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Chris Parker/Cleveland Scene answers your questions

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Chris Parker said:
I honestly think they've got a good chance to win this year and if they don't it will be close enough that there will be a feeling they need only bring the band back, and I suspect they may be largely right. I just don't know if you can successfully play TT for 28 mpg against a WC foe, tho' it does seem Blatt's pref. FTR, Bucks were 5-5 at the rim against TT, 4-10 against Love and 3-7 against T-Mo. If you know that the Bucks shot 20-33 <5' you can deduce that outside of Love/T-Mo, the Cavs allowed the Bucks to shoot 13-16 at the rim. Think on that for a moment and try not to let it keep you up at night like it does me.
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Honestly, this bothers me more than I'd like to admit. Thanks for this post, really nice to hear that someone with expertise sees it the same way I do (I certainly don't have as vast of BB knowledge as a lot of posters, but this just seems obvious to me). It gets old hearing AC and Fred say over and over in fourth quarters that there is no rim protection, and that Mozgov was providing that earlier in the game.

Do you think he will use Mozgov more in the fourth in the playoffs, or does he seem set on his smaller fourth quarter lineup?
 
I may start up a free agent thread now that the regular season is basically over and things will slow down till the playoffs get going, but picking up on Chris' 2015 free agent article...

But here’s a list of some guys that might make sense:

Jeff Green ($9.4M). Green has a player option and Memphis is not necessarily looking to unload assets. Then again, you’re paying Tony Allen and Vince Carter a collective $9 million, but it still doesn’t seem much of a fit for Memphis even if they are resigning Gasol. Indeed, Randolph’s contract drops by almost $7 million next year, giving them extra room.

Channing Frye ($7.9M). This guy barely plays in Orlando, despite shooting 40% from 3. (He shot 39% from 2.) He’s 31 and signed for another year after next which isn’t very attractive either, but he’s just the kind of playoff-tested (Portland, Phoenix) stretch 4 the team would like off the bench. Just seems like a big overpay for a 15/min a night guy.

Mavin Williams ($7M). The Charlotte SF/PF is only 28 but hasn’t done great there and after a disappointing season could be tickeed out. He’s a good defender and shoots 37% from distance. He doesn’t require a lot of usage and is by all accounts a stand-up citizen. This would be a nice-pickup and makes since from both sides.

There really aren’t many guards in the $6-$10M range that make sense aside from Greivis Vasquez ($6.6M), but he’s done well in Toronto, and there are always decent point guards near the bottom of the first round, where the Cavs will be picking.

The depth chart would then look something like this:

C – Mozgov, Varajeao, Perkins/Kaun
PF – Love, Thompson
SF – James, Williams, Miller
SG – Smith, Shumpert, Harris
PG – Irving, Delly, 1st Round Pick?

For a final piece maybe you look for an older guy up for his final run at a ring. Maybe someone like Tayshaun Prince, Drew Gooden, Jason Terry, Mo Williams, John Salmons, or Elton Brand, all of whom will be free agents and might have trouble finding a long-term contract. If you’re playing year-to-year why not take a shot with a contender? A lot of that will probably depend on whom the Cavaliers select in the draft.
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Of these guys, Green will be too expensive, given that the Cavs will presumably only have the taxpayer MLE to pay free agents (unless, at a minimum, Love and Smith both leave). Frye is an interesting possibility in that he will still have 3 years left on his contract with ORL who might be willing to dump him for Haywood's contract since he has fallen out of ORL's rotation and is still owed $24M or something like that. Personally, I wouldn't do that move unless Love leaves, and even then I would look for better options. I sort of like Marvin Williams in that he is a combo forward who can actually shoot and is a decent rebounder -- he's a guy Blatt may actually play. He's under contract another year in Charlotte, and it would likely take Haywood and an asset to pry him away, unless Charlotte is desperate to clear salary to sign a different free agent. But I guess I have a hard time seeing the Cavs bringing back a salary as big as even Marvin Williams ($7M next year) unless they lose Love or at least JR Smith. Otherwise, the tax hit would be too immense.

Of the minimum guys, I have already said elsewhere that Mo Williams seems like a realistic option. And I'm glad someone else actually suggested Drew Gooden, because I was afraid to do so, but he has done a decent job in Washington (where I happen to live) the last couple of years, working on minimum contracts. He can stretch the floor some and does a decent job on the boards. I don't think it's crazy to think he can handle 5th big responsibilities.
 
kovanovich said:
Of these guys, Green will be too expensive, given that the Cavs will presumably only have the taxpayer MLE to pay free agents (unless, at a minimum, Love and Smith both leave).
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Wouldn't Haywood's contract make that trade possible?
 
teamballer said:
Wouldn't Haywood's contract make that trade possible?
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Not if the Cavs are above the apron -- $4M above the tax level.

Of course, if Green exercises his option, the Cavs could trade Haywood (and whatever else) for him.

I happen to think Jeff Green isn't all that good of a player. Bill Simmons appeared puzzled in a recent podcast why Boston seemed to get better when they traded him, and Memphis seemed to get worse after they acquired him. I don't think it was too surprising.
 
Looking forward to your playoff thoughts, Chris. Great article on Love.
 
I agree, props on the Love piece. I subscribed to the thread.
 
@Chris Parker I don't know if this is too "off the record" for you to comment on, but isn't it a bit of a problem that Vardon, who has been hired specifically to report on LeBron, seems to have no relation what so ever with anyone on the roster, let alone LeBron for that matter? how can NEOMG justify having him on payroll when he brings absolutely nothing to the table of value (which i suppose goes for a Fedor as well)? The way Kyrie and 'Bron reacted to his questions at the post-presser last night seemed to indicate that he isn't getting any respect from anyone in the lockerroom, so why the hell is he even there? Was he just hired as a reaction to 'Bron coming back? I don't know, it just seems to me that he is absolutely floundering around at the press conferences and is way out of his element. They can't possibly be thinking of keeping him employed with the way he's been handling himself can they?
 
Joe Vardon sucks.

His 2 part question to Kev or Kyrie, which Kev answered then one to Bron which wasn't even answered, LeBron ignored the shit out of him.

Plenty of guys on this site can handle his job easily. He is a joke for an media member.
 
Hope Chris comes back and shares stuff here from time to time.

I feel like he is basically Rcf's beat reporter. Or at least he is the reporter which captures the spirit of Rcf.
 
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