Addressing the hole at center

[Rimage]

Shot blocking, basically.

Biyombo had 1.1 blk/g last year, 1.6 for his career. Tristan had 0.4 blk/g last year and 0.8 for his career. Literally double as many blocks.

But Tristan is a better player all around, IMO.

If it was swap of Tristain for Biyombo, I wouldn't do it. But Thompson and Biyombo are different players and bring different things to the table.

 

[Douglar]

http://espn.go.com/sportsnation/chat/_/id/51010/nba-insider-kevin-pelton

Alex (DC) Do you think the Cavs will sign one of the remaining FA centers? Epke Udoh or Emeka Okafor would be worth a shot. Is Love going to have to play the 5 more this season given the current state of the roster?

Kevin Pelton (3:30 PM) I don't see those answers as mutually exclusive. There's not enough minutes for both Love and Tristan Thompson at power forward, so I think it's fair to assume those guys are going to play together on a regular basis.

One name I'm surprised hasn't been mentioned for the Cavaliers: Ronny Turiaf. Cleveland could throw a John Lucas III-Turiaf side deal on the Love main attraction, and Turiaf might be as good an option as Okafor after an entire missed season.

Arella Jordan (Toledo, Ohio) Brendan Haywood. Do you think he can still offer good rim protection and rebounding for 15 to 20 minutes a night, in Cleveland?

Kevin Pelton (3:40 PM) Doubtful. He's coming back from an incredibly serious injury, and he wasn't young before that. So I am skeptical, but I wouldn't rule it out.

Jason (St. Louis, MO) Do you see the Cavs making a big move after this year using the Haywood contract? Is their best move to go after a rim protector or do they stick with their version of pace and space and try not to clog the paint with a center that can't shoot?

Kevin Pelton (4:09 PM) Since Kevin Love isn't a rim protector, I think smallball will be more challenging for the Cavaliers. A 3-and-D specialist can probably be had more cheaply, so yes, I think rim protector is probably the best target with the Haywood contract. I would temper expectations for it, however, as sometimes teams don't want to shed contracts for nothing in return, especially to a championship contender.

 

[Walter White]

I'm not sure that Dennis Rodman is a good comparison only because the guy was so messed up from not having any sort of stable family, that his team actually became his family. He was one of the most hard working and dedicated players in the history of the NBA. He sunk all his problems into leaving it all on the floor. Sanders is in no way, shape, or form comparable in this regard so there's really not much to compensate for what he does to a locker room.

No one can match Rodman's heart. But Sanders has a similar type of play style and has an edge to him that I like. I'm not sure how severe the problems are that Sanders brings to the locker room anyway.

I just know he had some sort of substance abuse problem that got him in some trouble. He might have just made some mistakes and is over it, or maybe it is something that lingers. It is a bit of a gamble, but I don't think his contract is really all that outrageous, especially with what bigs are making now days. And especially how he would be perfect for what we need on this team. A big that protects the rim, can finish, and run the floor.

 

[daytripper]

In addition to having the Haywood contract for future bait I'm guessing they may also heavily scout shot blockers in college ranks this upcoming season. I was looking ahead at the 2015 mock drafts (premature I know) and there could potentially be several intriguing shot blockers available thru the first round. Willie Cauley-Stein is now mocked at #17 by NBADraft.net. Of course as already mentioned next year's FA will also be chock full of Centers too. I'm hoping the Cavs hold on to that Memphis pick because it could come due really soon. One major injury and Memphis could easily miss the playoffs. It wouldn't be too shocking to see the Cavs end up with the 13th or 14th pick in the next year's draft which could net a cheap, young shot blocker like WCS.

In the meantime they just might have to make due with Andy/Tristan plus whichever rim protector comes available on the cheap over the next few months (Withey, Ajinca, Dalembert or whoever).

 

[kovanovich]

http://espn.go.com/sportsnation/chat/_/id/51010/nba-insider-kevin-pelton

Glad to see Pelton mention Turiaf because I've thought he would be adequate as a 4th or 5th big, and could at least be a stopgap until some better option came along. And I suspect Minny wouldn't mind including him since Minny currently has 15 guaranteed contracts on the roster, and if the Love trade brings them two players (Wiggins and Bennett/Young), they will need to get rid of at least one player anyway, two if they want to sign GRIII.

We have been told at certain times that Love wouldn't be the only player the Cavs would be getting in this trade. We have never heard Turiaf's name connected with the trade, but I wonder if he might be involved.

Turiaf was a teammate of LeBron's in Miami for awhile. I wonder what his opinion of him is?

 

[Tornicade]

Glad to see Pelton mention Turiaf because I've thought he would be adequate as a 4th or 5th big, and could at least be a stopgap until some better option came along. And I suspect Minny wouldn't mind including him since Minny currently has 15 guaranteed contracts on the roster, and if the Love trade brings them two players (Wiggins and Bennett/Young), they will need to get rid of at least one player anyway, two if they want to sign GRIII.

We have been told at certain times that Love wouldn't be the only player the Cavs would be getting in this trade. We have never heard Turiaf's name connected with the trade, but I wonder if he might be involved.

Turiaf was a teammate of LeBron's in Miami for awhile. I wonder what his opinion of him is?

He was so impressed with turiaf he offered to play power forward so bosh could center up

 

[ajz20]

Yeah, people are going to need to realize we are going to have to include something else with Haywood to get a quality player. One thing to watch, even though the cap is rising, is Waiters this year. I wonder if we will be able to afford Dion long term if he has a breakout year. Dion plus Haywood would probably bring back a very solid big man as long as Waiters has a solid season. Looks like both Monroe and Jordan will both be potential sign and trade possibilities next summer, just something to think about. If Memphs misses the playoffs (unless they somehow drop to the bottom 5) we could use that pick to draft a young promising Shooting Guard. I am getting way ahead of myself, but it seems like Center will have to be short term fix this year at best.

If Okafor can play after the all star break, I would def take a flyer on him in January. If Jermaine O'neal is not retiring, I would also consider him as well. We just need to find a guy for this year that can give us 15-20 minutes of solid center play in the post season, and give Andy some time off in the regular season.

I am bit curious to see what we could actually do with the Utah players. I would be kind of pissed if we ended up eating those contracts and gave away Felix and a 2nd rounder for nothing. I think Felix still has a chance to be a cheap bench role player at the wing if given a chance.

 

[*L-Train*]

has Zaza Pachulia been mentioned yet? he should be cheaper and easier to get than a player like Mozgov. he isn't anything special but i wouldn't mind having a big body like him to play 15 minutes a night.

 

[Tripi]

I think you might need to read more about Sanders.

Sanders wasn't questioning other players, other players were questioning him.

Yeah...Gary Neal and Monta Ellis

But it doesn't matter. No offense, but telling me to read more about Sanders is silly. I live in the Milwaukee area and I've heard everything there is to hear about Sanders. That would be like a Heat fan telling you need to read up more about Kyrie and Waiters because they're apparently cancerous in the locker room. Both situations have been overblown.

 

[Randolphkeys]

has Zaza Pachulia been mentioned yet? he should be cheaper and easier to get than a player like Mozgov. he isn't anything special but i wouldn't mind having a big body like him to play 15 minutes a night.

Zaza isn't a rim protector at all, never one to block shots. He is hard nosed, offensively competent, one heck of a rebounder, and a presence in the paint who is likely getting phased out of Milwaukee. He only went there to reunite with Larry Drew. He could help the team, but a shot blocker he certainly is not.

 

[ajz20]

Andy looked okay tonight, but he missed about 3 easy baskets right at the basket. Looks like he still getting in shape, but much better then last camp. He has lost some lift, but looked pretty active tonight, and rebounded the ball well.
I am not thrilled with Andy, TT and some Love at center, but it is not a desperate situation yet.

What I a really wondering is what we plan to do with those Utah contracts before camp. Keys is Golden State trying to bring back O'Neal? I would take him right now for 15-20 minutes a night and run with it!!

 

[*L-Train*]

Zaza isn't a rim protector at all, never one to block shots. He is hard nosed, offensively competent, one heck of a rebounder, and a presence in the paint who is likely getting phased out of Milwaukee. He only went there to reunite with Larry Drew. He could help the team, but a shot blocker he certainly is not.

i agree, he can't jump over a phone book but as a fallback option i still wouldn't mind him. at the worst he's an upgrade over Alex Kirk (watching him in Summer League i don't see how he makes the team to be honest), plays tough and gives you 6 fouls a game (i don't have any stats to back this up but watching Zaza over the years i always thought he was a solid post defender).

plus as pointed out in other threads, at some point before the season we have to trade those non-guaranteed contracts otherwise we would have to cut some of them (why waste those assets?). i'm assuming of course that Milwaukee has no interest in keeping him and wants to get rid of his contract for next to nothing.

 

[Tornicade]

never Count out Captain Kirk.

 

[adam81king]

I saw that Kyrylo Fesenko is in camp with the Timberwolves. IF we can't get Timofey Mozgov, I wouldn't mind giving Fesenko a look in camp. He's big, active, strong and young. He's far from a top-flight prospect, but he's definitely one worth taking a shot on.

 

[BelieveIt]

I saw that Kyrylo Fesenko is in camp with the Timberwolves. IF we can't get Timofey Mozgov, I wouldn't mind giving Fesenko a look in camp. He's big, active, strong and young. He's far from a top-flight prospect, but he's definitely one worth taking a shot on.

Pretty sure they got all the looks of him they needed as he was on the Charge last season.