Amico: Cavs interested in Sonny Weems
July 1, 2012Bastian: Lonnie Chisenhall out 10-12 weeks following surgery
July 1, 2012The Decision. Larry Hughes, Donyell Marshall and Damon Jones. Gerald Wilkins, “Jordan stopper“. Sasha Pavlovic and Anderson Varejao holding out. Anthony Parker, Leon Powe and Jamario Moon. Michael Cage. Ira Newble and Kevin Ollie. Carlos Boozer lying to Gordon Gund.
Are we excited for free agency, Cavs fans?!
As of 12:01 AM this morning, only three days after the Cavs drafted future pieces in Dion Waiters and Tyler Zeller, which was just one week after LeBron hoisted the Larry O’Brien trophy, NBA teams can begin talking to free agents. Players can’t officially sign contracts until Wednesday, July 11th.
While the Cavs won’t be pursuing the Deron Williams’s of the world, they do have some options.
Given the Cavaliers’ history with free agency1 and where they are in their rebuilding process, don’t expect any big free agent splashes this summer. Of course, one could argue that, given their history and market size, Cleveland should never be making big splashes in free agency. But with a roster full of rookies and second year players, the Cavs don’t need to be clogging up caproom in the summer of 2012.
Cleveland’s roster currently looks something like this:
- PG – Kyrie Irving
- SG – Dion Waiters, Daniel Gibson
- SF – Omri Casspi, Luke Walton, Kelenna Azubuike
- PF – Tristan Thompson, Anderson Varejao, Kevin Jones
- C – Tyler Zeller
- Restricted FAs: Alonzo Gee, Semih Erden, Luke Harangody.
- Unrestricted FAs: Antawn Jamison, Anthony Parker, Donald Sloan, Samardo Samuels, DJ Kennedy.
NBA rosters hold 15 spots and the Cavs (counting rookies and restricted FAs) currently have 13 of those spots spoken for (though I’d be mildly surprised if both Erden and Harangody returned). The Cavaliers could use another wing to stretch the floor (preferably athletic), a PG to backup Kyrie Irving and a big who can hit a shot from outside of 15 feet2.
The Cavs have somewhere between in the area of $21 million in available caproom, but they don’t have use all of it. I had originally thought that they might have to overpay some guy just to meet the salary floor3, but while Baron Davis’s bloated, amnesty’d contract doesn’t count against Cleveland’s cap, it does count against their salary floor. So no dumb signing just to meet the floor! Whew!
So other than Sonny Weems, who could the Cavs entice with Dan Gilbert’s checkbook? From the Akron Beacon Journal’s Jason Lloyd:
Three players the Cavs could pursue in free agency are Omer Asik, Michael Redd and Jonny Flynn. Asik is a restricted free agent center who is in line for a raise after making $1.9 million as a backup center with the Chicago Bulls
[snip]
The Cavs were interested in Asik at the trade deadline two years ago, but couldn’t work a deal with the Bulls and ultimately traded for Erden minutes before the deadline passed.
[snip]
Redd is an unrestricted free agent shooting guard whom the Cavs showed interest in last year, but ultimately passed since he has endured two reconstructive surgeries on his left knee in the past four years.
But he survived last season with the Phoenix Suns and averaged 8.2 points while shooting 40 percent. He played in 51 of a possible 66 games, the most for him since the 2007-08 season.
The Cavs are looking for a high character, veteran mentor to replace Anthony Parker and guide what will again be a young locker room.
Flynn was drafted sixth overall three years ago, but his career has been derailed by injuries. Flynn has played for three teams through his first four years in the NBA, but he’s still just 23 years old and open to the idea of becoming a backup to Kyrie Irving.
I’m not a fan of Asik. Maybe he can be a serviceable NBA center, but there are reports that the Rockets could offer him as much as $8 million per season (the Bulls can match). One of the rules in the NBA is that big men always get overpaid, but $8 million a year for a guy who averaged 3 points and 4 rebounds a game is pretty ridiculous, even for this league (for comparison, Anderson Varejao made $7 million last season). Hopefully the Tyler Zeller pick (and Asik’s asking price) will cool Cleveland’s enthusiasm for the Turkish big man.
The other two names Lloyd mentioned, Michael Redd and Jonny Flynn, I find very intriguing. Redd could fit right in to that “veteran good guy” role that Anthony Parker and Antawn Jamison occupied last season, but I wonder how useful he’d be if can’t stay on the court. Last season was the first season in a long while that Redd has been even remotely healthy. But will he remain healthy without the vaunted Phoenix training staff? I would have to imagine that it is a legit concern.
Jonny Flynn is another interesting option. The Cavs could offer him the minutes that Ramon Sessions vacated and if he plays well, he could parlay that into a starting job (and big contract) down the road (netting the Cavs a pick in the process, à la Sessions, win-win). Flynn could really benefit from being in a stable situation for a few seasons. While Lloyd writes that Flynn is open to the idea of backing up Irving, the Cavs weren’t on Flynn’s list of preferred destinations.
There’s a few other players I wouldn’t mind the Cavs pursuing. Edjuardo Najera, former Maverick and Nugget, most recently of the Bobcats, is available. He’s a bit undersized, but he could be a nice, tough, no-nonsense big man off he bench (and he has shot the 3-ball well in the past). Other PGs in the Cavs range include Jannero Pargo (formerly of Atlanta), A.J. Price (Indiana) and Ben Uzoh (Toronto). As for wings, the only one that really excites me is Nicholas Batum of the Blazers, but he’s restricted and you might have to overpay him to get him out of Portland.
Once again, are we excited for free agency, Cavs fans?! I mean, Michael Redd! Just eight years after we really wanted him!
Kidding aside, if the Cavs were make a Big Move this offseason, I would expect it to come via trade (Anderson Varejao is their biggest chip). History has shown that while capspace doesn’t help the Cavaliers that much via free agency, it can play a large role in trade scenarios. The ability (and Gilbert’s willingness) to absorb a bloated contract in a trade has proven very beneficial for the franchise4.
While it would be nice if the Cavs could sneak into the playoffs next season, that shouldn’t be their end-all, be-all goal. Chris Grant won’t be entering free agency looking for veterans to 35 minutes a night in the Wine & Gold. They don’t need to make short term gains that could hamper their long term outlook. Their focus will and should be on players who can compliment the roster on the court, as well as in the locker room.
(Please don’t sign Omer Asik).
- not fun! [↩]
- For as much crap as I gave Antawn Jamison, the Cavs are going to miss his ability to stretch the floor [↩]
- The salary floor is $46.4 million and Cavs have roughly $33 million in salaries on their roster [↩]
- See, Davis, Baron [↩]
52 Comments
DONT SIGN OMER ASIK
SIGN BATUM. GIVE HIM OVER 8 MILLION A YEAR.
the Blazers would thank us for getting Batum to sign for only $8mil/year and match as quickly as they could get ahold of league ofices.
if the Rockets want to give Asik $8mil/year (I call agent-shenanigans), then think of the bounty we could get from them offering Andy who is better and cheaper.
I wasn’t specifically saying we use just that much money on him. I was more referencing that if the Rockets offer Asik 8 million then we should definitely give Batum OVER 8 million. I would even be fine giving him 5 years 60 million. And the Trailblazers just offered Hibbert a max contract he reportedly plans to sign.
I pegged Asik for $7-8mm per year this past season; it’s the real deal and is most certainly inflated by the fact that he’s a center. Anyone panning the Zeller trade needs to realize that the Cavaliers just nabbed a reserve (possibly starting) center for pennies on the market value-based dollar.
If Portland signs Roy Hibbert (they offered him the max) they’ll have a hard time matching for Batum. Not out of the question.
FYI Sloan, Samuels, Kennedy, and Manny Harris all have non guaranteed contracts for next season. So non of them are currently free agents, and if they were they would be restricted unless the Cavs decided against extending them a qualifying offer.
I’m not TOTALLY opposed to overpaying for someone – if the player is a really good fit and we actually NEED to spend money, there’s nothing wrong with paying a little more than someone is worth. I agree that missing the playoffs next season wouldn’t be the end of the world, but if we can sign a piece of the 2013 puzzle this year, that’s just one less hole we have to worry about filling next year.
Kwame Brown did get $7mil last year
4yrs $58mil is the max for him (reported), not sure how much is in the first year but should be around $11mil? after amenstying Roy, they have plenty of cap room as they stand around $30mil w/o Batum/Hickson. $11mil for Hibbert + $8mil for Batum and they’re still only at ~$50mil
be interesting to see if the Pacers match. that’s a tough call there.
i love Batum and would like to think we could get him. i’m just not seeing it though.
Asik has low numbers because he plays behind one of the better big men in the game. Think of Gortat. Once he got out from behind Howard, he became a double-double machine. Asik is a career 53% from the floor, with a rebound rate (about 20) that is among the very best in the game, and by any measure, an elite defender.
Go ahead and tell yourself that PPG is the most useful statistic, while watching Jamison chuck the Cavs out of another game (but hey! he ended up with 20 points!). I’ll gladly take the efficient, high per-minute players.
Asik is the next Varejao, and at four years younger, and not hurt every year, is much more likely than the latter to improve as the Cavs build a contender.
interesting question: if Toronto signs Nash and has to amnesty Calderon to do it (which they would), then should the Cavs claim Calderon off waivers?
$10mil (last year of deal) is expensive for a backup PG, but Jose is a very good distributing PG who at the very least could become a bit of an asset to flip at the trade deadline (expiring deal to team desperate for PG upgrade as we saw last year with Sessions)
“missing the playoffs next season wouldn’t be the end of the world”
It’s good you won’t go crazy, because they aren’t making the playoffs barring some miracle.
Funny, the only time Lebron went to the finals in Cleveland, and the only time in recent history that the Cleveland has won a conference championship and gone to the finals was with Larry Hughes, playing out of position, as a point guard. The Cavs made his salary back those years x5, those seats were sold out every single night and ad time went for some big coins.
As far as center targets go, how about Ian Mahinmi? He was the backup for the Mavericks this last year. He’s young (25), he’s been a target of some of the best organizations (drafted by Spurs, signed by Mavericks), and he was arguably the Mavs’ top center during their playoff series with OKC.
I like it… you hear me Dan Gilbert? It’s a go!
That may be true but there are a hundred prospects who may do better with extended playing time. You wait until they do better to give them an $8m deal.
Even if that’s the case, the Cavs would be signing him to play a backup role. That’s a ton of money for even a very good bench player.
Saw a report that Houston has officially offered Asik 25.1 million over 3 years. What’s more shocking than the 8.36M average is that year 3 pays 15 million.
I think making the playoffs is actually a realistic goal, albeit a bit aggressive. However, this is predicated on the fact that the playoffs aren’t that hard to reach in the NBA. 8 out of 15 teams in the weaker Eastern Conference make the playoffs, so not even a winning record is necessary. Now, getting out of the first round, thats a bit of a pipe dream.
It’s not that realistic, and shouldn’t even really be a goal. The Cavs should be building a roster that will be a contender in 3 years. Now, if Kyrie absolutely blows up and becomes a MVP candidate and we sneak into the playoffs thats one thing, but we shouldn’t be spending a bunch of money with the hopes of getting to 40 wins. That will just retard development down the line.
Says who? If Asik were to come here, there would be absolutely no problem finding him 30 mins/night.
If you wait until everyone absolutely proves themselves, you’re going to be overpaying a lot, and thats if you can even get a big time FA to come to Cleveland. The Cavs FA targets should be undervalued guys, whether because they were backups to great players, or because people overvalue PPG, or whatever. They wait until Asik becomes a double-double every night, and they have no chance at signing him.
I like where your head is at. We have to spend some money anyway right? Why not on an expiring deal with deadline flip potential and no risk to long term flexibility? Question is would Calderon be game
Two words: Eastern Conference. I think the Washington Generals are in play for the 8 seed.
Even passable rookie bigs are worth their weight in gold in the NBA. Roy Hibbert just got a max! Any guy close to 7′ with two arms is gonna get near 7 mil.
Well, I think you are partly right, but its not an either or proposition. Overpaying for over the hill talent would hurt the team’s long term prospects. However, part of getting better in 3 years is getting better this year. There is only so much talent and 30 teams competing for it. Finding the best available talent to play a system, fill a need, and willing to sign a reasonable contract is a process in of itself and requires a bit of luck. If the Cavs accomplish that this season, than making that 8th or 7th seed is a realistic goal, especially if Kyrie Irving continues to develop into an elite player.
well, if we claim him, then he doesn’t have much choice. I suppose he could pull the NBA pouting routine, but it’s a contract year for him.
we don’t have to spend the money though. Baron’s contract doesn’t count against the cap but does for the floor (as Ben shows above).
Minnesota is reportedly offering Batum $50M for 4 years so clearly the Cavaliers would have to spend to be in the running. Personally as dynamic a player as Batum is I can’t see him being worth that much myself. As for the Calderon idea while being imaginative I can’t see that making sense for the Cavaliers either. I think if they sign guys it’ll be younger guys with potential. I think Grant has set a course whereby he’s willing to pile up the losses in order to get his core draft picks experience biding his time until he’s ready to use Gilbert’s bankroll on 1 maybe 2 guys to ice the proverbial cake. If so then another draft will be necessary. I think the Cavaliers are a year away from any kind of personnel moves.
The best thing about signing Calderon is that it means Kyrie will only have to guard him in practice.
realistically, I don’t think the roster is deep enough to make the playoffs this year.
Our FA priorities should be:
1) Sign Gee
2) Look for young players who have a skill we need in the near term as well as a chance to further develop
3) Look for potential future trade assets
4) Look for a veteran or two to help stabilize our young team (and possibly become a trade asset later)
5) Maintain cap/trade flexibility – avoid long term deals
Depends what we mean by getting better this year. Our young players developing and looking like keepers? That’s what I want. Using a significant amount of our resources to make sure the record improves? I have no interest. Get guys who will make this team contenders in 3 years, and don’t care what the record is next year.
I didn’t totally get the numbers from the article above. So the floor is at $46, and we are at $33 – how much is Baron’s contract? Do we still have to spend a little?
How about Goran Dragic as a back up to Kyre?
i only liked the Calderon idea because it is for 1 year and likely a trade asset at the deadline (or Irving injury insurance).
i’d pay Batum $12mil/year. but, i’m guessing it’s a backloaded deal and the final year or two is going to kill that cap. that’s the tougher pill to swallow on these deals.
Like I said interesting idea but still a significant chunk of change to drop on a guy who you’d hope you might be able to trade.
As far as Batum bad timing I’m guessing had it been a year from now then possibly but I just don’t see it happening now. Who knows though.
personally, I think the blazers match.
Caves should target Nicholos Batum from Portland to fill the SF position. He’s young athletic , good shooter, and defends.
undercurrent in Houston is that they would like to trade Lowry and keep Dragic. we’ll see if that happens in time.
but not the Washington Wizards. Bazinga!
LOL! I’m almost positive they will find some way for poor Brad Beal to be ridiculously inefficient (even by rookie standards).
“Don’t worry about plays kid, just run down there and chuck it. Works for Wall doesn’t it…. wait, doesn’t it?”
Beal will know how Jeremy Lamb felt at UConn last year
atlanta says: “I give up”
nets say: “I give up”
first
time I have seen 2 teams throw up the white flag in the same deal. Atlanta is
breaking down their team and rebuilding. Joe Johnson held that team competitive.
the Nets can’t possibly sign
Deron, Gerald Wallace, Joe Johnson and still have room for Dwight, right? sort
of makes Dwight look even more foolish for his “1 team on my list” talk.
Danny Ferry has ridded the 2 worst contracts on the Hawks and Josh Smith is likely next up. Hope Horford doesn’t mind shouldering even more of the load. And, the Nets (if they sign Deron) will likely just replace the Hawks as the team in the East who gets a 4-6 seed but doesn’t scare anyone.
I agree with you 100%.
Shouldn’t it be “whom should the cavs pursue” not “who”?
$15mil. we’re good.
What am I missing? Is there a reason no one mentions Ramon Sessions as a player the Cavs should try to acquire?