Randoms: 2021 Draft Grades & Free Agency Guide
2021-08-02Hello from the void! I’ve crawled out of my dungeon. The NBA draft was Thursday, and I have all the opinions, so let’s start handing out grades! First off, the Cavs selection of Evan Mobley was a competent, if slightly boring pick. As one who roots for chaos, I would’ve loved to have seen the Cavs be able to flip him for SGA and the Sixth pick, but the Cavs did the fairly safe and smart thing and drafted the guy most see as a can’t miss prospect with real star potential. The only caveat here is that the Cavs are a long way from competing. Experience is a must in the NBA if you want to win. So is shooting. With likely the youngest starting lineup in the NBA, the Cavs don’t have a lot of either. Color me frustrated that the Cavs will likely just hand a starter spot to a rookie from day one, but the Cavs have done it the last three seasons. It’s not like they can back away from that trend now.
Further, this lineup has a lot of issues: mainly shooting, in that we don’t know how long it will take Mobley to add a three-ball, Okoro is an unknown, and Garland and Sexton are undersized. Sexton, also, is merely catch-and-shoot from three. We’ll see if that changes in the fall. Jarrett Allen flashed some ability last season, but his release is slooooow. It still feels like a flawed backcourt, and the possibility that Collin Sexton moves on or moves to the bench might be best for the long term future of all involved, but with the draft night chatter having died down, that feels like a remote possibility now.
This is the long way of saying that the Cavs will struggle to win giving big minutes to this many young players. To me, a 30 win season would be phenomenal for this squad, but getting to the playoff seems remote given Love’s struggles making the Olympic team, and the quality of free agents the Cavs are likely to add (more on that later). This is going to be a long novel. Grade: The Count of Monte Cristo. Dumas’ 117 chapter epic charts the life of Edmond Dantes, and his 23 year struggle for revenge against the men who plotted to imprison him. Let’s hope the end of the Cavs’ rebuild is as satisfying and doesn’t take nearly as long.
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As for other teams in the draft, the Thunder made the first round’s best grab, scooping Josh Giddey with the sixth pick. Many called it a reach, but picks 6-10 were pretty fluid, and the NBA is built around playmakers. Giddey averaged 11/7/7 in the ABL, the league that LaMelo Ball dominated with 17/7/7 the year before (with worse FG%). Giddey’s my favorite player and can make every pass, which is impressive considering he doesn’t have much of an off hand. With tales of Giddey’s shot rapidly improving and his relatively quick ascent to become the player he has, Josh’s ceiling hasn’t been set yet. Grade: Thylacine, the carnivorous marsupial.
I can’t really poke any holes in picks 1-8. In the words of #WallStreetBets, “like the stock.” Kuminga, though, is a terrible fit for Golden State, who should lose Steph Curry, because the Dubs keep punting on adding winning pieces despite Steph’s transcendence. But Jonathan was the best player available given his incredible strength, despite how raw he is. Maybe Bob Myers and Co. can flip him, Wiseman, and 14th pick Moses “all I do is draw fouls” Moody for a player to get them back into the second round of the playoffs. Grade: A 60-yard Colquitt corker.
I lurved the Magic’s draft, getting Suggs and Wagner, especially because Moritz Wagner had a sneaky good season last year with Orlando. I hope they re-sign him so that he can play with his brother and eighth pick, Franz. Mo put up 11/5/1 on 41%/37%/88% shooting splits in 26 a night for the Magic last year, proving that he can be a decent shooter, while Franz has supposedly grown since his time at Michigan and is supposedly 6-11 now. Also, there should be more Franzes in the NBA. Grade: Wagnerian Valkyrie charge.
The dopiest move of the draft came by the Kings who drafted Davion Mitchell a six-two (maybe) guard who’s the same age as their 2018 bust, Marvin Bagley III. This team already has D’Aaron Fox and Tyrese Haliburton. Why the hell do they need another old, small guard? It’s mind baggleying. Then GM Rob Blake took an oaf of a center in Utah’s 250 pound Neemias Queta with the 39th pick. Grade: An ashtray full of Vlade’s old cigarette butts.
I hate to say it, but Houston had a hell of a draft. After Jalen Green, they picked up a couple of Euro wunderkinds in Alperen Sengun and Usman Garuba. The big man, Sengun had lottery talent, and likely the best analytics profile of the draft, and dropped all the way to 20. Garuba is a defensive specialist who will immediately be better on defense than half of the forwards in the NBA. Then they topped it off with high upside guard, Josh Christopher from Arizona State at the 24th pick. The beauty of grabbing the two best Euros: they don’t have to bring both of them over this year. In fact, I’d bet they leave Garuba at Real Madrid for another year so they’re not trying to develop four rookies. They should be well stocked in the front court when they trade Christian Wood in a year. Grade: 95 Bubba Gump Shrimp Cocktails.
From “the rich get richer” files, the Nets rocked it despite not having a pick till 27. They got Cameron Thomas, professional bucket getter (23 PPG!), at 27, and then added a guy many rated as a late lottery pick, UNC center Day’ron Sharpe at 29, plus three second rounders. Sharpe will absolutely help them with depth at center, where they were destroyed by the Bucks in the playoffs, and this team probably needs a bench guard for garbage time. Grade: Five Uncle Drew “youngblood” shout-outs.
Charlotte grabbed James Bouknight, who everyone says is good, and a center that averaged 3.6 points and 3.2 rebounds from Texas named Kai Jones. Then JT Thor at 37, then Scottie Lewis at 56. Grade: 2021 “best draft pick names” award.
Speaking of names, Bones Hyland was Denver’s lone draft pick after shooting into the first round on the strength of a strong showing at the draft combine. Can 2019 draft pick Jordan Bone also join Denver? Grade: Skeletor.
Memphis traded Jonas Valanciunas and ate a couple rough contracts to get up to 10th, and then selected Ziaire Williams, who has big potential, but had a pretty lackluster year at Stanford. Memphis likely felt they’d gotten as far as they could get with big V and that they needed to upgrade their talent for the long term. Lots of folks had them high on Giddey and Wagner, and those two were long gone by the time they got picked. I trust that they did their homework on Williams and Loyola’s Santi Aldama (30). The Loyala forward particularly was an analysts darling. With ex #CavsTwitter alum Jacob Rosen running their analytics Dept., Memphis should be in good hands. They’ll either look really smart or really dumb. Grade: A coin to flip and an analytics dashboard to analyze flip patters ad infinitum.
The Bucks traded out of 31 in a loaded draft and took forwards Sandro Mamukelashvilli and Georgios Kalaitzakis at the end of the draft who will probably never play for them. This seems dumb. They could’ve definitely used more guards and wings in the playoffs and will likely lose Bryn Forbes. Grade: Participation trophy for most syllables drafted.
Phoenix Traded Javon Carter and the 29th pick for Landry Shamet in what was probably a dumb trade for both teams, but Shamet can fill in when Cam Payne walks. Grade: Peaked in 2021.
The Jazz grabbed Baylor’s Jared Butler at 40 after trading out of 30. Big win if Butler is healthy, which no one thinks he is since he was drafted 40th. Still, the Jazz draft well. The real question is if they’re trading Joe Ingles to save money after a playoffs where they were so banged up they could no longer compete. Naturally they drafted an injured player. Grade: Hot tub with a motor boat engine in it.
The Wizards had the goofiest draft of anyone. They had a great season and made the playoffs after a brutal start, when Russell Westbrook finally recovered from Covid. Naturally, they traded Westbrook to the Lakers for Kyle Kuzma, Montrezl Harrell and Kentavious Caldwell-Pope. WTF. Russ was a monster last year. Bradley Beal is supposedly committed to staying in Washington even after the trade (to play with his close friend KCP). IDK, maybe Russ stole too much limelight from Brad?
Westbrook averaged 22/12/12 in 65 games and controlled Washington’s entire offense, with Beal being the beneficiary of 31.3 ppg scoring, but not as much initiator duties. Like wtf are we doing here? Go get a forward or two and start competing. Don’t break up the most dynamic backcourt in the East for a garbage platter from LA! This is a two quarters and a dime for a dollar trade. I’m baffled by it.
Then Washington drafted Corey Kispert and G-League big man Isaiah Todd. Kispert seems like Dud McDermott. It’s hard to see how this team didn’t get a lot worse. GM Tommy Sheppard seems like someone who is waiting for Beal to ask out so he can do a real rebuild. Why does everyone in DC make things harder than they need to be? Grade: bipartisan fact finding committee.
Honestly, as much as Russ isn’t a great shooter, I like the idea for the Lakers if they can make it work. Getting LeBron off the ball more will help preserve him, and Russ can run an offense as well as anyone. Plus, L.A. had a hard time scoring last year, Russ will definitely help there, and the Lakeshow can do a Bron/Wade style “my turn/your turn” setup with the rotations, and use their defense to fuel their offense. Russ can’t be worse than the umlaut. Now L.A. needs shooters… so many shooters – and a hell of a training staff. Grade: One Kevin Love buyout.
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Finally, the NBA free agency period starts Monday night. As Chris Fedor noted for Cleveland.com, with the addition of Ricky Rubio (Grade: GR8!), the Cavs are no longer in the market for a guard.
the Cavs are no longer expected to pursue Los Angeles Lakers free agent guard Alex Caruso or Indiana Pacers pesky reserve TJ McConnell — both of whom will garner interest from several suitors and could command the full mid-level exception, which starts around $9.5 million.
The guys that Fedor mentions as candidates for Cleveland’s midlevel exception, are mostly out of the Cavs’ league. Alec Burks, Doug McDermott, Reggie Bullock, and Josh Hart are nice names, and I love Burks in particular, but the Cavs are just going to spin their wheels if they set their sights too high.
The Cavs’ depth chart is as follows, with Dylan Windler conspicuously absent. With the Cavs electing not to extend Isaiah Hartenstein a qualifying offer, and Brodric Thomas getting one the Cavs have 14 guys “on the roster” by my count. Dotson’s contract isn’t guaranteed, and Martin, Thomas, and Kabengele have to be considered pretty expendable. The problem is, the Cavs likely already have nine guys in the rotation. Who do they squeeze out to add free agents?
Depth chart from ESPN.com provided for rough grouping purposes. (No I don’t think Kevin Love will be starting).
The way I see it, the Cavs need the most depth at the wing spot, maybe an emergency point guard, some vets who can play limited minutes or spot start, and definitely some 3/4 types. Here are some of the guys I think could be actually gettable for Cleveland.
Group 1: The recycle bin. These guys are coming off injury or have flamed out in other locations (Johnson). Put me in the camp that is done with guys who have injury histories. The Cavs have enough injuries to manage already. But, these guys are at least interesting: Dante Exum, Justice Winslow, Stanley Johnson, David Nwaba, Rondae Hollis Jefferson. Exum was a great defensive player and utility guy in Miami till injuries derailed him. Nwaba and Exum we know, but they get hurt every year. Stanley Johnson can’t shoot, but he can defend. Likely he’ll end up at the bottom of a roster. Rondae Hollis-Jefferson was solid till he blew his ACL for Portland, but he can’t shoot.
Group 2: Veteran wing shooters. If the Cavs can get any of these guys on a vet minimum, it’s a great deal. Grabbing at least one would be great for culture setting. 6-4 Guard Wayne Ellington at 33 notched 9.6 ppg on 41%/42%/80% for Detroit in 22 minutes per game. This is exactly the kind of floor stretching vet the Cavs need.
34 year old Garrett Temple was part of the early resurgence of the Bulls last year before the Vucevic trade wrecked them. At 6-5, Temple’s an ok shooter, but he’d be a great vet presence who can play three positions. He averaged 8/3/2 this last season in 27 minutes on 42%/34%/80% splits.
Group 3: Veteran Guards. Cleveland doesn’t need another guard, but the guys on this list make sense, though most are too small for my taste. Phoenix’s Langston Galloway is a knockdown shooter, but the Cavs don’t need another shooting guard in a point guard’s body (6-1). Raul Neto is a solid point, but once again, 6-1. The bigger guards, Alec Burks and Alex Caruso just won’t be available. I’d be shocked if L.A. didn’t re-sign Caruso as he’s a fan favorite and they can go deeper into the Luxury tax to re-sign him. Alec Burks will likely get at least a lucrative one year deal from the Knicks if they punt till next year on free agency. I’d not be surprised to see Burks get the full midlevel or better shooting 42%/42%/86% and dropping 13/5/2. He was very solid last year. He’ll be solid again next year, but not in Cleveland.
6-3 Cory Joseph helped himself in a big way getting out of Sacramento and playing out the last 19 games in Detroit for 12/3/6 on 59 True Shooting%. He would be worth a portion of the midlevel, but I bet he gets a chance with a playoff team with cap room as a backup guard who can play either position.
Group 4: Vet forwards who can’t shoot. There’s a couple names on this list: Solomon Hill and JaKarr Sampson. Both are defense first 3/4 guys who aren’t great shooters. In fact Sampson doesn’t shoot at all. Likely not in the Cavs range unless they don’t get a sniff or their current teams don’t want them. Hill actually made 32% from three last year, but made up for it by going 36% from the field. Still, a solid defensive vet combo forward is a nice thing to have, even if just to practice against.
Group 5: Veteran bigs. Cleveland doesn’t need another big – maybe if there’s a Love buyout. But having a vet on the roster who can step in and play a bit helps, especially if guys get injured (knock on wood). Ersan Ilyasova is now in his third decade of being a solid fourman, but is “just” 33. He shoots the long ball well, rebounds, and takes charges. Don’t know if he’s a leader or not. If he is, I’d sign him. Daniel Theis likely gets a full midlevel or is re-signed by Chicago (or Boston). He averaged 10/6/2 plus a block last year, and is a great screen setter, defender, and solid shooter for a five. Theis likely is out of the range of what Cleveland would spend on a vet big, still if Love goes, he’s not the worst idea if you think you can play Larry at the three.
Trey Lyles is another bench stretch four for the Spurs, but he just averages 5/4/1 in 16 minutes a night. He shot 35 from deep last year. He’d be be ok for a small portion of midlevel, or vet minimum. I’d not be surprised to see him end up overseas.
And there’s always our old friend John Henson who didn’t even play last year.
Group 6: A portion of the midlevel. These guys fill a need, but haven’t had the most efficient NBA careers. Still, for half the midlevel, they might be had. Sterling Brown spent the first three years of his career in Milwaukee, had an awful incident with the local police that hopefully enacted major police reform, and then ended up in Houston last season. He’s 6-5 and can play both wing spots and average 8/4/1 while shooting 42% from deep. He is a restricted free agent, but does Houston match? They’re cheap and have a lot of bodies.
Terence Davis is a restricted free agent, and I haven’t included many of those. At 6-4 though, and just 23 years old, Davis dropped 11/3/2 last year and has career splits of 44%/38%/84%. The problem is, he’s a full midlevel at least, and Sacramento probably matches, unless they think their backcourt is too crowded. Davis also has an ugly domestic violence incident in his history, and the Kings just traded for him March. I doubt they don’t match a full midlevel now.
Hamidou Diallo is another guy who blossomed in tank season in Detroit. BPM hates him at -3.4 and EPM is -2.5. The 6-5 combo wing did shoot 47%/69%/66%, but he doesn’t shoot much from three. He did drop 12/5/2 last year though. I don’t know what offer would cause Detroit not to match. At least six mil?
There’s one guy in the association who has figured out the NBA. It’s Tony Snell. Why? Because he only shoots when he’s absolutely wide open. It leads to gaudy three point numbers. The rarified air of 57% from deep was achieved when Tony drained 62-109 last year. Snell played 21 minutes a game and took four triples a night, yet only scored 5.3 points on a ridiculous 71 TS%. What’s this guy worth? With that shooting he can’t even post a positive BPM. (Career -1.9). His EPM was a brutal -2.7 last year. He’ll play forever, but he doesn’t do much more than that. He’s like that weird Japanese three point shooting robot.
A basketball robot. For your pleasure. pic.twitter.com/5LZF2vpwNg
— Ann Killion (@annkillion) July 25, 2021
There have been many an email exchanged over Kent Bazemore in CtB history. I always loved him, but Ben Werth always found him annoying and overrated. And now at 32, Baze is likely washed, but he still put up ok splits last year. 7/3/2 and 45%/41%/69%. He’s not awful.
My final guy is among my favorites, Denzel Valentine. Valentine was a very promising sophomore averaging 10 points a game before an injury in his third year. He’s struggled to come back, averaging 6.5/3/2 and shooting sub 40% from the field. Still, he has a career 36% from three, and though he’s a negative player from EPM -1.5 and BPM -2.9. He’s had better years and at 27 has the potential to bounce back. A third of the midlevel?
Group 7: The full midlevel. These are the guys who should be at the top of the Cavs list, and deserve a full midlevel if Cleveland is serious about them. A lot of folks like Reggie Bullock. The 6-6 Bullock got matched up a lot with Trae guarding him in the playoffs last season. He didn’t make Trae pay nearly enough. But Bullock put up 44%/41%/91% splits in the regular season to go with 11 points a game. Someone more glamorous than Cleveland probably snags him. At 30 though, a third partially guaranteed year might swing things to Cleveland if the guarantee is big enough. This is Bullock’s last decent payday most likely.
Josh Hart is another guy a lot of folks talk about. I loved him coming out of Villanova, but Hart has been “just a guy” since he was drafted. He’s been playing a lot of four at 6-5 and is a rebound machine with 9/8/2 splits and 57 TS%. He’s solid, if not spectacular on D and he doesn’t help the offense much, with an EPM of -1.4. He can do a lot of different things at a league average level. I don’t think Cleveland has the juice to get him as my bet is he wants to start somewhere. I’d root for him in a Cavs uni though.
Keep an eye on Josh Hart in free agency for the Cleveland Cavaliers, per sources.
— Evan Dammarell (@AmNotEvan) August 1, 2021
Torrey Craig would get a lot of run for Cleveland, but he is strictly 3-and-D. Still, he’s got gas left at 30, and while a full midlevel is probably an overpay, I don’t think he considers Cleveland without most of that $9.5 mil. The 6-7 Craig can guard any position, and played center some in the finals. He also shot 50%/37%/80% last year for 7/5/1 splits. EPM doesn’t like him at -1.7 though, but BPM puts him at +.8.
Furkan Korkmaz is Cedi’s good friend and a guy who shoots very well from deep. He’s also got terrible shot selection, and much like Cedi is terrible from 3-10 feet, but shoots way too many floaters and runners. He has a career 41%/38%/75% split, and plays average defense. His 9/2/2 splits project strictly as a shooter/wing. Much like Cedi, at 6-7 Korkmaz is a guard in a forwards’ body. He is much more consistent from three than his countryman, but doesn’t have his flair for playmaking. A full midlevel feels like an overpay, but 7-8 mil feels like not enough. With an EPM of +0.5, someone will covet Furkan’s shooting.
Charlotte’s Malik Monk is a restricted free agent, but with the number of wings and guards on their roster, I have to think they might think twice about matching a full midlevel. The 6-3 combo guard put up 12/2/2 last year and shot 43%/40%/82%, but is a turnstile on D. He’s likely too small to do much on the Cavs, but he seems like a guy the Cavs would sign. Doubt the midlevel gets it done, and I think he’s just another guard for them who can’t defend.
Georges Niang is intriguing. The Jazz forward is a lights out shooter with a career 40% three point mark. He averaged 7/2/1 last year for Utah, but was definitely a beneficiary of their gravity. He’s worth at least half the midlevel, and was a plus or at least average defender according to BPM (+0.1)and EPM (+1.5!). Given his 60% true shooting, Niang should be in consideration as maybe a full midlevel guy, and yes. I’d play him at the three.
The forward from this group, 6-6 James Ennis III had a nice season for Orlando last year, with a +0.1 EPM and dropping 8 points and shooting 43% from deep with good shooting all over the floor. Ennis is just 30, and could be a real fit for a good portion of the midlevel exception.
Group 8: Worth a Flier. These gents are kind of on second or third go rounds but worth a look due to upside. 22-yo big man Harry Giles started shooting the three ball for Portland and 8-23 good for 35% last year. He did some good things in Sacramento his first two years, but kind of got worked defensively, and has been buried on the benches. He’d definitely be a good camp big to develop.
Isaac Bonga is a 6-8 guard/forward who can play some point. He is an unrestricted free agent out of Washington and is just 22 years old. He had a solid sophomore year and then his stats plummeted with his playing time last year. If you take his 50%/35%/81% shooting splits from 2020 averaging 5/3/1, he’s definitely worth looking at. But his BPM is abysmal at -6.4 last year. At his size though, the upside is through the roof. Cavs should look at him on a 2-way deal if they can. I’d bet he’d go back to Europe before that though.
I like Javonte Green who played in Boston and Chicago last year. He’s 27 and 6-4. He plays with energy and his shooting improved up to 37% from deep last year. Worth an invite.
Conclusions: I’d like three of these guys, one from each column. I’d love Georges Niang more than anyone. The analytics like him, he shoots the lights out, he is 28, and he’s gettable. Second place, James Ennis III. Send either at least $7.5 mil a year and I feel like it gets done. Then take the $2 million left on the mid-level and grab a recycle guy. Then grab a flier on a minimum contract. Let’s gooooo!
Gobert with an outrageous kickout pass to an open 3 close to ending Slovenia’s hopes. Probably the most entertaining game of the finals so far (including the future gold medal game).
Wow. Doncic refuses to take the last potentially game-winning shot, passes to his teammate who had to drive into traffic. Rejected. Game over.
damn y’all called it!!!!!
Come on, Green had real offers from contenders who could match our offer. He was never coming here.
that’s what Nate meant, Cavs used purely as monetary leverage.
And what I meant seems to have gone over your head, ie, the Cavs were not ‘leveraged’. He had legit interest from lots of contenders, and an obvious track record of ring chasing.
I mean, do you think Philly said, “Geez, I know the Bucks and Lakers and Heat want Danny, but now that the Cavs are showing interest, we better up the ante or Green could bolt to Cleveland.”
A thing has to be plausible to be used as leverage.
The Bucks, Lakers and Heat could not offer the full non-taxpayer midlevel. Therefore the Cavs $9.5 mil was the maximum monetary counter offer to the Sixers’ Bird rights offer. The fact that it was just over $9.5 was not a coincidence.
This thread kills me.
2nd chance points starting to flow in the US direction.
USA trying to close the gap before half.
I can see the way this is going. Disappointing that the best Australia can hope is bronze. This should be the gold medal match. Pooey.
:( yeah seems like it’s going th eway of the Spain game, Aussies and Spainiards gold medal worthy teams.
Dante Exum FA audition against Team USA!!!
So happy for him. He’s had it rough since he was drafted.
the warriors are smart.. cavs should have hired smarter people.. and avoided the gumdrop debacle, one of those monstrous avoidable mistakes that will haunt the cavs FOREVER.. the implications of that disaster are still reverberating through the ether.. they are immortal.. better to never step in the steaming piles.. once your feet are in the scheit, they will always smell..
no way. Everything fell into place for 2016. Wouldn’t trade a moment of what came before.
Moody is 15/5 and a team high +10, auspicious start!
5/11 from the field, 2/3 from 3
Hard to say how good he’ll be, but his dropping to the Warriors is a joke.
damn Kuminga and Moody looking really nice!!!
Moody is LONG…
Kuminga playing at 4/5 not wing.
Question: Since JA signed for 5 years, he cannot be included in any S and T deals correct? and there’s a 6 month trade moratorium on his contract?
Yes, believe that is correct.
OK cool, i don’t understand any of that crap but if that’s true i retract my apology and back on my bullsh*t LMFAOOOOOOOO
Good tidbit from the latest Fedor article…. sounds like Hard Rock open to re-signing, if so double win for Koby and my apologies to him LMFAOOOOO
That piece had me feeling a bit better. Seems like we know we need another C, another real PG (gotta have 3),and some wing/shoiting.
We only have 10 made guys on the roster. Including Love. 11 with Wade. We have more work to do.
I am guessing this only makes sense if it is for less than the RFA level?
well, two things, they can say they treated him right by letting him test FA, and now they could possibly get him for the min now that money is drying up.
thnx — sure is a lot of info on that link!
I stumbles onto a Laker’s oriented site. They are sure Love will be a Laker “real soon now”.
They still have roster spots?
maybe midseason? hard to know if that site had a clue.
Three.
I think we get it that the Cavs are not a contender at the moment.
But I’m not sure about buying the Cavs are a bottom three team with no future. Last year they were ultra young, tanking hard, and would up fifth last. This year several main players are growing up, and they have added a potentially great player.
Agreed. I think they have a legit shot at the play-in next season. A lot will depend on luck with injuries – they had some of the worst luck in the league last year.
I am not saying they don’t have a future. I like a lot of the pieces in isolation. Garland, Mobley, Allen, Nance, and Okoro especially. I like the Rubio move, a lot.
But the pieces just do not fit together well. We are gonna have to do some re-arranging to become a winning team. And we still lack switchable wings in the 6’6″-6’10” range who can shoot & defend. Our top 2 guys are Cedi and Windler.
Right. Severe lack of 3’s.
Im really excited about their future. But young players suck at winning, and the Cavs are VERY young.
Per BBREF, the had 179 qualified players in rebound %. Okoro was 169th. Sexton was 172nd. Garland 178th.
They are all terrible rebounders.
I’m gonna believe my eyes on this one with regard to Okoro. Again. Clearly a coaching/lineup issue.
They are all young. They all can improve. And having one guy (or two) who aren’t great rebounders is not the end of the world.
But starting 3 guys in the bottom 6% in the league creates a problem. We are undersized 1-3, don’t defend well, don’t rebound well, don’t shoot well, and don’t move the ball well.
Rubio & Mobley will help some, but this team is bottom 8 in the league unless we hit on a LOT of dice rolls this year.
Yup bitched about it all year… I’m not gonna blame Garland cuz he’s the point guard, they typcially don’t add value in that dept., but Sexton or Okoro not using their athleticism or showing any real effort on that end is unacceptable. Cavs ended up a bottom 1/3 team in defensive rebounding in spite of Drummond playing for us, it was a problem last year.
To Nate’s point, Okoro did rebound a little better when he played at the 2 at times at the end of the year, but the threshold was literally nothing LMFAOOOO
Wow. OKC buys out Kemba (2 yrs $74 mil left). Kemba to Knicks.
Wonder if they need to clear some salary?
As it stands now:
Starters: Garland, Sexton, Okoro, Mobley, Allen.
Bench: Rubio, Windler, Cedi, LNJ, Love
3rd: Thomas, Dotson, Stevens, Wade, Kabengele.
The 3rd string guys are all non-guaranteed. Is there a gettable FA out there (other than Hartenstein) that cracks the top 10?
Horrid roster construction/balance.
Starters: Undersized 1-3. Especially at the 2-3. Terrible backcourt defensively. Zero froncourt shooting.
Bench: Two good defenders in Nance & Rubio. But Windler, Love, & Cedi are swiss cheese and not good enough offensively to make up for it. If you put them out there with 2-3 of Allen, Mobley, Nance, or Okoro it could work.
3rd string: Wade can play a bit. But no established players nor a prospect to get excited about.
We cannot play 2 distinct units. The pieces just don’t fit well together. Of our starters, only Garland and Allen are in their best natural spots. Sexton & Okoro are just too small to guard their spots effectively and are terrible rebounders. And while Mobley is too skinny to guard the 5 now for extended minutes, he is gonna clog things with Allen & Okoro. The Nets, Bucks, and Heat are gonna be really good. Hawks & Knicks held steady or got a bit better. Celtics still have Tatum & Brown & Philly still has Embiid & Harris. That is… Read more »
That is 10.
The teardown is complete in Toronto but you still have Van Vleet, Siakam, & OG. They are well coached. Washington still has Beal.
That leaves us bottom 3 with Orlando & Detroit. Pistons have Cade.
Okoro is nor a terrible rebounder. It’s just not his role. He’s asked to guard the best perimeter players a lot and get back on D. He’s also our of position at the three. I thought this last year and then I watched the games after Ben Werth corrected me.
Agree that he is out of position. But do not agree that guards cannot rebound because they are guarding on the perimeter.
And yes, Okoro is a terrible rebounder. He averaged 3.1 per game. Tied for 64th amongst SFs, despite playing 30+ mpg. Cedi nabbed more boards per game than him in fewer minutes. He’d rank 37th amongst PGs (tied with Sexton). Tied for 46th amogst SGs.
Amongst SFs who played 30+ mpg? Dead last. SGs? Fourth from bottom (Graham, Trent Jr., Fournier). How is that not terrible?
Cuz they don’t ask him to rebound. I’m not saying it makes sense; it’s just not his role. Cavs are generally a bottom third rebounding team which has more to do with lousy guards. Okoro is playing up a position than he should. He should be a 2. It’s a dumb scheme and its gonna get worse next year with the beanpoles manning the big spots. I’m not overly worried about Okoro’s rebounding and it seemed to improve as the year went on. He couldn’t be worse than Sexton. Until they fix the coaching/positional problems, the argument is moot.
some of this argument evaporates when you realize Okoro is a 2, not a 3
SO THE DRAFT THAT WE GOT GARLAND / WINDLER / KPJ AND WE WERE REALLY EXCITED ABOUT WILL TURN OUT TO BE JUST GARLAND —–KPJ// TRADED– ” GIVEN ” TO ROCKETS ——WINDLER ‘WINDEX”–MADE OF GLASS ………..” MORE BEER PLEASE “
RE KPJ – who the hell knows. At the moment, yes we look foolish (and man how nice it would be to have an up and coming wing on this team!). But he very well could have a major screw up tonight. They had to get rid of him after his behavior. They took a risk picking him (and trading 2nd round picks), it backfired, sucks. If he does get it together in Houston, I guess I would ask “why not CLE? bad culture? bad coaching? or just wrong point in life?” Everything I read, seemed like they made every… Read more »
Davion Mitchell is balling right now
He oughta, he’s like 30
LMFAOOOO he’s taking all these guys lunch money!
The bias against drafting older guys is one of the dumbest things in the NBA.
More upside is just another word for “he really sucks right now.” Toronto & Phoenix both love to take 3-4 year guys (Cam Johnson, Bridges) and that has worked well.
Personally, I prefer guys I know can play and will actually earn their money the first 1-2 years. I love Mitchell as a player. He can be in my team anytime.
Totally disagree. Most guys don’t work out. One guy succeeding is purely anecdotal. I saw some thing the other say that said 90% of wings 22 and over that were drafted washed out within three years. There’s a reason they didn’t leave school earlier. Also, of course he’s gonna smoke summer league scrubs.
I’d still take Hart on this team. He’s a pretty tough and gritty defender.
I doubt he’s coming unless they trade Sexton… it’d be a step backwards for him, fewer minutes on a non-contender.
or maybe in a trade with Love, Nance, or Allen…. hypothetically possible, but not likely.
I am a hard no on Hart if we have to give anything to get him. We already have a small guy who cannot shoot (Okoro). He’d be our 4th or 5th guard. No.
Yeah, just hard to get into guys who can’t shoot a 3 now that Mobley has been acquired.
Just fishing thru the FA list, Justin Jackson catches my eye.
EPM -3. BPM -8!
career BPM -2.8 he only played one game last year for the Bucks.
80% career FT shooter, shot 37% from 3 in college on high volume.
only realistic target that seemed remotely interesting.
Sorry. Missed that it was 1 game. Bruce Brown Jr.,Javonte Green, Ennis, McKinnie, Danny Green. Thats my list right now.
All good, Ennis and McKinnie I wouldn’t mind… i would think they’re the most realistic options of that set.
Wouldn’t be a terrible grab.
HELL YEAH LETS GOOOOOOOO!!!!
While I kind of agree with you, I also think we were always ginna struggle signing a FA. 1. We only have the MLE. 2. We don’t have a starting spot available. 3. We are not a contender 4. We are not likely to be a contender or even PO bound. 5. Our best player is a ball hog who cannot defend 6. Our highest paid player does not try anymore and is always hurt. We were always looking at table scraps. We did well to land Rubio. Letting Hartenstein walk was stupid. We are much more focused on trades.… Read more »
WHY IS WINDLER NOT PLAYING SUMMER LEAGUE ????????????
fragile?
Recovering from surgery. Don’t want to rush him. Made of glass.
NOMAD bro.. he is a toothpick (the flat kind.. able to be broken by blowing on it)..
Yup, what everybody said, worried he could get injured and they’re basically counting on him this year and can’t risk injury.
Lakers sign Melo, added experience and wisdom to their Young Core.
Melo + Wisdom in same sentence?
It’s always a perfect fit when using irony.
Kendrick Nunn, THT, and Monk would be the youngsters.
Plus, I have heard rumors Caruso could be a S&T and/or other teams jumping into the Westbrook trade. They still have a couple open spots.
Full SL roster:
https://basketball.realgm.com/nba/teams/Cleveland-Cavaliers/5/Rosters/Summer_League
Thonas, Okoro, Stevens, Mobley, Kabengele.
Jaylen Hands (PG, UCLA, 22, R), Travon Bluiett (SG, Xavier, 26, 1), Sehmus Hazer (SG, Turkey, 22), Chandler Vausrin (SF, Winthrop, 24, R), Matt Ryan (SF, Chattanooga, 24, R), Trey Scott (F, Cincy, 24, R), James Banks (C, Georgia Tech, 23, R).
Looks like mostly guys who have been out of college a year or two, judging by the ages.
Wish I could stay up early for all these Olympic games. Congrats, Simmo
Hope we give the US a good workout. Without Baynes we lose a lot of structure. Honestly just hoping for a medal of some sort.
Really surprised the Lakers let Caruso walk, reportedly he gave them a chance to match & they said no thanks. Those geriatrics they are getting won’t last long.
I think the Bucks had Bird rights on Tucker as well.
Not a ton if impactful guys out there in FA, most of the 3&D guys are gonna go to contenders. Saw GAW got Porter Jr. I wanted hin the year we took Gum Drop Bear.
For us? Bruce Brown Jr. Niang. Bring back Hatenstein. A swing on Oladipo? Someone with some size who can defend the wing. Really only non-shooters available at this point.
Really nice moment when Luis Scola sat with a minute to go. Last international game for this legend. They stopped the game, stadium gave him a two minute ovation. He understandably broke down a bit.
Struggling with the concept that If Australia lose to Argentina, the needling & flopping of Campazzo will have had a lot to do with it. Annoying punk.
Rubio with 38 points on 13-20 FGs with Jrue on him a lot. Most ever by an opponent of team USA.
USA wins behind KD, overcoming an early 10 ot deficit
Yeah was a great game to watch if you are a Cavs fan!
Sixers waived George Hill…
The journey for the journeyman continues.
Epic post
Dont get the joke.
Not expecting 38 a night from Ricky on the Cavs, but he should be able to do 30 easily…
Rubio having one helluva game
38 against team USA???!!!!!!
38 pts, but going home.
true, but will be one of those cool historical footnotes! LMFAOOOO
Rubio just rejected Adebayo at the rim, then pickpocketed Jrue in the open court…. this is insane LMFAOOOO doing it all
Wish the Cavs were getting Olympic Rubio.
Ricky Rubio beating team USA single handedly, MVP year incoming.
Great!
damn Rubio just took Jrue to school!!!
You mean Cleveland Cavalier Ricky Rubio? Yes he’s looking great. He’s everywhere.
THATS RIGHT SIMMO!!!!!
took Booker in the paint next!
7 Undrafted Players From The 2021 NBA Draft Ready To Prove EVERYONE Wrong! from hoops reference on yt.. this dude has some good ideas.. the nix cat from the ignite looks like a decent undrafted for kolby.. wake up kolby.. you’re missing the good vids.. what else could you possibly doing with your time..
Pelton gave Miami a C for dealing Dragic & Precious for Lowry. Toronto gets a B when they could have have got a lot more two months ago.
Heat are top 3 8n the East now. Contenders.
SL roster has Mobley + 4 guys who played for the Cavs last year: Okoro, Stevens, Brideric Thomas, and Kabengele.
Definitely watching that!!! Yes, i have a problem LMFAOOOOOo
And I love that starting group for Summer League, guys who need on ball and 3ball work.
Agree with Nate, our first is almost certainly top 10. Not worth if for any if those guys. Well, maybe depending on the protections…
I mean there are lottery protection but this is dumb.
Pretty good day for Tucker.
awesome article!!! i was reallllly hoping for a non-developmental year but with basically our 5 starters being 23 and under there is no possible way. im just hoping for competency and development!
Still quiet on the Drummond front. Lakers need to give him the bag and let him dominate.
100%
This honestly hurts the Lakers noticeably.
damn less than delly money?????
I get the feeling the Knicks are going to have an expensive team that’s not very good.
IDK I like that signing…. he can shoot and pass, which is sorely missing from their roster.
and it hurts a conference rival in Boston, double win.
Totally disagree. They beat Atlanta if Bullock didn’t suck. Fournier is gonna be great for them. Plus their young core is a year older and they have great coaching. Think they could be 3 seed in East.
Despite my pessimism with our roster construction and lack of any competent players on the wing over 6’4″, I do think Rubio & Mobley will help. We sure could use a competent big guard/SF and combo forward who can shoot & defend. Most good teams have like 4.
to Nate’s point though, luckily there’s a little time because I don’t think they’re competing next year.
Nope. I mean, IF Love stays healthy & tries AND Collin learns to defend & pass a bit AND Garland & Okoro level up AND Nance stays healthy AND Mobley is a net positive out of the gate AND we add a positive player in FA AND get something out of Windler…..maybe the play in.
Lot if IFs there.
LMFAOOOOOOOO pretty much!!!
I think the only way there’s a sea change is if Evan is truly generational from the jump.
This is somewhat unfortunate.
Ariza signs with the Lakers on one year deal. Good thing he sucks.
Wow, not exactly top shelf. But if they didn’t use the MLE on either, it is fine. Howard is coming back & they have Bird rights on Caruso & THT.
Matthews & Morris could be back.
Ellington can shoot.
At the moment:
Russ, Ellington, LBJ, AD, Gasol.
Caruso, THT, Ariza, Morris, Howard.
Matthews.
Go get another wing 3/D (Green) and another backcourt scorer (Mills).
Really like the Nuggets next year.
Dwight going back to Lakers, too, as has been speculated.
Korkmaz resigns with Sixers. Not much left as far as shooting wings.
I never liked Portis as a player, but he was pretty good for the Bucks, and their fans really bonded with him. He brings some nasty and energy to a team of mostly nice guys. Happy for him.
Bobby! Bobby! Bobby!
McBuckets to Spurs on 3 year deal…
A little surprised by this. Unca Jeff can eventually have a jersey from every team in his closet if he stays health.
Nice creative piece, Nate. But if you think the Cavs just paid Allen $100 million to be a backup center, you are on crack. Why no Windler? Will be: Garland, Sexton, Okoro, Mobley, Allen. Bench: Rubio, Cedi, Windler, LNJ, Love Deep bench/NGs: Thomas, Dotson, Stevens, Wade, Kabengele. You are 100% right it is gonna be a long year. It is difficult to construct a competent lineup despite some nice pieces. We do not have a starting caliber wing whi can shoot & defend. Garland is the only guy who can shoot 3s off the dribble. Live is the only big… Read more »
I wouldn’t count on Windler to play a full season at this point.
I’d venture to guess that internally they’re 100% counting on Windler playing this year with the Prince trade.
Sure. But that is a long way from not including him on the depth chart, which is what Nate did.
He’s under contract. He’s on the team. Nate has Love starting, Allen not, and Windler off the team. It was a ridiculous attempt at a depth chart in an otherwise excellent piece.
Yeah, no way Allen isn’t starting. And if Windler can actually stay healthy (big if at this point, I’m aware), he could be a big part of their rotation.
Oh right, for sure… yeah my view is I’m afraid they’re basically counting on Windler to be the backup wing/small ball 4 behind Okoro.
I just don’t think he’ll stay healthy enough for that role, which would be basically 15 minutes every night.
It was more a list of names that are on the roster roughly sorted by position. I grabbed it from ESPN. I didn’t think Love would be starting.
LMFAOOOO damn ESPN down in the mud!!!
Suns keep CP# on a 4 year deal worth close to $120 mill. It would have been impossible to believe three years ago.
HOLY CRAP LMFAOOOOOOO
No surprise at this point…
Heard he was looking to stay in Indy.
Good work!
“That guy? That’s Kareem and KD’s kid, Evan.”
Really love Mobley’s game. Him, Cade, and Green should have nice futures. I really saw this draft as having a solid, clear 3 prospects. Glad to see Cavs snag one of them!
Love seeing that corner 3! His shot looks really good.
Wow! Don’t know if that was edited, but it looked like 20 in a row.
No way he plays center.
Especially at 165 lbs.
Hell yeah Nate, back on the “horn” as it were!!! LMFAOOOOO
So much info here, gonna need to do a couple of readings thru the FA part LMFAOOOO
It’s a bit of an overpay, but I’m okay with it.
I hope Stein’s wrong LMFAOOOO
Don’t get what Koby’s doing…. lets Hard Rock walk for nothing and wants to pay 20m/yr for a guy who can’t pass or shoot, for the entirety of Mobley’s rookie contract???
Fedor just tweeted about how the market was drying up for Allen just prior to FA… so why not let him fish and match?
Cuz any offer is gonna be AT LEAST that. And they want to show show Allen the respect. Also discouraging suitors.
That’s what I assumed too obviously, but I think Fedor had a point that potential suitors made moves to hedge against Allen’s availability.
Are you not buying Mobley playing mainly as a 4?
No, I think playing the 5 will give him the most opportunities for mismatches on the offensive end and his offensive upside is the reason to do it.
Uh, see video above.
Oh I saw it, how does it disprove what I’m saying?
Interesting! At 6-5, I’d be down.
At 6-5, I’d have been a lot better!
Dotson upgrade? Windler replacement if he cannot stay healthy?
I am in. Still not big enough for SD/PF switches, but we need help everywhere.
Who do they squeeze out? Cedi obviously. No sentiment. Dude just can’t cut it.
He has an untradeable contract, but can play four positions. He’ll get his minutes. Half his problem last year was coaching.
He can play three positions, barely. I am not convinced as others are of his potential to be a consistent playmaker that doesn’t turn it over all the time. It has been emphasized repeatedly on this blog by multiple people including if I remember, you, how torched he gets as a four (not positive lineups). The other half of the problem, his own play, consistent inconsistency, and stagnation, are the main issues. A guy that has one good game and four god awful games every five games is a flash. I am over the cedi experiment. Time to move on.… Read more »
Oh agreed. But again Coaching. Staff refused to pull him out when he was stinking it up. Some of that is on them. Think he would do better with better coaching.
and the bad contract with osman is on kolby (or griffin).. either way, the front office owns the cedi fiasco.. the team record and his stats speak for themselves..
He’s not a fiasco. I have confidence he’ll be a bettwr player next season.
Agreed. He should be a secondary ball handler and matchup with 2 guards more often so he can use his size on offense & finish better at the rim.
He is not strong enough to guard big 3s or 4s. Not a good enough of a ballhandler to do it for long stretches or vs heavy pressure. He’s a reserve 2/3 on an $8 mil contract. Hardly a disaster.
Great writeup here, Nate, I don’t agree with everything, but good read. I would love to get Josh Hart. He can be a really tough defender. I’d be okay with Ellington. I really think the Dubs took Kuminga for ‘high upside’ trade value. I would have taken Wagner if I were them — he could actually play for them and be good. Very happy with the Mobley pick, I was at the point where I would have been disappointed with anyone else. And I do have concerns with him maxing out his potential. Really looking forward to seeing what he… Read more »
Niang is super interesting!