Gooden vs Haslem

[KI4MVP]

which guy is a better fit? It seems pretty certain that if we sign Haslem, we trade Drew.

The primary reasons I could see behind the move is Gooden's basketball IQ is questioned at times and signing Haslem to a long term deal this year will likely be cheaper than signing Gooden to a long term deal next year. It's clear Gooden is expecting a Boozer like contract and miami is limited to what they can pay Haslem.

If we move drew, free up enough space to bring back Z and sign Jasikevicius (or damon jones), the move probably makes long term sense even though Drew probably has more talent. We don't need an offensive minded PF, we just need someone who will consistently do the dirty work inside. We don't need our PF launching 3s.

 

[KI4MVP]

Also, perhaps a Drew Gooden trade would let us unload Newble's contract too. Are there any teams we could trade Drew + Newble for a future pick and a decent backup center?

 

[cdt]

HASLEM!!!

With the offense we are likely to have LBJ 25, Hughes 20, Z 16, Sarunas 15, we don't need Drew taking ill-advised shots when he touches the ball. We need a guy who doesn't care about offensive acollades. Haslem will rebound and defend to the best of his ability regardless of how many touches. Guaranteed if Drew goes a few games without passing 10 points or so he will slack on the rebounding and do an even worse job defending. Drew is going to want a hefty long term deal and when asked is Haslem worth 6-7 a year? No he is probably best suited at around 5 but when asking FA's to move especially from the previously best team in the East it is going to take a little coaxing, plus he will ultimately be cheaper and a better fit then Gooden could ever hope to be. Not that I don't like Drew it's just what his strengths are is what we no longer need and his weaknesses are of what we lack and need. So it only makes sense to do this..

 

[Glen Infante]

I am not very sure I am totally sold on Udonis. He benifited from playing next to Shaq and that gave him a big name in the league.

What if Udonis played with Raef Lafrentz last season? Would we all be saying that Udonis is the perfect fit?

I just don't know. He is still a little unproven in my eyes.

 

[KI4MVP]

That's a very good point - you have to consider the playing with Shaq factor. Of course, Drew also benefited from playing with LeBron and Z. Two all stars on either team, perhaps not the inside presence of Shaq, but enough to take the defensive attention away from the PF.

One very big plus to signing Haslem is we hurt the top team in the east. If the heat retain haslem, they likely give damon jones a MLE deal and keep him too. If they lose haslem, they have to fill two starting jobs with the MLE, thus can't give the whole thing to Jones, so he likely leaves for another team too. Two key starters gone from the top team in the east by our signing one. And Damon Jones is likely our backup plan at PF if we can't land Jasikevicius - he perhaps becomes less expensive to sign if Miami is limited in what they can pay him. There's no telling what the hawks might offer him, though. If they offered Joe Johnson the max and lost out, they likely would offer Damon Jones more than the MLE.

 

[King]

No doubt Haslem benifitted a lot from playing next to Shaq and Wade. But Z and Lebron can have a similar effect on him. Its not like he was a bad player before he was sith Shaq or anything. In his rookie year without Shaq he played about 24 minutes a game, grabbed 6 rebounds and 7 points shooting at about 46%. Thats not too bad for a rookie. I think if he played here he could average about the same stats that he did in Miami.

One thing I dont like about Haslem is that he doesnt seem to have much upside. He doesnt have that much room for improvement on his game IMO. I dont see him ever becoming that much better than he is right now.

 

[d3]

Dont care, both are young. Both have room for approvment. Drew is one year younger then Haslem.

oh and by the way , haslems numbers were 7 ppg 6rpg w/o shaq , and 10 ppg 9 rpg WITH shaq.

 

[ColumbusCavsFan5]

Udonis Haslem is NOT an upgrade over Drew Gooden. If we bring Haslem in we're either trading Gooden or bringing Haslem in as a very good bench player. Gooden is taller, and was better then Haslem in basically every stat category last season, and Gooden wasn't playing with Shaq either. Don't get me wrong I like Haslem, he's a good player, but Gooden is better, and Gooden will improve next year, and become a more consistant player and a better defender.

 

[E-Light]

Dont care, both are young. Both have room for approvment. Drew is one year younger then Haslem.

oh and by the way , haslems numbers were 7 ppg 6rpg w/o shaq , and 10 ppg 9 rpg WITH shaq.

Z's an even bigger powerforward stat sheet stuffer, as he gets doubled even further out then shaq, allowing for a lot of weakside rebounds, and put backs for the power forward. Gooden's numbers improved quite a bit throughout the board alongside Z as well. Haslem is a better fit next to Z than gooden, as haslem is a superior defender, and consistent, the problem with haslem is the contract we'd be paying him.

 

[TruBuckeye22]

Gooden is an ok player but i don't see him being a part of the Cavaliers long term plans. although 1 thing i really like about Gooden is he is athletic enough to get out on the break with LeBron and now Hughes. but that isn't the primary thing you look for in a 4 and i think the team can live without it.

however looking at the rest of the PF's throughout the league i just don't see a guy who is a big upgrade that Cleveland could actually get. Tyson Chandler is a guy who could come in and rebound and block a shot here and there but i don't know if it would be worth offering a deal that Chicago wouldn't match.

 

[TheAdmin]

Dont care, both are young. Both have room for approvment. Drew is one year younger then Haslem.

oh and by the way , haslems numbers were 7 ppg 6rpg w/o shaq , and 10 ppg 9 rpg WITH shaq.

I really don't think Shaq did anything to inflate Haslem's numbers. I think he hindered Haslem statwise more then anything.

A player is expected to grow and expand his game from his rookie year to his sophmore year. I don't think Haslem was given the opportunity to do that because Shaq is such a dominating force and he never leaves the paint. There are no weakside rebounds when Shaq is camped in the middle.

His per 48 his numbers were damn near Identical from his rookie year to his sophmore, no real improvement at all. Now if you look at the 8 or so games that Shaq did not play this year you will see Haslem averaged 12 points and 13 rebounds per contest more inline with what I thought he should have averged this year.


All that being said, I still prefer Gooden. Haslem isn't a clear cut better defender then Gooden. He can take more risks and make mistakes without notice because the paint is being patroled by the Diesel.

 

[NarlCavs]

The thing that matters is who the Cavs feel is a better fit. I don't think Brown and Ferry are sold on Gooden as the long term solution at PF.
It's about chemistry and how the games of each player compliment one another. I like Gooden's talent but feel that now Haslem's game is a better fit. He's more of the hustling type of PF who is looking more to do the little things and dirty work than looking to score or make a spectacular play.

Once again, don't forget Gooden is due for a contract extension next year. There's no indication the Cavs want to commit big money over a lot of years to him.

 

[Pioneer10]

The thing is i think most everyone thinks that AV is the future at the PF position so they definitely don't want to pay big bucks to Gooden next year. While they would be overpaying for Haslem, it wouldn't be as much as they feel Gooden will ask for considering the numbers he's likely going to put up. Also when AV is ready which may still be a few years away, they know Haslem will play fine coming off the bench but with Gooden his fragile mindset might get hurt

 

[Karma]

Cleveland lack a physical body. Without Traylor, we have finesse bigs. We do need someone who can go with the power bigs. Varejao and Gooden can noit do that. All the others reasons, I have and others have stated before.

 

[CavsTalk]

Here is a list that I compiled of some FA that will be available next year I don't know whether they are restricted or not and I also have established if there is a player in this list that is worth taking over Gooden or Haslem. Although I do think if your going to talk about Haslem or Gooden you need to see next years FA in order to make an accurate decision... Just my take on things

Al Harrington
Amare Stoudemire
Antonio Davis
Nikoloz Tskitishvili
Ben Wallace
Chris Wilcox
Jarron Collins
Pape Sow
Loren Woods
Lorenzen Wright
Nene
Scot Pollard