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I was right,unfortunately ....42-39

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I was right,unfortunately ....42-40

Around the allstar break or maybe a little earlier, we had a topic on the old board where we were to predict our year end win total. I basically said atthe time, we were likely going to collapse down the stretch and end up with 42 0r 43 wins. Unfortunately, that came true and we missed the playoffs.

But, we needed to go through this andrealize who the players are that can produce andbe depended on for future seasons. We invariably learned some tough things about guys like Luscious Harris, Jmac, Z, and Jiri ...we know that Harris, Jmac, and Jiri simply aren't guyswe can depend on and win with. I think we saw in Z ..a 29 year old that is actually much much older physically. The operations on his feet robbed him of allhisfoot speed and on top of that ...his stamina and staying power over the course of along season.
He's simply not a max contract player or anythng close ...and it would be risky to saythe least, to bet on him with a long term high dollar contract when that money could likely be spent on something better. I just don't have much confidence that he will hold up. Such a large percentage of his games he's struggling with fatigue and can't muster the energy to play solid, hard basketball. A top player on your team with a large contract, simply can't be a player that erodes ..and dissapears for numerous stratches throughout a season. Nor can we continue to be terminally prone to pick and rolls for seasons to come, simply because Z can't move his feet fastenough to rotate... I think this spells the end of Z'sera in Cleveland. He showed alot coming back and playing after all those surgeries though ....i never thought he'd make it back asfar as he did.
 
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Although I am a Z supporter, I believe we have seen Zydrunas' last game as a Cavalier last night. As sad as it is, he will probably not be returning because of the new ownership.

Zydrunas has played here for what, 7 years is it? It's always hard to let go of a player that has been with the team for that long, especially someone like Z. If Z and his agent are content with signing a 10 mil or below contract, then he should stay. We need to improve the all around talent of this team, signing Z to an enormous contract will put a huge cylinder block on that.
 
we actually went 42-40..but hey it was an all around good season..but it sucked dat we didn't make tha playoffs.
 
If Z would sign just a one or two year contract at 10 million I'd do it. But, anything with a higher dollar figure or longer in years would be foolish. He's been proving all season long that his body is eroding. You can't handcuff this team with a talent that is breaking down with alarge dollar long term deal. We need to spend our money wisely and stay flexible so we can add pieces down the road as well.
 
I've said before that a 4 year $40 million contract for Z would be fine with me and I think should be fine with both sides.
A big problem is that if Z is let go than who plays C next season? The Cavs are still going to have to use a lot of cap space for a replacement.

It seems that the only way Z returns is if a new strong GM and coach are brought in and they both want Z back and can convince Gilbert to resign him.
 
Ilgauskas played career high minutes this year. He was totally mis-used by both coaches. Our rotations stunk. Z should have been playing in shorter spells instead of the long draining stints the coaches made him play. The only time he sat in the 1st quarter was if he was in foul trouble. Otherwise he'd play 15 odd minutes straight. No big should be doing that.

No wonder he started to slow come late in the game. You dont see Shaq playing those big stints. Z has many good seasons left if used right. I cant believe you dont look at the fact they burnt out a 7'3 guy through bad subbing. It isn't because he was ageing. We screamed at the coach all year about overplaying our starters, but when it finally burns someone out you forget your previous rumblings. You only have to look at the minutes the "youthful" Yao plays. Big guys should have there minutes watched, and their stints shortened compared to the other positions.
 

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