2026 Off-season Thread

[Futuredome]

Wade has issues defending the perimeter. So what you think made it work......not so much. This scheme needs more athletic defenders in open space. Which is why he was let go.

 

[American Hero]

This "mess" of a roster went to the EC Finals this year. Right now we have the same roster except Wade was replaced by Herzonja and Keon Ellis by Maleek Thomas.

Ellis played 88 minutes in 18 playoff games, an average of 5 minutes per game. Some of those minutes were garbage time.

Wade was more valuable, starting 14 of the 18 playoff games and averaging 19.5 minutes. He was one-dimensional, averaging 3.3 points per game.

I figure swapping out Wade and Ellis for Herzonja and Thomas is a small step back, but not a dramatic one. Herzonja is kind of an unknown right now. So I wouldn't say the roster is a "mess."

Max Strus played 12 regular season games last year. The way I see it, it's like we're signing him as a free agent.

James Harden played 26 regular season games and on top of that joined the team later in the season when off days were used to rest, not practice. He should be more effective this year with a full training camp to work on finding his ideal role relative to the other personnel.

Harden shot 43.5% on 3's with the Cavs in those 26 games. In the playoffs it was 29.9%.

I can see the Cavs having a better regular season record this year with Harden and Strus ready to go on Day One and all the key pieces from last year in place except for Herzonja replacing Wade. If they find a way to get Kuminga, even better.

The key IMO will be getting improved play from Mobley, Tyson, and Tomlin. Proctor is my dark horse. I expect Harden to be more of a distributor and a 3-point shooter this year with an emphasis on getting the ball to Allen and Mobley in mismatches near the rim.

The Eastern Conference was extremely weak outside of the Knicks last year. And the Cavs still managed to finish the playoffs under. 500 and with a historic margin of defeat in the conference finals. They're a good team but really no viable path to a being a championship team outside of this Mobley breakout that looks increasingly unlikely

 

[The Human Q-Tip]

Fair. Undersized may be an overstatement. He is rangy. But he isn't big, not for a center.

He gets bullied by larger centers. While he makes up for it in reach, he gives up inches of height and a good amount of weight to many players. He still holds his own, on the whole, but he is physically overmatched by a lot of guys. Regardless of their relative talent, JAs positional size is in the bottom third of the starting centers last season. He was a better player than a lot of those bigger guys, but I'm just talking size.

I'm not sure what you're looking for. Part of his value is his mobility -- he's athletic for a guy that size. If he was 20-30 pounds heavier, he'd be more of a "banger" but that footspeed wouldn't be there so he'd be worse defensively against most players. And he's actually gotten a lot better against bigger guys. People thought that Duren might overpower him, but Allen dominated that guy.

 

[The Human Q-Tip]

Wade has issues defending the perimeter.

Dean Wade? The guy who neutered Cade Cunningham and Brandon Ingram?

He's a very good perimeter defender. Opposing perimeter players had their production nosedive when being guarded by Dean.

 

[AustinCarr]

I'm not sure what you're looking for. Part of his value is his mobility -- he's athletic for a guy that size. If he was 20-30 pounds heavier, he'd be more of a "banger" but that footspeed wouldn't be there so he'd be worse defensively against most players. And he's actually gotten a lot better against bigger guys. People thought that Duren might overpower him, but Allen dominated that guy.

I'm not critiquing his stills or impact, simply his positional size. In specific, because the rest of the roster is consistently undersized. I really like Allen as a player.

 

[foucault87]

The Eastern Conference was extremely weak outside of the Knicks last year. And the Cavs still managed to finish the playoffs under. 500 and with a historic margin of defeat in the conference finals. They're a good team but really no viable path to a being a championship team outside of this Mobley breakout that looks increasingly unlikely

Were they? Didnt rhey have the best finish vs the west in a few years during the regular season? Didnt they win the finals?

 

[The Human Q-Tip]

I'm not critiquing his stills or impact, simply his positional size. In specific, because the rest of the roster is consistently undersized. I really like Allen as a player.

I guess my point is that he has great position size -- a very good balance of mobility, length, and strength. Again, he did get overpowered more a few years back. But that happened a lot less this year.

 

[AustinCarr]

I guess my point is that he has great position size -- a very good balance of mobility, length, and strength. Again, he did get overpowered more a few years back. But that happened a lot less this year.

I just don't agree with "Great Positional Size". He has a great balance of length, mobility, and strength. That I agree with. But that does not necessarily equate to great positional size.

Michell has a great mix of mobility, length, and strength but is also undersized relative to other players of his position.

Allen is a very good player. He is an effective player. I just think he is still bottom third for positional size.

 

[The Human Q-Tip]

I just don't agree with "Great Positional Size". He has a great balance of length, mobility, and strength. That I agree with. But that does not necessarily equate to great positional size.

Michell has a great mix of mobility, length, and strength but is also undersized relative to other players of his position.

Allen is a very good player. He is an effective player. I just think he is still bottom third for positional size.

I think we are talking past each other so I'll just drop it.

 

[Cavatt]

I'm more worried about defensive scheme than defensive players.

Kenny took over and the best or 2nd best defense went to 5. The next year after changing the scheme it was in the teens. You can say it was losing Okoro or scheme change, but you can't say it was neither.

Getting the defense back in the top 10 should be a priority.

 

[CavsKermit]

Yeah it’s clear the timing of any Schroder move is not a function of Schroder’s value, it’s just a multipart thing

Clear?

 

[kidduck]

I think KA needs to improve his 'game' at least as much as
Mobley if the Cavs are going to be a serious contender.

Also- too many of the rotation Cavs players are lazy
defenders, looking more like traffic cones and/or parade
participants waving to the crowd.

 

[Dr No]

I'm more worried about defensive scheme than defensive players.

Kenny took over and the best or 2nd best defense went to 5. The next year after changing the scheme it was in the teens. You can say it was losing Okoro or scheme change, but you can't say it was neither.

Getting the defense back in the top 10 should be a priority.

While I agree it should be a priority, that is simply not going to happen with our personnel and scheme. We let two guys with stellar defensive reputations walk and have so far brought in a Croatian turnstile and a rookie who couldn't stay in front of anyone in the Summer League. This team will not be hanging its hat on the defensive end - which likely means they are toast come playoff time.

 

[bdc2014]

Clear?

Deduce

 

[bdc2014]

While I agree it should be a priority, that is simply not going to happen with our personnel and scheme. We let two guys with stellar defensive reputations walk and have so far brought in a Croatian turnstile and a rookie who couldn't stay in front of anyone in the Summer League. This team will not be hanging its hat on the defensive end - which likely means they are toast come playoff time.

The Knicks, Nuggets and Warriors didn’t really hang their hats there either and that’s like half of the last six champions winning with like two good defenders and getting good enough efforts from the other guys