The Lithuanian Connection

[highplainsdrifter]

With Marty on board, and since Ferry's friends with Z, I think Z will be back. Z would no doubt love to be a mentor for this kid, the next potentially great Lithuanian center. Marty learned from Sabonis, and Sabonis is Z's favorite player. I believe they are all from the same hometown, Kaunas, Lithuania.

I know I've campaigned for Dalembert to replace Z, but Marty changes everything. And Philly will probably match any offer. And I've never denied Z is a great center, he really is. My concern all along has been the size and length of the contract. I don't believe we should offer a 14 mil per year over say 5 years.
Too much. But 10-11 over 4 is reasonable, and with Ferry and Marty on board, I think he'll sign.

We also may be able to get another Lithuanian stud, guard Sarunas Jasikevicius. You all have heard is name I bet, and saw him torch the US in the Olympics. He has been winning Championships overseas, the last 2 Euroleague titles for Maccabi Tel Aviv. He is like LeBron over there, and he plays with intense passion. And guess what, he's looking to get in the NBA right now, has been his dream. Only thing is he wants minutes and a reasonable contract.

We should get him!!! He's a winner who could provide immediate help to our backcourt. And with probably 2 fellow countrymen on board already, why go anywhere else? And I believe Sarunas was Z's best man at his wedding...

Don't be surprised if all three are on the Cavaliers next season, with a lot more Lithuanian fans in the stands!!!! (they say overseas fans are more passionate than Americans)

 

[King]

I heard Z and Marty have the same agent too.

I like the idea of bringing Sarunas in. Hes been one of my top chioces for pg next season. I think the contract he wants(3.3mil over 3 years)is pretty reasonable for the best player in Europe. Thats about as much as we gave K. Ollie I think.

It would be kind of weird having so many Lithuanians on the team. It would probably help increase our fan base though.

 

[TyGuy]

I really like sarunis, I watched him just torch team usa. The guy is as intense as it gets, true leader. Only problem would be his defense, he looked like he did an ok job against team usa but everywhere i read says it seems to be a bit of a problem for him. Offensively at the 1 spot he is as good as they get, unlimited range, excelent vision, good handles, doesnt make mistakes, smart. Even though we do have this lithu connection, you have to keep in mind we are looking at defense. A backcourt of say Sarunis and redd would just be deadly offensively but you would have to wonder hwo they would perform on the other end of the floor. Maybe under a good system that focuses on great team d, we could get it done. Much like how rip hamilton fits in with detroit not being a great solo defender. However every other guy on the floor for detroit is an excelent defender, so i just dont know... I think a big reason we are looking at antonio daniels is because of his defense and the fact that he is so solid. Sarunis is obviously much more talented offensively but maybe for our needs antonio would be the better fit in our back court with most likely redd *shrugs" Sarunis is very steve nash esque and its gonna be a tough decision.

http://www.interbasket.net/players/jasikevicius.htm

 

[King]

His D would be a concern. Hopefully, Mike Brown is the defensive genius everyone is making him out to be and would be able to give us a nice defensive system. And I dont think Redd is the poor defender that everyone is making him out to be. From what Ive seen, he is an average defender, nothing more nothing less. I wouldnt call him a liability.

If we do get Redd, it could be wiser to pair him with a better defensive pg like Watson. If we get someone with solid D like Hughes, Sarunas would look good next to him.

 

[highplainsdrifter]

I'd love to see Sarunas and Antonio play for the Cavaliers. Sarunas wouldn't come to the NBA to sit on the bench, so I don't know if we could have both. Sarunas could probably play the two as well, but we might have to lose a player to get him minutes. If only we could get rid of Snow's contract.........

 

[ChicagoCavFan]

I hope LeBron likes Lithuanians....

and for the record, I am as well.

I read somewhere that Sarunas would sign for around 3 mil per year for 4 years. Not sure where or else Id link it. Anyways, if we can get him for 3, and sign Z for 10, we have PLENTY of room for a max contract at Allen or Redd, and still have room to sign 3 or 4 role players.

The question to ask - would you rather have Daniels or Sarunas? Daniels would probably command more money, Sarunas is a risk and has a temper.

Ferry's head will be spinning.

 

[NarlCavs]

He could be a solid addition but I think the Cavs are going to go with a better defensive player if they go after a FA PG. Perimeter defense was terrible last year and the new hires have all been stressing defense.
Sarunas is a good backup option if nothing else works out and his shooting ability would definitely be a plus off the bench.

 

[jason436]

Another thing to consider is that Sarunas said he wasn't as concerned with starting as he was with getting minutes. If this is the case maybe we could start Snow and Redd and have Sarunas as are spark off the bench, ala Bobby Jackson. Snow can play well for short periods of time, so Sarunas would probably get a larger portion of the minutes at PG. I know Sarunas and Redd would still be on the court together but I remember a while back there was a stat on how long a teams starting five actually play together and this avg minutes were pretty low.

 

[TyGuy]

I agree Jason, I think that could definitely work.

 

[cavincali]

im wondering about this guy we got.

what he is like on the offensive side of the ball?? is he like Z or does he have to devlope a lot???

 

[Dungong]

Would any team even want Snow? Daniels and Sarunas both signed would create a sorta log jam, but hey I'm all up for having the Lithuanian National team in a Cavs uni with LeBron

 

[PIP]

im wondering about this guy we got.

what he is like on the offensive side of the ball?? is he like Z or does he have to devlope a lot???

i'll put it like this..... if he scores 10 points in 1 game within the next 3 seasons.. the world might blow up..

nba draft.net i believe is the site where i read up on him..

he's got about as much offensive game, as the guy working at your local blockbuster

 

[cavincali]

we already had that is diop so why try to go through it again.

i dont expect anything special from this guy then.

 

[PIP]

PLUS HE'S supposed to have attitude problems... -- which is odd, since we're all about "GOOD TEAM GUYS"

 

[Karma]

The kid can shoot the ball a bit and has decent handles. But his offensive game is suited on the perimeter and he is 7'3. Not exactly what you want from your center. He has no post game ready for the NBA, so he'll be lucky if he makes it past the NBDL this coming year.