• Changing RCF's index page, please click on "Forums" to access the forums.

Historic Cavs Teams Coulda, Woulda, Shoulda

Do Not Sell My Personal Information

What is the Biggest Mistake the Cavs Have Made?

  • Not Ousting Stepien Sooner

    Votes: 2 4.0%
  • Trading Ron Harper for Danny Ferry

    Votes: 16 32.0%
  • Not Blowing Up the Team in 1994

    Votes: 1 2.0%
  • Various Awful Draft Picks in the Late 90s

    Votes: 0 0.0%
  • Trusting Carlos Boozer

    Votes: 10 20.0%
  • Hiring Paxson as GM

    Votes: 7 14.0%
  • Trading Lotto Picks for Jiri Welsch and other Garbage

    Votes: 8 16.0%
  • Signing Larry Hughes

    Votes: 4 8.0%
  • Drafting Anthony Bennett

    Votes: 8 16.0%
  • Trading Kyrie Irving to Boston

    Votes: 11 22.0%

  • Total voters
    50
The summer of 2005 was painful. That summer the Cavs were looking for LeBron's side kick. They had a lot of money to use and needed to pull someone in. The number one target was Ray Allen. Allen chose to reup with Seattle instead of come to Cleveland. #2 on the list was Michael Redd. He should have come to Cleveland but he opted to take big money with Milwaukee. The 3rd guy on the list was the hardest to obtain, Joe Johnson. Johnson was a restricted free agent so any offer could and likely would be matched by Phoenix. I believe Phoenix would have 7 days to match it which would have tied up the Cavs cap funds for a week causing them to lose out on all other free agents if PHX did indeed match. We moved on to Larry Hughes as the next target. About 2 weeks after we signed Hughes, Phoenix made the Joe Johnson trade with Atlanta. After Hughes the next guy was Bobby Simmons so the drop off was pretty severe.

That summer we spent our cap money on resigning Z and getting Lebron a 2nd star. We got our 4th choice then added Donyell Marshall who was a solid pick up at the time and Damon Jones who was a scrap heap signing to finish the off season. LeBron and prime Allen or prime Redd would have been fantastic. Johnson was always a stretch but man I would have loved to see him in a Cavs uni back then too. Hughes, well we all know how that turned out.
 
I am not gonna pick anything post 2003. There were objectively awful trades (2 firsts for Mozgov?) by every GM post LeBron. However, we got our ring. Yes, we should have more, but I can't vote against the sequence that gave us 2016. Just can't.

I have to vote Ferry for Harper.

Wayne Embry was a PHENOMINAL GM. The Cavs were a moribund franchise. But other than having the Daugherty pick fall in his lap, he was great at building a team without big name FAs or other high draft picks. Got an All-NBA PG in the 2nd round, allowing him to trade Kevin Johnson for a borderline All Star SF in Larry Nance. Got Craig Ehlo as a cheap FA. Drafted Hot Rod in the 2nd round. Originally found Bobby Phills on a 10 day.

That team was good enough to win an NBA title in a couple years, most notably 91-92. However, couldn't beat Jordan. Embry thought (understandably) that he needed another star to compete. Ron Harper was a great complimentary piece, but not a star. If Ferry turned into a star, then that was what they needed.

In retrospect, Harper as a complimentary piece was better than what Ferry became (and Ferry certainly did not have a bad career). No idea if Harper would've put the Cavs over the top. Given his other great moves and need to get over Jordan, I have a hard time really criticizing Embry's thought process.

It was an understandable gamble that backfired.
 
The summer of 2005 was painful. That summer the Cavs were looking for LeBron's side kick. They had a lot of money to use and needed to pull someone in. The number one target was Ray Allen. Allen chose to reup with Seattle instead of come to Cleveland. #2 on the list was Michael Redd. He should have come to Cleveland but he opted to take big money with Milwaukee. The 3rd guy on the list was the hardest to obtain, Joe Johnson. Johnson was a restricted free agent so any offer could and likely would be matched by Phoenix. I believe Phoenix would have 7 days to match it which would have tied up the Cavs cap funds for a week causing them to lose out on all other free agents if PHX did indeed match. We moved on to Larry Hughes as the next target. About 2 weeks after we signed Hughes, Phoenix made the Joe Johnson trade with Atlanta. After Hughes the next guy was Bobby Simmons so the drop off was pretty severe.

That summer we spent our cap money on resigning Z and getting Lebron a 2nd star. We got our 4th choice then added Donyell Marshall who was a solid pick up at the time and Damon Jones who was a scrap heap signing to finish the off season. LeBron and prime Allen or prime Redd would have been fantastic. Johnson was always a stretch but man I would have loved to see him in a Cavs uni back then too. Hughes, well we all know how that turned out.

Awesome summary - I remember it being a big surprise that Phoenix even decided to trade Joe Johnson. As I recall, the assumption is that they'd match whatever was offered and keep him. No trades. The 7 day window to match was a HUGE problem. Great call out.

Ugh, what a sad off-season. But the Cavaliers did try to get their guys. Just ended up with the lower priority guys.
 
Why didn't Micheal Redd sign with the Cavs? It hurt so badly. He was a local kid who played high school ball in the Columbus area. In college at OSU, he lead us through moonlight, only to burn us with the sun. As a second rounder in Milwaukee, he changed his body to be a more well-rounded player instead of a three point specialist. Cavs fans were just fools to believe we had anything he needs. We thought he would come home with a huge contract, but he was like the wind.
 

Rubber Rim Job Podcast Video

Episode 3-13: "Backup Bash Brothers"

Rubber Rim Job Podcast Spotify

Episode 3:11: "Clipping Bucks."
Top