2014 Free Agency Period: News and Discussion

[castor777]

What's the deal with Emeka Okafor? Is he still suffering from that neck injury and not returning? He's a name I've seen brought up occasionally but in NBA circles and rumors, he's been completely non-existent.

 

[math-yoo]

How is Bynum on the list but Blatche falls into the next ten? Blatche might not be a star, but at least he can still play.

 

[Kbiz]

How is Bynum on the list but Blatche falls into the next ten? Blatche might not be a star, but at least he can still play.

If we do sign a big, it has to be one that can play defense. Blatch, IMO, is just a offensively-finesse big man. He can shoot but he never has shown any commitment on the defensive end his entire career.

Out of all the players in the world, how hard is it to find a big that is just marginally above-average on defense? That's what we need...doesn't need to be a name at all. We are not going to get a big name with 1.4 mil left...

And if Allen is the hold up, why wait? We just signed TWO shooters that are bench players. How many do we need to surround Lebron with. Last i checked, KI and Waiters can put the ball in the basket too...

 

[Jack Brickman]

I think we need to stop assuming that our roster will be a finished product this year. After signing LeBron, we were inherently limited in what we could add due to being under the cap and only having the room MLE. Next year, we will have the full MLE along with Haywood's expiring contract to play with.

 

[mcfly]

I think we need to stop assuming that our roster will be a finished product this year. After signing LeBron, we were inherently limited in what we could add due to being under the cap and only having the room MLE. Next year, we will have the full MLE along with Haywood's expiring contract to play with.

Plus, if Minnesota balks at sending out Love without receiving Wiggins or Thompson, those talks will heat back up in February. When/if teams hear what we are offering, other players might come into the picture. If Atlanta falters this coming season, do they cash in on Horford or ride out his prime in mediocrity? Does McGee come back healthy for Denver? If so, do they look to move him or cash in on Mozgov? Ultimately, I hope we keep the roster as is for the most part, and are lucky enough to find our version of Robin Lopez.

 

[I'mWithDan]

After looking at these lists, are there any decent candidates for a mid-season trade, then buyout?

It seems like we'd be better off waiting for a vet buyout of a partially guaranteed contract vs wasting a roster spot on what is left.

I can't imagine anyone on that list can be relied up to help us this season.

 

[Kbiz]

After looking at these lists, are there any decent candidates for a mid-season trade, then buyout?

It seems like we'd be better off waiting for a vet buyout of a partially guaranteed contract vs wasting a roster spot on what is left.

I can't imagine anyone on that list can be relied up to help us this season.

Agreed. I think our best plan is to ride with what we have. If we do not get Love, put Lebron at the 4, TT at the 5 and go with a small ball lineup, a la Heat of last year.

KI, Waiters, and Wiggins will not break down like Wade did. We can cause chaos in the open court, play aggressively defensively, and try and get our buckets through fast breaks. That is basically what the Heat have done these four years. Besides Birdman, they never had a respectable rim-protector. Hell, Birdman hardly contributed much to the Heat the past two years anyways.

Sure, we may run into match up problems in the playoffs but realistically, we won't be able to get our center for our dynasty-minded run until next year. Use this year to gain some experience for our young guys. Keep in mind, with Lebron, you never know what we can accomplish. This team, as is, could make it to the finals easily. The only team that scares me is a HEALTHY Bulls team and who knows if that's what we will see in the playoffs...

 

[MattyJames]

Agreed. I think our best plan is to ride with what we have. If we do not get Love, put Lebron at the 4, TT at the 5 and go with a small ball lineup, a la Heat of last year.

KI, Waiters, and Wiggins will not break down like Wade did. We can cause chaos in the open court, play aggressively defensively, and try and get our buckets through fast breaks. That is basically what the Heat have done these four years. Besides Birdman, they never had a respectable rim-protector. Hell, Birdman hardly contributed much to the Heat the past two years anyways.

Nope. First of all, you can't do Bron like that after he already said he didn't want to play the 4. You're just asking for injuries. So you start Wiggins at the 3? He still needs to fill out and can't dribble a lick. You want him creating for the best creator in basketball? Hasn't played a single regular season NBA game yet you are certain he isn't going to "break down"? That's a horrible idea.

IF we keep Wiggins (And i feel it's a BIG if) The best and ONLY way to help him develop into a good NBA player is to play him at the 2 and set the table for him until he fills out and gets a better feel for the speed of the game. He also won't have to dribble and create as much. I could see a scenario if we do keep Wiggins where he plays the 2 for a few years until he grows into a 3. Maybe an older LeBron would slide to the 4 but it's out of the question right now.

 

[Kbiz]

Nope. First of all, you can't do Bron like that after he already said he didn't want to play the 4. You're just asking for injuries. So you start Wiggins at the 3? He still needs to fill out and can't dribble a lick. You want him creating for the best creator in basketball? Hasn't played a single regular season NBA game yet you are certain he isn't going to "break down"? That's a horrible idea.

IF we keep Wiggins (And i feel it's a BIG if) The best and ONLY way to help him develop into a good NBA player is to play him at the 2 and set the table for him until he fills out and gets a better feel for the speed of the game. He also won't have to dribble and create as much. I could see a scenario if we do keep Wiggins where he plays the 2 for a few years until he grows into a 3. Maybe an older LeBron would slide to the 4 but it's out of the question right now.

Just b/c Lebron is a "4" in our lineup doesn't mean he needs to play like a PF.... Did you watch any Heat games last year? He was technically the "4" in many lineups but still played like Lebron. Lebron can not be pigeon holed into a skill set associated with a number. When he is on the court, he is the floor general, regardless of if he is a "1", "2", "3", "4", or "5".

 

[wuck]

What's the deal with Emeka Okafor? Is he still suffering from that neck injury and not returning? He's a name I've seen brought up occasionally but in NBA circles and rumors, he's been completely non-existent.

Haven't heard anything about Okafor. We also haven't heard anything about Haywood's recovery, and he's already on the Cavs roster.

 

[MattyJames]

Just b/c Lebron is a "4" in our lineup doesn't mean he needs to play like a PF

He is on record saying "I Don't Want To Play The 4 or be considered a power forward" And yes....The 4 needs to play like a 4. If your 4 is playing like a 2, Does your 2 play like a 4?

Did you watch any Heat games last year?

Only when they played the Cavs. Fuck the Heat.

He was technically the "4" in many lineups but still played like Lebron. Lebron can not be pigeon holed into a skill set associated with a number.

He can "technically play like a 4" all he wants but he's still playing the 3.

When he is on the court, he is the floor general, regardless of if he is a "1", "2", "3", "4", or "5".

I Agree.

 

[Kbiz]

He is on record saying "I Don't Want To Play The 4 or be considered a power forward" And yes....The 4 needs to play like a 4. If your 4 is playing like a 2, Does your 2 play like a 4?


Only when they played the Cavs. Fuck the Heat.


He can "technically play like a 4" all he wants but he's still playing the 3.


I Agree.

All good points. I guess my point is that we won't know the composite of our team until Blatt gets his hands on them. If we run a typical euro-league offense, the players roles are not pigeon-holed into certain numbers. I would argue that Lebron is the best passer on this team, with Waiters coming in second. Will KI turn into more of an off-guard point guard who's main focus is to put up buckets? There are so many combinations we can work on with the CURRENT players. This is all assuming Wiggins stays, which i am a huge proponent of. He can basically fill the leftover holes we need. We don't need him to score. We need him to use his athleticism to create chaos defensively and have him excel at run-out situations on the fast break like Wade and James did in MIA.

IMO, on defense, Lebron will not necessarily be guarding the 4. I understand the wear and tear of banging in the paint and that does not suit him. I believe we will have a defense built on rotations, not the typical man-to-man, aggressive defense were use to seeing Mike Brown run.

 

[wuck]

Blatt was interviewed about LeBron playing at the 4 last week, and this was his response. Of course, the two have yet to talk at length, so we'll see.

Q: LeBron never really played the 4 [power forward] in Cleveland, but he played it a ton in Miami. Will you use him in that role, with just one traditional big man on the floor?

A: I just came from the land of the stretch 4s. Stretch 4s became popular in the United States because of Europe. If anyone knows that style of play, it’s probably me. Yeah, you’ll see LeBron there. You’ll see LeBron all over the floor, just like he’s used to playing. I don’t have to change him.

 

[bjfcool]

<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" lang="en"><p>Hearing Suns may be considering a Greg Monroe offer. They have space to get both him and Bledsoe but would lose cap flexibility long-term.</p>&mdash; Jordan Schultz (@Schultz_Report) <a href="https://twitter.com/Schultz_Report/statuses/490910598994354176">July 20, 2014</a></blockquote>
<script async src="//platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>

 

[blackmagicGTI]

I think we need to stop assuming that our roster will be a finished product this year. After signing LeBron, we were inherently limited in what we could add due to being under the cap and only having the room MLE. Next year, we will have the full MLE along with Haywood's expiring contract to play with.

Exactly. I hate to use the Rome wasn't built in a day crap... but it wasn't.

If we have a deep playoff run this year and break the cycle of losing we can show Kyrie, Dion, Tristan, et al what it's like to playing games in May. Kyrie and Dion haven't played a single meaningful game for the Cavs, I'd imagine getting some playoff experience would do wonders for them. Same for Wiggins and Bennett.

The East sucks and bar something horrible happening we'll grab a good seed with the roster as constructed and the full MLE next year will be huge. Plus the Haywood contract as mentioned above.