Addressing the hole at center

[wuck]

Jan Vesely already signed a 2-year contract to play professionally in Turkey. And he's not a rim-protector of the kind the Cavs need. Other than that, great suggestion.

The Bullshit Whisperer.........

 

[kovanovich]

Udoh signed with the Clippers today (one-year, $1M deal) per Woj.

The Bullshit Whisperer said in his chat that Udoh was never a target for the Cavs.

I think The Bullshit Whisperer is actually probably right in that I doubt the Cavs offered Udoh a fully guaranteed contract, but Marc Spears did report today that the Cavs, Bulls, and Kings had all "expressed interest" in Udoh.

http://sports.yahoo.com/news/source...tml?utm_source=twitterfeed&utm_medium=twitter

 

[Splitz]

The Wizards really botched that Vesely pick. He has crazy good athleticism but is soft as Charmin, no swagger. He's basically the opposite of what we need unless you are looking for a Center who's not really a Center but can jump out of the gym and set a record amount of free throws missed via air ball.

 

[Omar The Horse]

Long term, I think we should go for Robin Lopez with the mid-level exception next summer.

 

[Rimage]

Long term, I think we should go for Robin Lopez with the mid-level exception next summer.

We would finally have some consistency at center....and by consistent, I mean two guys that look almost identical.

We could easily have a joint Varejao/Robin Lopez wig night.

 

[upper lip]

Wish we got Anthony tolliver. Very underrated. Feisty, strong player in the post. Muscles and hustles for boards. Also very good outside shooter. He would have been great for 15 minutes a game on this team

 

[BimboColesHair]

Wish we got Anthony tolliver. Very underrated. Feisty, strong player in the post. Muscles and hustles for boards. Also very good outside shooter. He would have been great for 15 minutes a game on this team

One thing about the "hole at center" is that we need to fill it with a center. And Tolliver is a weak rebounder for a big.

 

[Cashius X]

Wish we got Anthony tolliver. Very underrated. Feisty, strong player in the post. Muscles and hustles for boards. Also very good outside shooter. He would have been great for 15 minutes a game on this team

Yeah, he's a good player but he's strictly a PF and would be coming to a team with a logjam at that position already.

If he could play the 5 spot I'd be all in for him...but he can't...so I'm not lol

 

[Tripi]

Long term, I think we should go for Robin Lopez with the mid-level exception next summer.

I'm down with that idea. He ranked very well on the list of rim protectors IIRC. He's similar to Varejao if you swapped out some rebounding ability for some shotblocking ability

 

[kovanovich]

Mark Deeks and others discuss, among other things, remaining free agents, with special emphasis on bigs in this Hoops 365 podcast.

http://www.hoop365.com/nba/hoop365-podcast-episode-1-guest-seth-partnow/

Update on free agents bigs (bear with me on this, since it's a bit of an obsession of mine):

Andray Blatche -- in discussions with Miami (Deeks and the others talk about him at great length)
Greg Stiemsma -- signed one year deal with Toronto
Ekpe Udoh -- signed one year deal with LAC
Hasheem Thabeet -- now a free agent
Aron Baynes -- reportedly San Antonio still potentially interested in re-signing
Gustavo Ayon -- San Antonio possibly interested, per reports
Elton Brand -- as of 8/30 has been in discussions with ATL (Ferry probably waiting him out to get him re-signed at vet minimum)
Miroslav Raduljica -- no definite rumors, but wants to stay in NBA (http://probasketballtalk.nbcsports.com/2014/09/02/miroslav-raduljica-after-being-waived-by-clippers-not-ready-to-return-to-europe/)
Nazr Muhammed -- no news, though his name comes up occasionally
Josh Harrellson -- mentioned in podcast, but no news
Emeka Okafor -- clearly will be in demand, but likely not in playing shape till January timeframe
Kyrylo Fesenko -- no news
Greg Oden -- ?
Jeremy Tyler -- now a free agent
Jermaine O'Neal -- discussed in podcast; no update on status

Deeks and company also discussed the Denver front court at great length, mostly in the context of Faried's value. Talked a lot about Hickson and McGee, as well as Nurkic, but Mozgov was almost an afterthought. They seemed to assume he would be traded.

 

[ajz20]

Ayon looks decent today. For 15 minutes a night, I think it would be fine.

 

[Pioneer10]

Really surprised they haven't contacted JO. He was able to be fairly productive last year playing 20 mpg. Had solid defensive numbers and shouldn't be expensive. Good insurance policy and could be critical for certain matchups in the playoffs

 

[kovanovich]

Ayon looks decent today. For 15 minutes a night, I think it would be fine.

Stein is saying he is being offered more money in Europe, so he may not be interested in the vet minimum. Must mean San Antonio isn't offering much if any of its MLE to him.

Doesn't seem like his shoulder is bothering him anymore.

 

[inferno12]

Really surprised they haven't contacted JO. He was able to be fairly productive last year playing 20 mpg. Had solid defensive numbers and shouldn't be expensive. Good insurance policy and could be critical for certain matchups in the playoffs

The one thing I worry about JO is his injury history. I mean, in the past four seasons alone, he's only played in 148 out of 328 possible games. I wonder if he'd be able to stay healthy, even in a decreased role here...

 

[Rimage]

I think JO is feeling done with basketball. I think he enjoyed playing for the Warriors after a lot of years where he seemed pretty unhappy. I don't think it is about money or even winning, but enjoying life. That is what I gathered from what he was saying in recent articles and stuff.

I'd love to have him here, but I don't think his heart is in it.