LOL -- Drew Gooden traded again! Why did LAC do this? They gave up Al Thornton and didn't even get a draft choice in return... guess those "team killer" rumors are true. He must really be causing issues inside, because that compensation is unheard of and shocking to me.
James looks small in that magazine shot, lol. And at not having to give up Hickson. And at getting Jameson. Hope the Heat get Amare now.
This deal KILLS the Cavs cap space for next year and makes them NON-players in the summer of 2010 FA bonanza. the rumors of going hard after Chris Bosh are officially dead now. (Jamison expires in 2012. yikes) This is one confident move. It is basically saying "yeah, this is our last bullet for a title." MAYBE, the rumor I heard today about Lebron telling a Prominent NBA player that he will play in New York next year are true. As it goes..it is like this...Lebron James has made it clear (to a prominent NBA player) that if the Knicks can clear enough cap space for TWO Max contracts (his being one)...he will go there. and Hello, Heat - Knicks Rivalry II so basically...if the Knicks dump their trash before the deadline...it means LEBRON and possibly another max. If they don't..the Knicks will suck forever.
I would not have traded for Jamison at all. I think Cleveland is fine as is, but adding another big time player is an obvious plus. However, not a soon-to-be 34-year old making that kind of money until 2012-2013. Never been a big fan of Jamison's game at all, and I question how he'll mesh next to LeBron. If this backfires, it'll backfire big time, as there is nothing you can do with Jamison for the next two or three years. If this core doesn't work out then Cleveland is pretty stuck. I'd of pushed harder for Amare. J.J. Hickson will be a solid role player at best. Give him up and get Amare. Stupid not to if the opportunity was there, and based on all reports, it was. Ferry is well known for overrating his own talent and draft choices, and that's evident by opting against making the Z / Hickson / 1st for Amare move that would have definitely pushed Cleveland as close to over the top as possible. I've noticed a lot of bragging about getting Jamison for nothing by Cavaliers fans, but Washington should be just as pleased. They got rid of that cluster**** of a contract for nothing. Jamison can still play, but like I said, he's going to be 34-years old in a few months and his contract is bloated. This is an all or nothing move at its finest. Might win Cleveland its first title, but if not, the risk is heavy.
If they can somehow move Curry and/or Jeffries, then watch out... Curry won't happen, but Jeffries has been linked to every potential Knicks deal out there. They're trying to package him with Nate Robinson, perhaps to Boston.
If they got Lebron to stay I never expected them to get anyone else "big" to go to Cleveland in FA (it's just not a desirable place to live IMO). I preferred Amare, even if it meant giving up Hickson, but I never expected him [Amare] to be traded given the offer the Cavs were putting out there. I think Jamison is better than anyone else we have at the position and probably becomes the 2nd best player on the team which is why I am happy. I mean the only way the Cavs matter is if Lebron stays, so if this move gets him to stay (even if they don't win a title) I will be happy.
Yeah I don't think the Cavs are as eager to go after the two max FAs like so many other teams. They get a lot of flack for not having other All-Stars around LeBron but that team was BUILT for having LeBron. They have surrounded him with shooters and Shaq in the middle. They would love to have another All-Star, but I don't think they were as worried as Miami, New York, etc. about having two big names. And I'm not so sure LeBron bolts. He has been an incredible amount of effort into his defensive game and knows how important that is - so why go play for New York. He also sees how a team with a few flaws can get taken down, so I don't see him being so arrogant as to think that he and Bosh or he and Wade would definitely win the championship when surrounded by scrubs. Also, he has deals with McDonalds, Coca Cola, Gatorade, Nike and a slew of others. The Cavs recently entered a deal with a Chinese marketing company which opened up a lot of doors overseas. Not to mention the Cav's owner is one of the most wealthy in the league (flew LeBron and his family / friends in a chartered plane to the All-Star game, while the Suns GM was flying coach). I don't think he needs NY as much as New Yorkers seem to believe.
They're already stuck. All efforts to find LeFraud's sidekick have failed. The Cavs have won nothing. This is pure desperation on their part. If they don't win a title this year, they're screwed for a decade.
I think he improves the Cavs for this season... but the guy is going to be turning 34 during the NBA Finals this year. How long is he going to play with LeBron? In terms of adding a piece that well help make them competitive for the future (more here on the focus of 2010 FA)... they havent done that. I mean, the 2 next big pieces on the Cavs after LeBron will be a combined 82 years old during the Finals this year... lol
I hesitate to leave open the possibility that they could come back as contenders down the road mainly because, in the scenario I'm talking about, every one of their moves to complement LeFraud will have totally failed. There will be no reason to suspect that Cleveland would suddenly learn to identify the best talent to surround their star player with in the span of time you're talking about. If they haven't learned by now, they never will.
Wow - really surprised people are this down on the Cavs roster / FO moves. Having had the best record last year and currently this year (plus a solid record against the top teams this year) I have to question how people see them as being in a horrible place. They turned Joe Smith, Damon Jones, Sasha Pavlovic, Ben Wallace and Larry Hughes and a late 1st into Mo Williams, Shaq, Jamison and Delonte West. Not to mention found a solid PF prospect in Hickson with the #19 pick. The NBA will probably have a hard cap in the next 3-4 years - which will more or less handcuff anyone with two max FAs. The Cavs aren't built to be sexy and outscore everyone - it is a team completely built around defense and opening up for LeBron (3 of top 10 3 pt shooters are on Cavs). I guess where people look at a lot of bad contracts, I see a young core of Bron, Mo, Varejao, Hickson with an owner who is more than willing to spend where necessary to get the pieces in place.
Again - with the best record last year and the best record this year, I would argue that our young core must be pretty good. I think Mo Williams is a core piece. You don't have to be a super-star to be a core piece, and a PG that gets 17 pts and 5 assists while being top 10 in 3-pt and FT % is a core player. Varejao is incredibly undervalued outside of Cleveland but offers GREAT defense (which is what this team cares about more than offense). Delonte West is similar to Varejao in that he plays a few positions, offers good defense and energy. Hickson isn't even 21 yet and has a long way to go, but seems to have all the tools to be a solid PF in this league. What does NY (or Miami) have to offer after signing two max FAs? I'm not sure I see a better opportunity out there for LeBron.
For one... Miami has Beasley to offer after signing 2 max FAs. W/o question Beasley is considered a "young core" piece. You disagree? I'll give you Mo. But the other 2 you listed arent even starters. I dont see how a couple of bench players are considered "core" players...
Delonte is a stretch as a core player (if not for depression problems he would be a starter and his numbers last year, as a starter, look much better - so Cavs fans tend to overvalue him) - but Anderson, on OUR team, is definitely a core player. Hickson only starts to get him playing time between Shaq and Bron, Hickson only gets about 20 minutes per game, while Varejao plays closer to 30. As fans we are obviously going to disagree - I see Hickson's potential as not being THAT far off from Beasleys. Adding in Mo and a whole bench of role players is a solid team. No way to know till after this season and the FA flurry begins. I don't see as much movement as a lot of people are expecting.
Would you consider Haslem a core player then? B/c I look at Varejao as a very similar type player as far as what he brings to the team when coming off the bench. And Hickson's potential is far off from Beasley's. And about the red... you are beyond a solid team. You are one of the best in the league. But as far as young core type players.. I'm not really seeing much of them on the team...
First of all, they have Beasley to offer.... and second of all..they have a running mate in Wade to offer as well as YET ANOTHER near Max contract. You didn;t ask that question seriously did you? Lebron's choice if put to him would be to play in Cleveland with: Mo Williams, JJ Hickson, Jamison and Varejo as core pieces. With Miami it would be to play with: Dwyane Wade, Michael Beasley, Udonis Haslem (just as good as Varejo, since you include him) and a junior Max that could be one of these: Amare, Johnson / Rudy Gay. Not to mention that Chris Bosh can take a little less and fit in for a couple years before extending with Bird Rights. it is elementary. of course..he is not the type to be a second banana in any city..so it won;t happen..IMO. But to say that Hickson is not that far off from Beasley is ridiculous. Michael Beasley just turned 21 and is averaging 17 and 7 already. he is headed to be a perennial 20 ppg scorer and all-star in this league. JJ Hickson? His ceiling is a consistent 12/10 PF. Basically a Udonis Haslem on steroids.
Hickson isn't bad (IMO) and seems to be improving, but I wish he was like Beasley. Maybe he can get there, but he'd need a lot of work still. I disagree with Sec's ceiling on Hickson (in regards to pts), I think he could be a 15/10 guy eventually which is nothing to sneeze at (again IMO), but he's obviously not there yet (and might not ever be). PS: I've always thought of Haslem as a core guy for the Heat.
Some Cavs fans are speculating that Riley by expressing a sudden interest in Amare thwarted the Cavs deal so that Amare would be available in the summer. Interesting conspiracy theory.
By stalling the deal. Then the cavs put a deadline like they did and you continue to stall. The Lions did that to us on Damien Woody a few years back...remember?
Jamison averaging 17 pts and 7.5 boards since trade. With Bron and Shaq hurt, Z not back yet and Mo shaking off the rust it was nice to see him step up against Milwaukee. Be interesting to see if this team will have enough time to get in sync during the playoffs.
