2022 Off-season Thread - The Future is Bright

[Wham with the Right Hand]

I dont think LeBron has ever done anything to indicate he would be willing to take a backseat....

I'm not talking about taking a backseat. He would just play fewer minutes, like 28-30 per game and sit the second game of back-to-backs. When he plays he would be a co-distributor with Garland or Rubio, whichever was on the floor.

He'll turn 38 in December. He wants to still be healthy and be a force when Bronny arrives (hopefully) in two years. He can't want to average 37 minutes per game this year and have to run the offense. I think he would love to play fewer minutes and take some possessions off, like when Garland and Allen run the high pick-and-roll.

LeBron's job would be to make those great passes he excels at to create easy buckets for Allen, Mobley, Sexton, Markkanen, and others. LeBron would take over late in close games but most games would not be close.

It has to beat playing the second half of next season for an 11th place Lakers team. Like I said, check out their depth chart.

 

[Wham with the Right Hand]

I dont think Wiggins is coming to Cleveland (especially not as a FA), but IF he did, id rather see him as a big SG and keep Markkanen at the 3.

I'm still unsure why folks are so eager to move Markk off a pretty successful position position. His shooting is still an asset for the starting unit.

Wigs at the 2 works for me. But if we still have LeVert or Sexton as well as Agbagi going into his second season it might work better with Wigs at the 3. Markkanen could swing back and forth between the 3 and the 4, backing up both Wiggins and Mobley with all three getting about 32 minutes per game.

 

[foucault87]

I dont think LeBron has ever done anything to indicate he would be willing to take a backseat....

I'm not talking about taking a backseat. He would just play fewer minutes, like 28-30 per game and sit the second game of back-to-backs. When he plays he would be a co-distributor with Garland or Rubio, whichever was on the floor.

He'll turn 38 in December. He wants to still be healthy and be a force when Bronny arrives (hopefully) in two years. He can't want to average 37 minutes per game this year and have to run the offense. I think he would love to play fewer minutes and take some possessions off, like when Garland and Allen run the high pick-and-roll.

LeBron's job would be to make those great passes he excels at to create easy buckets for Allen, Mobley, Sexton, Markkanen, and others. LeBron would take over late in close games but most games would not be close.

It has to beat playing the second half of next season for an 11th place Lakers team. Like I said, check out their depth chart.

Right, I'm saying quite literally for him to be here he cannot have the highest usage rate on the team. He cannot be the initator of the offense 90% of the time. When he isnt initiating, he needs to be screening, cutting, and moving off ball.

All of the above does not describe how LeBron James has played basketball in his career other than a few weeks with Team USA. I do not think he will be willing to play a reduced role.

I am also not close to convinced that bringing him here for a year or two is the best thing for the development of Garland or Mobley. I've already written about how LeBrons total domination of the game can suffocate developing offensive talents.

I do not think LeBron will be willing to take the role we need him to nor do I think trading for him is necessarily beneficial for us. Increasing our ceiling in 2023 only to reduce our ceiling during our core's peak is a bad move. Its the same reason I want nothing to do with Beal and didn't really want Levert. At least Caris is a cheaper expiring we can easily dump if he proves a bad fit

 

[cavsfever]

I agree that it's unlikely.

Honestly, the most unlikely part is that Lebron specifically wanting to come back to Cleveland. If he just wants to win a championship this year, he should ask for a trade (the Lakers aren't going to be that good) -- but he should try to go to like: Miami/Brooklyn (if KD stays)/Milwaukee/GS instead of Cleveland. We're really too young to be an optimal choice for this season, even if we are overperforming.

The secret advantage Cleveland has with Lebron is that we’re the only place he can go and *not* be seen as a cheap ring chaser. Well, us and whatever team Bronnie goes to. Kind of a sad end to his career to go to a random team so other superstars can help him win a ring. He sort of did it once with Miami but he was easily the natural alpha on that team

do you have any other suggestions at the 3 to carry on with an adult discussion?...and harrsion is probabaly not an option.....miami is trying to dump robinson with a first and atlanta with a collins for barnes swap...both these teams understand the value of harrsion barnes.....if youre a GM that values barnes at less than a first round and as a 7 or 8th player off the bench...my guess....youre not a GM for very long....you can only miss that badly so many times before youre shown the door

I guess my humor was too subtle for you LOL…irony never does well on the internet

 

[CavsKermit]

I hope jbb is going legit 10-12 deep in the regular season every game. There's no need for anyone to play over 33 minutes, not one game during the regular season. We have very good depth.

We're still thin at PG until Rubio has come back, unless you're higher on Neto or LeVert than I am.

 

[cavsfever]

I think this is a really really critical thing that you cannot just assume. LeBron has been in situations before where it would've been ideal for him to defer. He joined Miami that had another MVP level guy in Wade. Kyrie was already a high usage secondary creating scoring PG with us. LeBron always forces the team to morph around him and not the other way around. And without going full armchair psychologist, I dont think LeBron has ever done anything to indicate he would be willing to take a backseat.

The only time I can ever think of him deferring outside an All-Star game was the 08 Olympics where he let Kobe take it over in clutch offense. Unfortunately, we do not have Kobe Bryant in his prime on our roster, so I don't think you can just assume LeBron is willing to take a backseat.

I also do not think just adding Bron into the Okoro/Love/Osman minutes makes us a title contender. We are still lacking a good PoA defender, a lot of shooting (that LeBron doesn't really help with), and reliable bodies to put on big wings.

It didn’t make sense for Lebron to defer either in Miami or the second time around in Cleveland (and he in fact did give Kyrie huge space in the offense then). If anything Lebron deferred excessively his first year in Miami and it ended up biting them in the ass in the Finals.

The key thing about Lebron is that his high usage rates have always made basketball sense. He has never hurt a team by being too greedy for the ball, if anything early in his career he had to learn to be more greedy. Now people are suggesting he will dominate the ball excessively even when it doesn’t make basketball sense, just out of habit. That’s possible but I’m skeptical

 

[Wham with the Right Hand]

With Game 7 on the line in the final seconds against Golden State LeBron deferred to Kyrie to take the do-or-die shot. Why? Kyrie had the better matchup. The GOAT went and stood in the corner with the game coming down to one shot. He wanted a Championship more than he wanted to "dominate" the game.

If he came back to Cleveland he would adapt his game to whatever the Cavs need to win. And I believe having him around would HELP the development of players like Garland and Mobley, not detract from their long term potential. They would learn a lot from him.

 

[Lee]

Mobley holding mini camp for players next week at USC. About 12 Cavs expected to show up

Doesnt hurt that its in LA, lol

 

[Lee]

Did you guys see the stunt Murray pulled on banchero the other day dude is immature yikes

Flip Murry is still in the league?

 

[gambler]

The secret advantage Cleveland has with Lebron is that we’re the only place he can go and *not* be seen as a cheap ring chaser. Well, us and whatever team Bronnie goes to. Kind of a sad end to his career to go to a random team so other superstars can help him win a ring. He sort of did it once with Miami but he was easily the natural alpha on that team



I guess my humor was too subtle for you LOL…irony never does well on the internet

no problem....it just became abusive on the trade ideas thread....sorry if i misinterpreted your meaning

 

[gambler]

hes focusing on the three......not out of the question that he pulls a nowitzki here....38 perecnt sophomore season while doubling his output.....

Exclusive Interview: Touted Basketball Trainer Olin Simplis Calls Evan Mobley a Garnett and Antetokounmpo Hybrid; Must Respect Steven Adams From Three Next Season | Sideline Sources

Longtime basketball trainer Olin Simplis talks about Evan Mobley and Steven Adams' training regimen, expectations, and more.

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Dirk Nowitzki Career Stats - NBA - ESPN

Complete career NBA stats for the Dallas Mavericks Forward Dirk Nowitzki on ESPN. Includes points, rebounds, and assists.

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[macbdog]

Doesnt hurt that its in LA, lol

What are the odds a certain someone drops in for a well reported visit? Just to up the pressure on his hometown team the Lakers?

 

[The Human Q-Tip]

When he isnt initiating, he needs to be screening, cutting, and moving off ball.

All of the above does not describe how LeBron James has played basketball in his career other than a few weeks with Team USA. I do not think he will be willing to play a reduced role.

LeBron is a big man, and it takes an awful lot of energy to move something that large around the court with the speed with which LeBron moves.

He likes having the ball in his hands so that he can control the pace of a game as a way of controlling his expenditure of energy. I do not believe that at his age, he can be as active off the ball as some may envision unless you basically play him like a hockey shift, and that doesn't work in basketball.

So he's going to end up controlling the ball a lot, regardless of whatever his intentions are if/when he becomes a Cave again.

 

[The Human Q-Tip]

Now people are suggesting he will dominate the ball excessively even when it doesn’t make basketball sense, just out of habit. That’s possible but I’m skeptical

It is impossible to know for certain either way until you're actually in those key game/playoff situations, and if it turns out that those people were right about his ball dominance, we're screwed.

 

[guitarguy]

I have a very hard time believing Lebron will ever willingly play off the ball.