Fire Mike Brown, stop playing Tristan 30 mins a game or move him and stop trying to force the Waiters/Irving backcourt and that alone can pretty much put Irving back on the trajectory he was on before drafting Dion Waiters, then firing Byron Scott and forcing Irving to cover up for Mike Brown's inability to coach last season.
The most contentious point of the 3, is the Waiters Irving match... which I still believe is not optimal for either player.
Personality-wise, skill-wise, any-wise... Dion is too alpha and irrationally confident and Kyrie is trying to find that alpha in himself while being supremely more talented than Dion still.
Its a bad match that will be a bad match on the court unless Dion is convinced to play that 6th man role for life. Its not a position thing for me, its a skillset redundancy with a conflict of character in their personalities that wont allow them to mix with where each of them need to develop most and mature most.
Having a new offensive coach and a new defensive anchor COULD help, but Im more inclined to say there are still better matches for running mates for both guys and its still early enough where we dont have to keep playing with fire.
You don't trade a talent like Irving until you're forced to and when that day comes you don't trade him for an unknown quantity like a draft pick.
You and I disagree here.
Dion gets quite a pass for some passive play... including while Irving was injured.
Irving doesn't fit with anybody. That is the point, you will not accept and it is destructive.
So his rookie year or his time at Duke doesn't count? There was a reason he was drafted #1, even with Chris Grant picking
I loved Duke Kyrie and I screamed when we drafted him. Hell, I still like him a lot..
However... You couldn't have watched his limited time at Duke. If you did, you'd have seen the AAU "all me" game in him from day one.
Solid defender with adequate size. Gets low, fundamental, doesn’t gamble too often.
Defensively he plays aggressive on ball defense, showing quick footwork and the ability to stay in front of his man with a high motor and high intensity
Just saying that he was (and still is IMO) headed for the top point guard spot. I think Cleveland as an organization has indeed mismanaged him to a point, but you can tell he is maturing. While I do agree he does have selfish tendencies in the NBA due to his individual accolades and lack of legit scoring talent around him, I think we see a much more focused Kyrie after he signs the max extension this summer and shuts everybody up here once and for all.Defensively, Irving won't have any problems from a physical standpoint in the NBA, as he has good size, strength and lateral quickness, even if his wingspan probably won't measure out off the charts. He's already way ahead of where most freshman are on this end of the court too, as he plays with good intensity, has excellent fundamentals, and shows great timing jumping in the passing lanes. Like all freshmen, he has some issues defending off the ball and can get impatient coming out of his stance in long possessions, but these are minor qualms that can and likely will be corrected playing under one of the most respected coaches in all of basketball.
That you can't give a max contract to Irving due to his lack of defense and ability to make players around him better. Pointed out he plays like Marbury and Francis. He believes the Cavs should trade Irving and get good young talent now before he's exposed as a me first player.Great band.
That's great, what was his take Ben?
That you can't give a max contract to Irving due to his lack of defense and ability to make players around him better. Pointed out he plays like Marbury and Francis. He believes the Cavs should trade Irving and get good young talent now before he's exposed as a me first player.
I countered with Irving's age (22) and the fact that even if the Cavs sign him to a max contract now they could easily trade him later for a better return then just trading him now because he would be locked up for 4 or more years. Kevin Love's value is low because he's a rental. If he had another 4 years on his contract his value would be exponentially better.
The problem was not Dion and Kyrie. It was Bynum Jack and brown in no particular order. Dion played just fine when he was paired with Delly and he was getting minutes even when Kyrie was healthy and playing better towards the end of the year.
Having a coach who can read a plus minus chart will do wonders next year. Less Clark Jack gee etc