Robert Traylor's Option

[Kypus]

Maybe we should send Warkenstein (sp?) this poll. Unanimous 26-0...that's hilarious- I've never seen an online poll on anything be so lopsided.

Resign the man already!

 

[LyXo]

Traylor averaged 5.5 points and a career-high 4.5 rebounds last season in 74 games. He was perhaps the Cavaliers' most consistent reserve despite playing most of the season out of position as the backup center. He showed good leadership, especially during the stretch run in an attempt to make the playoffs.

He signed for the so-called ``million dollar'' salary-cap exception last summer. It paid him $1.6 million last year and included an option worth $1.76 million for next season.

Traylor, in town to help run his weeklong basketball camp in Beachwood, said Monday that he hadn't had contact with team officials about the decision and wasn't sure which way they were leaning.

``I haven't really talked to them. I'll just wait and I guess they'll decide what's best,'' Traylor said. ``It may depend on who is making the decision.''

Who exactly is making the decision isn't clear. Certainly new coach Mike Brown will have input as will interim general manager Mark Warkentien and director of basketball operations Mike Bratz.

The call likely will come down to owner Dan Gilbert because the team president's chair is currently vacant.

``I don't know what's going to happen, especially with the front office,'' Brown said. ``He's a good player, and he's proven he can play (power forward and center).''

At issue is salary-cap flexibility. The Cavaliers have gone to great lengths to guard their cap room for this summer, which might exceed $25 million. Though there seems to be plenty of room for Traylor, having the extra money could make a difference in landing a second or third top free agent. Also, not committing to Traylor would allow the incoming president/general manager more freedom with the roster.

Full Article | ABJ

Come on... the tractor factor has to stay. Any decent backup would cost much more, and we'd have to pay one of them anyway. I guess we'll hear back tomorrow.


Also in the article:

In an effort to save roster space and cap money, the Cavaliers likely will release guard Lucious Harris before June 30. His $2.75 million contract is not guaranteed if he's waived before July 1. Non-guaranteed contracts are valuable in trades so there's a chance Harris could be part of a deal before July, as well.

I'm down to release him. We don't need to take on more cap space before free agency.

 

[Glen Infante]

I have faith in the new front office to resign Traylor. It would be foolish to let him go after being our best bench player last season.

It's just another thing that we all have to wait on because we have no GM in place. Gilbert making player decisions is really working my nerves. I don't want him building the team at all.

 

[DDJ7777]

Nice, I wouldn't mind losing Loochush Harrus' contract.

 

[LyXo]

Still no word from the FO so far. Probably 3 hours left for the decision on Tractor. If they're dragging it on this long, I'm thinkin that Big T will be wearing a different uniform next season. Probably wherever Silas goes. He's a big asset off the bench, but with the new CBA stuff about to roll around the corner, I can see why they might not pick it up. Having that extra 1.76 mil to throw at a high profile FA is the extra juice our FO would need. It's the difference between a good contract and a great one. After acquisitions are made this summer to address Z, the SG, and PG, the MLE can be used to sign a big that could probably be just as effective as Traylor. Or, if he's still around, we can probably re-sign him for a bit of a raise. Whatever the case, I think the FO sees that Traylor is replacable and they don't want to see the 1.76 mil bite them in the ass, come contract negotiation time.

Team still hasn't decided on forward's $1.76 million option for 2005-06 season


Cavaliers forward/center Robert "Tractor" Traylor provided more bang for his buck than many of his NBA contemporaries.
The Cavaliers must pick up the option on Traylor's 2005-06 contract by today. For $1.76 million, many think picking up the option is a no-brainer. But it's not so cut and dry.
The Cavaliers will try to make a big splash in free agency by possibly re-signing center Zydrunas Ilgauskas, acquiring a major shooting guard and a point guard. That will take a lot of money.
In order to get those things accomplished, they might have to carve out more salary-cap space. The Cavaliers have about $25 million in committed salaries now, and the salary cap could increase to about $48 million or $49 million.
If they can't make a trade to alleviate the glut of swingmen - either Jiri Welsch or Sasha Pavlovic might be dealt for a draft pick - one way to create more space would be to not pick up Traylor's option.
"No decision has been made," Cavaliers coach Mike Brown said. "We're still kicking around some things. We haven't made a decision."
Shooting guard Lucious Harris likely will be waived in the next two weeks. If he's on the roster by July 1, his $2.75 million contract is guaranteed. The Cavaliers likely will try to trade Harris before that date.
The 6-foot-8, 284-pound Traylor became the Cavaliers' most dependable reserve big man last season. He averaged 5.5 points, a career-high 4.5 rebounds and 0.7 steals per game.
If the Cavaliers decide not to pick up the option, Traylor would be an unrestricted free agent. The Cavaliers could sign the 28-year-old as a free agent at a later date.
Brown said he's working on assembling his coaching staff. He said he could add two or possibly three more assistant coaches.

"I have some guys in mind I want to target," he said. "I have Hank Egan on board."

Source | Willoughby News-Herald

 

[West Remy]

So it appears Traylor's option will be declined? What an interesting turn of events. I took it for granted he would return.

 

[Karma]

If the option is not taken up, I dont know where they'll get a player of his stature for the small amount he was to cost us. Time will tell, and that time is fast approaching.

 

[LyXo]

Digging this article up:

http://probasketball.about.com/od/newsrumorsopinion/a/nbafreeagents05_5.htm

7-footer Francisco Elson's ability to get up and down the floor and defend makes him a perfect fit on Denver, but there's just too many good players ahead of him on the depth chart. A decent offer could rescue him from the Nuggets and land someone a solid backup center on the cheap.

He could be a viable option. He played in 67 games last season for Denver (behind Camby and Nene), with 3.7 ppg, 3 rpg, 46.8%fg, and a handful of blocks in 14 minutes. Given more time he could be as productive as Tractor was, and probably won't be that pricey. He's also about the same age as Tractor, clocking in at 29.

Another thing to note: Just because we're not picking up his option now doesn't mean we can't sign him up later. Might not be as cheap, but I think Gilbert has considered this and would rather have more security to sign the top FA's than a bench contributor.

 

[Karma]

This is an option. He is a decent defender, but offers little on offense. One plus is that he is a center, and not some undersized big man doing his best impression of a center. I guess very soon, this discussion of available big men becomes more important.

Thanks LyXo for the info.

 

[CRWine+Gold]

Francisco Elson is absolutely terrible!!! I live in Denver, I have to watch the man play all the time, he is atrocious. I would MUCH rather have Traylor than Elson.

 

[NarlCavs]

I keep saying it, but it sure would be nice to have someone who will be part of a new front office already in place to be making decisions such as whether to pick up Tractor's option.
It does appear that it won't get picked up. The Cavs seem to be trying to get as much cap space as possible.

Tractor isn't the greatest but he is a solid veteran backup who has a reasonably priced contract. I'm not sure the Cavs could do any better.

 

[LyXo]

Here's the official word:

Cavaliers Decline Contract Option on Tractor

CLEVELAND, June 15 – The Cleveland Cavaliers have declined the team’s option on the 2005-06 contract of forward/center Robert Traylor, Cavaliers interim General Manager Mark Warkentien announced today.
Traylor averaged 5.5 points and 4.5 rebounds in 17.9 minutes in 74 games this season. In his seven-year career, he has averages of 4.8 points and 3.7 rebounds in 438 games.

“This decision was a difficult one to make. It was made in order for us to gain additional cap flexibility heading into free agency, where we expect to be very active and aggressive,” Warkentien said. “We thank Robert for his professionalism, intensity and effort during the 2004-05 season and wish him well moving forward."

Source | Clevelandcavaliers.com

I think that this was a good move, even though I did favor keeping Traylor earlier. But now that I think about it, it's paving the way for the new GM. Instead of making the decision to lock up that 1.76 mil in salary, we let it go and left it to the new guy to figure out what he wants to do with it. It gives him flexibility: use the 1.7 mil to throw at the SG, Z, etc. while still being able to re-sign Tractor afterwards. It will probably be for more, but there are also other options out there that we can entertain come FA season. Tractor's option and the backup F/C is prioritized way, way after the SG, Z, and the PG. Even though it came up first, it still needs to be pushed to the back. The salary is much more needed up front so we can offer more.

 

[PIP]

i won't lose any sleep over this...

he's a dime a dozen... the main thing i liked about tractor was the way he would try to get the crowd into it..

oh well, more dough is fine with me.....................

 

[Karma]

Well we now only have two power forwards under contract and zero centers. We must resign Ilgauskas period, at least I believe so. We then need another two big men to fill the depth chart. You need at least 5 bigs in your roster. One of those has to be another center to backup up Ilgauskas, and the other preferably be able to play both post positions. We have some major work to do.

Farewell Robert Traylor, RCF's bench player of the year for the 2004-05 season.

 

[West Remy]

This move makes me wonder if it's only a matter of time before the Sasha/Jiri situation comes up and is dealt with.