Sizing Up The Cavs
July 13, 2006 · By The Bitter Fans
With Free Agency moving quickly into it's latter stages, it's time to take a quick look at the Cavs' situation. The Cavs are an interesting topic in the city of Cleveland that can be debated left and right. The Cavs have made no Free Agent moves to this point and will most likely only add role players in the next few months as 2006-2007 approaches. Where do they stand going into the next season? Do they have the potential to get better with the current cast they have? With the big LeBron James extension now in the books, we can take a look at this team, their players, and what they still need to be legitimate title contenders.
Coaching
Mike Brown returns for his second season as the Cavs' coach. Brown did what most rookie coaches don't do: he led the team to 50 wins and came close to commandeering the team into the Eastern Conference Finals.
Despite the impressive opening season, Brown has one glaring weakness that has been identified after 1 season at the head position: He's no Einstein when it comes to game-planning on the offensive end. Rumors (credible or not) ran rampant at the end of this past season that a veteran coach could be added to assist with the offense. So far, no coach has been added.
For a team that is being coached the most important part of the game (defense), it's also important for this team to put some focus on and develop a more potent offense if they want to challenge in the East. The Cavs have made good strides on the defensive end with Browns' teachings on defense, but their offense is basically set-up to do three simple things: Get LeBron the ball, run the pick and roll, and push the ball down low to Zydrunas Ilgauskas if the matchups favor Z.
There's not much more to it. Mike Brown and his assistants need to be a little more creative on the offensive end while they continue to put a lot of good focus on the defense. Until Brown can get a better handle on that end of the court, the Cavs will run into problems against better defenses. Fortunately for Brown, he's a young, bright coach who has plenty of seasons ahead of him to adapt to that side of game whether he has more qualified help or not.
Front Office
Here's where the Cavs' have their real challenge. I do not envy the position GM Danny Ferry is in right now. During his first off-season with the Cavaliers, Ferry felt pressure in trying to make the right moves to upgrade this team. While I don't have too much of a problem in re-upping Z, signing Larry Hughes, Donyell Marshall, and Damon Jones, it was a steep price to pay right off the bat. As it stands, the Cavs have assloads of money tied up in 3 players: Hughes, Z, and LeBron. Not to mention that Jones, Ira Newble, and Eric Snow are making a little too much money to match their performance, which is tying up a nice slice of cap room as well.
With that in mind, the Cavs have little room to make impactful Free Agent acquisitions. Keep in mind though that this past crop of Free Agents was a little misleading. I'm not sure Ferry could really pay some of the talent that kind of money in what is considered to be a pretty weak Free Agent class. I like PG Mike James, but you can make a case for him being more of a 'ME' player than a true team guy. For guys like that who go out there to prove they belong and try to be among the elite in the league, you need to keep things in context. Are they playing hard for themselves to prove a point, or are they really in it for the team? You almost can't fault a guy like James, who has been unheralded for many years in this league as he has worked his ass off to get his payday, but you need to keep your team in mind as well.
Draft wise, I give Ferry and the Cavs front office a high grade for coming out of the 2006 Draft with more than what they bargained for to try and help this team. One of the Cavs' main weaknesses remains in backcourt scoring. Where the Cavs sat in the draft, you didn't expect them to make much of an improvement, but Ferry and company did a good job by upgrading the backcourt and acquiring all-around stud Shannon Brown, and potential PG stud Daniel Gibson. Again, where the Cavs were sitting, you would of expected less. For that, I give them an A for the 2006 Draft.
Let's not forget Ferry's main conquest as our GM: He needs to do what he can to keep LeBron around and bring this team a championship. Fortunately, keeping LeBron and making the team better may go hand-in-hand so this kind of pressure can push a franchise into having no choice but to pull out all the stops...a job every team should do, but doesn't. Let's hope this works in the Cavs favor, but with the money tied up in the current roster, it's most likely going to be up to who we have to lead us to the promised land (at least for the next couple of years).
Backcourt
It's no secret that the Cavs' backcourt needs to step up in 2006-2007, if the Cavs want to push further towards a championship. On paper, it doesn't look good, but guys like Larry Hughes could help the team with a full season on the court. The backcourt was last in scoring in 2005-2006, but the additions of Shannon Brown and Daniel Gibson COULD help the team in the long run. The question with those two draft acquisitions is when will they really become a force (if at all). Gibson in particular has been criticized after having a stellar Freshman year, but being pulled at PG during his Sophmore year.
At SG, former draft pick Luke Jackson has lost his mojo and appears to be a lost cause after all of his injuries. He's currently out with back surgery. After acquiring him in a trade, Sasha Pavlovic has shown signs of being a valuable player, but hasn't quite put it together on a consistent basis. Defensive-minded Ira Newble can be a good player off the bench, but is considered a liability on the offensive end.
At PG, our current guys leave the team and its fans wanting much more. I like Eric Snow, but at this stage of his career, he has no business starting, but is much more valuable off the bench with his denfensive skills and his veteran leadership. As it stands, he's still our starting PG. There's our major weakness. While Snow played above his potential against the Wizards in the playoffs, his lack of production creeped up against the Pistons in round 2. With Damon Jones, we found that we got a flashy PG, who was streaky as a 3-Point threat, and was a major liability on defense. Thanks to Jeff McInnis, a lot of fans gave Jones a pass for at least trying to mix it up on the defensive side of the ball. That still doesn't cut it if you still stink.
Frontcourt
Besides the great LeBron James, the Cavs have a number of guys in the frontcourt who have their strengths, but also have their weaknesses. Up front at Center, Z is known for having a nice scoring touch, who can score inside and outside. When it comes to scoring, Z is among the best at Center. Unfortunately, he disappears against good defenses, is not much of a defender, and is slower than molasses. Z can make up for it by being out of position by blocking some shots with his massive wingspan, but he still gets cooked down low on a regular basis.
Drew Gooden remains the biggest Wild Card on this team. Gooden brings hustle, great shooting touch down low, and rebounding to the table. Unfortunately for him, he gets pushed around a lot, can have some mental lapses, and gets owned by more physical forwards out there. Not mentioned in the Front Office section, the Cavs' biggest decision needs to be made with this guy. Do they pay him good money to stick around or do they pull a sign and trade with him in an effort to free up some cash, give up rebounding and scoring down low, and acquire a more physical presence at PF.
After Gooden sits Anderson Varejao. At times, you praise the lord for his hustle, his agressiveness, and his willingness to put his body, and his playing time on the line for this team. Other times, you curse yourself for his poor ability to finish and his horrid Free Throw shooting. The jury, believe it or not, is still out on this guy. Why is that? The Cavs need to assess how much he means to this team after subtracting his weaknesses when it comes to the Gooden situation. Good luck on that one. I'm not sure what this team would be like with Varejao in the starting lineup.
Overall Outlook
Yes...I failed to mention other players on this team who could improve their standing with the team going into the next season. Can we really rely on those guys to rise above and help a playoff team win a championship? Not really. So...they are not mentioned.
So what does this team need to do right now to challenge the Miamis, Detroits, and other rising teams in the East? They could do themselves a favor by acquiring a more dynamic PG, and a physical presence to help this team improve. Too bad for them that they can't afford to sign those types of players, and acquiring them in trades, is not likely.
Unless the Cavs acquire someone like Devean George, who is still out there, I don't see them bringing in anyone who can make a decent impact in the rotation. We're stuck with what we have (for the time being unless we can pull off a doozy of a trade) and we need to hope these guys can rise above by playing better and staying healthy. More than likely, we'll say goodbye to guys like Flip Murray, and hello to the young guys we've been keeping around in the event that they improve enough to push us further along.
If we can improve as a team now, we'll have a better chance of keeping the greatest player in Cleveland since Jim Brown. Let's hope LeBron doesn't decide he wants to be a movie star in a few years.
SwerbsBlurbs
July 13, 2006 · By The Bitter Fans
With Free Agency moving quickly into it's latter stages, it's time to take a quick look at the Cavs' situation. The Cavs are an interesting topic in the city of Cleveland that can be debated left and right. The Cavs have made no Free Agent moves to this point and will most likely only add role players in the next few months as 2006-2007 approaches. Where do they stand going into the next season? Do they have the potential to get better with the current cast they have? With the big LeBron James extension now in the books, we can take a look at this team, their players, and what they still need to be legitimate title contenders.
Coaching
Mike Brown returns for his second season as the Cavs' coach. Brown did what most rookie coaches don't do: he led the team to 50 wins and came close to commandeering the team into the Eastern Conference Finals.
Despite the impressive opening season, Brown has one glaring weakness that has been identified after 1 season at the head position: He's no Einstein when it comes to game-planning on the offensive end. Rumors (credible or not) ran rampant at the end of this past season that a veteran coach could be added to assist with the offense. So far, no coach has been added.
For a team that is being coached the most important part of the game (defense), it's also important for this team to put some focus on and develop a more potent offense if they want to challenge in the East. The Cavs have made good strides on the defensive end with Browns' teachings on defense, but their offense is basically set-up to do three simple things: Get LeBron the ball, run the pick and roll, and push the ball down low to Zydrunas Ilgauskas if the matchups favor Z.
There's not much more to it. Mike Brown and his assistants need to be a little more creative on the offensive end while they continue to put a lot of good focus on the defense. Until Brown can get a better handle on that end of the court, the Cavs will run into problems against better defenses. Fortunately for Brown, he's a young, bright coach who has plenty of seasons ahead of him to adapt to that side of game whether he has more qualified help or not.
Front Office
Here's where the Cavs' have their real challenge. I do not envy the position GM Danny Ferry is in right now. During his first off-season with the Cavaliers, Ferry felt pressure in trying to make the right moves to upgrade this team. While I don't have too much of a problem in re-upping Z, signing Larry Hughes, Donyell Marshall, and Damon Jones, it was a steep price to pay right off the bat. As it stands, the Cavs have assloads of money tied up in 3 players: Hughes, Z, and LeBron. Not to mention that Jones, Ira Newble, and Eric Snow are making a little too much money to match their performance, which is tying up a nice slice of cap room as well.
With that in mind, the Cavs have little room to make impactful Free Agent acquisitions. Keep in mind though that this past crop of Free Agents was a little misleading. I'm not sure Ferry could really pay some of the talent that kind of money in what is considered to be a pretty weak Free Agent class. I like PG Mike James, but you can make a case for him being more of a 'ME' player than a true team guy. For guys like that who go out there to prove they belong and try to be among the elite in the league, you need to keep things in context. Are they playing hard for themselves to prove a point, or are they really in it for the team? You almost can't fault a guy like James, who has been unheralded for many years in this league as he has worked his ass off to get his payday, but you need to keep your team in mind as well.
Draft wise, I give Ferry and the Cavs front office a high grade for coming out of the 2006 Draft with more than what they bargained for to try and help this team. One of the Cavs' main weaknesses remains in backcourt scoring. Where the Cavs sat in the draft, you didn't expect them to make much of an improvement, but Ferry and company did a good job by upgrading the backcourt and acquiring all-around stud Shannon Brown, and potential PG stud Daniel Gibson. Again, where the Cavs were sitting, you would of expected less. For that, I give them an A for the 2006 Draft.
Let's not forget Ferry's main conquest as our GM: He needs to do what he can to keep LeBron around and bring this team a championship. Fortunately, keeping LeBron and making the team better may go hand-in-hand so this kind of pressure can push a franchise into having no choice but to pull out all the stops...a job every team should do, but doesn't. Let's hope this works in the Cavs favor, but with the money tied up in the current roster, it's most likely going to be up to who we have to lead us to the promised land (at least for the next couple of years).
Backcourt
It's no secret that the Cavs' backcourt needs to step up in 2006-2007, if the Cavs want to push further towards a championship. On paper, it doesn't look good, but guys like Larry Hughes could help the team with a full season on the court. The backcourt was last in scoring in 2005-2006, but the additions of Shannon Brown and Daniel Gibson COULD help the team in the long run. The question with those two draft acquisitions is when will they really become a force (if at all). Gibson in particular has been criticized after having a stellar Freshman year, but being pulled at PG during his Sophmore year.
At SG, former draft pick Luke Jackson has lost his mojo and appears to be a lost cause after all of his injuries. He's currently out with back surgery. After acquiring him in a trade, Sasha Pavlovic has shown signs of being a valuable player, but hasn't quite put it together on a consistent basis. Defensive-minded Ira Newble can be a good player off the bench, but is considered a liability on the offensive end.
At PG, our current guys leave the team and its fans wanting much more. I like Eric Snow, but at this stage of his career, he has no business starting, but is much more valuable off the bench with his denfensive skills and his veteran leadership. As it stands, he's still our starting PG. There's our major weakness. While Snow played above his potential against the Wizards in the playoffs, his lack of production creeped up against the Pistons in round 2. With Damon Jones, we found that we got a flashy PG, who was streaky as a 3-Point threat, and was a major liability on defense. Thanks to Jeff McInnis, a lot of fans gave Jones a pass for at least trying to mix it up on the defensive side of the ball. That still doesn't cut it if you still stink.
Frontcourt
Besides the great LeBron James, the Cavs have a number of guys in the frontcourt who have their strengths, but also have their weaknesses. Up front at Center, Z is known for having a nice scoring touch, who can score inside and outside. When it comes to scoring, Z is among the best at Center. Unfortunately, he disappears against good defenses, is not much of a defender, and is slower than molasses. Z can make up for it by being out of position by blocking some shots with his massive wingspan, but he still gets cooked down low on a regular basis.
Drew Gooden remains the biggest Wild Card on this team. Gooden brings hustle, great shooting touch down low, and rebounding to the table. Unfortunately for him, he gets pushed around a lot, can have some mental lapses, and gets owned by more physical forwards out there. Not mentioned in the Front Office section, the Cavs' biggest decision needs to be made with this guy. Do they pay him good money to stick around or do they pull a sign and trade with him in an effort to free up some cash, give up rebounding and scoring down low, and acquire a more physical presence at PF.
After Gooden sits Anderson Varejao. At times, you praise the lord for his hustle, his agressiveness, and his willingness to put his body, and his playing time on the line for this team. Other times, you curse yourself for his poor ability to finish and his horrid Free Throw shooting. The jury, believe it or not, is still out on this guy. Why is that? The Cavs need to assess how much he means to this team after subtracting his weaknesses when it comes to the Gooden situation. Good luck on that one. I'm not sure what this team would be like with Varejao in the starting lineup.
Overall Outlook
Yes...I failed to mention other players on this team who could improve their standing with the team going into the next season. Can we really rely on those guys to rise above and help a playoff team win a championship? Not really. So...they are not mentioned.
So what does this team need to do right now to challenge the Miamis, Detroits, and other rising teams in the East? They could do themselves a favor by acquiring a more dynamic PG, and a physical presence to help this team improve. Too bad for them that they can't afford to sign those types of players, and acquiring them in trades, is not likely.
Unless the Cavs acquire someone like Devean George, who is still out there, I don't see them bringing in anyone who can make a decent impact in the rotation. We're stuck with what we have (for the time being unless we can pull off a doozy of a trade) and we need to hope these guys can rise above by playing better and staying healthy. More than likely, we'll say goodbye to guys like Flip Murray, and hello to the young guys we've been keeping around in the event that they improve enough to push us further along.
If we can improve as a team now, we'll have a better chance of keeping the greatest player in Cleveland since Jim Brown. Let's hope LeBron doesn't decide he wants to be a movie star in a few years.
SwerbsBlurbs