David Griffin's Task Not An Easy one

[MoFlo]

I don't know, man. I agree that we have improved. But I wouldn't call it significant. RJ is not really a step up from Marion. The dude can barely play 20 minutes per night, can only defend the SF position, and is a good shooter. He is nowhere near as fast as he once was. Additionally, I'd be interested to see his shooting numbers when he average more than one 3pt per night. Not saying he will definitely be bad, or definitely be good, it is too early to tell.

When he attempted more than one 3pt per night, he went 59-132 (44.7%).

I'd say he's a definite improvement from Marion. Jefferson has shot over 40% from deep four of the past five years. Marion has never shot 40% from deep and cracked 34% from deep four times in his entire career..

We don't need LeBron's backup to be LeBron 2.0, we just need him to provide some solid minutes on both ends. Jefferson is still more than capable of that.

 

[MirORich]

It's much easier to open up the rotation in year two with the chemistry already built for most of the players.

Last year was a scramble at the beginning because nothing was working and a scramble at the end because of the injuries.

I understand why people would be concerned about how deep Blatt will allow the bench to go based on last year, but I think year two will give us a much clearer picture of what his overall attitude is towards a fuller and deeper bench than year one with all its drama, injuries, and "getting to know you"s

But only time will bear that out.

 

[JFT]

View: https://twitter.com/cavsdan/status/623911656788230144

 

[ajz20]

The funny thing is so many people are just assuming Blatt will incorporate whomever we sign into the rotation. This is NOT a given. I mean, by the end of the playoffs he was using TWO freaking guys off the bench in the playoffs! TWO!

Improving depth is one thing- improving the actual rotation is quite another. Will it be 1-7? 1-8? 1-9 with emergency shooting from Jones and/Mo? At this point, I doubt Richard Jefferson will even be a rotation player...who's expense will it come at? Mo may not even be in the rotation....finding minutes for him is already going to be awkward. How will Blatt handle having 3 PGs?

Assuming the starters will be Kyrie/Shump or JR/Lebron/Love/Moz...

Bench could be Delly or Mo/JR or Shump/Tristan and as far as we know, just end there. We're talking nitty gritty Blatt playoff bench.

So far, depending on how much Blatt value's Delly's pestering defense- Mo and Jefferson just look like emergency depth, and Andy is, well...Andy. We won't get a read on him probably til training camp.

My point is, the GM can lead coach to water, but...you know...

Mo will be ahead of deli in the rotation.

 

[daytripper]

Considering they did re-sign Love to a 5 year deal at today's cap rate I would give them a solid B for the offseason. Love and Kyrie are both potential steals when the cap rises.

It is a little disappointing that RHJ got picked one slot ahead of us. Yes I would've loved to see them use the Haywood contract but a TPE could still prove valuable down the road. Looking at the vets that were actually available I'm not really disappointed at missing out on any of them. Jefferson will eat up some regular season SF minutes which will save wear and tear on LeBron. If he breaks down like Matrix did last season they will potentially have a TPE to work with again.

 

[JFT]

Considering they did re-sign Love to a 5 year deal at today's cap rate I would give them a solid B for the offseason. Love and Kyrie are both potential steals when the cap rises.

It is a little disappointing that RHJ got picked one slot ahead of us. Yes I would've loved to see them use the Haywood contract but a TPE could still prove valuable down the road. Looking at the vets that were actually available I'm not really disappointed at missing out on any of them. Jefferson will eat up some regular season SF minutes which will save wear and tear on LeBron. If he breaks down like Matrix did last season they will potentially have a TPE to work with again.

Yes, and the Shump signing is very solid as well as we can use his D.

 

[Soda]

Considering they did re-sign Love to a 5 year deal at today's cap rate I would give them a solid B for the offseason. Love and Kyrie are both potential steals when the cap rises.

Haven't you seen? Griffin did nothing for this! Didn't court Kevin during the season, didn't offer the contract or call at the first minute he could.. Basically, it's universally known that Griffin was filing his nails waiting by the fax machine for Love to decide how much and how long..

/sarcasm

 

[godfather]

Can't overlook the fact teams aren't going to willingly help us either. If it comes down to moving a contract to us, or point B, another team that isn't a serious threat, teams might go to B.

Especially when we have no assets at all left to attach to the Haywood contract.

I guess if you want to criticize Griffin, and not sure it's valid either, is that maybe he stripped too many of those assets away so soon.

We'll never know, but I think we probably could have ended up getting Mozgov for just one first rounder, not two, like we had to. Denver was playing hardball with him, and they knew we were desperate.

So was it in theory a mistake to cave so fast? NO.

Because at the time, shit, our season was ready to crumble. Blatt was on the hot seat and might have been fired if we waited another week.

Time was not on our side, Andy went down, we played Kevin Love at center for a game! So, we had to overbid at the time. There was no choice to be made.

My only minor complaint, is that I wish he would have addressed the center position before the season.

I know, I know, the options out there weren't that good, but they were better than nothing.

Given, the organization one, shouldn't have seriously felt comfortable with Andy as our center, and two, he'd likely get hurt again (how could you not go into the season not prepared for that), and three, we literally had no center on the roster, at all, that could play the position.

If we addressed it somewhat in the off-season, maybe we are then able to wait off for the Mozgov trade, and maybe we don't have to surrender both first round picks (maybe not, again we'll never know).

I know that's nitpicking a bit, but sometimes what appears to be a minor thing at the time, could have had a trickle down effect.

In theory, if we were able to hold onto that Memphis pick, things look a lot different when in comes to the Haywood contract. In theory, I think that's what the front office envision at the time we they acquired it.

Not really casting great blame on anyone particularly for it. But, when you go into the season with a serious glaring weakness like we did last year, you do risk overbidding if you get yourself into serious hot water.

Either way, we have a fine roster, and we are good enough to win a championship.

 

[K1rieIrving>AllOtherPG's]

agree with u guys, so far the off season has been very good.
we already addressed 2 of our biggest's concerns, we needed an offensive minded PG to back up Kyrie and we got Mo, we needed an SF who can provide some rest for Lebron and we got R.J.
still have to wait and see what Griffin will pull off with that Haywood contract.

having both Mo and Delly will be a true luxury imo,
one guy is a defensive specialist that can flat out shut people down when locked in, and on the other hand you have a guy who's very offensive minded and who is a proven scorer at the PG position.
cant wait to see how Coach Blatt use's those two guys, that kind of versatility is so hard to get and we are very lucky to have those two guys side by side complementing each other.

and it will be blasphemous if Griffin wont get executive of the year,
that douche from GS got it last year for "Previous moves" that were Just OK imo....
what griffin has done here since Last year is nothing short of spectacular.

 

[malus]

When he attempted more than one 3pt per night, he went 59-132 (44.7%).

I'd say he's a definite improvement from Marion. Jefferson has shot over 40% from deep four of the past five years. Marion has never shot 40% from deep and cracked 34% from deep four times in his entire career..

We don't need LeBron's backup to be LeBron 2.0, we just need him to provide some solid minutes on both ends. Jefferson is still more than capable of that.

I'm not ready to call Jefferson an improvement from anything until I see him play next season. He'll become a corpse on the court one of these years. I'm not sure yet how much meaningful impact he'll have, especially in the playoffs where he averaged 3.8 points on 35.7% shooting last postseason.

 

[MoFlo]

I'm not ready to call Jefferson an improvement from anything until I see him play next season. He'll become a corpse on the court one of these years. I'm not sure yet how much meaningful impact he'll have, especially in the playoffs where he averaged 3.8 points on 35.7% shooting last postseason.

He's replacing a guy who already was a corpse last season, so I'm not sure how that's not an improvement.

Marion's game was more defensive and more for a run n gun type offense. He was never known as a catch & shoot guy.

You're right, Jefferson could fizzle, we can't predict the future. However, at the very least, we can easily say Jefferson fits this team better and is coming off of a year which would indicate he's capable of still shooting well.

When we signed Marion, we didn't have J.R/Shump/Mozgov, so Marion was expected to provide some explosion offensively as LeBron's backup. We no longer have a need for his backup to be explosive, just to shoot and play some solid D for about 15 minutes per night.

Yes, he shot 35% in the postseason, but he also shot 37.5% from deep, which will be his main role for this team.

 

[godfather]

Hard to really fault his lackluster playoffs, when it quite obviously appeared that the Mavs had mailed it in. Dirk was awful for his standards.

I agree with MoFlo's point, when we brought in guys like Marion, and Miller, they were expected to be our bench. We were expecting big production from them, not filler minutes from them.

Our bench right now, JR/Shump, Mo, Tristan, and Delly. Jefferson is just replacing the James Jones role as a filler.

Given that, I don't think he was a bad pickup at all.

The guy at least hasn't proven to be a corpse yet. That's not to say without a doubt, he doesn't completely dry up on us.

If he does, no risk, we didn't pay him much. He's just going to be here one year. The Cavs will turn Haywood's contract into a TPE, and will still try to upgrade the roster. Jefferson doesn't change that.

Getting Jefferson shouldn't be seen as a negative, given there's literally no risk, or nothing to lose from adding him to the team. If he doesn't work out, it doesn't inhibit the Cavs from doing something else.

 

[Bob_The_Cat]

I still think TT signing the QO would be the best thing that could come out of this situation given what he's asking. I still don't think his value will be higher next offseason than it is now. Assuming Love and Moz are healthy and have a full season together, those guys are going to be impossible to guard.

TT has an important role on this team, but in all honesty he needs to hope and pray Andy is done. Obviously Andy has a horrible injury history, but if he's somehow able to bounce back look like he can be a meaningful contributor he's going to get minutes. You also have to consider that LeBron only played 3.4 mpg at PF last year. Given how incredibly successful we were in the playoffs with LeBron at PF, I would expect that number to rise this season and be more around 5 mpg. He posted a PER of 32 (!) while at PF last season. There's 96 min total between PF and C. You have to figure:

Love: 32
Moz: 28
LeBron: 5

That's 60. That leaves 29 min to split between TT and AV. TT played 26 min a game last year, but there's no way he'd get that if Andy is remotely healthy. Even if Andy only gets 10 mpg, that leaves just 19 mpg for TT. This is exactly why we can't afford to overpay too much for the guy.

If he signs the QO, it saves on taxes and would potentially give us another great trade asset this season. Though TT does have his relationship with James, I still believe that he will be traded if it ultimately benefits the team.

Let me ask everyone this. Let's assume TT signs the QO and we believe he walks next year. A team like Orlando has a glut of talented young players, but they are a starting PF away from being a team that could be extremely tough in a year or two. Would you make this trade if it were offered to you?

Cavs get:
Evan Fournier
Aaron Gordon

Magic get:
Thompson

 

[bigfigga12]

If Griffin/Cavs do end up acquiring a TPE, and with the RJ signing looking to corroborate this type of direction, I would look next for Griffin to flip what's left for some future assets.

He's already as much said both Christmas and Pointer won't likely make the roster. He could/should however move their rights to a team for a 2nd round pick, Christmas for sure.

Pointer's athleticism and defense may be worth a roster spot and a future 2nd for a rebuilding team, and Christmas, being a fringe 1st rounder at #35 overall, I would be stunned if he weren't able to fetch a 2nd rd pick in return.

I also wouldn't be surprised, especially if/when JR Smith is resigned, if Joe Harris weren't shipped out as well for a 2nd rounder and an exception to cover his salary.

As much as some people like Harris, I think you flip him for a 2nd if you can, a future pick will be more valuable than he as a player IMO, especially after his abysmal showing in Vegas coupled with the lack of playing time that lies ahead for him....buried down the roster. You keep him if they think Harris the player provides value as a trade chip now or down the road. I just wouldn't be surprised if a pick would ultimately garner more in a package along with the TPE he'd create.

If Harris were indeed moved, the Cavs could use what's left of their mid level and sign a shooter or 3rd SG off the bench such as Ben Gordon or my personal fave... Un-retired Ray Allen.

This would give the Cavs 3 future 2nd rounders to be able to use down the road with their TPE or any other potential moves.

I lastly, would roster a guaranteed contract with C Sasha Kahn with a minimum deal, as he's already stated he would play for as much to win. He would be the 5th big off the bench and could be used as another chip down the road.

If Griffin pulls off retaining JR Smith on a 2 year 12-14 million dollar deal, with 2nd year team option, the Cavs with these simple moves would be armed with these assets headed into the '15-16 season trading deadline....

1) 10.5 TPE
2) 3 2nd rounded within next few years.
3) Vet minimum rostered C Kahn
4) Expiring deal Varejao 10 million
5) Expiring deal JR 6-7 million
6) Would have Mike Millers expiring 3.8 deal too, least likely of all to be included.

This wouldn't be bad from an asset arsenal perspective...

PG: Irving/ Williams/ Delly
SG: JR Smith/ Shumpert / Allen
SF: Bron/ Jefferson/ Miller
PF: Love/ Thompson/ Jones
C: Mozgoz/ Varejao/ Kahn

- Half mini TPE (unless Allen takes)
- 10.5 TPE
- 3 2nd round picks
- 1 950 k TPE

 

[malus]

He's replacing a guy who already was a corpse last season, so I'm not sure how that's not an improvement.

Marion's game was more defensive and more for a run n gun type offense. He was never known as a catch & shoot guy.

You're right, Jefferson could fizzle, we can't predict the future. However, at the very least, we can easily say Jefferson fits this team better and is coming off of a year which would indicate he's capable of still shooting well.

When we signed Marion, we didn't have J.R/Shump/Mozgov, so Marion was expected to provide some explosion offensively as LeBron's backup. We no longer have a need for his backup to be explosive, just to shoot and play some solid D for about 15 minutes per night.

Yes, he shot 35% in the postseason, but he also shot 37.5% from deep, which will be his main role for this team.

Well if he fizzles he's not an improvement lol. He's gotta go out there and prove he has basketball still left in him. Can't predict the future but he's 35 and that's just the risk with all players in that age range as has been said. He can't afford to lose any of what little he has left.

I'm not broken up about the signing or anything, it's a minimum deal. But I'm skeptical about what if any impact he'll bring until I see it happen next season. Realistically he's a very marginal improvement, who'll play few meaningful minutes in the playoffs.

Do we NEED a dynamic, not-on-the-verge-of-retirement player behind Lebron? Well, what might we need one for? To be an excellent team, and a title contender? No, we were already that. To have that one extra piece that edges us to a championship against a tough team in a 7 game series? Maybe, we'll see. Could we have gotten one? I dunno, I'm not the one making phone calls to GMs to know who's available.