2022 Off-season Thread - The Future is Bright

[gambler]

i dont know what the difference of allen is to the cavs as williams was to the celtics but boston was going nowhere without him

 

[gambler]

Just wanted to note, the Cavs betting line to win the east is +4200.

That's 42x what you put in.

Could be a fun long shot. I definitely think it's selling the team short - especially considering the Knicks have the same odds.

if youre taking a shot at that.....imo....mobley MIP at 50/1 is also worth a play... i posted this before..

 

[guitarguy]

Fedor had this (his personal opinion):

James still wants to win. There’s no doubt about that. He used social media to express the pain of watching the playoffs this year. He isn’t spending the waning years of his storied career playing out the string, soaking up the sun, counting his billions and reflecting on the glory days with a middling team that has no chance at a championship.

At this point, based on last year's 33-49 record, the lack of cap space to improve the roster, the lack of a first round pick this year, and an aging Russell Westbrook, the Lakers look like "a middling team that has no chance at a championship".

Maybe not even a middling team. They were 11th in a 15-team conference last year That is not middling. Middling is their ceiling.

So if there is "no doubt" that LeBron still wants to win, he needs to go somewhere else. Somewhere with a young, deep roster so he doesn't have to play 37 minutes for 82 games just to get his team to the play-in. Somewhere where he can play 25-28 minutes a game and take off the second night of back-to-backs and still end up on a top four seed. A team where he can coast through the season and then ramp it up in the playoffs. A team that will have cap space next year when a certain $30 million power forward salary comes off the books.

Any suggestions as to where he might go?

Hard to imagine why James would want to stay in LA, other than he just likes it there. I'd probably be more shocked if they make the playoffs, than don't at this point. Unless Davis can stay healthy all year.

It does make you wonder if would even take a role playing less than 30 minutes a game, and making less than the max? You'd think at this point it's not about money...so?

 

[Rich]

The Athletic also has the Cavs 9th in the East and 17th overall.

17. Cleveland Cavaliers

Major additions: Ricky Rubio (free agent), Robin Lopez (free agent), Ochai Agbaji (draft), Raul Neto (free agent)

Major subtractions: Rajon Rondo (free agent), Ed Davis (free agent)

Did this team get better? They did, and we should probably expect Collin Sexton’s deal to get done sooner rather than later. Hopefully he can give a healthy campaign to this Cleveland Cavaliers team that took a big step forward last season. The Cavs fizzled out with the injuries, but they zigged when others zagged by competing with huge lineups in the modern NBA. Bringing Rubio back (assuming he’s healthy from the ACL) is an upgrade. Lopez is good depth for a loaded frontcourt. This team didn’t lose much, and they bring back experience that matters. The improvement of newly wealthy man Darius Garland and star sophomore Evan Mobley probably dictates the most for next season. Can they avoid the Play-In and make the top six?

I would have added Sexton to the "major additions" list since he only played 11 games last year. And I certainly would not classify either Rondo or Davis as "major" subtractions. No subtraction is how I would categorize it.

Also, they only had LeVert for less than half the season, so he is a partial addition.

Start with the team that was kicking butt in December before the Rubio injury. Add Sexton, LeVert, Agbagi, Lopez and factor in an improved Mobley and you get the team the Cavs will have in the second half when Rubio returns. But, yeah, they won't have Rondo, Ed Davis, Pangos, and Moses Brown. Gotta factor in those major subtractions.

I don't get this.

They aren't picking where the team will rank from like mid January onward.

They're picking the team for where it will finish the year.

Which includes the 1st half (?) Of the season that won't include Rubio.

So why should they start with the team that was kicking butt before the Rubio the injury when judging the Cavs? The Cavs aren't starting there.

 

[Derek]

I don't get this.

They aren't picking where the team will rank from like mid January onward.

They're picking the team for where it will finish the year.

Which includes the 1st half (?) Of the season that won't include Rubio.

So why should they start with the team that was kicking butt before the Rubio the injury when judging the Cavs? The Cavs aren't starting there.

Rubio might not even play this year. We need to prepare ourselves for that possibility.

 

[Alec]

Just wanted to note, the Cavs betting line to win the east is +4200.

That's 42x what you put in.

Could be a fun long shot. I definitely think it's selling the team short - especially considering the Knicks have the same odds.

if Evan Mobley becomes Tim Duncan next season, and a couple timely injuries happen during the playoffs, who knows…

 

[Wham with the Right Hand]

I don't get this.

They aren't picking where the team will rank from like mid January onward.

They're picking the team for where it will finish the year.

Which includes the 1st half (?) Of the season that won't include Rubio.

So why should they start with the team that was kicking butt before the Rubio the injury when judging the Cavs? The Cavs aren't starting there.

I'm looking at the Cavs team that should be on the court for the second half and the playoffs. It's the same team we had in late December plus Sexton, Agbaji, Lopez, and LeVert, but minus Tacko Fall, Kevin Pangos, Justin Anderson, Denzel Valentine, Luke Kornet, and Trevon Scott, all of whom suited up the night Rubio suffered his injury, when the Cavs were 20-13.

Obviously we won't be as strong in the first half since Neto will be in Rubio's spot, Sexton will be getting back into the groove after not playing in almost a year, JBB will be experimenting with different combinations, and Agbaji will be a raw rookie.

But by the time Rubio gets back, JBB figures out how to best utilize his personnel, and Agbaji has 40 games under his belt, this team should be significantly better than it was when Rubio went down last December. If Draymond Green is right and Mobley makes the jump to All-Star status this year, even more so.

By the way, let me point out that the Celtics were 20-21 at the halfway point last season but ended up 51-31 and advanced to the NBA Finals.

 

[CavsKermit]

I'll say this, a lot of pundits are glossing over some pretty glaring concerns regarding the teams listed ahead of us.

The Heat are old and getting older. Lowry looks d-u-n done to me.

Harden was straight garbage in the playoffs last season, and everyone, including apparently his agent, is anticipating improvement from a guy who hasn't had a good post season series in half a decade.

The Nets are team chaos.

The Raptors have 1.5 guys on their entire roster who can run an offense, and opposing teams have exploited that switch everything philosophy in seven game series, because no team is actually built to switch everything.

Everyone is assuming that Murray/Young back court is going to pay big dividends when Murray has yet to demonstrate he's an effective off-the-ball player. Also, Huerter and Gallo gave them a lot of offense off the bench.

I have the Celtics/Bucks as the clear top two in the conference. Maybe the Nets join them if they can get it together and stop being a bunch of messy bitches. After that, it's pretty wide open.

 

[kevincleveland]

Hard to imagine why James would want to stay in LA, other than he just likes it there. I'd probably be more shocked if they make the playoffs, than don't at this point. Unless Davis can stay healthy all year.

It does make you wonder if would even take a role playing less than 30 minutes a game, and making less than the max? You'd think at this point it's not about money...so?

Its not like he cant afford to just keep his home there and have a smaller place in Cleveland during the season. With the travel, does the entire family need to relocate to Ohio just because he is on the Cavs again? Pretty sure he can afford to have them stay in LA and travel back when the schedule allows. Depends on whether he wants another ring or not and maybe future partial ownership in Cleveland which I think would be possible if he came back.

 

[Peacedog]

I'll say this, a lot of pundits are glossing over some pretty glaring concerns regarding the teams listed ahead of us.

The Heat are old and getting older. Lowry looks d-u-n done to me.

Harden was straight garbage in the playoffs last season, and everyone, including apparently his agent, is anticipating improvement from a guy who hasn't had a good post season series in half a decade.

The Nets are team chaos.

The Raptors have 1.5 guys on their entire roster who can run an offense, and opposing teams have exploited that switch everything philosophy in seven game series, because no team is actually built to switch everything.

Everyone is assuming that Murray/Young back court is going to pay big dividends when Murray has yet to demonstrate he's an effective off-the-ball player. Also, Huerter and Gallo gave them a lot of offense off the bench.

I have the Celtics/Bucks as the clear top two in the conference. Maybe the Nets join them if they can get it together and stop being a bunch of messy bitches. After that, it's pretty wide open.

Pretty close to my exact take. And add the Bulls as another one who won't be better. Almost 0% chance Derozan has anywhere near the season he had a year ago. The only key piece who is still on an upward trajectory on that team is Ball, barely. I'm taking on any and all bets as to which team has more wins this season. Any takers?

 

[Mott the Hoople]

Cavs will be Top 4 in the East next season. No question. Easy money if the sports betting places were open.

 

[bigfoot5415]

I do not like Mobley as MIP. Unless he becomes a superstar they wont give it a 2nd year player. That being said, both his odds & current team odds are good plays to make some money via Prop Swap.

 

[guitarguy]

Its not like he cant afford to just keep his home there and have a smaller place in Cleveland during the season. With the travel, does the entire family need to relocate to Ohio just because he is on the Cavs again? Pretty sure he can afford to have them stay in LA and travel back when the schedule allows. Depends on whether he wants another ring or not and maybe future partial ownership in Cleveland which I think would be possible if he came back.

Pretty sure he still has his Bath house anyways. I suspect they come and go as they want anyways.

 

[The Human Q-Tip]

if youre taking a shot at that.....imo....mobley MIP at 50/1 is also worth a play... i posted this before..

Draymond is going to be much more enjoyable to watch as a media guy when he retires than he is as a member of GSW. Not to slam on his playing, but it's GSW.

 

[CavsFaninNJ]

if youre taking a shot at that.....imo....mobley MIP at 50/1 is also worth a play... i posted this before..

Fanduel won't let you parlay those two bets for whatever reason. But Draftkings does, even though they give the Cavs a slightly better shot.

Draftkings lets you parlay:
Cavs winning the east (+3000, or 30x what you wager)
and
Mobley gets MIP (+4200, or 42x with you wager)

Combined parlay odds: +142500, that's 1,425x what you wager. That means a $5 bet wins $7,125 lol. $100 wins $142,500.

Not saying it's likely but IF the Cavs were to have a top 4 seed, it's almost definitely because Mobley had a huge, highly visible improvement. And if they are a top 4 seed, there is a punchers chance at winning the east with some luck.

Edit: It's at least worthy of throwing the $5 at haha