Cavs Training Camp (roster down to 15)

[gregdawg]

In my opinion I would also prefer Miller to start. In the starting lineup Miller would be relegated to a jump shooter, but he is a Top 5 shooter in the league and gives the Cavs plenty of space on offense.

Waiters on the bench makes more sense because of his playing style. He can come off the bench and give Kyrie a breather and run the show. It gives him more of an opportunity to showcase his skills and he gives you immediate offense off the bench ala Ginobili or Harden with OKC. He will still get his normal minutes and play in crunch time, he just wouldn't start. It's not about if he is good enough to start, he clearly is, it's about his impact off the bench. He is used to that role as well because he came off the bench at Syracuse.

Yeah, with Lebron and Kyrie on the floor, Dion's ball-handling is kind of wasted. He'll hardly get used to his full potential playing with Kyrie and Lebron. Miller kind of makes sense as a starter since he's mostly just a spot-up shooter. Dion seems to make more sense coming off the bench - this way the team could really benefit from his ball handling/playmaking ability. As a starter, he'll mostly be relegated to a catch-and-shoot guy. I say make him the sixth man so the team can utilize all of his abilities and get the most out of him. The second unit always needs more playmakers.

 

[Cavatt]

The staggered rotation will make everything work. Dion is great off the bench, but he is better in the starting lineup. He needs to "heat up". He is a guy who gets into a rhythm, and it is easier for him from the starting lineup. I think the best move is to start him and then have him come out first, and then go back in with Delly. We used to do it on the 2009 team with Mo to get the 2nd unit going, and it worked like a charm. I think it sends the most encouragement to Waiters as well. "Obviously, you are a starter, but we also want you to be the leader on the floor with the 2nd unit." Play him starter minutes, but loosen the reins on him in the 2nd unit and let him play his game.

 

[VAIN1]

Thank God positions will be earned this year based on hard work in TC. Dion can still start being apart of a Big 4 while also playing with the bench with LBJ or Love. Always keeping 2 of the premier 4 we have will make us unstoppable.

In Blatt we trust.

 

[cavsfever]

With this current roster to me the big question is what does our small ball lineup look like when Andy is out. We are just so weak at center -- Andy shouldn't play more than 25 minutes per game so he is fresh for the playoffs, and for all we know Haywood may turn out to be a total stiff. The other two guys at center are not NBA quality really. So we need to prepare for the possibility that we will be spending 15+ minutes per game in a small ball lineup. What are our frontcourt options in that lineup and how will they perform? Thompson/Lebron/Love? Marion/Thompson/Love? Could Miller fit in there? etc.

Also, I think it would be crazy not to start Dion. He's got young legs and he can easily handle plenty of minutes as a starter and with the second team. You want to give him plenty of minutes with Kyrie/Love/Lebron to get them playing well for the playoffs, when we will want our best four on the floor a lot. Starting him gives Lebron what should be another active high-energy athletic defender on the floor with him. And psychologically starting will be good for him. IMO it would be risky not to start him from a team chemistry perspective. As if all those reasons weren't enough, Miller is old and you need him fresh for the playoffs.

 

[Cavatt]

You almost have to start him for defense as cavsfever says. Otherwise you start Delly, who is a good defender, but smaller and less athletic.

I think Small ball will be deadly, and there are a ton of different variations that include Andy as well. Going big will be more difficult, but Blatt is used to going small, and the team has athleticism to spare.

 

[brownsbuck6]

This seemed like as good as any a place to pose this question.. so, being in Columbus, we have one preseason game being played at the Schott. I'm wondering exactly who will play and how much during most of these preseason games.. I mean, Kyrie and Andy should get a break due to playing all summer.. I wouldn't imagine them risking playing LeBron or KLove very much at all.. but then again, SOMEONE has to play these games. Is it worth buying tickets to the game in Cbus by anyone's guess?

 

[Douglar]

Training camp media day is this upcoming Friday--

• Cavs training camp starts earlier than the rest of the NBA because they play a preseason game in Brazil.
• Cavs will likely add one more player for training camp to reach the 20 player max training camp roster

Here are the 19 players that are currently on the training camp roster:

• PG: Kyrie Irving / Dellavedova / John Lucas III
• SG: Dion Waiters / Mike Miller / Joe Harris / Chris Crawford
• SF: Lebron James / Shawn Marion / James Jones
• PF: Kevin Love / Tristan Thompson / Dwight Powell / Malcolm Thomas
• C: Anderson Varejao / Brendan Haywood / Alex Kirk / Erik Murphy / Louis Amundson

The 11 players with bolded names have significant guaranteed salary
Players with blue names were drafted this year

Here are the 8 players that will be competing for the last 4 roster spots:

• PG: John Lucas III vs the ghost of Ray Allen possible signing
• SG: Joe Harris vs Chris Crawford
• PF: Malcolm Thomas vs Dwight Powell
• C: Alex Kirk vs Erik Murphy vs Louis Amundson

If undrafted free agents Alex Kirk & Chris Crawford get waived, they will likely to be the last two players waived so that the Cavs can bypass the d-league draft and let them sign directly with the Canton Charge after clearing NBA waivers

 

[mhi]

FYI, when the seasons starts, we can only carry 15 players and only 13 can be active for any given game.

 

[Lee]

FYI, when the seasons starts, we can only carry 15 players and only 13 can be active for any given game.

Also FYI, sky is blue and water is wet.

 

[Douglar]

Looks like Price will compete with Lucas #3 for the backup PG spot.

From Pluto's Sunday Column--



5. The Cavs will bring veteran point guard A.J. Price to training camp. He played in only 28 games for Minnesota last season, and saw little action. The 6-foot-2 Price has played in 235 NBA games, averaging 5.9 points and shooting .381 from the field for his career.

 

[kovanovich]

Do the Cavs really need a 3rd string PG? In 2009-10, they went into the season with Mo Williams as the only PG on the team. Delonte West was on the team, but couldn't be relied on. Oh, and they had Daniel Gibson, who had a hard time dribbling the ball up the court much less initiate the offense. Plus they had LeBron.

This year they have Kyrie and Delly, along with Dion Waiters, who can run the point. And of course LeBron.

Lucas' value is that he is a $1.6M non-guaranteed contract.

 

[Douglar]

Training camp predictions: (in order of confidence)

1) Alex Kirk & Chris Crawford are the last two waived & go directly to the Canton Charge
2) Dwight Powell is still on the team in the spring but rarely sees the floor.
3) John Lucas III sticks long enough for the Cavs to evaluate the roster but not long enough for his contract to become guaranteed in January.
4) Ray Allen goes some place else.
5) That leaves Louis Amundson vs. Malcolm Thomas vs. Erik Murphy. Too many things that I don't know to make a call here. Is Haywood able to play as a rim protector and provide toughness? Does Blatt hold a grudge against Thomas? Has Murphy kept improving over the summer? How much does Amundson have left in the tank? Right now I think Amundson is the guy they keep, just for the extra toughness & hard work in practice.

 

[oracio]

Cavs among those waiting for Ray Allen's decision
Sam The Bullshit Whisperer
FOX Sports Ohio
SEP 22, 2014 11:10p ET
http://www.foxsports.com/ohio/story/cleveland-cavaliers-waiting-for-ray-allen-092214#livefyre

Robert Mayer / USA TODAY Sports
Ray Allen has helped LeBron James win a championship before. Will he do it in Cleveland?




AKRON, Ohio --€“ For the Cavaliers and the NBA, the Ray Allen Watch continues.

Keep in mind Allen is 39-years old.

Keep in mind Allen has yet to decide whether he'll continue to play -- or just retire.

And keep in mind training camp begins Saturday for the Cavs (and several others).

So, urgency on the part of Allen? Well, when you're 39 and have trudged through something like 18 training camps, it probably doesn't hurt to hold off.

All we know about Allen is the Cavs would love to have him join their outfit. He's not the Ray Allen of old, but despite his age, no one in Cleveland considers him just an old Ray Allen, either.

He has won championships, both in Boston and with LeBron James in Miami. He can hit big shots and still has great range on his jumper. He's a veteran, a big name, a future Hall of Famer.

Those reasons and more are why the Cavs (and reportedly Chicago and Washington) are making a play for the 6-foot-5 shooting guard.

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"Until he signs, that's going to be a target for everybody," general manager David Griffin said Monday from the Cavs' annual golf outing at Firestone Country Club.

Griffin then went into greater detail about why Allen remains on the Cavs' radar.

"Ray is someone who fits us as a shooter," he said. "His championship pedigree fits us at a really high level. With James (Jones), Mike (Miller) and LeBron here, I think he'd feel comfortable with our group. At the same time, it's possible he's not sure he wants to keep playing. He's in no hurry to make a decision. We'll play that out as far as we can."

Allen's scoring has decreased in each of the past four seasons, as he averaged a career-low 9.6 points per game last season with the Heat. But he still managed 26.5 minutes in 73 games, and remained a major perimeter threat in every last one of them.

As Griffin noted, that type of marksmanship and winning edge are why contenders want Allen in their locker room and coming off their bench.

Allen has said he'd determine his future and make it known in September. With the end of the month nearing, he may have miscalculated.

"I wouldn't assume anything," said Jones, who is close with Allen from their Heat days and admittedly speaks to Allen regularly.

Either way, the Cavs are clearly willing to just keep waiting and watching.

More on the Cavaliers

• Cavs agree to deal with Lou Amundson
• Court-crashing fan says his ban is lifted

Camp roster set

Griffin said with 20 players on the roster, the Cavs are likely full for training camp.

Along with those under contract, or at least something resembling a real contract, the Cavs have extended invitations to center/forward Lou Amundson and guards Chris Crawford and A.J. Price.

All appear to be long shots to make the team -- although Amundson could stick as an end-of-the-bench guy, given his size (6-9) and reputation for working hard in practice.

As it stands, the Cavs' camp roster (unofficially) looks like this:

Centers --€“ Anderson Varejao, Brendan Haywood, Dwight Powell, Alex Kirk;

Forwards -- LeBron James, Kevin Love, Tristan Thompson, Shawn Marion, Erik Murphy, Malcolm Thomas, Lou Amundson;

Guards --€“ Kyrie Irving, Dion Waiters, Matthew Dellavedova, Mike Miller, James Jones, Joe Harris, John Lucas III, Chris Crawford, A.J. Price.

"I think the group we have for camp is what we are going to have," Griffin said. "We are really excited about where we sit in terms of the roster and think we have some really good complementary pieces to the bigger stars as well."

 

[Frank Reynolds]

Is it just me, or has this off season taken FOR fucking ever?

My old college roommate got married one day after LBJ came back. That was July 11th.

Hell, just waiting for Wiggins contract to hit 30 days seemed like an eternity.

This has been by far the most painful waiting period leading up to a season.



It's like if you won the lottery and they told you that you couldn't access one cent of that payday for 4 months. That would be a lonnnng wait, that's exactly how this feels.



To top it all off it doesn't make any logical sense to the lifelong Clevelander.

Things like this just don't ever happen to us, so that's also a double whammy in play here, the surreality of this summer hasn't even clicked in until you see Kevin Love fling that fucker 3/4 down the court and a lean mean LBJ rocks the rim for old times.

 

[theSTEREO.]

Saw Andy at the airport this morning. Starting to feel real!