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2021-2022 Cavaliers General Discussion: Trade Deadline Edition

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Who Should the Cavs Trade For?

  • Murray

    Votes: 18 37.5%
  • Lavert

    Votes: 17 35.4%
  • White

    Votes: 1 2.1%
  • Seth Curry

    Votes: 1 2.1%
  • Schroeder

    Votes: 7 14.6%
  • Tatum

    Votes: 3 6.3%
  • Hart

    Votes: 3 6.3%
  • Ingram

    Votes: 1 2.1%
  • Brown

    Votes: 2 4.2%
  • Jim Chones

    Votes: 9 18.8%

  • Total voters
    48
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Who knows whether there is any substance to the rumor that LBJ would come back to Cleveland this summer.

Mark me down as NOT INTERESTED! I love rooting for these underdog Cavs. No drama -- just a bunch of young guys growing together, having fun, surprising team after team. It will be so gratifying to become an upper echelon team without James. The total dynamic would change if he were here. It would hinder the growth in leadership of our younger players. Plus, it wouldn't be as fun if were expected to win the title (which we would be). It was fun having LBJ when he was young. (That game against Detroit when he score 29 straight points in the 4th quarter and overtime is one of my all-time favorite games.) It was great when we won a championship in his second stint here, but those were agonizing times.

I admire LBJ and like him as a person. I just don't want him re-joining this team (at least not until he acknowledges he is a bench player like Rubio, and that is a couple of years away yet). Perhaps my mind could be changed -- convince me ...
Isn't he under contract next year for the Fakers?
 
Zach Lowe finally features Cleveland in his column. It's behind a paywall so I will reproduce it (except for videos) here:

1. Oh, hey, the Cleveland Cavaliers are still here​

The Cavs were supposed to be dead. They've faced the league's strongest schedule. Every key player but bench savior Ricky Rubio has missed at least two games. Lauri Markkanen and Kevin Love have both missed about half the season so far. Collin Sexton has too, and he's not coming back.

And yet: The Cavs are 12-10 with the league's No. 3-ranked defense and ninth-best point differential. If that defense is anything like real, the Cavs will hang in the play-in race.

The only red flag: Their opponents have hit 32.9% on 3s, third lowest overall. But the Cavs haven't allowed many 3s, and they should withstand warmer enemy shooting if they keep attempts down.

They have yielded bundles of shots at the rim, but that may be somewhat by design: Good freaking luck finishing around Jarrett Allen and Evan Mobley -- the front-runner (by a hair over Scottie Barnes, who somehow plays with electricity and chill at once) for Rookie of the Year. Even when the Cavs split those two up, they have plenty of length. (One accidental benefit of Sexton's absence is playing Isaac Okoro more at shooting guard instead of small forward.)

Their opponents have hit just 58% at the rim -- second lowest, per Cleaning The Glass. That doesn't feel like a fluke.
They're 21st in scoring efficiency, and it's hard to see them finishing above league average -- or even reaching there. But there are signs of hope. Markkanen's shot is coming around, and they'll need him to help prop up the offense when Darius Garland rests. Cleveland has scored about 110 points per 100 possessions with Garland, but just 95.5 when he sits.

I wrote about Allen's blossoming post game two weeks ago, and he has only gotten nastier since. He's calling for the ball now, and the Cavs look for him.

But Allen is a lob-catcher at heart, and he and Garland are developing special pick-and-roll chemistry. They might become Central Division Trae Young and Clint Capela.

Garland is an expert at changing pace, and his floater is a weapon; he has hit 51% on midrangers. He uses the identical release on layups and lobs, and that disguise keeps defenders guessing until the ball is in midair. The threat of Garland's floater gets Allen alley-oops, and the threat of those alley-oops gets Garland floaters.

Garland is patient and creative:



That's a smart, unconventional play. Garland could stop for his floater, but he sees Allen with a mismatch and daylight on the right side. Garland swerves that way, and boom goes the dynamite.

Nine times out of 10, the guard in Garland's position yanks Kristaps Porzingis to the perimeter. Garland is headed there, but senses an opportunity to cut backdoor -- knowing Love is a willing passer.

Garland has another leap in him, and the possibility of that coming over the next 60 games is the best reason for hope that the Cavs can sustain an average-ish offense.

It's unclear who beyond Garland, Mobley and Allen is a long-term keeper -- I'm more bullish than most on Sexton -- but the Cavs have something cooking.
 
Who knows whether there is any substance to the rumor that LBJ would come back to Cleveland this summer.

Mark me down as NOT INTERESTED! I love rooting for these underdog Cavs. No drama -- just a bunch of young guys growing together, having fun, surprising team after team. It will be so gratifying to become an upper echelon team without James. The total dynamic would change if he were here. It would hinder the growth in leadership of our younger players. Plus, it wouldn't be as fun if were expected to win the title (which we would be). It was fun having LBJ when he was young. (That game against Detroit when he score 29 straight points in the 4th quarter and overtime is one of my all-time favorite games.) It was great when we won a championship in his second stint here, but those were agonizing times.

I admire LBJ and like him as a person. I just don't want him re-joining this team (at least not until he acknowledges he is a bench player like Rubio, and that is a couple of years away yet). Perhaps my mind could be changed -- convince me ...

Old man Lebron would actually be really good on this team. He would have to give space for the younger guys to lead but I think he’s good with that at this point in his career. He could kind of fill in for whatever we’re missing on the court. But he couldn’t be allowed to ruin the vibe on defense — which he didn’t on that great Laker defense during their title year.
 
Old man Lebron would actually be really good on this team. He would have to give space for the younger guys to lead but I think he’s good with that at this point in his career. He could kind of fill in for whatever we’re missing on the court. But he couldn’t be allowed to ruin the vibe on defense — which he didn’t on that great Laker defense during their title year.

I haven't seen anything to prove the bolded. He talks about this, but his play is still the opposite.
 
Who knows whether there is any substance to the rumor that LBJ would come back to Cleveland this summer.

Mark me down as NOT INTERESTED! I love rooting for these underdog Cavs. No drama -- just a bunch of young guys growing together, having fun, surprising team after team. It will be so gratifying to become an upper echelon team without James. The total dynamic would change if he were here. It would hinder the growth in leadership of our younger players. Plus, it wouldn't be as fun if were expected to win the title (which we would be). It was fun having LBJ when he was young. (That game against Detroit when he score 29 straight points in the 4th quarter and overtime is one of my all-time favorite games.) It was great when we won a championship in his second stint here, but those were agonizing times.

I admire LBJ and like him as a person. I just don't want him re-joining this team (at least not until he acknowledges he is a bench player like Rubio, and that is a couple of years away yet). Perhaps my mind could be changed -- convince me ...
Totally agree. Love LBJ & will never forget how he brought us a championship. That said, the total dynamic changes when he’s here and we would undoubtedly get rid of some of our young talent & most of our draft capital for middling vets, in an effort to appease him. Large and/or desirable market teams, like LA & Miami, may be able to overcome that. However, that approach is not sustainable for a small market team, like the Cavaliers, and is why we find ourselves in a hole every time LBJ leaves.
 
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ESPN Power Rankings came out today, and here is what they say about the Cavs.
i

15. Cleveland Cavaliers
2021-22 record: 13-11
Previous ranking: 20

There are no moral victories in the NBA, but it certainly says a lot about the Cavs' growth this season that they can look at Sunday's 109-108 loss to the Utah Jazz as a game they would have won had they not gone 0-for-4 in the final 90 seconds. It was a wildly successful week for the Cavs regardless, as Cleveland went 3-0 on a road trip through Dallas, Washington and Miami before the close loss to Utah. -- McMenamin

This week: @MIL, CHI, @MIN, SAC

??? Those three teams we beat handily on the road they have ranked at 7th, 8th, and 14th. Here are some of the things they say about the Wizards and Mavericks. Yet, they still ranked them above the Cavs. Unbelievable.
  • "The Wizards' defense has shown slippage in recent losses. Last week, Washington surrendered 116 points in both the 17-point loss to San Antonio and the 15-point loss to the Cavs. Worse, Washington trailed by as many as 36 to Cleveland."
  • "Dallas has dropped seven of nine games since Luka Doncic sprained his left knee and ankle. The Mavs are 2-3 in the games that Doncic has played in that span, including blowout home losses to the Cavaliers and Pelicans."
 
ESPN Power Rankings came out today, and here is what they say about the Cavs.
i

15. Cleveland Cavaliers
2021-22 record: 13-11
Previous ranking: 20

There are no moral victories in the NBA, but it certainly says a lot about the Cavs' growth this season that they can look at Sunday's 109-108 loss to the Utah Jazz as a game they would have won had they not gone 0-for-4 in the final 90 seconds. It was a wildly successful week for the Cavs regardless, as Cleveland went 3-0 on a road trip through Dallas, Washington and Miami before the close loss to Utah. -- McMenamin

This week: @MIL, CHI, @MIN, SAC

??? Those three teams we beat handily on the road they have ranked at 7th, 8th, and 14th. Here are some of the things they say about the Wizards and Mavericks. Yet, they still ranked them above the Cavs. Unbelievable.
  • "The Wizards' defense has shown slippage in recent losses. Last week, Washington surrendered 116 points in both the 17-point loss to San Antonio and the 15-point loss to the Cavs. Worse, Washington trailed by as many as 36 to Cleveland."
  • "Dallas has dropped seven of nine games since Luka Doncic sprained his left knee and ankle. The Mavs are 2-3 in the games that Doncic has played in that span, including blowout home losses to the Cavaliers and Pelicans."
I think 15 is conservative for the Cavs and they could easily be ranked higher. Let’s give it until the end of the month and I think they will be in the top 10.
 
I think 15 is conservative for the Cavs and they could easily be ranked higher. Let’s give it until the end of the month and I think they will be in the top 10.
There is 0 reason we should be behind dallas lol
 
There is 0 reason we should be behind dallas lol
Agreed. Dallas has taken a step back this year with Jason Kidd taking over for Rick Carlisle.
 
You guys do realize these power rankings are just one person’s opinion, right? :chuckle:
 
Well my duo of Marrk and Love scored 35 tonight combined, which usually means a W. Then I looked at Okoro- he scored 0. Yep 0 points form a starting SG. Yeah I know positions don’t really matter anymore, but he did not score in 18 mins.
Struggled shooting overall tonight.
 
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