While We’re Waiting… QB Competition, Dez Bryant and Jamario Moon
January 31, 2010Pittsburgh to Big Ten Rumors Heating Up
January 31, 2010With the trade deadline less than three weeks away, there will certainly be a slew of rumors hitting the mill every single day the rest of the way out. For your Sunday morning enjoyment, beat writer extraordinaire Brian Windhorst is back at the scene with the freshest rumor on the street. Today’s conversation topic is budding Philadelphia 76ers star Andre Iguodala, a 26-year-old star who might be heading out of town due to the rebuilding project going on around his team.
As has been a recent theme in the comments, this trade might actually make the most legitimate sense for the future of the Cavaliers franchise. Having Mo Williams, Andre Iguodala and LeBron James all under 27 years old would clearly make Cleveland the team to beat in the Eastern Conference for many years to come. The front court is certainly not getting any younger while Antawn Jamison is 33 years old, meaning that adding youth might be as big as a priority as adding another seasoned weapon to the already impressive offense.
Iguodala, whose salary numbers can be seen here in Denny’s post from yesterday, is the main asset separating the 15-31 Sixers from the New Jersey Nets at the extreme bottom of the Eastern Conference. In fact, the two teams will play tonight at 6:00 p.m. at the Izod Center in a game that features 19 combined wins for both teams. The Cavaliers reached the 19-win plateau back on December 16. But with the presence of Allen Iverson and increased attention for Elton Brand in the offense, it might just be time for the two sides to go their different ways.
Kevin Pelton of Basketball Prospectus wrote an article during last year’s playoffs about how underrated Iggy is in the mainstream news. Citing his impressive defensive play, efficiency for a combo guard and plus/minus statistics, Pelton even went so far to say that the recently turned 26-year-old is a young star worthy of All-NBA consideration.
Meanwhile however, Philadelphia fans are getting restless that he is not developing into a sure-fire All-Star. On a team that features Louis Williams and Allen Iverson in the backcourt, Iguodala currently has a very different role than the one he would play for the Cavaliers. Over in Philly, he leads the team in points, steals and assists per game, while also ranking second in rebounds. Here for the Cavs, he would replace Anthony Parker in the starting unit, instantly become the primary perimeter defender and also be the lead scorer in the unit without LeBron James on the court.
These Iguodala rumors have been around for a few weeks now but it seems like they are getting better by the day. Rumor has it that the Dallas Mavericks are in conversations with Philly as well, so any trade for the Cavs might need to include more than just Zydrunas Ilgauskas. Adding a first-round pick and J.J. Hickson would probably make it too hard to pass up for the 76ers, but would it be worth it for the team down the road? How much would the front court suffer even if Z were able to return to the team after a buyout? Everything will be decided soon, so hang on to the edge of your seat.
(Image above is via Lisa Blumenfeld/Getty Images)
66 Comments
Definately a good trade and we could get ‘Z’ back next year if we want. Getting Iguodala would be like when we stole Mo Williams from Milwaukee. He’ll be a really good addition plus he plays defense. Perfect fit.
iguodala is a nice player, but…
his acquisition does not fill a current need. in fact, the 2 guard spot is one at which we have remarkable depth. moreover, if we have to trade 1 or 2 of our bigs to get him, that makes us remarkably thin at a critical position in terms of playoff matchups and put an dangerously onerous burden on shaq in the meantime. jamison is a much much better fit for the reasons above, as well as the fact that he has a warrior mentality and playoff experience.
given their current team structure, i believe the cavs can not trade away size without getting size back.
@43: I thought the same thing, as I felt Parker was expendable with the addition of Iggy, but the trade wouldn’t work via the ESPN Trade Machine if Dalembert was added in. However, after looking at Parker’s numbers, he’s not having that bad a season statistically…he just seems to disappear at times offensively (and has been somewhat of a disappointment defensively, at least to me). No matter what, a third team would have to be involved to get both of them from Philly. That’s the only way I buy off on it, because as some have mentioned, losing Z makes the Cavaliers very thin at center, which is what makes them so tough against LAL, ORL and BOS. If Hickson were traded, they’d be even more thin, especially going into next year. LBJ, if back, would then have to play even more minutes at the 4, which seems to be something he would not be happy with.
If CLE makes a trade, they have to keep their depth with their bigs, and provide some flexibility next year too, which I feel a trade for Murphy wouldn’t be that bad (especially since I feel IND would be the most likely to buy Z out in a straight-up deal).
I’ll disclose up front that I’ll be happy with almost anything that Danny Ferry decides to do (or not do as the case may be.) Pick up Jamison, pick up Iguodala, or stand pat with the current roster. I truly do see both the risks and rewards with each thought process. Now I’m definitely not a fan of bringing in either Troy Murphy or Amare, but that’s a whole other story.
With all that said, it never ceases to amaze me how folks will post ad nauseum whatever they percieve to be the “vogue” thing to say at that moment, so long as they believe it makes them sound like they understand the game of basketball. This includes statements such as “The Cavs desperately need a stretch four” and “Now that Coach Kuester is gone our offense will go back to stagnating.” Remember Cavs fans, just because the guy above you posted something, that doesn’t make it correct. In fact, more often than not he may be completely wrong.
Now again I’ll state that I love Jamison’s game, and I would love it even more on the Cavs. But the Cavs certainly do not “desperately” need a strech Power Forward. We actually have two perfectly good ones right now. One naturally plays at the three spot, stands just over 6’8″ tall, and goes by the moniker of LBJ. The other tends to play at center, measures in at a whopping 7’3″ tall, and is affectionally known around these parts as Z. Yes Z is a center, but if we’re being completely honest, Z’s game at this point in his career is almost the textbook definition of a stretch four: he grabs boards, gets tip-ins and put-backs, has a nice mid-range jumper, and can even dial in from behind the arc when it’s called for. He happens to be 5″ taller than most Power Forwards, but length is very rarely a liabilty in basketball. Sure he can’t guard an opposing stretch four like Rashard Lewis or Lamar Odem very well, but that’s why we have one of the best perimeter-defending big men in the game in Varejao. So enough with all the “stretch four or bust” posts, eh guys? Would it be a nice addition? Sure. Is it a make or break need? Not by any “stretch” of the imagination. Forgive the bad pun, I couldn’t help myself.
Now onto the real reason for this post. The most recent incarnation of this Cavs fan Lemming group-think is the supposed fact that “Iguodala is too inefficient to fit the Cavaliers’ style of play.” A few posters above even took it a step further by comparing Iggy to Larry Hughes of all people. I really don’t understand where this sentiment is coming from, as it implies that Iggy requires 20-25 shots to get his numbers. Sorry folks, but the statistics simply don’t bear that out. In fact, Over Andre’s career he has exceeded 15 FGA per game only once. This season he’s at only 14.1 FGA per game, even as the “primary scorer” on the 76’ers.
On the other hand, Jamison’s career average is at 16.8 FGA per game… and he was never even the main scoring threat on the Wizards. And since the loss of Arenas, Jamison has routinely been jacking up over 20 shots per 48 minutes. Now granted, Antawn is the better shooter, especially from three point range. But to imply that Iggy requires more shots to get his numbers is just flat out wrong. Iggy is more like a smaller shooting guard version of LeBron: a gifted athlete who can create his own shot, but is also a willing passer and a tenacious defender. Perhaps an even better analogy is this: Iggy is a bigger, and more consistant, version of Delonte West. And we all know how tough the Cavs are to beat when Redz is on his game. Like Delonte, Iggy can flat out beat you in many different ways and could serve amazingly well in a “show starter” role with the Cavs. He’d play the first five and final five minutes of each game with the starting unit. The rest of the time, however, he is your playmaking ball handler for the second unit. The LBJ for the bench if you will.
Overall, I humbly submit that the Cavs greatest needs for rest of this season are (in no particular order):
1. A Power Forward (stretch or otherwise)
2. A Shooting Guard (scorer and ball handler)
3. A Point Guard (scorer and ball handler)
Picking up Jamison, Amare, David West, or Murphy addreses only one of those needs. Picking up Iguodala however, and placing him correctly into the rotation, may well fill all three of these needs.
One side benefit to picking up Iguodala is that Delonte’s emotional, and legal, troubles would become almost a non-factor. Don’t get me wrong. I love Redz as much, if not more, than the next guy. But he remains a potential liability until he can demonstrate consistency both on and off the floor. With Iggy on the depth chart, Delonte’s potential absence creating a void come playoff time significantly decreases.
Then there are the grumblings coming out of the James camp that if Ferry can bring in “the right young talent,” LeBron might even be willing to forgo free agency and just sign an extension. Jamison simply doesn’t fit that description given his age. And who knows? Iggy may not be “the right young talent” either, but he’s certainly closer to fitting that description than any of these other options. If the Cavs could pick up a guy like Joe Johnson this offseason, it would be a moot point. But alas, we won’t have the cap space to entice him, and Atlanta wouldn’t trade him our way for all the rice in China. So why not pick up the next best thing while we still can?
Just some food for thought for all of us…
Jordan/Pippen/Grant = James/Iguodala/Shaq? Other pieces just seemed to need to be funtional.
Maybe not as great a shooter…but reminds me of scottie pippen.
There is this perverse thinking in the NBA that adding more talent will automatically make you that much of a better team. It is a fallacy. This is not baseball. A team needs to be better than just the sum of its parts. The “Dream Team” fiascos over much of the last decade proves this point.
The model that everyone holds Lebron up to- Jordan’s Bulls of the 90’s- was not loaded with talent. You had a once in a generation talent (Jordan), a talented sidekick (Pippen), a rebound/defense guy (Oakley/Rodman)….and then a bunch of role players. That’s the model. You need role players to be the glue to play hard D, hit an open shot, scramble for loose balls, and the like.
The Cavs have this RIGHT NOW. Mo Williams is no Pippen, but brings a decent complement to Lebron’s game. Varejao is our Rodman (only just now is Mike Brown figuring out to use him as such). Shaq, for all is talent and glory, is basically just filling a role, albeit an important one. D. West = Ron Harper; Boobie = Hodges/Paxson/Kerr; Big Z = Bill Cartwright
You have to remember that for every “talented” player you add (Igoudala, Jamison, or the latest rumor-of-the-week), most of these guys are 20 point scorers who need/want the ball. Every one of these guys you acquire takes the ball out of Lebron’s hands that much more.
And how does that help the Cavs, exactly?
The guy I’d really like to see the Cavs acquire from the Wiz is one who never gets mentioned- Brendan Haywood. The Cavs will need a big body after Shaq retires, and Haywood can fill that role at about 1/3 of the price of Shaq. He’s still in his 20’s, and a little more athletic, although with less post-up offense….but the Cavs don’t really need that. They need a big body who can play 32 minutes and get 10 pts and 10 boards with a couple hard fouls thrown in. That’s really the only thing the team is missing.
Everyone is talking about the trades and what would weaken or strengthen team. The team is fine as it is, they showed last year in the playoffs that the problem lies with Mike Brown. Mike Brown is the most overrated coach in NBA history. He made horrible defensive assignment calls all through the Orlando series, and is the weak link on this team. Keep the team in tact and let Lebron choose the free agents we get next year, unless Lebron wants someone gone, then trade them, but Mike Brown is the real problem, and Lebron seen that when he didn’t let Z go on the floor to break the record!!! Fire Mike Brown, bring in Avery Johnson, and the ring will come.
Grover Jordan didn’t have any talent???? He had John Paxson, great point guard that could shoot the three better than Mo and Boobie, he had Pippen, who let’s be honest was an All Star that could shoot d- up, make his own shot, Craig Hodges could shoot anywhere within half court, Horace Grant, who could bang down low, shoot the midrange jump shot block shots etc, you had Bill Cartwright who could play D block shots and make free throws, you had Ron Harper, who was the Derek Fisher of his time, You had Stacy King and Will Purdue to come in and bang bodies, you had BJ Armstrong to shoot and handle the ball you had Steve Kerr to come and hit spot up threes in the clutch You had Toni Kukoc who could shoot the outside J, post up, handle the ball, all at about 6’10″…..the Bulls were more stacked than Cleveland at every position but LEBRON. Lebron would have been able to do the exact same thing as Jordan if given that line up.
Rick Bucher has reported that the Cavs are out of the race for AI2 and Rick Bucher knows all.
the cavs are an extreme team with extreme thoughts. for any of the fans to speculate about a possible trade first is ignorant AND naive and secondly, not a thought you would ever want to have. listen to the drums…they are pounding “CHAMPIONSHIP CHAMPIONSHIP CHAMPIONSHIP!” STICK WITH THE TEAM YOU HAVE NOW FERRY. Don’t pull a craig elo on us you rascal.
secondly, CHIP, please stop commenting. you are bringing us all down.
CAVS TO THE EXTREEEEEMMME!!!!!
IGODALA IS MY NUMBER 1 FAN I PLAY ALOT WITH HIM ON 2K10 ON PS3 HE IS LIVE AY HIS DUNKS HOPE HE GOES TO CAVS WITH LEBRON AND I MENT TO PUT JUSTIN IN STEAD OF ISAAK THATS WHY IM RIGHTING THE SAME THING AGAIN
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