Cavaliers Talkin’
2012-08-27
I’m starting to like C.J. Miles more and more. What he says about joining the Cavs: “With Cleveland it was just about making the right basketball decision for myself. I felt it wasn’t about money; it wasn’t about anything but basketball.” A  very positive interview overall, from Hoopsworld. Here’s the link .
Dion Waiters was also interviewed recently, though it didn’t turn out half as interesting. He’s pretty good at substituting sports cliches in lieu of actual meaning. It’s nice he bought his mom a car after being drafted, at least. Here’s the link.
I agree Nathan.
I’m just noting that the Cavs are pretty conservative about player character and what we read about Waiters seems to fall outside of their normal comfort zone. That just tells me that there is more to the story and we have front row seats to see how it unfolds as Cav fans.
Getting rid of unmotivated player has been Byron Scott’s MO throughout his coaching career. He seems to have pushed for the Cavs to take Dion so there is obviously more to the story.
Well, if he put up the numbers he did in college without being driven or motivated, then he has that much more potential if the Cavs can get him driven and motivated, right?
I’m really getting curious about who Dion Waiters really is and how his personality will mesh with the young Cavs and Coach Scott. The glimpses we are getting seem to question his drive and motivation and that just doesn’t seem to be the type of player the Cavs have been trying to build with. I can’t believe the Cavs intentionally went too far out on a limb in drafting him. They must be confident that there is much more to him than what we’ve seen so far. I can’t wait for his playing time in Cleveland to begin so we… Read more »
These are the players the cavs need, kj said it best low risk middle reward, if he plays above his average along with keleena or a cassipi and Thier isn’t a chance to long term sign them before Thier contract is up, you trade them away as a bargaining piece for the future, if antonetti and the Indians would have traded Damon after his great month or power after after his first half of the year was real good we would have some more pieces in the farm system, I love what grant is doing here, get players that can… Read more »
He’s 25 and has plalyed 7 years, he’ll only get marginally better. Maybe B.Scott is right that there are aspects of his game that he hasn’t been able to showcase and playing in the princeton offense will make a difference. He didn’t do a lot of screening and slashing in Utah as he was much more of a perimeter guy trying to take attention away from the bigs who were the focus of thier offense. So he’ll definitely be asked to do something different in Cleveland than he’s been asked to do before. If this new role ‘showcases’ his strengths… Read more »
he also can be counted on to be “not a whole on your roster” much more so than Azubuike and Casspi, and still has a little upside (more than Casspi) so that is probably why. But I agree, dude has been in the league 7 years ago and stopped improving 2 or 3 years ago, not much upside left. The only hope is a change of scenery will do him good, but he’s played with an elite point gaurd and quality big men before, I doubt he does much better than his career averages. Still, his career averages make him… Read more »
He has less upside than Gee, Azubuike, and maybe even Casspi…I have no idea why the Cavs made this signing.
He’s just young enough to have not hit his peak. It’s the good kind of low-risk, middle-reward signing the Cavs should be making at this point in “The Plan.”
He’s kind of a gunner but that’s not the worst trait for a bench 3. Good interview – he’s going to get a chance to assert himself.
I don’t see a lot of upside. He already seems to have “peaked” as a shooter 4-5 seasons ago. His shooting percentages are average at best, and he’s not exactly a stat stuffer in the other departments. He’s a bench player with a slightly below average PER. Unless he really brings defense, I don’t see him being anything other than what he’s been the last several years. But, i will say Utah fans seemed to like his attitude. And if it has a positive effect on the rest of the team on and off the court, then his impact may… Read more »
Miles “fit” here in Cleveland could be underestimated in terms of dividends it pays out. Maybe thats just small forward starvation talking but I don’t think he has hit his ceiling yet. A 25 year old 7 year vet is intriguing.