Monthly Archives: July 2014

No Love? No Problem for Cavs.

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Minneapolis is driving a hard bargain in the Kevin Love negotiations, and it begs the question of what are the consequences should the deal not get done.  Many have suggested it is a deal too good for the Cavaliers to not do, and most have suggested that they shouldn’t let reluctance to part with Wiggins, their most recent top overall draft pick get in the way.  I cannot argue with the logic, as Kevin Love is clearly a talent worth coveting, and 20 point 10 rebound guarantees with a 6’10” All Star don’t become available every day.  However, if we reflect upon what the Cavs look like should they NOT do the deal, it may merit consideration.

Without Love, a projected starting line up for the Cavs would be Kyrie Irving at the point, Kevin Wiggins at shooting guard, Anderson Varejao at center, Tristan Thompson and Love’s position – power forward, and of course, Lebron James on the forward wing.  How would you like defensively to have Wiggins and James guarding the wings?

What would the second unit look like? Dion Waiters first off at shooting guard, Bennett – last year’s overall number one behind Tristan Thompson, Brendan Haywood behind Varejao, Mike Miller behind Lebron, and a nice young point guard back-up named Dellavedova behind Kyrie Irving.  Now you’re 10 deep, still haven’t accounted for James Jones, let alone Ray Allen should he come along.  Get my drift? Of course you would want to add a Kevin Love to the mix, but some pretty positive assets would come off the above accounting to make that happen.  Speaking of accounting, add up Thompson, Waiters, Bennett, and Wiggins, and you approximate what Kevin Love will cost you in salary.  Then throw in your first pick in next year’s draft.  I’m not sure I take that deal.  Those guys can compete as they stand.

Can Cleveland Win It All Next Season?

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I think they can.  They have a young, but seasoned back court in Kyrie Irving and Dion Waiters, with 3 and 2 years in the league respectively.  They are from high quality, winning college programs at Duke and Syracuse, and can both hit the open jumper.  Their biggest adjustment was in asking Waiters to defer to Irving when he’s an inch taller at 6’4″, 32 pounds heavier, similar skill set, and confident from their practice sessions.  Neither will have a problem deferring to Lebron James. Arguably, that’s the best in the league at the 1, 2, and 3 positions.  The 4 (power forward) and 5 (center) are more challenging, but not at all horrible.  Anderson Varejao has 10 years in the league, experience playing with Lebron, and pulled down 9.7 rebounds per game last season. I would say that’s a respectable center position. The problem is, he’s the only center they have, and that needs to be rectified. But it can be, easily, via a trade. Tristan Thompson would be the weak link at the 4, but he won’t start.  I’m hoping they keep him, as he will be a high level sub off their bench. The Cavs are already working on a trade for Kevin Love, and if they get him at the 4, with Thompson behind him, they suddenly are powerful at the 1, 2, 3, AND 4, with a respectable 5 in Varejao.

The two Canadian youngsters are not bad ballers, but Messrs. Wiggins and Bennett are likely gone in the Kevin Love deal.  I just hope to see a back-up 5 coming back to the Cavs in that deal.  And remember, Pau Gasol is still around, would love to play with Lebron, and has no anti-Cleveland bias.  The difficulty there is his history with the Lakers in L.A., and Phil Jackson in N.Y., making it difficult to grab him.  But if they could, just imagine for a second Kyrie Irving at the 1, Dion Waiters at the 2, Lebron James at the 3, Kevin Love at the 4, and Pau Gasol at the 5…..the ball constantly moving, and all of them capable of hitting the open jumper.  On the Cavs bench are a couple of guards, Joe Harris and Matt Delavedova who can do one thing really well, shoot.  Of course, there are a couple of veterans, Mike Miller and Ray Allen who have a better history of doing that, and are in the conversation whenever, wherever goes Lebron James.

So, sort through those possibilities if you will, and tell me, can Cleveland win it all next season?

How the Heat Lost Lebron to the Cavs

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There is no one thing that led to this “Decision” for Lebron.  At the risk of adding to the overuse of the term given the song’s airplay as well as the proliferation of videos on youtube, I will attribute the event to the term “Happy”.  Lebron wants to be happy, and this season in Miami was not so.  For starters, while Lebron and D. Wade are friends, Wade is family in Miami. Lebron is a friend of the family, nothing wrong with that, but its not the same.  I watched close up at a Heat/Pistons game, when Lebron was open at the top of the key, and held his hands out for the pass, which D. Wade, although having a man in his face, looked Lebron in the eye, then boldly took the contested jumper.  It wasn’t a big deal, just an example of Wade having more fun than James. As the Heat nurtured Wade’s sore knees, with James sometimes not knowing whether Wade would play until slightly before game time, James’ minutes kept piling up, and the family friend felt that the family was a bit inconsiderate.

Perhaps the most nagging negative was the decision to amnesty Mike Miller. The Big Three Era was built on mutual sacrifice, and the Heat’s releasing Miller for financial reasons was inconsistent with that.  Each time Lebron kicked to an open team mate during the Spurs series, and they missed, he thought of Mike Miller having played 82 solid games this year, and how it would have helped to stem the tide of Spur runs if Mike were there to drop a jumper or two.

Even less happy than Lebron were his friends and family, who had been royalty in Cleveland but were commoners in Miami.  When Pat Riley made the infamous “Get a grip…” speech, you can believe they unanimously exclaimed to Lebron, “Can you believe this guy?”  At the end of the day, the Heat rode Lebron this year, not the other way around, and a message like that would be best delivered privately or not at all.  More appropriate would be “Thanks for the huge effort, and my apologies that you didn’t have more help.  We can fix that.”  As it was, Lebron’s response to the challenge was an appropriate counterpoint, no more sacrifice, max contract required, and let’s see what kind of help you can get for me.  In other words, I did my job; now you do yours.

That opened a window of opportunity for Cleveland. What did they do with it? Down came the nasty letter about Lebron from their website. Off went the contracts necessary to open a max offer for Lebron. Out went the feelers to Minnesota about an acquisition of Kevin Love. And then there was the reaching out to the aforementioned, Mike Miller. For frosting on the cake, fresh off his family’s vacation with Lebron and his family, Ray Allen got a call as well.

Luck is when preparation meets opportunity. The Heat created the opportunity, and the Cavs drove a Mack truck through it.

May 31, 2014, Miami Against The Pacers (Cleveland Redux)

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After game 5 in the Heat/Pacers series, won by Miami 90 to 79, Lebron made the following statement, “I kind of went back to my Cleveland days at that point….”  The fact of the matter is, Lebron spent much of the last year in Cleveland mode for the Heat, and that’s not what he came there for.  When he made the above statement, Lebron was averaging 28.4 points per game for the Heat, D. Wade 15.4, and Chris Bosh 12.6.  Pat Riley’s message about having the “guts” to stick it out was being sent to a guy laboring to carry that team, sixth highest minutes on average in the entire NBA, and not the highest paid player.  Accordingly, the message back to Pat Riley, improve the team and give me a max contract, was a perfectly reasonable one.  The Heat didn’t hand Lebron 4 finals and 2 championships; he worked for them, carrying the greatest load start to finish.

So now, Cleveland emerges as a real consideration.  Certainly Lebron’s popularity, reputation, and legacy would be enhanced by a return to Cleveland.  Further, you couldn’t criticize him for “trophy chasing”, as the Cavs don’t have all the pieces in place to be called a super team.  But compare the Cavs to the Heat’s roster.  Kyrie Irving and Andrew Wiggins are if nothing else young stars with fresh legs.  That cannot be said of Wade and Bosh.  There is also more flexibility to fill out the roster there, and more young legs already in position.  That begs the question, why would Lebron favor the Heat over a trip back home to Ohio?

The Heat can pay him more money, and their organization needs to buy time to enhance the roster.  Accordingly, a two year deal at the maximum salary, with a player option after the first year, and some nifty maneuvering during that first year to entice optimism would be key to any Heat initiative to retain Lebron James.  He owes them nothing.

Lebron to Philadelphia? Here’s a thought.

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Joel Embiid has been tweeting Lebron about Philly, and most people laugh at the notion, since they’ve tanked the last couple of years, drafting injured big men, saving money and cap space to a fault.  But here’s a scenario to think about.  There are $ 15mm tied up in two guys, Jason Richardson and Thaddeus Young.  Shed that money, and you can have the space to bring in Lebron (21), Lance Stephenson (11), and Luol Deng (11) for $ 43mm.  You already have locked up Michael Carter-Williams at 3, and Nerlens Noel at 2.  More young legs are available in draftee Jerami Grant, and when he heals from surgery, top draftee Joel Embiid. Now, to top it off, bring in Kevin Love or Pau Gasol.  All of this is very doable.

With the contracts and draft picks they have in Philly, if they are serious and have the vision, this is a very palatable scenario to place before Lebron’s agent. The above cast of characters, along with those you fill in the roster with, get you by Miami and Indiana, and into the NBA Finals.  In my opinion, with the experience gained from the season of playing together, it gets you by the San Antonio Spurs, and places the crown once more upon the head of the King.

With this vision in mind, the 76ers’ GM should be packing for Cleveland to meet with Lebron’s agent.

Lakers Desperately Need Carmelo

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There has been no Showtime in L.A. of late, unless of course you apply the tag to the Clippers.  That is almost sacrilege from an historical perspective.  The modern Laker cornerstone, Kobe Bryant, believes he has at least two more elite seasons left in his legs. He doesn’t plan for those to be repeats of 2013-2014.  To avoid leaving his tenure with the Lakers having traded places with the prior to Chris Paul Clippers in terms of stature, Kobe needs Carmelo Anthony.  It all starts with Melo.  If they are successful in bringing Melo on board (to the chagrin of their prodigal son, Phil Jackson), Paul Gasol likely returns as well. That makes the Lakers respectable if not competitive for a title.  The greater hope is that, surveying the landscape upon such a result, Lebron James would decide to don the purple and gold as well. That would be the return to Showtime.  But, it all starts with attracting Carmelo Anthony.

Lebron wants to win, and with a little help this year in Miami, could have won. Those who criticize the guy should consider the weight he carried, the minutes he played, the earnings he sacrificed, and the feeling within his camp as to the respect he earned but did not get. While Lebron labored with the sixth highest minutes per game in the league, often carrying the team both offensively and defensively, guarding the best opponent at multiple positions, he often didn’t know until shortly before tip off whether D. Wade would play or not. There are youtube videos of Wade’s defensive erosion as his legs deteriorate, pointing to his opponent streaking down the court, and often it was Lebron laboring to chase them down. I repeat the word labor because that’s what this season was for Lebron, labor. He has never been the highest paid player on his team, either in Cleveland or Miami, but the effort required of him has unquestionably been the most.

There are other, subtle factors as well.  Lebron’s friends and family, who were royalty in Cleveland, are commoners in Miami, devoid of “special” treatment. Don’t think for a second they don’t express their displeasure to him, particularly in light of Pat Riley’s “Get a grip….”
pronouncement, clearly directed at James.  The Heat should consider that they didn’t deliver four finals and two championships to Lebron; he delivered those to the Heat, when he could get help.  Letting Mike Miller go to save money wasn’t the help he needed.

But it all starts with Carmelo Anthony.  Should he decide to go to L.A., join Kobe, and lure Pau Gasol, Lebron would be foolish to ignore the opportunity represented by that. Conversely, should Melo return to New York, the Lakers shouldn’t think for a moment that any other combination would attract Lebron.  Rather, he could sign a two year extension in Miami, with a player option on the second year, and join Carmelo a year later, in a Knick uniform. Think of the off-court earning opportunities that would bring to him. Think of the satisfaction Phil Jackson would get as a result.  More importantly, think of the Lakers, doomed to mediocrity, playing distant second fiddle to the Clippers in their own home. The Lakers desperately need Carmelo Anthony.

Heat is on the Miami Organization

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Pat Riley’s “Get a grip…” proclamation is well remembered, and many cited it as a message to Lebron James. Lebron has responded, opting out, indicating an interest in 1 to 2 more years, BUT making two things clear.  Firstly, he was unhappy to see other teams improve while the Heat, apparently to save money, amnestied Mike Miller and got weaker, not stronger.  Secondly, before he returns, Lebron expects to see how the Heat will improve the roster this time.  Bosh and D. Wade have also opted out, as has Udonis Haslem, all indicating a willingness to take less money so as to enable to Heat to add talent. Lebron has not suggested being open to less pay. The Heat need to be concerned.

Carmelo Anthony led the NBA in average minutes per game, at 38.7.  Lebron was 6th, at 37.7. Chris Bosh averaged 32 minutes per game.  D. Wade averaged 32.9 minutes, but played in only 54 games.  Clearly, Mr. James carried the heaviest load.  Here’s another interesting statistic; Lebron has never been the highest paid player on any NBA team, not in Cleveland, and not in Miami. If Lebron is thinking it is time to make a correction to that, who can blame him?  So the question becomes what help will Pat Riley bring in, to both improve performance and to reduce Lebron’s workload?

A couple of targets have been missed already. Gortat returned to the Wizards, and Shaun Livingston signed with the Warriors.  Luol Deng has rebuffed the notion of a pay cut, and Kyle Lowry has politely refused an interview just yet.  Paul Gasol has had a phone conversation with Riley, but nothing conclusive; and we know Phil Jackson’s relationship and history with him.  So the pathway to productive assets isn’t without obstacles.  The Heat need to rise to the challenge, or thank Lebron for his contributions, and give him their blessings when he walks away.