Draft Day, Cavaliers Options

Here is a list of the potential players that the Cavaliers are targeting according to various news sources. 

  • Kosta Koufos C Ohio State
  • Roy Hibbert C Georgetown
  • Chris Douglas-Roberts SG Memphis
  • JaVale McGee C Nevada
  • Courney Lee SG Western Kentucky
  • J.J. Hickson PF NC State
  • Brandon Rush SG Kansas

 In the end, the Cavaliers need to trade up in order to get a productive player that can contribute right away.  If they are able to trade, I would look to grab the best big man who is available.  The Cavs should be looking to trade with Golden State at 14 or with Phoenix at 15 in order to get their guy who should be Kosta Koufos.  Unfortunately I don’t think that is the right pick but everyone around the league has been enamored with his wingspan and his agility.  Unfortunately, only 1 year in college doesn’t mean that you will be a good pro and all because he can test well doesn’t mean that he will do well.  He has to get stronger and be more of an inside presence and not a Shawn Marion type who will shoot the 3. 

The Cavaliers have been shopping Anderson Varejao during the offseason.  Unfortunately due to his contract, he has to agree to any trade that occurs prior to December 5th.  After that time, the Cavaliers can trade him at will.  Damon Jones and Wally Szczerbiak have expiring contracts which a team may look to take on in order to have cap space for the 2008-2009 offseason. 

If they are unable to trade the pick, look for the Cavaliers to target Roy Hibbert and a dark horse in Donte Greene from Syracuse.  Donte Green needs to get tougher outside, but he is a stretch at the power forward position because of his 6’11” height.  He can shoot the 3 and he can pound it inside and because of this, I wouldn’t mind seeing this. 

Also, the Cavaliers love the depth of the draft and are looking to get into the second round this year since they currently do not have a draft pick.  Next year they have 2 second round picks and they will look to unloading one or both in order to get back in and to get another steal like they did with Daniel Gibson. 

Mike’s Draft Pick for Cavaliers

            1st Round:         at         #19  Roy Hibbert
            2nd Round:        (if the Cavs obtain a 2nd rd pick)    

SG J.R. Giddens New Mexico or Malik Hairston PG/SG Oregon

SIs Fantasy Draft – LeBron James still #1

Imagine if every player in the league were available and each team had a crack at drafting one, at his current age, in the order of the 2008 NBA draft (first-round picks that were traded have been returned to their original owner). Who would you take to start your team? Here is our first round.

http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/2008/writers/chris_mannix/06/24/fantasy.draft/index.html

Qualifying offers made to West/Gibson

Mary Schmitt Boyer from the Plain Dealer brings us up to date.

The Cavaliers have made qualifying offers to Daniel Gibson for $972,581 and Delonte West for $2.76 million, meaning they will become restricted free agents on July 1, and the Cavs will have the right to match any offers they receive from other teams. The team has until June 30 to make a qualifying offer to Dwayne Jones.

The Cavs are exploring ways to move up in the draft and/or obtain a second-round pick, and they’re not alone in looking for a deal. Several teams have made it known they’d be willing to trade their picks, including Charlotte at No. 9, New Jersey at Nos. 10 and 21 and Portland at No. 13.

The Chagrin Valley Times reports Eric Snow sold his home in Moreland Hills for $1.35 million.

Terry Pluto’s Talkin Cavs

Most fans know the Cavs need a guard who can create his own shot. If the season opened today, the starting backcourt would probably be Delonte West and Sasha Pavlovic, with Wally Szczerbiak, Damon Jones and Daniel Gibson coming off the bench. None of them would be starting for a serious championship contender. All can help off the bench, to different degrees. So it’s no surprise the Cavs have been examining trade possibilities for Baron Davis, Michael Redd, Kirk Hinrich and other guards.

http://www.cleveland.com/pluto/index.ssf?/base/sports-0/121412344239280.xml&coll=2&thispage=2

Mark Price Shot, Passed and “Split” His Way Into The NBA’s Elite

It is commonplace now for NBA point guards to split the two defenders on a pick and roll play, compromise the defense by penetrating the lane and then either shoot a runner or dish to a wide open teammate—but most people don’t realize that Cavaliers guard Mark Price brought this split technique to the forefront. Amazingly, the first time he pulled off the maneuver it was an accident.

“It’s a funny story,” Price says. “It actually just kind of happened once in a game. I remember vividly that we were playing Philadelphia. It was probably my second year in the league and I was trying to develop myself. I was being defended by Maurice Cheeks (a four-time All-Star and five time All-Defensive Team selection). I came off the pick and roll and it just seemed like it opened up like the Red Sea so I just kind of slid in there and scored. I remember running back down the floor and Cheeks said, ‘That was a sweet move.’ So I kind of locked that away and watched it (on film) and I started looking for it a little bit more and it became a mainstay in my repertoire.”

Johnny Bach, who was the de facto “defensive coordinator” for the Chicago Bulls during their first three-peat, says that the Mark Price-Brad Daugherty pick and roll combination was “the best in the business” because of Price’s unique ability to split the trap and get the defense back on its heels.

Daugherty breaks the play down from a technical standpoint: “Mark was obviously a tremendous ballhandler and in order to get through the double-team you just have to have a great angle and a great pick. Your big guy has to set the pick and hold the screen and give the guy time to get through. A lot of times when you run the pick and roll, your forward or your center is looking to roll immediately because after you set the screen you are wide open. It’s hard sometimes to go over to that point guard and really hold on to that screen because you know that as soon as you roll that you have a chance for a shot. I think that the number one key is making sure that the guard doesn’t move until the big guy sets the screen and once the screen is set in place that the big guy does not move until the guard comes off of his hip. It is easy to split it that way because as the big guy sets the screen the big guy guarding him–the other center or forward–has to pick up the point guard. Usually that big guy will drop off because he knows that the point guard is quicker than he is. That creates a gap and Mark was just really good at cutting through that gap.” Continue reading “Mark Price Shot, Passed and “Split” His Way Into The NBA’s Elite”

Lebron is committed to bringing a championship to Cleveland

Lebron James today had round of interviews to promote the upcoming King for Kids Bike-A-Thon and discussed wide-range of topics around the NBA draft, the University of Akron’s basketball team, and the U.S. Olympic team.

He believes Danny Ferry will do a nice job this summer to make the team better, he didn’t say what nor if he offered the front office an opinion. But the one thing he said was that he is “dedicated to bringing a championship to this city,” James told Mark “Munch” Bishop on ESPN 850 WKNR. “I’m bringing a parade to this city. I love this city. I love Northeast Ohio. … Right now I can’t see myself going anywhere else.”

On free agency:

We’re at 19. You look for the best available player, I guess. I haven’t really been up on it like I should be. I think our front office will do a good job of trying to pick the best player to fit our team.

On free agency:

I haven’t got a good grasp on what’s going on with free agents. I think the front office knows. I just know as an individual we have to get better. That means guys have to come back better as individuals. That helps our team automatically. If it means personnel change, so be it. We have to get better because Boston is a very good team and Detroit is going to reload, we feel like. There are other teams we feel like are going to get better.