Farewell, Richard Jefferson.

[Lee]

Not sure why anyone is mad.

All offseason all we heard was everyone wanted to get Gay to backup LeBron,

Well, Lebron now has a Gay backup.

Mission accomplished.

 

[Binkster]

Honestly, I see him being completely redundant with JJ, and would have preferred to see us add a plus defender rather than a plus shooter.

But, I get the cap and tax angle so I really can't be pissed.

I feel like we went that route last year with Marion and he was given the hook when he provided so little offensively and athletically.

I don't think Jefferson is a home run signing but he has the potential to give us some good spot minutes when they matter.

 

[Binkster]

"Too old. Need more youth."

Entire starting 5 = 30 or under.
10/15 = 30 or under.
6 = 25 or under.

Christmas - 23
Irving - 23
Harris - 23
TT - 24
Delly - 24
Shumpert - 25
Love - 26
J.R. - 29
Moz - 29
James - 30
Andy - 32
Mo - 32
Jones - 34
Miller - 35
Jefferson - 35

Every contender needs veteran leadership.

 

[cavsfever]

"Too old. Need more youth."

Entire starting 5 = 30 or under.
10/15 = 30 or under.
6 = 25 or under.

Christmas - 23
Irving - 23
Harris - 23
TT - 24
Delly - 24
Shumpert - 25
Love - 26
J.R. - 29
Moz - 29
James - 30
Andy - 32
Mo - 32
Jones - 34
Miller - 35
Jefferson - 35

Every contender needs veteran leadership.

What we could use is some athletic young wings on the bench to throw at people on D. Shump is the only guy we have like that. A lot of our younger guys are not so athletic -- Love is not, Kyrie sort of is but is frequently injured and slacks off on D, I predict Harris and Christmas will both be useless so forget them.

 

[cavsfever]

If Jefferson still has it on both sides of the ball why did he play so little for Dallas last year? He was third SF behind Al-Farouq Aminu. I guess the answer would be that they played Aminu more because they needed defense/rebounding since they are weak at PF in both these things. Assuming TT is back we are pretty solid at PF in both those things so Jefferson may be more valuable to us. I think he will be better than JJ on defense (not hard) but still a minus defender.

 

[buzzdog]

Yes, resigning your own guy is nothing, its assumed. I swear to god every other team can turn hot garbage into whatever they need, every year, but the cavs. I don't disagree the team is good, I think we go to the finals next year as well, but other teams got better and we stayed pat. Our players are to fragile to do that.

You are delusional. Signing your own players is somehow automatic and a given? Tell that to Portland, and see how automatic the Thunder think it's going to be next year.

Every other team turns hot garbage into what they need? What did Griffin do with Dion and a bunch of borderline assets last season? Shump. JR and Mozgov just came out of nowhere and Griff did nothing there?

Griff was able to make moves last season because he had assets and we weren't over the apron. No assets and being over the apron is like wearing a straight jacket, handcuffs and ankle irons, being locked in a steel cage, being weighted down and dropped into the ocean as far as flexibility, options, and deal-making are concerned. We don't have Tim Duncan taking a fraction of his worth, we have a bunch of players in their prime who need to be paid.

Try joining the real world sometime instead of living in a fairy tale.

 

[Rimage]

I'm actually really surprised at the reaction to the Jefferson signing. I'm not a fan of Jefferson, but I'm not sure how many could be so high on the possibility of acquiring Caron Butler or Gerald Green, yet hate picking up RJ. Both Caron and Green shot more at a lower percentage (both from the field and three). We don't need volume shooters/scorers for what is essentially for the 9th man; we need guys that stay in their lane and will take some DNP-CD's. Jefferson was good for Dallas last year in his 15 minutes a game. Mavs were happy to bring him back when they thought they were a contender. Now they are moving towards young guys because they know they aren't in it to win it this year.

I mean, We have our top 8 guys (if we sign TT and JR). If we stay healthy, we will pick up where we left off last year. I'm not sure what people were expecting this offseason. We weren't going to have another five starter-quality players behind what we have now. Mo and Jefferson are vets that will cause no waves and fill in nicely when needed. If we get hit with the injury bug again, we are screwed no matter what. Whether you have Gerald Green and Caron Butler or Richard Jefferson and Mo Williams, if any of those guys are your starters and playing 40 mpg going into the playoffs, your chances off winning it all are not good.

 

[Randolphkeys]

Not sure where the faulty logic is.

Good luck.

 

[cavsfever]

I'm not sure what people were expecting, this offseason. We weren't going to have another five starter-quality players behind what we have now. Mo and Jefferson are vets that will cause no waves and fill in nicely when needed. If we get hit with the injury bug again, we are screwed no matter what. Whether you have Gerald Green and Caron Butler or Richard Jefferson and Mo Williams, if any of those guys are your starters and playing 40 mpg going into the playoffs, your chances off winning it all are not good.

I think people were hoping for magic -- either for a good starter-level player to come to us for the vet minimum (a la David West), or for the Haywood contract to somehow turn into multiple young guys with upside or a good starter-level player. Stuff like that does happen a few times every year, but you can't count on it. We had a more modest off season -- we upgraded our backups in a sensible way but didn't pick up anybody who was really transformative. So we improved but all the people who at the beginning of the off season were talking about getting Rudy Gay or JJ Redick or Mills/Splitter or Joe Johnson are disappointed.

I plead guilty to being one of those people. We didn't get any fantasy pickups but we did improve.

 

[I LOVE YOU ABBY]

I know I just mentioned this recently, and it will mostly fall on deaf ears, but, to everybody complaining about the Cavs not upgrading their talent enough: Golden State lost in the first round in 2014, returned their top eight players and added Shaun Livingston and won the title. What the Cavs are hoping to do isn't unprecedented.

That's a good observation. I feel like it should be pointed out that they also changed coaches though. And having the right coach is a huge variable in terms of a team's success. Kerr was magnificent with those guys. But talent-wise, you're right. Sometimes a small tweak can make a big difference.

And I think Mo Williams and Livingston are both quite impactful because of the holes they fill for each team.

 

[Dr. Claw]

Not sure why anyone is mad.

All offseason all we heard was everyone wanted to get Gay to backup LeBron,

Well, Lebron now has a Gay backup.

Mission accomplished.

I don't know what the source of all the "gay" comments are regarding this dude, I remember a decade ago someone on a board I was on at the time used to call him "Air Gay"

regardless, if he's still shooting 40+% from 3 and can help keep LeBron off the floor for more than 4 minutes a game, he can be Air Liberace for all I care.

 

[Ruggeder]

You are delusional. Signing your own players is somehow automatic and a given? Tell that to Portland, and see how automatic the Thunder think it's going to be next year.

Every other team turns hot garbage into what they need? What did Griffin do with Dion and a bunch of borderline assets last season? Shump. JR and Mozgov just came out of nowhere and Griff did nothing there?

Griff was able to make moves last season because he had assets and we weren't over the apron. No assets and being over the apron is like wearing a straight jacket, handcuffs and ankle irons, being locked in a steel cage, being weighted down and dropped into the ocean as far as flexibility, options, and deal-making are concerned. We don't have Tim Duncan taking a fraction of his worth, we have a bunch of players in their prime who need to be paid.

Try joining the real world sometime instead of living in a fairy tale.

I love internet insults. Anyway, it is assumed the players will stay pat unless you are blowing up the franchise or you wont pay what they can get or you perpetually lose. So yes, it is assumed that a finals team with an owner who will pay will keep their own players. Griffin turned borderline assets into other borderline aspects. Don't look at them in hindsight, we took a headcase (JR) an injured defensive presence on a tanking team (Shump) and a cast off (Moz). Let's not act like we traded Dion for Marc Gasol. They all worked out great, except JR in the finals, so it looks like a great trade. If Shump hadn't recovered, if JR was JR and if Mozgov played like a cast off would there be all the praise? Anyway, I'm glad you enjoyed this off season.

 

[Walter White]

I know I just mentioned this recently, and it will mostly fall on deaf ears, but, to everybody complaining about the Cavs not upgrading their talent enough: Golden State lost in the first round in 2014, returned their top eight players and added Shaun Livingston and won the title. What the Cavs are hoping to do isn't unprecedented.

Not that I don't agree, but they also got pretty freakin lucky with the amount of injuries other teams had along the way (not to mention they didn't really have any). No way they beat us if we were healthy, half healthy at that.

The better depth we have and players we have (that fit), the better our odds are. We can't have it rely on as much luck as they did. We should give ourselves the absolute best odds to win, that's all.

I realize we don't need much. As is, if we didn't make a single move, we would still have pretty good odds. But teams around the league are getting even stronger, much stronger. The biggest thing we had to learn is being healthy. That should be our main focus, and I'll feel super good about our chances if we are. But that is why we need depth, to prevent those injuries. Sometimes there are freak injuries, but we have to control the minutes much better than before so we can be fresh and healthy for the playoffs.

 

[BigJ]

I think people were hoping for magic -- either for a good starter-level player to come to us for the vet minimum (a la David West), or for the Haywood contract to somehow turn into multiple young guys with upside or a good starter-level player. Stuff like that does happen a few times every year, but you can't count on it. We had a more modest off season -- we upgraded our backups in a sensible way but didn't pick up anybody who was really transformative. So we improved but all the people who at the beginning of the off season were talking about getting Rudy Gay or JJ Redick or Mills/Splitter or Joe Johnson are disappointed.

I plead guilty to being one of those people. We didn't get any fantasy pickups but we did improve.

But wasnt it clear weeks ago we werent getting one of those Starter Caliber guys right now? Splitter was dealt to another Team.. and The Spurs went kinda all in once LA signed beeing no more Interesting in trading productive Players for Cap space Kinda the Same with the Clippers and Crawford or Redick.. once Jordan came back they went also "all in". And tbh i wouldnt have wantet Johnson if it meant giving up Andy. i know hes injured alot but considering we wont play him 30mpg.. more like 15 the chance of him staying healthy is alot bigger than the years before. And if we can have him healthy he is still very servicable and is just an amazing locker room guy.

Did people just not read the "signs" or where they just blindly hoping despite each deal that was rumored fell apart pretty quick?

Also its not nessesarilly "over" we propably will turn Haywood into a TPE and can get 1 or 2 solid players at the deadline when Teams that realise they wont make the playoffs are more willing to trade productive players for cap space than before the season

 

[buzzdog]

I love internet insults. Anyway, it is assumed the players will stay pat unless you are blowing up the franchise or you wont pay what they can get or you perpetually lose. So yes, it is assumed that a finals team with an owner who will pay will keep their own players. Griffin turned borderline assets into other borderline aspects. Don't look at them in hindsight, we took a headcase (JR) an injured defensive presence on a tanking team (Shump) and a cast off (Moz). Let's not act like we traded Dion for Marc Gasol. They all worked out great, except JR in the finals, so it looks like a great trade. If Shump hadn't recovered, if JR was JR and if Mozgov played like a cast off would there be all the praise? Anyway, I'm glad you enjoyed this off season.

You put up post after post with the tone that the Cavs have done nothing, then qualify the success of the moves that were made with a bunch of "if this, if that" scenarios. So many things had to fall into place for the Cavs to go 6 games into the finals last season, and you seem to dismiss it all as luck with the front office deserving no credit. When Varejao went down and Dion continued to suck it became apparent that the Cavs badly needed a legit rim protector and some athletic wings, and pretty much no-one could have assumed we'd end up with the kind of talent that put us over the hump with what you call "cast-offs".

What moves should we have made that we failed to make? My beef with you is you seem to assume the Cavs have all these wonderful options that we're passing on in favor of inferior moves. Why do you imaging this is happening, is it because Griffin is stupid, or he just isn't trying? Or that if you were in his shoes you could have done better?

That's why I'm saying you're living in a fantasy world.