Cavs To Retire #11 on March 8th, 2014

[BimboColesHair]

You know he was well compensated for his "loyalty" right? Anyway, I'm sure Z is a great guy, and I respect that he battled through devastating injuries. But being a great guy isn't enough to have your number retired in my opinion. Being a great player should be a crucial part of the criteria.

This is an ORGANIZATIONAL honor, not an all-time NBA honor among all teams. Does the man who played the most games ever in a Cavaliers uniform, grabbed the most rebounds, blocked the most shots, played the 2nd most minutes, and scored the 4th most points in franchise history not deserve to have his number retired for that organization?

 

[MoFlo]

Just for comparison sake, take a look at some of these names who have had their jerseys retired around the league:

Brad Davis - Dallas: 9 points & 5 assists over 12 seasons.

Byron Beck - Denver: 11.5 points & 7 rebounds over 10 seasons. 2x ABA All-Star.

Tom Meschery - Golden State: 13 points & 8.5 rebounds over 6 seasons. 1x All-Star.

Junior Bridgeman - Milwaukee: 14 points & 4 rebounds over 10 seasons.

Brian Winters - Milwaukee: 17 points & 4 assists over 8 seasons. 2x All-Star

Johnny Moore - San Antonio: 9 points, 7 assists, 2 steals over 9 seasons.

Vlade Divac - Sacramento: 11 points, 8 rebounds, 4 assists over 6 seasons. 1x All-Star.

Alvan Adams - Phoenix: 14 points, 7 rebounds over 13 seasons. 1x All-Star. ROY.

Dan Majerle - Phoenix: 13.5 points, 5 rebounds, 3 assists over 8 seasons. 3x All-Star.

That's not including all the role players on NBA title teams who have their numbers retired but don't deserve it on stats & accolades alone.

As has been stated numerous times, it's an organizational & franchise accolade that's not only based on stats, but based on importance to the organization.

 

[PITCavsFan]

Just bought tickets for this game. If not for the team this year, honoring Big Z for being such a solid part of this franchise for so many years despite the injury problems he had early on is definitely worth cheering for. Go Cavs!

PS - hopefully Mike Brown and the team get things figured out by then so I don't have to see another blow out.