Cavs: the Podcast #249 (or, Godspeed, Junior)
2021-08-29Hello again CtB!!!
Fresh from the CtB podcast booth: Elijah Kim and Chris Francis reflect upon the biggest NBA news of the weekend, the Cavs trading hometown son and de facto team leader Larry Nance, Jr. to the Portland Trailblazers in a three team trade that brings over the sharp shooting big Lauri Markannen, who fell out of favor with the Chicago Bulls and their new front office regime.
Eli and Chris cover all aspects of the trade, what the Cavs lost, what did the Cavs gain… leaving both CtBers wondering if there could possibly be more moves on the horizon? The duo also hits on the other “big” NBA news of the weekend, the buyout standoff between NBA champion Kevin Love and the Cavs front office. According to Adrian Wojnarowski, Love has no interest in a buyout. Chris Fedor of cleveland.com reports that the Cavs are also uninterested in any buyout without Love giving back significant money. Eli and Chris venture some guesses as to what these reports mean as we approach the beginning of the 2021-22 NBA season.
And since CtB traditions are sacrosanct, Eli and Chris pitch some of their favorite things, with Chris name dropping his favorite tequila to drown his Larry Nance Jr. trade sorrows and Eli checking in with the Cavs fandom of South Korea.
Listen below, download the full audio file, or check us out on Apple Podcasts, Google Play, Stitcher, TuneIn, and Spotify.
Thanks for the pod.
Revisiting the late March 2021 game where Larry lit up Markkanen on the dunk (which I think happens to be the featured picture of this post), here it is, Markkanen switches from Allen to Nance in the paint and really takes just a pro forma swipe at the ball.
Lauri Markkanen looks like Napoleon Dynamite
O-H-I-O GO BUCKS !!!!——SCORE PREDICTION—-BUCKS WIN 38—20 GOING TO BE A CHALLENGE —AWAY GAME AGAINST A DECENT MINNESOTA TEAM/ ON PRIME TIME TV—–INEXPERIENCED QB——-OUR RUNNING GAME WILL HAVE TO BE ON TARGET TONIGHT !!!
Living in Boston, as I do, I have a soft spot for Tacko Fall. Is he good? obviously not. Still, he’s a fun guy to have around due to his record breaking size. He may be useful as a dude for our bigs to practice against, since he can block all their shots.
yup, truly only reason I see to bring him is for practice drills and scrimmaging, hope he helps Mobley!!!
on the next pod (250) Nate makes a good point about this acquisition being more of a ‘carnival move’, entertainment and typeface over on-the-court improvement
Kind of surprised about all the angst surrounding signing the tallest guy ever to a basketball team.
I have a friend who is an even 7′, and played college ball in the midmajors. His girlfriend’s father is a HS basketball coach, and I’m gonna guess the coach would like to have had boyfriend on his team.
HEY BUCKAROO —-WE HAVE SEVERAL “YOUNGSTERS ” HERE ON THE CTB WHO PROBABLY DO NOT EVEN KNOW —DR KEVORKIAN—- HENCE ” THE TERMINATOR “
Regardless of schedule, we are a bottom 3 team.
Us, Magic, OKC.
yup, at least bottom 5… only team on that list that I think the Cavs could realistically leapfrog is Detroit.
Yeah. Perhaps Det, but I do like Cade to help them. I think Minny could be pretty bad, too.
True, always some surprise teams on both sides of the W/L ledger…. safely bottom 10 I’d think, which would exclude the Cavs from play-in.
I hope so. The Cavs need another star to be prepared to start making noise in the 22-23 season.
Looks like Cavs in line to snag a top 4 slot in the lottery this year! ADRIAN GRIFFIN TO THE LAND!!!!
Pretty cool graphs, but help out on interpreting what they mean. Is this how tough your opponents are at particular points in the season? If so, how does that impact your final record?
“is this how tough your opponents are at particular points in the season?”
Yes
“if so how does that impact your final record?”
I’d assume harder the schedule, worse the final record, this is saying Caesar’s sportsbook betting has us as a bottom 4 team with a pretty tough schedule overall at least until the ASB.
RAOUL——I REALIZE IT IS EASY FOR ME TO “PLAY ” GM——I WOULD HAVE ‘CALLED KYRIE’S BLUFF OF SITTING OUT —-LOSING MONEY / ETC ‘ AND THEN LET LEBRON KINDA STEP IN AND HANDLE THINGS “INTERNALLY ” WITH KYRIE —–MEANWHILE BUYING TIME TO SURVEY A BETTER DEAL
That would also be my inclination, which would be great if it worked. But it might (would probably?) not have. How would letting LeBron handle it do any good, when Kyrie’s entire issue was about being overshadowed by anyone, including LeBron? You never know how things might work out, but the Cavs presumably knew by then that Kyrie is a bat sh!t crazy prima donna, so the chances of going from bad to worse were pretty good. Even after he got his wish, he screwed things up in Boston to the point where they were better when he didn’t play,… Read more »
wow.. looking at the tacko ’20-’21 stats i can see why the cavs entered the feeding frenzy for his services.. games = 19.. miniutes = 7.. blocks = 1.. ppg = 2.5.. should really move the needle.. the kevorkian needle
YEAH READ WHERE B SIMMONS IS NOT GOING TO CAMP—-WILL BE INTERESTING TO SEE HOW THIS PLAYS OUT—-WILL PHILLY SUCCUMB TO PRESSURE –(LIKE KOBY DID WITH KYRIE )– AND MORE OR LESS JUST GIVE SIMMONS AWAY—I DOUBT IT —-DIFFERENCE BETWEEN A COMPOTENT GM AND ONE THAT IS NOT
And what would you have done with Kyrie?
“HILARIOUS AND PATHETIC SIMULTANEOSLY-“——–WHAT THE MRS NOMAD THINKS EVERYTIME SHE LOOKS AT ME :-)………..” MORE BEER PLEASE “
Omg this tweet.
Nate.. remember to breath bro.. and i recommend learning the eric idle song from monty python’s life of brien,, always look on the sunny side..
kolby is trying to emulate the “old days” with the tribe.. bill veeck signed a midget, hoping that fans would buy tickets to see how opposing pitchers would do against a 4 footer.. kind of like a freak show.. so, it seams that the cavs are going for some type of freak show – joke hybrid.. and, i will reiterate again.. kolby does use his ken dolls.. it must be, right ? how could it not be given current developments ? we are clearly in “f&cking joke” territory.. hilarious and pathetic simultaneously.. which is rare..
yup.. purely a circus act to sell some preseason tickets LMFAOOO
Reports have Ben Simmons wanting to get traded to the Cavs. The reporters doubt Philly will be interested in any offers.
The 76’ers are kind of like the Texans, still demanding 3 firsts and 2 seconds for Deshaun “message” Watson, who might never play again.
Meanwhile, BS is apparently not reporting to camp until traded.
“TACO TUESDAY’—LIKE IT RAOUL—–BE CAREFUL LEBRON MIGHT SUE YOU FOR INFRINGEMENT RIGHTS :-)
I think the “Taco John” company tried to copyright the expression, but it did not fly.
J.B. GOING WITH THE ALL 7′ ZONE DEFENSE LINE UP
if you can get inside, they will be too high up to block a little scoop shot off the board.
SO WE GO FROM “HARD ROCK ‘ TO –“TACKO FALL ” ………….I AM GOING TO ………” MORE BEER PLEASE “
I hope we see more “Taco Spring” than “Taco Fall”, as in jumping more often than falling down.
ESPN: Tacko Fall joins Cavs
I think the Cavs can now put a team on the floor averaging over 7′. Has that ever been done?
W. T. F.
Taco Tuesday!
We are getting worse across the board. This team is a joke.
jason.. make sure you remember to laugh.. don’t internalize the pain.. very toxic
AGREE WITH RAOUL ( LIKE MOST OF THE TIME IDO )—-SOME VERY GOOD INPUT // MIND THINKING POSTS BY ALL —GREAT TO HEAR FROM YOU AGAIN BEN// HOPE ALL IS WELL ——-FROM WHAT I AM READING —LAURI IS MOTIVATED // DETERMINED TO BE THE PLAYER HE WAS THE 1ST 2 YRS IN HIS CAREER// IF NOT EVEN BETTER // THIS WOULD BE A VERY POSITIVE THING FOR THE CAVS —-IT IS A WAIT AND SEE GAME RIGHT NOW —-CAN’T WAIT NOW UNTIL TRAINING CAMP
I think this is a good move for LNJr and I’m happy for him. I suspect he may not have a particularly long NBA career owing to his late start and non-star skills, so its good to see him get a shot at some post-season action in his prime.
I suspect the front office would like to offer some entertaining if not winning ball this year, and so adding scoring helps with that.
Yup, all reports is that LNJ wanted this so softens the blow a lot.
Great podcast guys. And all around great job to everyone at CtB. I, just like the next guy, is trying to wrap my head around this trade and the overall direction of the team. My opinion is that this whole thing hinges on Mobley and what he will become. Currently, we aren’t sure what he will look like as a player…. and neither does the front office. So the next two years will determine the fate of Allen and Markk (assuming neither of these two show tremendous growth or regressions); and in the best case scenario, we have a playoff… Read more »
Thanks Rusty, and good post… I think the fits are there, it’s going to depend on Koby and JB to get it right hopefully.
We need to remember that salary cap rules affect decision making. If a team is sure they have a couple great players, (and in a small market) it is absolutely advantageous to have some big contracts attached to some movable players in case an outside star becomes available. Allen and Lauri will both provide future flexibility for the Cavs to play over the the soft cap assuming Garland and Mobley hit as much as we would hope. The Cavs aren’t likely to be able to sign a star in FA so there is no reason to hoard cap space. A… Read more »
thanks for injecting some common sense into the discussion.
this was an insightful read thanks.
This is true Ben. Cavs should stay above the tax. At this rate, due to timing, even without knowing how good some of these core guys are, the rebuild has been so long the Cavs are going to be locking up a core that is relatively not successful…
good stuff Ben, this is what I keep hearing re: movable contracts, so I hope it ends up true!
again on Pod 250 there is some discussion about packaging large contracts in big trades, it might have been CLF himself who mentioned Rubio’s contract as moveable as of some point in mid-October?
Too much time on the greens?
this is hilarious particularly if he’s actually on Eastern Standard Time!
THE “BUCK ” STOPS HERE ——-BUCKAROO—“YOU ARE ON FIRE ” AS OF LATE—–GREAT STUFF—–KEEP THEM COMING ” OH GREAT ZEN MASTER BUCKAROO “
NOMAD bro.. you remember the tower of power, right.. especially those weekends when the chuck taylor’s (or hush puppies) came off and the platform shoes were donned with the lime green (or powder blue) leisure suit.. i imagine you were quite the boogie master back in the late 70s.. thx for the kind words.. sometimes one is just in the flow.. glad you are digging uncle buck’s groove..
as to the trio of 7 footers the cavs have assembled, they will either be skinny scare-crows on a turnstile, looking like whirling dervishes, as nba guards give them inner-ear problems, or the tower of power.. time will tell which direction they take..it might just work out, but i am in full buddhist non-attachment mode on the cavs.. it will be what it will be.. all is well..
LMFAOOOOOOO hell yeah buck, zen mode activated!!!
you go buck, the mysteries of the future!
you are over-thinking it ctb bros.. it’s CLE.. there are very few “bests” in the 216.. you can maybe count them on 2 fingers.. the city is “lucky” to still have an nba franchise.. when a city leads the nation in poverty, that is usually not a big attraction.. LNJ is very happy to be gone.. and the rest of the team is likely very jealous.. no tears for LNJ.. he is fine.. the cavs will be the cavs.. they will sucketh for quite a while, but CLE still has a team.. this is all you can hope for.. and… Read more »
Sobering thoughts. Appreciated!
Why in the world would LNJ do a revisionist “I want to be traded”? Does anyone think he is bummed to join a contending team with some old friends?
For comparison, how do you feel when you lose a pick up game to a better team, and then they ask you to join them to face the next challenger?
Anybody else suspect that both LNJ’s “I wanted to be traded” and Cavs “we have no interest in a Love buyout” are both revisionist, face-saving PR?
In LNJ’s case, just another example of what a class-act he is, though — letting the franchise off the hook for fan anger at the trade. Also, what an amazing goodbye letter.
Damn, Markkanen better work out.
I actually do think Larry wanted to get out, his agent went on record saying they initiated trade talks according to the Pluto article.
I think I agree with Eli, buyout might not happen until late in the season.
Larry’s letter was great, all class. Lauri better bust his ass dude already overpaid lmfaooo but what else is new!!!
The salary makes it a little hard to feel too bad for Lauri, but what a crappy situation for him. Upset about losing his starting spot on his original team; traded to a team where he’s going to back up a rookie who is less game-ready than him; takes the seat of an all-time fan favorite. lol. Such a no-win for him.
That’s true… which is why we should be asking the Cavs why the hell did they sign him to a 67 million dollar deal and starter money AAV to not start him?????
Sort of? I’m sure Nance and his agent saw the writing on the wall. They might not have initiated the discussions, but I find it believable that they were in contact with the front office during the process. There’s some spin involved that benefits both sides. With Love, I don’t think the Cavs have put out that message. I think it’s Love’s agent watching the moves the Cavs are making and saying, we’re not going to make this easy for you… They want to force the Cavs in to a trading him, so he can still get paid. Cavs don’t… Read more »
LeBron coming home again confirmed LMFAOOO
Funny — I’m not as excited this time. Sure was fun when we were all following sightings of Air Dan.
Anybody know what he is actually referring to??
The Jake Paul fight last night
advanced micro analysis is surely a lot of fun, but it is easy to get carried away and take it seriously.