Well with a tad over 48hours until the NBA draft i figured it was time to mention it. The Cleveland Cavaliers are in an interesting situation in this regard. With the number 19 pick in the draft the Cavs are in the middle of the first round and have a couple holes they need to fill in order to bolster their line-up.
Point Guard- The Cavs have long needed a young point guard to groom. I am a big fan of Delonte West but merely as a back-up. As far as guys in the draft the name that jumps out at me is Tesas guard D.J. Augustine. Sitting at 19 this doesn’t seem realistic and neither do any of the really good PG’s in the draft.
Shooting Guard/Small forward- The Cavsneed to get more athletic in many aspects. They could really use a slasher type guy with a decent shot and above average defense. The PERFECT guy for the cavs to draft overall would be Brandon Rush from Kansas. He is an above averge defender and shooter and is very athletic. At 19 the Cavs would have to trade up in order to make sure they get their guy. If this isn’t possible then Chris Douglas-Roberts from Memphis seems to fit this slasher/defender mentality that i stated previously.
Center/Power Forward- With big Z getting up there in age, it may be time to groom a young man to be the next center for the Cavs. I certainly am not sold on Anderson Varejao and feel he should be traded very soon for whatever value we could get for him. Many names i have heard are Koufos or Hibbert at the19th spot. I am absolutlyshocked by both. Firstly, Koufos is a HUGE project. He will not be a good defender down low and seems that he will not improve much in this. He is a good shooter but is not a true big man and low post scorer/defender. Being from Ohio State i’ve seen too much of Kosta Koufos. Hibbertalso seems to not be worthit in my opinion. He is 7’2 give or take but may be less athletic than I am. He is an offensive liability in my opinion and is not fast enough or athletic enough to play with the Cavs.
In general I think the true answer lies with Brandon Rush or CDR. The cavs also need to look at a Baron Davis type player in order to bolster this team. Given Baron Davis can be loured to Cleveland and CDR or Rush can be gotten without giving away the whole team i think that Lebron, Davis, Rush, Z, and anyone else would be a great team to make another run for a championship.
big man I think since Lebron handles the ball a lot, they need someone who can score down low – as opposed to a point guard. The Z isn’t going to last much longer and Ben Wallace provides almost zero offense.
Two things I think CDR is a better fit with Lebron than Rush. ALso if you are planning on getting Baron Davis, which would be great for Cleveland, what do you have to offer the warriors? Ben Wallace / Delonte West/ Wally/ or Gibson is not enough to get Baron. The only player the warriors would accept as apart of that deal is Gibson. Nice dreaming, but you have nothing to give the warriors for Baron, maybe wait one more year for him.
I disagree… Rush is a farbetter defender than CDR and a bit more versatile i believe. CDR is more of a slasher type which the cavs could use, but the fact that Rush brings a consistant shot, great defense, and still an ability to slash and create his own shot makes him a better fit in my opinion. Either way i would take either of them before koufos or Hibbert,
As far as Baron Davis, thye cavs would be able to offer a similar package that they offered for Jermaine Oneal which was Andy Varejao, Wally ( to free space being a free agent next year), and another player (#19 pick?). But i was also under the understanding that Davis might opt out of his final year of his contract which he chose today to not do.
Ok I never said that Rush was not a better player. Rush is a better player. But unfortunately Rush is not going to be around for the Cavs. The Suns at 15 really like Rush, since he does have the ability to contribute right away. I was being realistic by saying that CDR could fit with Lebron, which I think he can. The Cavs should try to move up in the draft if they are after Rush. Rush was the secret that everyone has revealed too soon, and now everyone is liking the sound of rush.
As for the comparison to Jermaine O’Neal deal; there is a couple of differences. The warriors are not shopping Baron Davis to get 1 sub par starter and some reserves like you offered in that deal. The warriors love baron and baron loves the warriors, minus the fact that we would not offer him more money than he deserves. Baron is better than O’Neal and younger. The warriors would only trade baron to get a player like chauncey billups back or a very early pick.
Cleveland, you will be in the 2nd round of the playoffs at least every year because you have Lebron. I hope you front office can work some deals out to surround lebron with what he needs to get a ring.
re: It’s pretty ridiculous to think that a team with no trade value outside of expiring contracts can lure anyone better than a marginal starter. Especially with an incompetent GM at the helm in Danny Ferry. It’s so easy to say “LeBron and Baron would work great together” but there is no way in hell that gets done. That’s like me saying if the Warriors got KG, then a lineup of Baron, Monta, SJax, KG, and Biedrins would dominate. That basically means nobody was traded which is what the Cavs have to offer.
Why would the Cavs need a slasher? LeBron is the ultimate NBA slasher (outside of maybe T-Mac) and the sole reason why Hughes sucked in Cleveland was because he was forced to be an outside shooter. Hughes was a slasher and there isn’t enough room for him and LeBron to slash, so why do they need another slasher? Unless it’s a bench player, the last thing the Cavs need is another slasher.
Rush isn’t going to be available at the Cavs pick, I don’t even know why he’s being discussed.
The Jermaine O’Neal comparison is absolutely ludicrous. O’Neal’s stock has been in free fall mode for the past 4 years, playing 44, 51, 69, and 42 games. Not to mention having a $22 million contract. Baron Davis just played an MVP-esque season while not missing a game all year and leading the Warriors to the playoffs the year before. His stock is the highest it has ever been. Trading him for cap space and average players is not really an option.
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LB23
I woudlnt say they have no trade value. besides expiring contracts with a lot of teams do covet Varejao is loved by many teams fo rsome reason and boobie gibson and sasha have also drawed some buyers. But like you said Ferry will more than likely not be able to do anything especially since he seems pretty worthless as the GM.
I do however think we could use another slasher just because we have absolutly noone that can create their own shot, not one person. CDR would be able to do this opening the floor up more for Lebron. I understand this didnt work to plan with Hughes but Larry had nagging injuries. Plus occasionally he was very effective (very rare occasions). I just would like someone able to create their own shot. I also never said that Rush would be there at 19, because that is nearly impossible. Thecavs would have to package something and move up about 5 spots.
With Oneal, I am not a fan of him because of his injuries but if he stayed healthy hes a 20pt 10reb guy every night and might have been worth a look. As far as Baron Davis, i was just going on some things i heard from local news stations and ESPN rumors. I guess it was more of a hopeful type speculation on my part because i think he would fit well with Lebron. Keep in mind I live in Ohio so i dont know all of the circumstances on Baron Davis.
Also… Keep in mind this is all talk and we all know chances are the Cavs won’t make a move and draft Koufos or Hibbert. If that is the case i think it is the beginning of the end, as in Lebron might start thinking of leaving.