From Distance: Vlogging Kawhi to the Clippers
2019-07-06four point play….
1. I wanted to wait for Leonard’s decision before From Distancing it up this week. Boy, am I glad I did.
2. The Clippers got the job done late last night, signing Kawhi Leonard and acquiring Paul George via trade.
Wow.
3. I give my initial reactions to the NBA landscape altering event in this week’s Vlog.
4. What do you think? If you had to rank the fortunes of the teams involved, who would you have on top?
https://twitter.com/ShamsCharania/status/1151892819478548481
They wouldn’t need a guy that probably can’t play anymore if they hadn’t let a guy (Brogdon) who can go.
I think we should keep Sauce as #14. Cheap. Loves the coach. Can shoot some.
Anderson is the only name that interests me at all.
JUST MY OPINION—LIKED J ANDERSON COMING OUT OF COLLEGE—-REALLY HAVEN’T FOLLOWED HIS NBA CARREER TO SEE IF HE CAN PLAY AT THIS LEVEL OR NOT ——ANYBODY FOLLOW HIM / HAVE OPINIONS
Shooting never translated to the NBA. But his FT numbers are good enough, could be a confidence issue?
He’s definitely the only guy I’d be interested in signing on that list Arch posted.
He also appears to have at least average defensive chops. (-0.2 DPBM career) I think they’re going to possibly re-sign Sauce or if they were super risky, sign Yoosman.
That’s interesting on Anderson. Usually FT numbers suggest an ability to improve overall as a shooter. I’d take a shot at him.
what good FT numbers suggest to me is good shooting technique, if not, at least a repeatable shooting stroke.
The problem is if it’s the latter, sometimes (most times?) it’s impossible to get it to translate over greater distances IMO because of decreased consistency in the stroke.
Remains FA SF:
Small Forwards
Justin Anderson (26)
Corey Brewer (33)
Vince Carter (42)
Mitch Creek (27)
Sam Dekker (25)
Luol Deng (34)
Haywood Highsmith (23)
Wesley Johnson (32)
Jalen Jones (26)
Timothe Luwawu-Cabarrot (24)
Thabo Sefolosha (35)
Lance Stephenson (29)
http://amicohoops.net/nba-rumors-nba-free-agency-shaun-livingston-carmelo-anthony/
Isn’t Corey Brewer tight KLove? I wonder if he’d be willing to join on a Vet min?
Corey Brewer was the guy catching all those touchdown passes from Love in his time in Minnesota. I’m not sure he wants to play for anyone other than a contender anymore, though.
Dodged a bullet:
https://twitter.com/nikosvarlas/status/1151514409988214788?s=20
ALOT OF GOOD QUESTIONS JASON —–BELIEVE THIS YEAR IS GOING TO BE A ” FEELING OUT —SEARCHING ‘ PROCESS OF WHO FITS BEILEINS COACHING —-CONTRACT REVIEWS / TRADES IF THEY ARE IN OUR FAVOR ETC.—-DO NOT GO INTO THIS SEASON WITH ANY GREAT EXPECTATIONS —ONLY THAT HOPING THAT OUR CHOICE AS BEILEIN WAS THE CORRECT CHOICE ALONG WITH THE PLAYERS WE DRAFTED —-CONTINUED IMPROVEMENT IN SEXTON’S / CEDI’S / LNJ AND ANTE’S GAMES
Agree 100% NOMAD.
Last year’s priorities: Fire Lue (check); Fire Lingo (no, but he is gone now, I think); keep our #1 pick (check); develop the young guys/core (Sexton, Cedi, LNJ) (check); flip the vets for assets (Hill, Hood, Korver, Burks, JR = 80% check); see how we look with Kev as a centerpiece (just a glimpse due to injuries). Still, 5/6 ain’t bad.
This year:
1) Keep the pick
2) Develop the young core (Sexton, Garland, Cedi, Windler, LNJ, Porter).
3) See if Beilein/Garland + Sexton work.
4) See how Love looks as the centetpiece (build value)
5) PLAY SOME DAMN DEFENSE.
6) Evaluate the expirings (TT, Knight, Clarkson, Henson, Delly): try and keep (for less); let expire (for cap space/tax space); or flip for assets?
I think we’re looking at 5/6 again, ha. Don’t hold out much hope for defense.
Loooove the latest ESPN cover.
https://twitter.com/Browns/status/1151511641374240769
Best guess at Cavs depth chart:
Starters: Sexton, Garland, Cedi, Love, TT.
2nd unit: Delly, Clarkson, Windler, LNJ, Henson
3rd: Knight, Porter, Blossomgame, Wade, Zizic.
Assuming Blossomgame joins Wade as the 2nd 2 way guy. And that is with only 13 players signed.
Biggest questions: 1) Do Sexton & Garland start together? Seems to be the plan. And it is not like we have a starting caliber/sized 2 guard anyway. 2) Is Love a C & who partners him up front? Well, we do not really have a PF/SF type on the roster. I think Cedi/Windler/Love is too small. So it has to be another big. Not sure on LNJs durability. I will go TT to start. Or it could be TT vs big 5s and Love/LNJ vs smaller ones. 3) Does Delly play? I say yes. The Delly/Clarkson backcourt lives on the… Read more »
Cedi should start along with windler if they want to win anything. Not sure they do.
I doubt they do it as well. I think they see Sexton and Garland as starters.
AM AT A CONFLICT IF CAVS SHOULD PURSUE DRAGON BENDER OR NOT –( POSSIBLY COULD TURN OUT TO BE ANOTHER CHRISS )—PLUS WE HAVE AN OVERLOAD OF “BIGS “–OPINIONS ?………….SAME CONFLICT TRIBE ARE GOING TO HAVE AT TRADE DEADLINE —-BUYERS OR SELLERS—-EVEN THOUGH THEY HAVE GOTTEN HOT / BACK INTO THE RACE– ARE THEY REALLY GOING TO ADVANCE IN THE PLAYOFFS —IF RIGHT OFFER FOR BAUER / HAND COMES POSSIBLY MAKE THE TRADE ( S) ?
Sounds like the Cavs may bring back Blossomgame, according to Fedor. They definitely should until they can eventually upgrade the position.
Well, guys who can defend on the wing a bit us something we need. As a two-way or #14?
Bender? Taking on another Phoenix flop does not excite me. Seems like he’d be 5th (at best) on the depth chart behind Love, TT, LNJ, and Henson. Is he gonna play in Canton?
Unless we are planning to move a big, which is certainly possible (TT, Henson).
I’d much rather take a swing on a wing who can defend a bit rather than a big who cannot.
NOPE IT WAS ALL ” ROLLING ROCK ” –MY FATHERS BEER HIS ENTIRE LIFE ——OUR LYMAN BOAT BEARS THAT NAME : )
i had a lyman islander in my life at CLYC back in the day (my mother’s second husband’s).. fun times
when was the last time you listened to “roadhouse blues” loud, at 8 am, holding a cold one?
Probably back in the “wake & bake” days. A long time ago.
JASON BE LIKE ME ……………….” MORE BEER PLEASE ” : )
NOMAD bro.. was your mother dipping your pacifier in the schlitz?
Since Miami is dragging its feet on a CP3 deal. Let’s send CP3 home to MJ:
Cavs get: Batum, MKG, 2023 Miami first (via OKC)
Hornets get: CP3
OKC gets: TT, Knight
http://tradenba.com/trades/By8APOoZr
CP3 would probably have to agree. Doubt he would. Yes technically he doesn’t have a no trade clause, but in reality I suspect he would tell Charlotte he would sit out. Think the reason OKC agreed to the trade was the idea they would flip him again. Charlotte might not be able to flip him quick again after a trade like that.
‘‘Twas listening to Lowe and Simmons and they suggested Minny as a good fit, but that would likely take us of trade.
Yeah they could do Teague and Dieng straight up. Minny probably wants a first round pick for that. Or Wiggins and someone in which it is probably just a swap.
But the idea is that Minny wants to try to go deep into the playoffs over the next two or three years. Wiggins and smaller contracts for CP3 is probably more realistic for both teams. Minny gets off Wiggins cap and likely another contract one year earlier and has 38 mil off the cap after year three or year two if they can flip the giant expiring.
Wolves probably do this. OKC might too.
http://tradenba.com/trades/HkEzbh8WS
Correct me if I am wrong, but our roster construction is horrid. Three guys in the “wing” category (6’6″ to 6’9″) on the whole team.
Guards = 5. Sexton, Garland, Delly, Clarkson, Knight.
Wings = 3. Cedi, Windler, Porter (barely).
Bigs = 5. Love, Nance, TT, Henson, Zizic.
Not one guy I am comfortable with playing at both forward spots.
So what do we do, go get another big (Bender).
Gonna be a long year.
My trade proposal above helps solve some of these problems. I think Korby is gun shy!
Why do you think Koby is gun-shy? Cavs have made more moves than just about anybody last 2 seasons. The roster construction is bad because half the players were acquired because of their contracts and to acquire future assets. Cavs are rebuilding. It makes no sense for them to over-worry about roster construction. Competent wings are the most valuable commodity in basketball, you can’t just go get one.
I think we’re in money saving mode which equates to not really trying hard to aquire assets at cost. Doubt we try to hard to flip expirings this year. That is gun shy whether it is driven by ownership or not.
They’ve already taken on like $30 million in salary in Delly, Knight, and Henson. And they just spent $5 million on the 30th pick in the draft. Not exactly penny pinching. Everybody has sand in their shorts over the J.R. non-trade for some reason.
Last year they took on 30 mil. The first year they understood they were in a true rebuild. And those contracts only delayed the expiring deals by a year until next offseason. They likely only did that because we were so incredibly short on rebuilding assets last year. It was basically unavoidable for them. Players wanted out. Cavs realized their playoff ideas were a pipe dream and that we basically had no assets going forward. We still don’t have a ton of rebuilding assets. But I don’t expect many if any expirings to be traded. 5 million yes. But considering… Read more »
FWIW I believe every team gets $5 M dollars from the NBA to spend on draft night. At least that’s what I heard from one of the beat reporters.
Agreed TTM…. literally no point in worrying about roster construction at this point in time. The earliest possible time to worry about it is if the Cavs are within a sniff of the 8th seed before the trade deadline.
I disagree. Having mismatched parts & poor fit is going to create a poor environment for these guys to develop in. Being on a comfortable spot helps a ton. Not having to cover for someone else constantly helps a ton. Fit helps culture.
Still, ultimately we are not very good either way. But if the idea is to be the Nets, we need to be scrappy/competitive.
what are the mismatched parts and poor fits??? How were the Cavs going to fix that problem without cap space??? By your own accounting, the Cavs DID address the wing position TWICE in the FIRST ROUND. And you’re also ignoring the fact that Beilein’s system doesn’t distinguish a “wing” from a “guard” on the offensive end. You’re also the ignoring the trend in the NBA in general that teams are more perimeter oriented and smaller than they were 10 years ago. The reality is, the Cavs had virtually no talent at guard AND wing…. and they did their best to… Read more »
Yeah not much they can do saving for trading expirings for wing positions. I doubt many or any of the expirings go, unfortunately. My biggest fear is the cavs splurge in FA next year and hand out a bunch of bad contracts to slightly above average players thinking they can contend for the playoffs in the 2020-2021 season, thereby locking us into a Charlotte/Miami/Detroit/Orlando pattern of continual and unsatisfying low playoff seed years. They aren’t ready to spend. They shouldn’t give out any long term contracts yet. Taking back picks and guys that expire in two to three years would… Read more »
Well yes, that’s the missing piece that hasn’t happened yet… the trading of expirings before the trade deadline. I left that part out because it’s a future thing, not realized in the past or present. So, there’s still an opportunity to re-shape the roster, or collect more assets to re-shape the roster. Both possibilities pre-suppose that they have more work to do to collect more talent and that the roster construction as of now is incomplete. That’s why I don’t get the criticism that they didn’t add wings. They needed more than just wings this off-season. That wasn’t the only… Read more »
I think it’s important to stabilize the roster the best you can. Trading some expiring for some wing depth is the move I’d make. I don’t believe It would put us over the luxury to do so.
Ya, not too concerned about our roster construction at the moment. We are still in the “acquiring assets” stage of the rebuild. When we are finally ready to begin competing again, this roster will be entirely different. Delly (hopefully not), Clarkson, Knight, TT, and Henson will all probably be on different rosters.
That is correct
https://twitter.com/ChrisBHaynes/status/736404263266619393?s=20
https://twitter.com/BR_NBA/status/1150979219691724802?s=20
https://twitter.com/AmicoHoops/status/1150973799824838657?s=20
https://twitter.com/FearTheSword/status/1150960197415899136?s=20
Sounds like JR to the Lakers isn’t happening… I’m assuming he wants to play for a contender and I think there are several teams that could use his shooting off the bench provided he’s actually in shape (which he supposedly is): Sixers, Bucks, Blazers, Rockets, heck even the Nets.
He definitely needs a strong locker room presence to keep him in check but I’m sure his championship experience would be useful for the vet minimum
https://twitter.com/KeithSmithNBA/status/1150933631537504262?s=20
https://twitter.com/oldseaminer/status/1150926876921253888?s=19
I will always be somewhat fond of him for only one reason. Throwing soup at Damon Jones during his time pretending to be a coach instead of a guy just getting paid to be a sycophant.
What about game 7?
What about game 1? He was real hit or miss on the court. But real entertaining off it.
Man, I have ton of great memories during the first few Finals runs… my favorite regular season one was at MSG where he flushed an reverse double clutch alley oop from Shump and everyone was like the Knicks gave this guy up for basically nothing??
Tons of big playoff moments – I think there were multiple games against the Hawks he went fuego. Heat check JR was so much fun to watch cause he could hoist it from anywhere.
Plus the shots against the Warriors as previously mentioned… the legend of shirtless JR will live on forever
JR was an extremely valuable player those first two years.
Even the last two in the POs. Thought he shot 50% from deep one year.
Thanks JR, and thanks for the reminder (and look at that score)!
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Uz0H7JcqjW4
https://twitter.com/wojespn/status/1150877135550238722?s=20
https://twitter.com/espn/status/1150918664708866048?s=20
https://twitter.com/BobbyMarks42/status/1150873983606317062?s=20
Rob Pelinka, come get your man…
I think he is out of the league. Doubt he ever takes up another roster spot.
It doesn’t appear the Lakers are interested. Perfect time for JR to start his pro-golf career!
Any intel on Wood? Is he worth a gamble on?
https://twitter.com/ShamsCharania/status/1150873609008832514?s=20
I guess so in the sense that he’s a Marquese Chriss type of prospect. Super young, long. He’s a better shooter for sure than Chriss, but Chriss is the superior defensive player.
Chriss “is the superior defensive player” is a wildly low bar.
https://twitter.com/ShamsCharania/status/1150873033218957313?s=20
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mike_Longabardi
Wikipedia is not the most reliable source of information. Hopefully…
I’m thinking he’s probably not a part of the organization
From the article, I love this: “He went on to play basketball at Newberry College where he earned the nickname “Mr. Defense.”
https://twitter.com/ChrisFedor/status/1150805208047529986
OMFG I just saw something below that I want to verify – Is Longbardi somehow STILL with this team? I was hoping new HC would bring in someone that actually knew something about defense. Ugh.
He is not currently listed as a coach on the team site. That being said, Channing Frye is still listed on the roster. So who knows how accurate the information is.
Well, rest assured, we are keeping that pick.
Also, we are barely inder the tax line with 13 players. Keeping an open roster spot (14) is the plan for the season, presumably so we can make a trade with an expiring and not cut anyone (take back bad $$ + prospect).
But that will put us over the tax line anyway. So jut BE over & maximize assets.
Not dealing JR was ALL about staying under the tax & avoiding repeater status. Something smells fishy in Fedor’s reporting, it just does not add up.
1) DG signed off on deals taking in $50 mil in salary/taxes.
2) Cavs had plenty of suitors
3) Cavs in lengthy rebuild
4) No mandate to stay under tax line
5) Cavs decide to not accumulate assets
Seems like we want under the tax and just do not want to admit it.
I could see them maybe playing Delly or Clarkson at SF at times.
That seems like a tank strong type thing they might do.
So in season trades to look at with expiring:
– Henson ($10 M)
– TT ($18 M)
– Knight ($15 M)
– Clarkson ($13 M)
– Delly ($9 M)
https://twitter.com/ChrisFedor/status/1150782652028477440?s=20
https://twitter.com/ISO_ZO/status/1150217771734585346?s=20
Does he think it’s up to the players?
Yeah I’m sure he does.
He isn’t wrong.
https://twitter.com/ChrisFedor/status/1150764805545967616?s=20
Can the Cavs also waive the “Be The Fight” motto? I know it’s not 1 year yet, but we’ve had enough.
https://twitter.com/NazzyJML/status/1150764309833666560
I’m not even entirely sure I know what “Be The Fight” even means. I get the sentiment but boy, anymore it just seems like they are throwing stuff together because everything has been used dozens of times by dozens of teams.
#EmbraceTheTank
#TradeJRForAPick
https://twitter.com/ChrisFedor/status/1150762389735903232?s=20
https://twitter.com/joevardon/status/1150759153524191237?s=20
YOU FORGOT STEVE HARGAN / JOHN ROMANO / JOHHNY TEMPLE / JOSE CARDENAL / GARY BELL JUST TO NAME A FEW OFF TOP OF MY HEAD
gary “ding dong” bell
How bout when Pete Rose permanently damaged Ray Fosse’s shoulder in an all star game? Wasn’t alive for it, but heard about it every time Rose came up with my Dad. My dad still hates Rose for that to this day, amongst other things.
HEY BUCKAROO—YEP STILL HAVE ALL THEIR BASEBALL CARDS —ALWAYS WENT TO “BAT DAY ” / 70,000 + FANS EVERY YEAR—HAVE A PICTURE OF ME WITH JIMMY PIERSAL ————–AND YES TO ALL THE BEERS MENTIONED : ) !!!
https://twitter.com/ESPNNBA/status/1150554132446666753?s=19
Would’ve looked nice in a Cavs uni!
Amen.
Couldn’t get him. Or maybe they could and were just cheap with the JR contract. But probably not. No one was drafting him at 5 so…..unless the Pelicans decide not to take the better offer, there was no chance. Heat clearly weren’t interested. They weren’t giving up 13 for 26 and JR.
MY BAD GREEK ” CAVS ” FAN ; )
WAS WONDERING THE SAME AS GREEK FREAK FAN——-DID WE ” UPCHUCK LONG-IN -BARF ” OR IS HE STILL A CAV EMPLOYEE —-NOTICE I DIDN’T SAY COACH AS HE IS NOT DESERVING OF THAT TITLE ……………….GLAD TO SEE TRIBE DIDN’T GET SWEPT
yo NOMAD bro.. were you following the tribe back in the day with fred “wingy” whitfield, leon “daddywags” wagner,, rocky colavito, sonny siebert, :”sudden” sam mcdowell, ;larry brown, max alvis, don hinton, vic davalillo , joe azcue, luis tiant, jim “mudcat” grant etc??
you grow up nursing on POC, PBR, schlitz, blatz or schmidt?
The pining for Brandon Clarke kind of reminds me of the lamentations when Cavs gave up John Leuer.
Practice all star against a tiny guy fake contesting, for whatever it’s worth. Wish he would have played in SL.
m.youtube.com/watch?v=uO41LEU_WoM
Definitely didn’t sit out to “build muscle” a la Culver. He at least has an NBA body.
I hope so, but I’ve heard that same line before:
https://twitter.com/BleacherReport/status/1150414722178715650?s=20
He is a unique case and I think he will be a Buck until the end of his career. First, he was literally broke before the Bucks invested so heavily in him selecting him 15th, almost totally out of the blue, and committed many resources and patience in nurturing him into a professional basketball player, because he had signed his first professional contract with a Spanish team, which I can’t remember now, days before the draft, which obviously had an NBA out that he used. He was not a professional basketball player in Greece. I don’t think he will ever… Read more »
I’ll believe it when I see it. RWB wanted to be around long term and would have been if PG didn’t leave. But things change. For a guy like Giannis, a championship will define his career. If Bucks can’t get it done, he’ll leave. He has a chance to go down as an all timer. But to do that he needs to win at least one ship.
Of course he could leave at some point. I am just stating why he has a much higher chance of staying than the normal superstar.
Also, Westbrook stayed until he wasn’t wanted anymore. Presti could flip some of those picks to go after another star like Beal if he really wanted Westbrook to stay. I am not saying that would be the right way to go. But he could do it if he really wanted. Russ could easily be with the Thunder his whole career.
I dunno. I think Russ wanted out. Wasn’t that the rumor after the PG trade? But you’re still right about flipping for Beal though I think it would have taken a ton at this point to get Beal if Wizards noise is true. More than realistic. Not sure OKC was happy with blowing it up completely even after PG left.
Four,
He does not give a crap about branding and entertainment. He just balls. Goes home. Eats. Works out. Balls some more.
He ain’t Bron, Melo, PG13, Kawhi, KD, Kyrie, or any of those types.
As far as we know. People thought Kawhi due to his subdued personality was a Spurs lifer type guy. Who really knows what any of these guys think?
I don’t think the Cavs will be able to use JRs contract before August.
Not sure they care to.
https://twitter.com/MZavagno11/status/1150427343154012161?s=20
Need to give Longo a shot at teaching these guys…really think he can turn them into a top ten unit…
Gonna be us and Charlotte at the bottom.
Likely yes. Defense will sink us pretty low.
Suns and Knicks will be there again too. Unless Ayton starts trying to protect the rim/trying on D.
Cavaliers Notes: Love, Smith, Iguodala, Bolden The Cavaliers aren’t making an effort to deal Kevin Love, according to Chris Fedor of Cleveland.com. On the surface, Love appears to be a prime trade candidate. He’s nearly 31 on a rebuilding team, is coming off toe surgery that limited him to 22 games last season and has a four-year, $120MM extension that’s about to kick in. However, Cleveland doesn’t view Love’s contract as burdensome. A five-time All-Star, he’s easily the team’s best player if he can stay healthy and provides a positive role model for a young roster. New coach John Beilein… Read more »
They’ve also been “shocked” by some of the bad contracts teams are trying to get them to take. The Cavaliers tried to obtain Andre Iguodala from the Warriors, and sources tell Fedor they asked for less than the future first-rounder and cash that Memphis received for taking on Iguodala’s $17.1MM contract. However, Golden State wanted to create a large trade exception and saw that as more valuable than the cap relief Smith would have provided. Cleveland was also involved in talks to facilitate the Butler trade by taking Maurice Harkless from the Trail Blazers, but he wound up with the… Read more »
Some team will score 200 points on the Cavs this year and Korby will get canned.
Is Longambardi still on the Cavs staff? He couldn’t instill a solid defensive system when we had 15 veterans who mostly wanted to win. Next season, with so many rookies and inexperienced players he could look to set all time records.
I m pretty sure he’s been exiled.
amicohoops offline.. sam not paying the rent
Looks like the powers back on Buck!
https://twitter.com/AmicoHoops/status/1150458457717391360?s=20
Welp, there he goes…
https://twitter.com/ShamsCharania/status/1150424605032615936
He’ll love Kyrie.
The Nets have assembled a pretty strong team to surround KD and Irving. This year though, with Irving as their top guy, the second round is the ceiling.
We on the other hand seem to place absolutely no emphasis on the defensive side of the ball. We were one the worst defensive teams of all time last year and we appear to have gotten even worse. Not a good way to raise your young players.
That stinks!
E-fense! E-fense!
Trouble in tinsel town:
https://twitter.com/RealGM/status/1150176988050513920?s=20
https://twitter.com/oldseaminer/status/1150210262911336449?s=19
That’s a big crowd for a tribe game!
The ASG juiced this town.
https://twitter.com/ChrisFedor/status/1150032102399889409?s=20
Unless Kevin wants out to play for a championship contender I see no reason to trade him. He’s an NBA champion and all-star, a great locker room presence for our developing players and seemingly happy and committed to playing in Cleveland. We’re never going to be a free agent destination and the odds of drafting an all star are low. The assets in exchange for Love that I’ve been reading about leave me scratching my head. Why trade Kevin? Let’s enjoy our all-star Cav play.
https://twitter.com/NBA/status/1149860907595509760?s=19
WOW! Nice!!! Dude can shoot it! Even a highlight with a steal! Nice little dribble drive game too to complement the shooting.
Too bad he’s not 4 inches taller!
I know, right??? LOL
Just goofing off with the trade machine, and this would never happen, but I thought it would be fun.
Cavs also pick up Herro which the trade machine won’t let me do until the time’s up.
http://www.espn.com/nba/tradeMachine?tradeId=yyrgokxy
Heat starting five is: CP, Jimmy, Winslow, Love, and Zizic. That sounds kinda fun. Their depth is pretty bad, but that starting 5 would be fun to watch.
Cavs: Get Herro and Bam. Two really nice young pieces, though all the adults are out of the room.
Thunder: Get cap relief they want…maybe have to toss a pick in for them…as I think they would be the first to say no.
Also I don’t understand the Heat’s middle of the road approach wanting to hold onto Bam and Herro but still want to go grab aging veterans. Do one or the other, tear it down and rebuild around the youth, or sell off the youth and take a shot at it for a couple years. They really love the 8th seed in Miami though.
They have Riley there who probably wants to make the playoffs before he retires. Not best for long term, but it is what it is.
They want to be a winning team period. Or at least that seems to have been their MO since LBJ left.
I’d hold onto Love and try to boost his value. I don’t love that package from Miami. Plus we’ve got a plethora of bigs and guards, so it doesn’t make a ton of sense, as far as fit.
Here’s a trade gets the Thunder out of CP’s contract while only giving up one pick:
Heat get: Chris Paul
Cavs get: J. Johnson, 2020 Denver 1st via OKC
OKC gets: Dragic, JR
http://tradenba.com/trades/H1tNeCIZB
Paying 24 mil in salary for late 1st rounder is rough.
Yes but we are lacking wings. I don’t love J. Johnson, but he fills a need.
I think them just trading Dragic and Johnson for CP3 straight up is more likely. Why would the heat or OKC need the Cavs at all? They could just swap those guys without picks being exchanged.
Is the JR contract 9 mil in cap relief worth it to OKC for a first in that scenario? Sort of doubt it.
Well it’s likely a late first.
Also they’d pay $4 M for JR vs $30 M for JJ. That’s $26 M in savings.
J Johnson isn’t a wing.
He’s listed as a 6’8 SF!
According to BBR, he played SF at the beginning half of his NBA career, and PF for the 2nd half of his NBA career.
I’d also add that he weighs 240lbs. and he’s 31 years old. I have a hard time believing he’s got enough speed and quickness to guard on the perimeter.
I mean he’s not a great option, but he fills a need. He can still guard multiple positions. I’d like to find a better option, especially if Nwaba signs elsewhere.
https://twitter.com/mikepolkjr/status/1149501026233229323?s=20
https://twitter.com/Reflog_18/status/1149865478438948865?s=20
The Bulls had a decent offseason. They picked up Thad Young, drafted White, who seems pretty solid. They could be battling for the 8th seed.
And they picked up Satoransky
If the Cavs roster stands pat, then Cedi and Windler will be get a bulk of the minutes at SF. Here’s hoping Cavs can bring Nwaba back.
You might be able to slide Clarkson or Porter Jr. at the 3… regardless that spot is gonna give up a a$$-ton of points. When TT and Love are your last lines of defense your F$$$&@&!
Porter Jr could work if you didn’t play Garland and Sexton together. Cedi/Windler and Porter Jr being the wing positions are more tenable than any bench lineup, however limited in minutes, featuring Sexton, Garland, and Porter Jr. Basically I don’t think he can be on the floor with those two. That is too small.
Yeah most rookies are not great defensively. And Cedi has been pretty bad thus far. Would be nice to get someone even average defensively to stabilize the lineup a bit.
What? He de-gifted!!!
https://twitter.com/ChrisBHaynes/status/1149826450977153024?s=20
The Final Piece…
https://twitter.com/ShamsCharania/status/1149837334764052480
Report: Miami Heat Showing Interest in Power Forward Kevin Love:
https://www.google.com/amp/s/heatnation.com/rumors/miami-heat-checked-status-kevin-love/amp/
They got nothing I want.
They’d have to include Winslow and Bam, which they won’t, so no thanks. They couldn’t trade Herro until Dec. 15th.
I think Portland may be the best option. They have more picks. Might be able to persuade them to give up a 1-20 protected first and a second. They have about 92 million in active next off-season. Bazemore is their only FA they might resign. Doubt they resign Whiteside for more than 20 mil unless they’re gang busters this season with him and Nurkic. Figure with Bazemore being somewhere in the 8-12 mil range they’d have about 18 mil in cap space after. In 2021 they have about 63 mil active cap but have to resign McCollum. Figure 93 mil… Read more »
So you’re saying there’s a chance:
https://twitter.com/br_betting/status/1149734652736876547?s=20
Just bet $10K each on the Cavs, Grizz, Hornets, and Suns and prepare for retirement.
Grizz will surprise folks
They may, but they ain’t winning the title….:)
Writing Prompt: Construct a scenario in which the Cavs win the title
Can I just place a bet that the Pacers have a better record than the GD Nets?
25 teams have injuries to four starters all at once for the entire season and playoffs.
BREAKING NEWS —CTB TRADES EVIL/ NATE TO KJG FOR DON GILINSKI / COREY CASEY / ROBBIE DIPAOLO / AND JR’S CONTRACT …………………………” MORE BEER PLEASE ” : )
Who?
https://twitter.com/wojespn/status/1149744207063425024
https://twitter.com/wojespn/status/1149747010964094976
Now they just need a reunion of Dwight Howard and Harden, then lots of championships!!!!!!
Dwight needs to go to the Celtics.
Or the Lakers!