Cavs May Turn to Hughes, Green

[Karma]

Cavs could be forced to look beyond Redd

CLEVELAND -- Despite all the money the Cavaliers have, nobody seems to be in a rush to take it.


They've thrown a lot of it at Bucks shooting guard Michael Redd, who was scheduled to visit the Cavaliers yesterday. Whether he takes it or not is still up in the air.

Redd, 25, is supposedly taking a hard look at the Cavaliers. He met with Milwaukee officials on Tuesday. He's reportedly concerned with the coaching situation with the Bucks.

The Cavaliers have offered him a maximum deal, worth about $72 million over five years. But that's about $22 million below the offer from the Bucks.

Cleveland needs to find a top-flight shooting guard somewhere. That's why it was wooing the 6-foot-6, 214-pound Redd yesterday.

Many around the league think the Cavaliers would be overpaying for Redd's services. He's really a one-dimensional player. But the Cavaliers really need that one dimension.

They can't come into the season with just Luke Jackson and Sasha Pavlovic as their shooters. They need a legitimate perimeter threat, especially from 3-point range.

Next on the Cavaliers' list might be Wizards guard Larry Hughes, but a Wizards source said they intend to trump any offer he gets.

That leaves Kings shooting guard Cuttino Mobley and Clippers swingman Bobby Simmons next in line. Mobley was third in the NBA in 3-point shooting this year (150-of-342 for 43.9 percent) and then opted out of a $6.4 million contract for 2005-06. Is he worth more than that?

The Cavaliers are apparently interested in Sixers guard Willie Green. The 6-4, 200-pounder from Detroit Mercy spent two years in Philadelphia and has shown that he can score. He would be a good third or fourth guard on a good team.

The Suns recently made an offer to guard Joe Johnson, but it wasn't for the max. Some around the league think the Suns might be bluffing on their intention to match any offer for Johnson.

Recently acquired forward/center Kurt Thomas makes more than Quentin Richardson in the next three years. They're not saving a whole lot of money there. They're going to sign Raja Bell to a contract for more than $4 million on July 23 -- the first day teams can sign free agents.

Then, star forward/center Amare Stoudemire's max contract kicks in after the 2005-06 season. A max deal for Johnson would push them over the luxury tax, something they've said they want to avoid.

Some team might call their bluff and offer Johnson a max deal. The Cavaliers have the money to offer Johnson a max deal -- which stays on their books while the Suns decide whether they want to match it -- and still do business with other free agents.

Bob Finnan article.

Not a fan of Willie Green. He would be a mediocre signing. Another sub 40% shooter.

 

[ChicagoCavFan]

That's the first I've heard of Willie Green. [scratches head]

JJ should be our next target. I don't understand how we can do business with other FAs (unless he means other positions) while we wait for JJ to make a decision because it is on the Suns books??? Nothing is on anyone's books until signing day. I guess he means we can retract our offer if say Simmons or Hughes agrees...

 

[Glen Infante]

I would be extremely disappointed if we strike out and end up with Willy Green. I would rather choose Cuttino Mobley before him. Willy is still an undefined player just like Sasha, and just like Luke. Why would we need his services for? Doesn't make sense.

 

[TruBuckeye22]

sounds to me like they would sign Willie as a back up which i would do. i watched this kid play a lot at U of D and he is extremely talented but still a little raw. i think he is a guy that as he developes could give the Cavaliers what they expect out of Lucius Harris. however if they are going to sign him as a starter it would be a big let down with the high hopes coming into this offseason. however if he can score on me in an open gym situation who in the NBA can stop him? LOL.

 

[LyXo]

I would be royally pissed if we signed up Willie Green as a bail out option. We either get Redd/Hughes/Simmons, even Mobley. If we don't get one of those four, we better just pull out of that need and focus on other strengths. We have to pick the best players out there, not just ones that potentially could fit our needs. Similar to the draft.

So, we should throw money at the Tyson Chandlers, the Shareef Abdur-Rahims, Samuel Dalemberts. TC/SD would more than flourish playing next to Z and getting the ball from LeBron while providing solid interior defense we need. I think that Sasha has developed into a good spot-up shooter and can hit that open 3 from the corner. Luke Jackson has proven in the past that he has a prolific shot and good court vision.

So, we should not panic if we don't get what we initially wanted. Given a solid frontcourt of Z's post and a defensive-minded 4 alongside LeBron, all we need is someone that can hit that jumper. Yea, sounds obvious and sounds familiar, but we shouldn't pick up a young unproven shooter. Lucious Harris would have fit that position but he choked in Cleveland. We need a veteran that is confident in his shot.

 

[Pioneer10]

Willie freakin Green? Both Sasha and Luke IMO are going to develop into better players then him.

It's time for a slash and burn strategy. No redd. Then I say we make max contract on Hughes. If we don't get him - fine let the Wizards choke on another max contract. Then max out JJ even and force the Suns to do the same.


AAgggh: this offseason is going down the toilet but I want to take some other teams down as well

 

[KI4MVP]

Until the visit to cleveland, I thought the longer Redd goes without committing to Milwaukee, the better our chances were, but since the visit, I think that's flipped, the longer we go with no word he's coming to cleveland, the worse our chances are.

Articles such as the one in this thread are speculative, and I don't see us sinking quite so low in who we get. We had 4 guys we targeted. Redd/Allen/Hughes/Simmons. Allen committed, we're waiting to see what Redd does. But from what I've read, the other two are waiting to see what develops in cleveland. I'd be shocked if we don't end up with one of those 4. And the other two guys should come cheaper.

 

[CleveRocks]

They won't come cheaper and hat is the rub. They know Allen and Redd maxed and they are now in a stronger bargaining position. We have to be careful not to become Utah after they maxed Boozer. He just did not have the talent to support the money, and now they are screwed.

 

[LyXo]

I wouldn't mind paying Larry Hughes, not one bit. He seems like a great player that could work well with LeBron. He doesn't pose that outside threat, but he's one hell of a slasher. LeBron is best in slashing, but he's also astronomically improved his outside shot. So in a sense, we could reverse roles, or perhaps combine them, and have LeBron be a shooter as well when Hughes slashes. In addition, his defense will be key to our starting lineup. We wouldn't have a stopper with Redd/Allen, unless you count Newble. So Hughes would be the guy guarding the best wing player on the opposing team.

Dunno though, seems like Hughes could be using the media to express his "discontent" to gain some leverage in negotiating with Washington. Unless they don't want to pay him. In that case, we should throw money at him.

Seriously though. How pissed would the fans be if we missed out on some marquee FA's because we didn't want to shell out a few million more? We were prepared to offer an undeserving SG a max deal because we had to. We should be prepared to offer market value and a bit of overpaying to fit that dire need we have. This is not to say we should offer Bobby Simmons/Cuttino Mobley max contracts as well. Just to those that are deserving. I believe Hughes deserves the same size contract as Redd.

 

[Pioneer10]

Looking at our prospects (no or poor draft picks, no tradeable assests except our one stud, being in Cleveland) we're going to have to overpay.

Personally I'd rather overypay for Hughes then Simmons (although neither was my first choice). We have limited oppurtunities and we need to add another All-star calibre player. Hughes for all his faults is an All-star calibre player. If we don't get him then atleast another EC team will have to eat another max contract

 

[Dungong]

Cavs will offer Hughes the max, the Wiz will match and add a year more. Then the Suns will be forced to give JJ a max contract in the same fashion. Watch for Z and 3 smaller role player type FAs at about $6 mill each come through with that $28 mill in space. We should be able to outbid several teams forced to only offer the MLE.

 

[PIP]

i don't see what the big deal is.. redd is an outside shooter, great!!!

he averaged 1 more point then larry-- but larry got his on a team that had other 20 ppg scorers that demanded the ball..

now if we sign that sarunas dude ? he is an excellent outside shooter, so maybe we can get the best of both worlds-- a great outside shooter, and a perimeter defender with all around game...

 

[CleveRocks]

I think we are just fantasizing here. We need the outside threat to keep the middle open for Z and the King. We need solid defensive players who can take the physical game we will wind up playing in Detroit.

I think Gilbert is about winning, and if we don't get JJ or Hughes it will take a significant trade to get a sure winner. IMO

 

[NarlCavs]

If it gets down to the point that we're considering Willie Green than we're in trouble. It would be better at that point to just give the minutes to Jackson and Pavlovic.
There's still a chance to improve this team a lot even if the Cavs miss out on all the big 4 FA SG's. They will still have the cap space to go after any remaining FA and can offer more money. It will be disappointing but improvements can still happen.