Where have you gone, Scottie Pippen?
By Jason Lloyd, Morning Journal Writer
05/29/2008
HERE is the problem with demanding the Cavaliers find another Scottie Pippen for LeBron James:
He doesn't exist.
The reality is that Pippen was selected fifth overall by Seattle in the 1987 draft, then traded immediately to Chicago. The Bulls held the eighth pick in that draft and selected Olden Polynice, who went to the Sonics in the Pippen deal.
With LeBron on the roster, the Cavaliers aren't selecting in the top 10 anymore. And more importantly, they don't have time to waste while a rookie learns the NBA game. Pippen didn't become an All-Star until his third season in the league. Three years from now, LeBron could be in a different uniform.
The time for the Cavaliers to go out and develop their own talent has already passed. Aside from selecting James, which didn't require much brain power, the Cavaliers have not drafted and developed a star since Andre Miller in 1999.
Daniel Gibson could eventually change that, but he's not an elite NBA talent yet. Carlos Boozer is, but he didn't reach stardom until the Cavs botched his contract.
Other underwhelming picks this decade include Chris Mihm, DeSagana Diop, Brendan Haywood, Dajaun Wagner, Luke Jackson and Shannon Brown. None has developed into anything more than a marginal player and few even reached that while playing for the Cavs.
Now they'll pay for the sins of all those bad drafts.
With no time to develop a rookie and no cap space to sign a free agent, the only remaining option is a trade. And there are no ''Pippens'' readily up for sale this year, like Kevin Garnett was last summer.
The closest the Cavs can come is either Baron Davis or Michael Redd, neither of whom will make the NBA's All-Time Top 50 list anytime soon.
Davis is an injury-prone point guard who managed to stay healthy this season for the first time in six years. In the five prior seasons, he averaged just 53 games played. That sounds an awful lot like another Larry Hughes.
Davis can run an offense efficiently, but he's a scoring point guard who averaged over 21 points and 7 assists last season. He would have to adjust to no longer being the focal point of the offense, which can be difficult for a veteran who has scored over 10,000 career points.
Davis has an option he will likely exercise for $17 million next season. The Warriors are capped out and trying to free up money to sign younger talent. They might be inclined to deal Davis, but they won't just give him away for a couple of expiring contracts like Wally Szczerbiak and Damon Jones.
The more logical choice is Redd, who nearly signed with the Cavaliers as a free agent three years ago.
Instead, the Cavaliers got Hughes. Woops.
After signing Redd to a max deal, the Bucks have won just 54 games over the last two seasons. They now have a new regime in place and could be ready for a new start.
At 29, Redd is one of the best shooters in the league, but his 3-point shooting dropped to just 36-percent last season. That could improve, though, playing alongside LeBron.
Redd would no longer be the focal point of the offense like he is in Milwaukee, where he faces the same problem LeBron does: no one else to scare an opposing defense. In Cleveland, he could drive, create his own shot and hit open jumpers -- precisely what the Cavaliers need.
But he has endured a knee injury during the 2006-07 season, and the Cavs would assume the final three years and $51 million on his deal. It's a steep price to pay someone who isn't an MVP candidate, but it's the position the Cavaliers are left in after so many years of bad drafting and mismanagement.
It's not all Danny Ferry's fault, and reality shows that there is no great way to fix it. But the man who could someday wind up as the greatest player in the history of the game is demanding changes to the roster.
If the Cavs want to have any chance at re-signing LeBron in 2010, they'll do what he says. It still might not be enough, but years of bad decisions have left the Cavaliers in a bind that only tightens with each passing day.
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