Marreese Speights Has a Player Option

[Lee]

Re: Welcome Marreese Speights

I posted this in the game thread, but I'll put it here also.

Say what you will about Hickson vs Speights, I never saw Hickson hustle like that tonight or stay in the game mentally when being down by huge numbers. Not to mention in the 4th quarter Speights really locked down the paint on defense and out rebounded Larry Sanders.

That is because you hav not watched Portland Hickson who by no coincidence is his third team too.

 

[melecoaze]

That is because you hav not watched Portland Hickson who by no coincidence is his third team too.

Against us he sucked on defense as usual.

 

[shoes22]

I think it is our defensive numbers that will indicate when we are ready to push for the playoffs.

I completely agree with this. I think our offense will improve on its own just by nature of player development and guys getting used to the league. But it's defensively that will determine how good a team we can really be, and how many games we win.

 

[Jon]

Re: Welcome Marreese Speights

The bench played great, and no small part of that was because it consisted of guys with 4+ years in the league.

I was very impressed with Marreese's work in the paint and his effort on D against the Bucks, but lots of guys have gone out of their way to impress in their first games with a new club. Marreese *should* be highly motivated and on his best behavior because there are literally millions at stake for him.

 

[petes999]

Re: Welcome Marreese Speights

It looks like he will be traded in the next month

If Grant can get a decent first for him without taking on much salary, then Grant is GM of the year. Two firsts for $1.5 -$2.0 million in prorated salary for Selby and Ell. and then also have cap room next year for more picks. Of course we don't need all the picks, but good to have in order to move up.

 

[Douglar]

Re: Welcome Marreese Speights

Of course we don't need all the picks, but good to have in order to move up.

Of course the Cavs need more picks.

Collect them now because they are much harder to get when the team is contending and capped out.

To any GM's out there that might be reading this:

"Send more picks!!"

 

[Jon]

Re: Welcome Marreese Speights

Collect them now because they are much harder to get when the team is contending and capped out.

I love that strategy. It's a great way to sustain an influx of talent even after the team starts making the playoffs. Of course we don't have to actually use the picks in the draft, we can just as well package them up in a trade for a piece we're missing.

There is no "treadmill of mediocrity" ... there are only GMs who don't plan ahead and make dumb picks.

 

[shoes22]

Of course there's a treadmill of mediocrity. Look at the Atlanta Hawks for several years, the Miluakee Bucks, the Indiana Pacers. They got the most out of their draft picks considering their position, but they're still all middling teams.

 

[petes999]

Re: Welcome Marreese Speights

Of course the Cavs need more picks.

Collect them now because they are much harder to get when the team is contending and capped out.

To any GM's out there that might be reading this:

"Send more picks!!"

I agree because my point of trading up is a 25th selection when we make the playoffs does little good as most go to d-league for a while and posible bust but 2 20s can get up to 15th pick or so for a good back-up/possible starter down the road.

 

[Douglar]

Re: Welcome Marreese Speights

Of course there's a treadmill of mediocrity. Look at the Atlanta Hawks for several years, the Miluakee Bucks, the Indiana Pacers. They got the most out of their draft picks considering their position, but they're still all middling teams.

They did not get the most out of their #2 pick when they passed on Chris Paul and Deron Williams.

 

[Jon]

Re: Welcome Marreese Speights

Of course there's a treadmill of mediocrity. Look at the Atlanta Hawks for several years, the Miluakee Bucks, the Indiana Pacers. They got the most out of their draft picks considering their position, but they're still all middling teams.

There are more ways to improve a team than to just sit back and accept whatever the draft slots you.

Never forget that our current franchise player came through a trade not from tanking, or that the dang Piston's coming off a finals appearance had the #2 over all pick in one of the All Time Greatest drafts only to blow it because they decided to take the guy who they thought would best fill a weakness in their roster going forward rather than best player.

Heck, the Miami Heat had a nice thing going after drafting Wade, and Riley willingly blew it all up just so they could bring in Shaq - and didn't stop shaking things up until they won a championship.

There are far more examples of good teams finding a way to push themselves up to the championship level, than there are of bad teams building there via tanking.

 

[Henry Tuttle]

Re: Welcome Marreese Speights

Of course there's a treadmill of mediocrity. Look at the Atlanta Hawks for several years, the Miluakee Bucks, the Indiana Pacers. They got the most out of their draft picks considering their position, but they're still all middling teams.

I think Jon has a valid point here, something which I've never really considered before (the point itself, not Jon being right ).

I've always viewed the treadmill as a function of the CBA/league architecture, when in fact it's a result of management/ownership not fully understanding and exploiting the way the league is set up to find long-term success. The main inhibitor, it seems, is ownership demanding immediate results, thereby forcing management into a position where it's almost impossible to create an environment that encourages long-term success. The other possibility would be management simply not understanding how to use the CBA to their advantage, but I'd like to think that's not the case (if it were, then I'd be more even more frustrated that I've never been considered for any GM position).

Luckily, as it stands, fans of the Cavs don't have to worry about either potential crux, and are left to debate over what we should do with our next bazillion first rounders. It's definitely a great problem to have!

 

[Scholar]

Re: Welcome Marreese Speights

Of course there's a treadmill of mediocrity. Look at the Atlanta Hawks for several years, the Miluakee Bucks, the Indiana Pacers. They got the most out of their draft picks considering their position, but they're still all middling teams.

I think Jon's point just flew right over your head. The reason teams fall into what is considered this treadmill is that, once a team becomes good, they no longer have access to the game changing young players at the top of the round. Their pick naturally shifts to near the bottom of the round meaning relatively weak talent being added. In essence, they have limited assets to acquire the additional talent they are short to get over that hump and actually compete for the championship. Your GM needs to plan ahead. Acquire assets while you are not in contention in preparation for the time when you will be. Then, when your picks shift out of the top, you can still add what you need because you have additional picks, or younger players, to use to get them. You avoid the supposed destiny of the "treadmill of mediocrity."

 

[mds]

Re: Welcome Marreese Speights

I think Jon has a valid point here, something which I've never really considered before (the point itself, not Jon being right ).

I've always viewed the treadmill as a function of the CBA/league architecture, when in fact it's a result of management/ownership not fully understanding and exploiting the way the league is set up to find long-term success. The main inhibitor, it seems, is ownership demanding immediate results, thereby forcing management into a position where it's almost impossible to create an environment that encourages long-term success. The other possibility would be management simply not understanding how to use the CBA to their advantage, but I'd like to think that's not the case (if it were, then I'd be more even more frustrated that I've never been considered for any GM position).

Luckily, as it stands, fans of the Cavs don't have to worry about either potential crux, and are left to debate over what we should do with our next bazillion first rounders. It's definitely a great problem to have!

Add in ownership not wanting to spend the money as well. The Memphis trade is a perfect example. Their owner is sweating the finances so they're making lopsided trades and supposedly still shopping Gay. That is a team that could be pushing to the next level, but instead they're pulling back from the salary cap.

 

[Douglar]

Re: Welcome Marreese Speights

Their owner is sweating the finances so they're making lopsided trades and supposedly still shopping Gay.

My understanding about what is going on in Memphis is that they felt like they were not getting good offers for Randolph and Gay because they were over the tax and teams were trying to take advantage of that as things got closer to the February deadline.

They felt that trading away those guys now didn't cause much hurt to their chances of making it to the finals this year, allows them to look at some other more affordable talent options right now, and bought them another 12 months to look for a better deal to move their team into the top of the West. They expect to reclaim at least one first round draft pick if they move one of their stars.

The real problem in Memphis started years ago when they overpaid Randolph and Gay. Had they paid that pair each about $3-5 mil less a year, they probably wouldn't have been out bid and wouldn't be in this bind. No they had to make this move to grab enough breathing room to find a better way to unload those deals.