The Top 4

[Glen Infante]

Talked to death, but here's another article on Cleveland's wish list.

Four to watch

With those guidelines, let's consider the four top free-agent guards who will be available to sign. This is my order of preference:

1. JOE JOHNSON: He averaged 17 points, 4.1 rebounds and 3.2 assists for the Phoenix Suns. He shot 48 percent on 3-pointers and has played all 82 games each of the past three seasons. He's 6-foot-7, won't be 24 until July and is an above-average ball-handler who can play some point guard. He also is a decent defender.

OK, want to get a little sick?

The Cavaliers passed on Johnson in the 2001 draft to take DeSagana Diop. The Boston Celtics picked him and then gave up on Johnson at midseason, trading him to the Suns for Rodney Rogers and Tony Delk.

Johnson is very quiet, likes to play and would have no trouble being the sidekick to James. That's very important, finding guys who want to fit into what the Cavaliers are building. It would probably take a sign-and-trade type of deal to bring him to Cleveland.

2. LARRY HUGHES: Like Johnson, Hughes can play either guard spot. He led the NBA in steals and is a very, very tough defensive player. The Cavaliers are a soft team, and his aggressive attitude can help change that.

He's 6-foot-5, and he averaged 6.3 rebounds and 4.7 assists. He gets to the foul line. Johnson takes only about two free throws a game, but Hughes averages nearly seven.

Hughes is only 26. He averaged 22 points in the regular season for the Washington Wizards. He's more of slashing player than an outside scorer, a career 28 percent shooter from 3-point range.

Like Phoenix, Washington has big money invested in several players and might not be able to afford to give Hughes close to a maximum contract. That makes him a very good candidate for a sign-and-trade deal.

3. MICHAEL REDD: The Ohio State product is a pure shooter. He averaged 23 points in the regular season, shot 44 percent from the field and 35 percent on 3-pointers.

Redd played on a very bad Milwaukee Bucks team and had a lot of pressure on him to score. He was the sometimes seemed a bit selfish, but part of that was he had to carry the scoring burden.

At 6-foot-6 and only 25 years old, he fits the profile of a young, big guard which the Cavaliers need. His defense and ballhandling are just so-so, below that of Johnson and Hughes.

Milwaukee has the money to spend on Redd and is expected to offer him a maximum contract, more than any other team can give under NBA rules. He certainly would be a terrific addition, but I prefer Johnson or Hughes because of their defense and ballhandling skills.

4. RAY ALLEN: He's a distant fourth on my list. He'll be 30 in July. He's a great scorer and outstanding shooter, but he's also used to being the focal point of the Seattle SuperSonics offense.

I sense that the Cavaliers will really be ready to make a major title push in three years. Will Allen still be at his peak, or will he begin to lose his edge in his 30s, as guards often do? It's a major question.

He's a below-average defender and ballhandler. He would not be able to help out at the point, nor does he bring a very aggressive attitude. He plays, he shoots, he scores.

There's much to be said for that, but the Cavaliers actually need more.

Akron Beacon Journal

 

[PIP]

give me one of the top 2, they play defense. i know we need outside shooting, but i never realized how important defense was until this season.

 

[NarlCavs]

Out of the big 4 I see Allen and Redd as the most likely to leave their current teams. I don't see Johnson leaving the Suns or Hughes leaving the Wizards. Johnson is also a risk to go after because he's a restricted FA.

Pluto underestimates Allen's total game. He seems to portray him as a just a shooter when he's one of the best all around SG's in the league.

 

[Pioneer10]

I just don't see how Phoenix can afford to sign JJ to a near max deal: Q, Nash, and Matrix have huge deals. Amare is going to get the max and on top of that Phoenix from all their recent trades have a bunch of first round picks. The way Phoenix drafts they have to think they can get an adequate replacement without overpaying for JJ

 

[cavincali]

mike redd was on the best damn sport show and he was optimistic about leaving the bucks. he said that if the organization does not take the neccessary steps to make the team better he wont play their. chris rose is from cleveland and he was of course asking him and he did not rule out the possibility of returning to his roots.

 

[Mac]

Bobby Simmons

 

[NarlCavs]

I used to think that the Suns couldn't resign Johnson for big money but all the info seems to indicate they are going to do whatever it takes to keep him. The Suns also have a new young owner who wants to win and will do whatever it takes to do it.

My big concern with going after Johnson is that he's a restricted FA. If the Cavs make an offer they could have to wait for 10 days until the Suns make a decision and during that time the other top FA's could sign elsewhere.

I'd like to add Johnson but I'm just not sure how great the odds of doing it will be. You don't have to worry about restrictions and matching offers if you go after Allen, Redd or Hughes.

I'd be very disappointed if the best the Cavs could get from the FA wing players when they have $20 to as much as $26 million in cap space would be Bobby Simmons. He's a decent player but I don't see him having a huge impact next season. He's also only had 1 good season. If you can get him at a reasonable price it's ok but I'm hoping for much more in free agency.

 

[TruBuckeye22]

give me Jesus Shuttlesworth with Larry Hughes as my second choice.

 

[aggressivestyle]

1.Joe Johnson- reason's above (mainly defense and can play PG)

2. Hughes- reasons above (mainly defense and can play PG)

3.Simmons- Mainly defense and i don't buy in2 that "contract yr" thing with him. He has improved every single yr btw. Funny thing is defense is what kept him in this league. Plus he just started to start for the clips this yr. To add he doesn't need the ball in his hands to be effective.

lets be serious here. I doubt some1 is just gonna have a career yr and all of a sudden be terrible.Of course his numbers might not be the same. It might be better but then again it might be alittle worse but i doubt it's gonna be terrible. He was never terrible to begin with.


4.Allen- I think he can co exist well with Lebron. Only problem with him is the age.

5. Mobley- good defense and good shooter! He's getting older but he cares about the game and would be a good influense to the youngsters. My problem with him is that sac will try hard to get him back and i doubt he will take another cheap contract for his services. He won't get max money but he will demand near it imo.

Not my top 5.Redd- He won't be a 20ppg type player if he comes to Cleveland. Unless we decide to be a run and gun team. The reasons why i don't like him is because his defense. I see Redd as a 15-18ppg type of player just like what JJ and Simmons are now...The only difference is those 2 play defense and won't care about not being "THE MAN"!


______________________________________________________
Roleplayers is what we are lacking not star power! We should have learned by now by watching the Houston vs Dallas series. Enough star power but not enough role players. We have our stars. if Z resigned then we need guys that are used to being 3rd options(JJ,Hughes,Simmons,Mobley).

depth is more imporatant. Thats why i haven't liked the redd talks from the beginning. Redd with a reduced role might not be what he would like. If Z comes back then Z will be the 2cd option again cuz he is a post presence. We need players that will thrive getting the ball from Z and Lebron.

 

[Marty Mar]

Star power would help.

Chi: Jordan/Pippen/Rodman
Hou: Olajuwan/Drexler
SA: Tim Duncan/David Robinson
LA: Shaq/Kobe
Det: Ben/Rasheed/Rip

 

[jason436]

My order of prefrence would be
1. Allen - Contract is the major deciding factor. If he wants the big deal he drops down a ways.

2. Johnson - I like that he plays defense, can shoot, and play multiple positions. The restricted status scares me though.

3. Redd - He can score and would definately give us an outside threat. It's true he wouldn't be the focal point of the offense but I'm not convinced he'd be relegated to the third option if Z returns. I think Redd and Z would pretty much be option 2a and 2b but the most important thing for me is that having both of them would probably make the other more efficient. Redd would open up the middle for Z and Z would help get Redd more open looks, pretty much the defense would have to decide which player to focus on after Lebron and then the other would reap the rewards. I also think a rotation that involved Lebron and Redd woul ensure that one of them was always on the court which would give Redd some minutes to be the focal points and should allow us to get Lebron a few extra minutes of rest. Also another scoring option should allow us to rest Z more, which might help him be more consistent and keep him from wearing down over the course of the season.

 

[aggressivestyle]

Star power would help.

Chi: Jordan/Pippen/Rodman
Hou: Olajuwan/Drexler
SA: Tim Duncan/David Robinson
LA: Shaq/Kobe
Det: Ben/Rasheed/Rip

we have 2 stars if Z is signed. Our problem is Roleplayers thats what i was saying. All of those teams have 1 thing in common and that is role players that actually can shoot and rebound play defense and what you need to be a winning team. We didn't have the defense and we didn't have the shooters. Our bench was the better defensive team yet other benches score on us in bunches.

 

[NarlCavs]

The Cavs need to add major talent and a core player this offseason with the huge amount of cap space they have. It is much harder to acquire major core talent then it is role players. When you have the opportunity to get a big time player then you have to do it. The cap room the Cavs will have this offseason isn't going to be there in the future. The addition of role players should come second in my opinion. They can be added in coming season using mid level and veterans exceptions.

Not every need can be filled at once. All the Cavs needs will not be addressed this summer.

Watching teams currently in the playoffs you realize just how much more talent these teams have than the Cavs. They have so many different options compared to us. It shows me that the Cavs have to use the cap room that they will only have this offseason to add major talent.

 

[Pioneer10]

My ideal use of the money could only occur if we can get Z to come down to a contract of 9-10 million a year for 3-4 years. I think then we could have enough money for Simmons and the Lithuanian PG. We could use Z who's like this dude's best friend to entice him over. His foriegn contract isn't that excessive. Simmons ain't JJ or Redd but I think we need to improve more then the SG spot next year.

This may be a pipe dream if Z wants a bigger contract and I have no idea if Saras has any desire to play in the NBA

 

[PIP]

if z isn't back i'm A OK with that... give me defense and rebounds