I'd like to play.
Our roster at the end of the year looks like:
pg-Kyrie Irving, Boobie Gibson, Donald Sloan, Lester Hudson
sg-Anthony Parker, Alonzo Gee, Manny Harris
sf-Omri Casspi, Luke Walton, Luke Harangody
pf-Antawn Jamison, Tristan Thompson
c-Anderson Varejao, Samardo Samuels, Semih Erden
With 6 players under contract going into 2012-13 and a void of talent to begin with, there are plenty of holes to fill. Assuming things stay 'normal,' I have us drafting #4, #25, #33 and #34. Now, going into the draft, I would pull a HUGE wild card and trade Luke Walton to Washington for Andray Blatche (yes, I said Andray Blatche), their 2012 2nd Round pick and their 2013 1st Round pick (unprotected). I do this for a few reasons. First, Blatche is immensely talented. Second, he'd come with a high 2nd rounder this year and a high 1st rounder next year (the year of the center). Also, a change of scenery, with a point guard the likes of Kyrie, Coach Scott to 'fix' him, and a fanbase and organization to support him, I think he could perform much better. If he doesn't, he could help the organization to another Lottery pick in 2013 for two more pieces to rebuild with. So, the 2012 Draft sees us pick #4, #25, #32, #33 and #34.
#4--Brad Beal-6'4" SG-Florida (hopeful running mate for Kyrie)
#25--Quincy Miller-6'9" SF-Baylor (or Tony Mitchell-6'9" F-North Texas if Miller isn't available)
#32--Festus Ezeli-6'11" C-Vanderbilt (big, traditional center)
#33--Tomas Satoransky-6'7" SG/PG-Czech Republic (perfect 3rd guard, can play SG, PG and SF)
#34--Rudy Gobert-7'0" C-France (might not come over right away, but will be an asset going forward)
Other players to look into, should they be available later (Linos Chrysikopoulos-6’8” SF Greece, Christian Watford-6’8” SF Indiana)
After the draft, we look like:
pg-Kyrie Irving, Boobie Gibson
sg-Brad Beal, Tomas Satoransky
sf-Quincy Miller, Omri Casspi
pf-Tristan Thompson, Anderson Varejao
c-Andray Blatche, Festus Ezeli, Rudy Gobert
I, then, resign Alonzo Gee (3yrs, $9M), Manny Harris (3yrs, $4M), Samardo Samuels (3yrs, $5M) and offer some camp invites unguaranteed contracts out of Summer camp and leave the rest of the cap room for another year, or to help facilitate trades.
Our 2012-13 Cavaliers look like:
pg-Kyrie Irving, Boobie Gibson, CAMP PG
sg-Brad Beal, Tomas Satoransky (keep overseas for a year?), Manny Harris
sf-Alonzo Gee, Quincy Miller, Omri Casspi
pf-Tristan Thompson, Anderson Varejao, Samardo Samuels
c-Andray Blatche, Festus Ezeli, Rudy Gobert (keep overseas for another year, or two)
And we have 2013 1st Round Picks from Washington, Miami, POSSIBLY Sacramento and our own. That means we have two Lottery picks in the year of the center, meaning we have two chances to get Nerlens Noel, Steven Adams, Cody Zeller, Alex Len, Jeff Withey, Alec Brown, Justin Hamilton and others (not to mention Shabazz Muhammad). Risky? Yes. But it could be worth it.
