller, Crawford, Lebron Boozer and Z.
But to be honest, if Paxson’s brain hadn’t detached the moment he became the Cav’s GM, we would have never been in position to draft Lebron.
Nevertheless, I still hate him.
Alan, no they couldn’t, the “Gilbert Arenas” provision wasn’t in effect yet. The Cavs didn’t have the cap space to match the Jazz’s offer.
Ummm … isn’t that kinda stoopid? You caught yourself, though. And actually, they could have scrambled to match the Boozer offer. But that would have meant everything Gund was trying to avoid, which was maximum bucks to line his pockets for the sale. Unbelievable, when you think about it. Naive people portray Gund as a benevolent blind man doing that stuff out of the kindness of his heart, when indeed he was a slick shrewd dude trying to get Boozer for the next owner for Gooden money.
But as I said, you caught yourself, if Paxson had made smart moves, then they would have never been in position to draft James in the first place!!! Nope, this is 100% on Ferry.
Alan, the Cavs gave Darius Miles a horrible contract (4 yr, $50 mil I believe?) long before he ever sniffed the sweet mary jane in Portland.
I realize the Cavs had to be that awful to get a player like James, but one you got him, look around. Ricky Davis, Darius Miles, Ira Newble, Eric Snow… what a mess of a team. And it didnt help that Paul Silas slept through most games. Yeah, things have certainly been worse for this franchise.
Look Alan, we all know that your intense hatred of Danny Ferry has clouded any possible semblence of rational, unbiased thought, but to constantly rip and blame the front office the way you do is crazy. You sound like someone with an ax to grind. Do you have an ax, Alan?
As I said above, the jury is still out. This regime still has time, and there are pieces in place. Let’s see where we are in 2 years.
Seriously, Josh, lay off the pipe. Yet again, for the 20th time, he BLAZERS signed Miles to a new multiyear contract. The Cavs had absolutely nothing to do with it, and I have absolutely no idea what’s packed in that pipe to make you think they did. Whatever it is, give me some.
And the jury ain’t out. The jury is already in. Deliberations don’t take years. Ferry blew it.
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