The Best News I've Heard Since July 12
by Alex
Even though the LeBron contract extension issue is finally settled, everyone is still itching for something big to happen with the Cavaliers. An off-season without exciting changes is like a hot fudge sundae without whipped cream. Unfortunately, the Cavaliers can't sign banner free agents without trading away core players like Zydrunas, which would be a huge mistake. Why dump a center coming off undeniably one of his best seasons as a professional simply because he had a poor 13-game stretch in the playoffs? All-star centers don't come along very often. The Cavaliers have only had two in 36 seasons: Z and Brad Daugherty.
So, it appears fans are in for an uneventful off-season. But that doesn't preclude serious team improvement. First of all, as impossible as it sounds, LeBron will be better next year. I have no clue what He could improve upon, but He will. Secondly, according to every source I can find, the team had a solid if not great draft. Both Shannon Brown and Daniel Gibson may not impress right away, but are good prospects.
Thirdly, the Cavaliers will improve thanks to addition by subtraction. The most hated man at the Mistake by the Lake Sporting Times, Flip Murray, will take his patented brand of low efficiency chucking to the Detroit Pistons next season. This loss couldn't have come soon enough. Larry Hughes, Damon Jones, or even Sasha Pavlovic may not look as active or skilled as Murray on the court, but there hardly is an objective measure that shows Flip to be the better player.
The addition of a mid-level exception veteran would hardly be exciting, but like it or not, the Cavaliers look to be a better team now that Flip Murray has packed his bags. If it takes a boring off-season to shed the deadweight, so be it.
So, it appears fans are in for an uneventful off-season. But that doesn't preclude serious team improvement. First of all, as impossible as it sounds, LeBron will be better next year. I have no clue what He could improve upon, but He will. Secondly, according to every source I can find, the team had a solid if not great draft. Both Shannon Brown and Daniel Gibson may not impress right away, but are good prospects.
Thirdly, the Cavaliers will improve thanks to addition by subtraction. The most hated man at the Mistake by the Lake Sporting Times, Flip Murray, will take his patented brand of low efficiency chucking to the Detroit Pistons next season. This loss couldn't have come soon enough. Larry Hughes, Damon Jones, or even Sasha Pavlovic may not look as active or skilled as Murray on the court, but there hardly is an objective measure that shows Flip to be the better player.
The addition of a mid-level exception veteran would hardly be exciting, but like it or not, the Cavaliers look to be a better team now that Flip Murray has packed his bags. If it takes a boring off-season to shed the deadweight, so be it.
5 Comments:
Anyways- I think a semi-big move is still to come, be it a sign and trade with Gooden, the resigning of Gooden, or the using the midlevel exception for a Gooden-like guy (I think they are a dime-a-dozen in the League.
I like getting rid of Gooden and picking up a Reggie Evans type of guy. Gooden is inconsistent but even worse, he is not a hard nosed player. We need someone who will go into the post and knock heads with people on offense and defense. I think Evans could deliver that.
Stats don't always tell the whole story. The bottom line is that the Cavs played better once they picked up Murray, and he played a big role in getting them to the playoffs. He's nothing compared to a healthy Larry Hughes, but he was an important part of the team in '05-'06. I think Shannon Brown will replace him well, and anything that Brown lacks offensively he can make up with solid defense. Brown is also a better shooter than Murray, who had a pretty lousy jump shot. Hopefully Brown benefits from learning from one of the most underrated defensive guards in the league: Eric Snow.
One cav i really do not care to see out there is Eric Snow. I like his defense, but he is a complete offensive liability. His ball handling skills are mediocre at best, and he does nothing to spread the defense when he has the ball in his hands. In fact, i liked seeing Damon Jones in the playoffs rather than Snow (corey/alex....any stats on this one?). With the offense funneling through LeBron at least 60% of the time, a shooter/defender (think bruce bowen-esque role player) seems far more valuable than a point guard essentially wasting 20% of your lineup each possession. As far as a point guard is concerned, I think Gibson seems like an answer here, as he seems to possess a little Chauncy Billups type of game (read: they have to defend him beyond the 3 pt arc). Of course, everyone is right in the off-season!
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