Links to the Present, “here we go again” edition.
2013-03-11
Kyrie Irving’s shoulder injury against Toronto is expected to put him on the bench for 3-4 weeks with a left acromioclavicular sprain. ESPN’s coverage is here.
Mary Schmitt Boyer of the Plaindealer / Cleveland.com covers the press conference where Byron Scott is not concerned about Kyrie’s durability.
Ben Golliver of Sports Illustrated notes the silver lining to this moment of Déjà Vu.
If the season ended today, the Cavaliers would select fourth, but there are eight teams clustered between 20 and 23 wins. Something as simple as a three-game winning streak could drop them as far as ninth in the draft order. If Cleveland continues to win at its .286 pace without Irving, the team will go 5-14 down the stretch to finish with 26 wins. That would seem to be enough to help them hold on to the No. 4 position, if not even improve to the No. 3. Within the context of the team’s youth movement, ensuring a top-five lottery pick in June’s draft isn’t the worst consolation prize for a month of ugly basketball without their franchise guy.
Basically? I’d be shocked if we saw Kyrie Irving in a Cavaliers uniform again this season. Now I’m not one to question someone’s injuries. Lord knows I’ve been accused of falling down in a heap during a winter football game and screaming “my meniscus!!!” and then getting up and sprinting to the end zone three plays later. But the Cavs brass has to have been looking for an excuse to shut down their winning ways before they cost themselves a prime draft spot, and this is just the opportunity. Don’t be surprised if Dion Waiters develops a ruptured scowling muscle, Marreese Speights has to be put on season ending Demoxinil treatment, and the Cavs surreptitiously import the entire Canton Charge roster to finish out the season.
So while you’re firing up Photoshop to make me a nice picture of a one armed Kyrie Irving driving a Sherman tank, you can think of this summer. Nbadraft.net has a 2013 mock draft update cataloging the risers and sinkers in college basketball. Who might be there for the Cavs at 4-11 in June? At this point, it’s anyone’s guess.
And speaking of Waiters, James Herbert of SB Nation has a nice interview with him, here. Highlights include the Philly style, being a Momma’s boy, and advice from the Cavs veterans. Keep ballin’, Saint Weirdo, but don’t ball too well. You’ve got to steer this Abrams into the top bottom five.
Guys, I never ever lambasted the Waiters pick purely because I knew nothing about him.
I wasn’t pleased with what I saw from him in the first few games, but that doesn’t mean I disliked him.
TT, though…
I’m on the Porter band-wagon. We don’t need a guy who is an explosive athlete. We need a guy who is a solid shooter and can be trusted. He reminds me a lot of Kawhi Leonard.
My problem with Oladipo is that I don’t believe he’s big enough to play SF, and I do not see him being a better player than Dion to take his spot at SG. We need, desperately, a starting caliber SF on thsi team.
@Bill Yeah I look over the Draft and Mock draft myself and it never turns out how you think but ive been happy with CG so far but its fun @GJ Agree, I said something similar on a different thread here, we have something like 8 First and 7 Second round picks over the next 4 years, Grantland’s “Basketball Jones Podcast” Talks about that a little on their previous show. We have 3 Keepers for the starting linup, and a very good bench that we should attempt to keep intact frugally. The Best Player at the position of most need… Read more »
And for the record – I think Porter fits this team better than Shabazz. Shabazz seems like a guy that is going to want the ball in his hands constantly (google the video that he pouts after his teammate hits the game winner). I don’t know if that fits in with Kyrie. Porter seems to be a “do it all” type of player who also plays defense and has great basketball IQ. Seems better to me..
@Adam : I would love to package a few picks together to add a Shabazz/Porter type player along with a top 3 pick. At some point, these “assets” we’ve acquired (ie: plethora of draft picks and young players) need to be used to get elite talent on the roster. We have multiple #1’s this year, and seemingly the chance for multiple #1’s each and every year through 2018 or 2019, depending on where teams finish. At some point, you have to package them. You cannot have 10 second and third year players on the roster and continue adding more picks.… Read more »
Judging from past drafts, the Cavs will likely take someone we didn’t expect.
CtB will lambast the pick.
Mallory and Nate will want to trade the player away for 30 cents on the dollar (and throw in some of our future draft picks).
After, a year or two later we’ll understand what Grant saw and be thrilled.
I have no idea what your basis for comparison is but Caron Butler is (more was) a pretty good player, why would that be a bad thing? In his best years, he was averaging 20/5/5 and a pretty solid defender…..seems like exactly what the Cavs could use.
Adam, I like the way you think…lol
Rich said ““But the Cavs brass has to have been looking for an excuse to shut down their winning ways before they cost themselves a prime draft spot”
What is this based on?”
Nothing at all. They love narratives here at CtB. Also, I think Porter is a lot like Caron Butler. Do not want.
I haven’t watched college basketball enough, so I can’t say who specifically the Cavs should draft, but I think they should draft for defense either at the center or wing. They are a decent offensive team already and will get better, but defense is half the game and they’re terrible. It could also be addressed in free agency I suppose, depending on who’s available for what price.
Was anybody even talking about Len?
The amount of group think that is starting to go on here is getting to be a little scary. The truth is there’s no clear cut franchise player in this draft, but there are a lot of guys who could be good players in the right situation and a couple of players who could end up stars if everything breaks right. One thing that must be looked at is the Bill Simmons question. When drafting a player now, teams must look at last year’s finals and ask, “Will this player be able to play in the coming hyper-athletic NBA?” If… Read more »
@ Cody… haha Great minds
@GJ Agree with most stuff, esp the fact that we dont need a “lumbering” center, I was being really drastic comparing shaq and Tyrus Thomas, I like Noel I really do, I hope he can gain 40 lbs and be a Dwight Howard comp…
How about we really dream something up…
We get a good bounce of the Ping Pong balls and get a top 3 draft pick and get Noel, then package a group of future picks with the Lakers pick and move up to get Bazz or Porter…
Kyrie_Dion_Porter_Tristen_Noel
Livingston_Ellington_C.J. Gee_Varejao_Zeller
WIN!, lol
I’m not sure Noel can pass a physical before the draft. He’s having surgery today. The timetable for an ACL recovery has a lot of opinions. Rule of thumb was a year. But ever since Adrian Peterson did it in 7 months (I think), people seem to feel that everyone can to the same. Not sure that’s fair. It’s been 10 months for Derrick Rose and he still doesn’t feel right. If the Cavs do draft Noel, it could take 1/2 the season before he feels normal. That being said, I would completely back the Cavs if they took him.… Read more »
@ Adam – only problem with the Tyrus Thomas comparison is that Thomas is 6’8 and Noel is 6’11. The problem with comparing him to Shaq is that Shaq is one of a kind and weighed what, 320 lbs in his prime? The best comparison is Anthony Davis – a player that scouts said was one of the best to come out in the past 10-15 years. He’s a defense-first center who blocked 13 shots in a single game earlier this year. He was destined to be the clear-cut #1 before the injury. He is a a freak of a… Read more »
@GJK07 Wingspan is great and all. But you know who has a 7-1 wingspan? Otto Porter a SF. Wingspan doesn’t dictate position? A player who has a 7′-4.75″ wingspan and 6′-10.25″ Height, and Weighed 215 coming out of college…. Kevin Durant! Can he guard Dwight Howard or Marc Gasol?
Noel isnt a “True” Center either… Way more Tyrus Thomas in Noel then Shaq
Look I like Noel, I think he will be very good, just not Great, Anthony Davis has played a decent amount of minutes at SF this year so he doesn’t get bowled over down low.
@ GJK07 I do agree on not passing on Noel if he checks out physically. Thing is if he does, the Cavs will probably need some lottery magic to get into the top two selections to draft him.
I’m all for Grant taking a wing with the first selection and front court player with the Lakers pick. Bigs seem to develop later but if you can get a solid on a rookie deal it’s about as good of a value as you can get in the NBA. Because of their slow development many high pick bigs bust and ironically a lot of the later selections turn into good to great rotational players. The real benefit is that this draft is really deep on center prospects even though none of them is pegged to be a star. With the… Read more »
Nerlens Noel is the only “franchise” player in this draft. If the guys checks out medically, you take him if you get the chance. His athleticism is off the charts, he has a 7’4 wingspan (for those who think he can’t play center), and weighs in at 215 as an 18 year old. Compare his freshman statistics with Anthony Davis’, and they are almost identical. Davis was more polished on offense, but the rebounding, shot blocking, and FG% are almost identical. Noel will undergo an extensive physical, and if he passes without a hitch, the Cavaliers would be crazy not… Read more »
@Joey Joe totally with you with the Porter, Cauley-Stein Draft I think they would be the best fit for the Cavs, I really think Cauley-Stein might be a better pro, mainly because of what rodney-Mac said… Noel weighs 200 lbs, Zeller is getting pushed around and he is listed at something like 250 @ Steve a couple things, I love Oladipo 2 and would be alright if they drafted him even tho Ellington is not a SF, but I feel like u havnt seen Poythress play at all, possibly the most tentative player i seen play high level basketball, ever,… Read more »
I’m seriously interested in the first seven prospects other than Smart. This draft doesn’t have a “franchise player” but the Cavs already have one in Irving and possibly another in Waiters. If they can get a playoff caliber starter this year it will be a good selection. I’m okay with them stashing Saric, drafting a center or even trading the Lakers selection for a future lightly protected first rounder. You would think that in a draft with little deviation between the first seven players that moving up would be possible (unlike last year) for Grant if he truly targets a… Read more »
There is a lot of love for Porter on this blog, but I just don’t see it. The knock on him is not a lack of athleticism, it’s a lack of explosiveness and aggression. He plays below the rim, using his length and touch to absorb contact and make twisting and-one layups. That won’t work in the NBA when the centers he’s trying to go around are Chandler, Hibbert, Noah, Horford, and Sanders. He also has a slow jump shot, and doesn’t get much elevation when he’s shooting. The Cavs should absolutely draft Oladipo. He explodes to the rim every… Read more »
“But the Cavs brass has to have been looking for an excuse to shut down their winning ways before they cost themselves a prime draft spot”
What is this based on?
As for Noel, he has more injury history than just the most recent knee injury going back to highschool. Things that could linger and be serious.
@ funky cold, I’m guessing by Brook you mean Lopez? Unfortunately he’s signed through 2016. As for Pekovic, Zach Lowe mentioned in the BS report this week that word around the MIT Sloan Sports Conference was the Pekovic would be going for well over 10 a year, my guess is some GM is going to talk himself in the Pekovic being the next Marc Gasol and give him a near max four year deal, I hope its not Chris Grant. Oden scares me, and the knees comment applies to him x4. I like Noel alot, he moves as well as… Read more »
The Simpsons reference was brilliant!
Draft Porter, the guy can ball.
I’m against Noel but not as much because of the injury as much as he’s to small to play center. He probably weighs 200lbs and will be guarding guys who weigh 300. I’m in on Len
No on Noel. I don’t care about your faith in the medical system, the guy has one strike already. Everyone is different, true, but knee injuries are the worst. Otto Porter fits all our needs, and has not suffered a major injury yet. They could then grab a big with their second pick (honestly I’d rather stash Saric), or they could sign Pek, Oden, hell even Brook (his game meshes perfectly with TT)
This is very, very good news for the Cavs, granted there are no lingering effects of this injury in the future. We NEED a top 5 pick – and a top 3 pick could do wonders. Ending up with a pick in the 3-5 range, coupled with the Lakers making the playoffs along with our two second round picks, means we will have the ammunition to draft Nerlens Noel even if it means moving up to do so. We need Noel and I think he is the best player in the draft, with the highest ceiling, and also fits our… Read more »
If he knee actually needed rest this could be a blessing in disguise. It’s a major bummer, but if we watched them in 2010-2011 then we’ll keep watching them for the next six weeks. Dion will be able to showcase to the national media that he wasn’t a reach at all. I think I read that he’s averaging like 21 and 4 dimes without Irving in the lineup.
I’m not really for them tanking but without Irving in the lineup it seem inevitable. A 4th-6th worst record seems like a lock now.