From Distance: When Hope Returns

Four point play…ok, six this week

I would call that a successful day at the office, Mr Altman. Or should we be praising Dan Gilbert? Moondog? After weeks of tired speculation and emotional misery in The Land, Koby Altman, at least officially, saved the season from the depths of Basketball Inferno.

It’s hard to even know where to start when talking about the enormity of this trade deadline, so I will utilize a classic cheat method: Good ole’ fashion Q and A.

1. Will the Cavs regret shipping out any of the roughly 359 players involved in these deals?

Nope. For the love of basketball, not a chance.

I’m sure the regular readers of this space know that I abjectly detest watching most of those guys play ball. The Cavs were able to jettison three of my least favorite NBA players ever, (in order of exasperation) Isaiah Thomas, Derrick Rose, and Iman Shumpert.

As I have previously covered somewhat Ad nauseam, the Cavaliers have been a different and drastically better squad when Shump, Rose, and super culprit IT have not played. In my previous piece, I also included Tristan Thompson as a disaster problem for Cavalier floor balance on both sides of the ball. I’ll get back to him in a bit.

We don’t need to rehash this too much. Thomas was never going to help the Cavs in the playoffs. His only value could have been his potential to soak up some play-making responsibilities during the regular season. That contribution would not have been nothing, but it was clear after his post trade physical that the likelihood of that was low. Upon Thomas’s return, LeBron James, who had at least previously seemed excited about IT’s potential, was made painfully aware that Thomas was not a player that could relieve any of LeBron’s offensive load.

The fact that Jae Crowder and Isaiah Thomas were apparently segmenting themselves from the rest of the guys certainly didn’t help anyone forgive the pair’s on-court struggles.

As for Shump and Rose, neither can really stay healthy, and when they do, they enjoy playing pickup ball in NBA arenas around the league. Getting out of Shumpert’s deal is a success in itself.

Dwyane Wade showed flashes of his old brilliance, especially on the defensive end. I very much enjoyed his play with that second unit during the Cavs win streak. His weak-side rotation timing is otherworldly when he is fresh and locked in. That didn’t happen enough to off-set his ego in the clubhouse and his inability to get back on defense. Dude is old. It happens.

Our boy, Channing Frye. Ok, I give. I will miss the man on and off the floor. Channing is a pro’s pro who deserved more burn during the train wreck. Still, sending him out West to hang with his friend Luke Walton is a pretty nice consolation prize. Good on Altman. He sent Frye and Wade to places where the veterans can enjoy life, if not enjoy a championship run.

2. What about that first round pick? Couldn’t the Cavs have played hardball with the Lakers? Didn’t they need the cap relief?

The Lakers are also a team in the NBA with a front office that doesn’t wish to lose trades. Outside of the Kings, teams are not going to gift wrap first round picks, or fail to acquire one when there is a chance. Yes, the Lakers needed to dump Clarkson’s salary in order to open their summer cap space. That’s exactly the reason they had to include Larry Nance Jr. The Lakers didn’t get rid of him for fun.

3. Who is the best player coming to the Cavs?

I love that this is a difficult question to answer. I’ll start with who it isn’t. Jordan Clarkson is easily the least attractive player Altman acquired.

Clarkson has a tendency to get too ball dominant when he feels like he is heating up. He’s not a great three point shooter, but feels free to launch at will. Defensively, though he has decent size at almost 6’4″ and relatively long arms, he has a tendency to lose focus off ball.

Yes, I basically described Iman Shumpert. The real difference is that Clarkson is actually pretty skilled. He is far more of a natural ball-handler than Shump and plays with composure and pace in the PnR. He gets into the lane easily and often with good hesitation. He’s a slimy driver.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3I8Z2SPJ7mM

Once he gets there, Clarkson has an array of floaters and close range stepback Js that are feathery when he gets it going. Jordan has nice lift on his jumper going either direction. He also sees the floor better than most people give him credit for. It would help his cause a bit, if he were to focus more on that than his own scoring.

Basically, his contract is bigger than it should be for his contributions, but that doesn’t take away from his skill-set. He will need to stay focused on D. Offensively, if he can learn to play a touch more within himself while also enjoying more floor-spacing than he has ever seen, he could be very good for the Cavs.

4. Are you going to answer my question then?

Here is where it gets complicated. The other three guys have the potential to be so incredibly good on a LeBron James team that it really comes down to health. George Hill, Rodney Hood, and Larry Nance Jr have all had their fair share of injuries over the last few years.

Still, if Hill has a healthy toe, he is the perfect player next to LeBron. He can drill the open shot, can create more than people realize, and defends as much with his brain as with his length. I’m not going to consider anything from this season in my evaluation. If he is healthy, he’s likely to be the same guy he was for the Jazz last season. He’s only 31 even if it feels as though he is 35.

Rodney Hood has been dogged by injuries and expectations throughout his career. Many people in the East really don’t know anything about the kid. He has been out of the lineup frequently. The Jazz haven’t been a huge League Pass team for those not obsessed with Quin Snyder’s wizardry. He remains a bit of a mystery.

If he can put it together, look out. He is the type of player who falls into 20 point nights without anyone really noticing. Hood isn’t just a shooter. At 6’8″ he really is a legit shooting guard with decent handle. There are reasons for excitement.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KP2PlnaHMIE

He can shoot from anywhere past half court. Hood’s left-handed release point is high and somewhat quick. Rodney isn’t super explosive, but his ability to use either hand as a 6’8″ PnR player lets him get off high percentage shots from the middle of the floor.

People have accused Hood of not having the mentality to be a team’s lead player. I’m, uh, pretty sure the Cavs aren’t going to have a problem with that.

That leaves us one Larry Nance Junior. I am more than thrilled to have an opportunity to cheer for the child of one of my favorite players ever. When I was a kid, Larry Nance Senior seemed so impossibly old with his receding hairline and generally wise disposition. He was an adult on a team full of them.

Then Larry would jump, extend, glide, or levitate. Let’s go with Nance as a verb. Senior was a joy to watch for his intelligence, athleticism, and effort.

Junior may look younger and have a meatier frame, but 2.0 can nance off the ground like his father. He might even have a higher motor than even his father had. Nance Jr. is a “little things” wrecking ball.

While I don’t necessarily think Nance is a better player than Hood or a healthy Hill, I will give him the nod for the moment. I think the things that he brings to the table will help transform the Cavaliers more than the other three guys.

5. Do you think Nance Jr will play over Tristan?

To be honest, I still don’t have a lot of faith in Tyronn Lue’s ability to play the right guys. If he is smart, he won’t hesitate too long in moving Nance above Tristan on the depth chart. Nance’s consistent defensive energy and understanding of passing lanes make him a bear on that end. He isn’t a great rebounder, but he is better than Tristan at finding a man to boxout.

Offensively, the differences are far more glaring than one would assume. Nance Jr. is rightfully known for his ability to jump out of the gym. He has delivered some of the nastiest dunks the league has seen over the past few years.

That explosion and roll timing already separates Nance from Tristan. Larry will dive to open space the moment he sees that it is useful. He provides what is often referred to as “vertical spacing”. That hard roll to the cup draws so much attention that he opens things for the outside shooters.

In LA, he could have been peak Tyson Chandler and still not have been able to do much more damage on the PnR. The Lakers play far too many sub-par three point shooters for a rolling bigman to really make waves.

In Cleveland, his life is about to get very easy. An opposing defense can’t sell out to stop his roll with the shooting the Cavs now employ. What’s more, Nance is a MUCH better passer off the short roll than Tristan. In a recent podcast, Nance talked about wanting to improve his play-making as he continues he career. One doesn’t need to be able to Pick and Pop if everyone else on the floor is a great shooter. If Larry can collapse the defense and pass out of the short roll, the Cavs offense will be roughly unstoppable.

6. What does this mean for LeBron?

I’m not going to get into anything other than this season. But for right now, LeBron can again legitimately plan on how to beat the Warriors. He knew there was literally no chance that he could win a chip this season with the previous roster. With this new squad, hope is restored in the form of youthful athleticism. A hopeful LeBron is a dangerous one. Congrats to The Land. The season is found.