Cabot, Grossi: Gipson And Bademosi Will Battle For Starting Free Safety
May 26, 2013
Scott Raab on the 2013 NBA Draft rumors, the “lucky” Spurs, Dan Gilbert, Mike Holmgren and more – WFNY Podcast – 2013-05-27
May 27, 2013
The Cavaliers won the draft lottery on Tuesday. I was ecstatic. Luck bounced in the wine and gold’s favor one more time, and now, despite the relentless reminders that this is yet another weak draft1, the Cavaliers are going to be adding a significant piece to the core of Kyrie Irving, Dion Waiters, and Tristan Thompson2
With that in mind, fresh off my profession of love for Otto Porter along with tweets indicating I would be completely happy with Nerlens Noel in Cleveland, I’m going to explore the third avenue, dealing the pick for an instant impact player that will likely make the playoffs next season a reality.
I’m a huge fan of former Plain Dealer/Akron Beacon Journal and current ESPN columnist Brian Windhorst’s work. He remains one of the most plugged in people in terms of quality, timely information about the Cavaliers despite his relocation to Miami. When I listen to him on radio shows or read him in print, he continues to stress that the LeBron James summer of 2014 saga will be an interesting (and potentially important) one for Cavs fans. Whether LeBron James comes back or not (I’m still in the “leaving the door and cap room open but no way in hell counting on it” camp), they need a second All-Star caliber player to pair with Kyrie Irving to take this team to the next level. It remains to be seen how much Waiters and Thompson further develop, but this team quite simply needs more talent right now. All along, Windhorst has maintained that the Cavaliers have been gathering all of these picks, cap room, and young players as assets to eventually flip in a big move. Think the James Harden trade to Houston.
With that thought in mind earlier this week, I went to Hoopshype and poured through every team’s salary books. What I was looking for were players under control for the upcoming season (preferably two or three seasons of team control), on the right side of 30 (there are a few exceptions on my list), and would slot in at a position long term that doesn’t interfere with core players (i.e.: no point guards and very few shooting guards and power forwards). What I came up with (and ciruclated to my WFNY colleagues behind the scenes) was a list of 25 players that, at first glance, I wouldn’t mind having on this team in a prominent role.
Now, for some qualifiers. I’m NOT saying I would trade the #1 pick for these guys straight up. I’m NOT saying that everyone in this list I would pull the trigger on. All I’m saying is when I poured through the teams, these guys caught my eyes. Without further ado, here’s the list, along with the players’ ages and team control.
Jeff Green – Boston – (27) – 2 years, $17.9 million on contract plus $9.2 player option
Al Horford – Atlanta – (27) – 3 years, $36 million
Brook Lopez – Brooklyn – (25) – 3 years, $47.2 million
Gerald Wallace – Brooklyn – (31) – 3 years, $30.3 million
Luol Deng – Chicago – (28) – 1 year, $14.3 million
Danilo Gallinari – Denver – (25) – 3 years, $32.6 million
Greg Monroe – Detroit – (23) – 1 year, $4.1 million plus a $5.5 million qualifying offer
David Lee – Golden State – (30) – 3 years, $44.3 million
Roy Hibbert – Indiana – (26) – 2 years, $29.2 million plus a $15.5 million player option
Pau Gasol – Los Angeles Lakers – (33) – 1 year, $19.3 million
Zach Randolph – Memphis – (32) – 1 year, $17.8 million plus a $16.5 million player option
Marc Gasol – Memphis – (28) – 2 years, $30.7 million
Chris Bosh – Miami – (29) – 1 year, $19.1 million plus 2 years, $42.7 million in player options
Ersan Ilyasova – Milwaukee – (26) – 3 years, $23.7 million plus a $8.4 million team option
Kevin Love – Minnesota – (25) – 3 years, $47.1 million
Eric Gordon – New Orleans – (25) – 3 years, $44.7 million
Tyson Chandler – New York – (31) – 2 years, $28.7 million
Amar’e Stoudemire – New York – (31) – 2 years, $45.1 million
Serge Ibaka – Oklahoma City – (24) – 4 years, $49 million
Lamarcus Aldridge – Portland – (28) – 2 years, $29.3 million
Nicolas Batum – Portland – (24) – 3 years, $34.2 million
Demarcus Cousins – Sacramento – (23) 1 year, $4.9 million plus a $6.5 million qualifying offer
Rudy Gay – Toronto – (27) – 1 year, $17.9 million plus a $19.3 million player option
Andrea Bargnani – Toronto – (28) – 2 years, $23 million
Nene – Washington – (31) – 3 years, $39 million
Now, let’s start narrowing down the list…..
Too old/too many miles/injuries:
Pau Gasol
Amar’e
Gerald Wallace
Randolph
Pau Gasol would be the wrong move, unless it’s for our second round picks. He would make the team instantly better, but you’re going to only have him for one year. He’s also 33 and battled injuries last year. I’m not willing to restart the Amar’e safari. The Knicks were better most of the year without him. Gerald Wallace is more healthy when he plays the small forward position, and I like his do-everything game, but he’s had injury issues as well. I’m just not a big Zach Randolph guy, and the age doesn’t help.
Pipe dream/Probably untouchable:
Love
Ibaka
Bosh
Marc Gasol
For these guys, I would package the #1 plus maybe other significant pieces. But, Minnesota got rid of Kahn and is not going to let Love go. Ibaka just got locked up on a very reasonable deal by OKC, and after the Harden deal backlash, no way they deal Ibaka right now. Miami and Cleveland won’t be on speaking terms, probably forever, so Bosh ain’t happening. I love Marc Gasol’s game, but Memphis is going to make a run with him as the man in the middle it would appear.
Not game-changing enough to pull the trigger:
Nene
Chandler
Nene and Chandler are nice players, but they’re not enough of an impact at this point in their careers to be the type of big splash move that I’m considering for the purposes of this article.
In the end, thanks but no thanks:
Green
Gordon
Cousins
Gay
Bargnani
Deng
Lee
I think Demarcus Cousins is a phenomenal player, but he’s a head case and a bad locker room guy. I don’t want that type of personality in the Cavalier locker room, because his issues are so problematic that they can extend onto the court. Bargnani is a little soft for my liking if you’re going to play him at center. David Lee’s contract is too big, and Golden State got better while he was down.
Good fits as part of a core going forward:
Lopez
Hibbert
Ilyasova
Aldridge
Batum
Monroe
Horford
Gallinari
If you can pull Hibbert from Indiana or Monroe from Detroit for the one, you do it, but I don’t think they will go for that. Al Horford is just realistic enough to keep it out of “pipe dream” status, but I think Ferry wants to build around him in Atlanta. I like Gallinari a lot, despite that low shooting percentage, because of his ability to create shots for himself, convert at the line, and knock down three pointers.
Assets the Cavaliers have to trade potentially:
Picks #1, 19, 31, and 33 in the 2013 NBA Draft
6 future first-round picks over the next 3 years
Anderson Varejao
Tyler Zeller
Tristan Thompson, but ONLY if it’s a huge, blockbuster deal returning a scoring big man
Three acquisitions that I think are doable:
Brook Lopez:
The reality is that the Brooklyn Nets spent a lot of money and are now locked into a pretty mediocre playoff team for the next several years. They have an entire payroll committed to Deron Williams, Joe Johnson, Gerald Wallace, and Lopez. They’ve already stupidly used their amnesty on bit player Travis Outlaw. If the team wanted to get more defensive minded and avoid the cap bullet that’s about to hit them, maybe the Cavs get Lopez for the #1 and another future #1. They draft Nerlens Noel to man the middle. Remember, this cap thing is for real. Can Nets owner Mikhail Prokhorov afford to pay a potential 4.5 dollars for every dollar over the salary cap repeater tax for two years? This deal would have saved the Nets $28 million dollars in luxury tax BEFORE you factor in the repeater tax ON TOP OF the $47 million in Lopez’s actual contract they’d be saving. With the repeater tax, this deal would save them $42 million dollars roughly for next year alone IN TAXES. A deal would have the potential to save the Nets well over $100 million in total. For the Cavs, Lopez is 25 and a capable scorer in the post. With a 24.7 PER, 19 points per game, and a 52% field goal percentage last year, sign me up. I’d break the bank to pair him with Kyrie, Dion, and Tristan.
Ersan Ilyasova:
Ilyasova is hands down one of the most underrated players in the NBA. Because he plays in Milwaukee, he’s seldom talked about, but this guy is a producer. While he was just a 13 point, 7 rebound guy last year, his value is much more than that. Remember who he played with (Monta Ellis and Brandon Jennings, both guys who need lots of shots) and notice that he played just 28 minutes per game and started 54 games out of 73 last year. Per 36 stats make him a 17 and 9 guy. He’s a remarkably efficient shooter for someone who hangs around the perimeter a decent amount (46%/44%/80% FG/3pt/FT) and his advanced numbers are great too (55% true shooting percentage, 52% effective field goal percentage, 18.3 PER, 6.7 win shares). The Bucks are in no man’s land as a fringe playoff team. Maybe the Cavs can pry away Ilyasova. This one takes a little more forecasting and trust in a “team fit” approach, because I could see Ilyasova being a phenomenal third scoring option on the future Cavs. I realize this one would be far less popular than the other two. Maybe, Chris Grant gets ultra creative and finds a way to get Ilyasova without forking over the #1 pick. If he can, that would be awesome.
Lamarcus Aldridge/Nicolas Batum:
The Cavaliers, according to Windhorst, have been asking about Aldridge on and off for some time. He’s a fringe All-Star in the prime of his career, and he has two years left on his deal at a reasonable price. The Cavaliers apparently were ready to offer Nicolas Batum a contract offer as a restricted free agent last season, and he would slot in amazingly as a tall, athletic small forward. My dream scenario would be could you give Portland Tristan Thompson, the #1 pick, Varejao, and a future draft selection to part with these two guys? How does a Kyrie/Dion/Batum/Aldridge/whoever starting five sound for next season? Sounds amazing to me. It’s probably not enough for Portland to pull the trigger, because they’re fighting the same battles in free agents not wanting to sign there as the Cavs are, so the cap space created doesn’t do them as many favors. Maybe, however, one of these guys is attainable.
Ok, I’ve started the discussion. I still think the Cavs end up taking either Nerlens Noel or Otto Porter with the first pick, but if they don’t, I’ve highlighted some scenarios that I would consider.
(Photo: US Presswire)
51 Comments
The other reason that Brooklyn could be open to trading Lopez would be that they could free up enough cap space for them to make a run at Dwight.
Only thing I would say differently – The Cavs should not label Dion Waiters as untouchable just yet, and he should be included in the list of tradeabel assets. Like TT, I only say this if if he helps bring in a proven All-Star-caliber player. I like what I’ve seen from Dion and think he could be great, but remember when the Cavs considered JJ Hickson as untouchable?
“Can Nets owner Mikhail Prokhorov afford to pay a potential 4.5 dollars for every dollar over the salary cap repeater tax for two years?”
–you’re kidding, right?
also, i like Aldridge, obviously, but i would like to take it down a notch and just deal for him – not he and batum.
After Kevin Love (don’t ever count out Nike’s $$) I would love Brooklyn’s Lopez. He is underrated, if that’s even possible.
Didn’t Gallinari have a nasty knee injury to end his season? (not arguing, cause I love his game too, but no thanks on injury risks)
Can he afford to do it for a team that has a ceiling of the conference finals? He is obviously a billionaire, but is it a good investment? Wasn’t being literal here.
Just conjecture, but if the Cavs are willing to eat Lopez’s salary, and can absorb it without giving the Nets anything in return, why would the Cavs need to give up two #1 picks, including the #1 overall pick?
If they want to move him elsewhere, the Nets would need to eat a big contract as well if they dealt him to a team over or at the cap line…..
It also doesn’t help that he doesn’t know how to rebound or play defense.
There are certainly some things that need to be figured out here, like how to give the Nets back just enough salary to make the deal happen. This was more of a brainstorming session.
Similar Q to Phil’s. Why not offer them Andy and the #1? Between the cash savings and the ability to keep Andy there until Noel takes over, they’d be in pretty good shape. Andy has two years left, which is enough time to ease Noel in, and Williams/Johnson should take up a lot of shots and give Noel opportunities that work with his limited offensive capabilities. Plus, it lets the Nets still use #22 on a SF or PF or put stuff together to try and get one in next year’s draft.
I liked the article.
My idea is the Cav’s giving up the one pick for Batum straight up. If Portland wants LA to flourish, he needs a energetic defensive center behind him.
Cav’s: Batum, 10th pick, 39th, 40th
Portland: 1rst pick, 19th, 31st,33rd
If they want to draft McLemore instead of Noel then I would throw in Tyler Zeller. Zeller and Myers Leonard are opposites and provide depth at center for Portland. They can have CJ Miles also, at only 2 million this season he is not a shooter for somebody to pick up in a trade.
Also would add that the Cavs’ abundance of second-rounders next year are also assets.
more Brook Lopez luv here. great minds…
you cant just take lopez for the pick, it wont work. the one below works.
Living in Milwaukee for the past couple of years, I saw lots of Ilyasova and really liked what he brought to the table…as a free agent, I thought he would have made an outstanding replacement for Jamison on the 12-13 roster. I still think he would be a solid addition going forward, but definitely wouldn’t even consider a move that involved the #1 pick for him.
Lopez and the Batum/Aldridge combination are both intriguing. I’d love to know what Brooklyn and Portland will be asking for them.
I still think Horford is possible. Dwight Howard said that Atlanta is a possibility as a landing spot and with Horford out, Howard would fit right in without being “on center-stage”.
Either trade the #1 straight up or throw in the second-rounders if needed. I would even consider trading the entire draft board for Horford. I don’t know why we’re all so content with trading Andy, he’s more valuable to the Cavs than the return they would get. With Horford, he could come off the bench (where he’s better suited for limited minutes).
If they get to keep the #19 pick draft a SF. If not and it takes all the picks to acquire Horford fine, sign Al-Farouq Aminu in free agency.
PG – Irving, Livingston
SG – Waiters, Ellington
SF – Aminu, Gee
PF – Thompson, Varejao
C – Horford, Zeller
Then sign Oden and retain Miles.
I like Lopez a year ago and still do but not sure about a trade.
Aldridge and Horford would be my top options. I don’t think either is a real possibility, but I didn’t think OKC would dump Harden before this upcoming summer either. Gotta put the line in the water to catch a fish.
Aldridge would be our Larry Nance move with the young corps. Bring back Oden to the NBA (hey, we’re dreaming here) and we’d have a budding rivalry with the Blazers as well (as their fans would hate us if we got that frontcourt working together).
I was for trading Varejao now for the same reasons I was for it in the middle of this season and the middle of last season. Andy is a unique and outstanding talent, but he also plays an incredibly physically demanding game that is leading to injury issues.
Now on the wrong side of 30, and with nearly a decade in the league it is clear that all the (incredibly rough) miles on his tires are starting to catch up with him and his body is breaking down. Even if he has 2-3 peak years left, he’ll be well out of the prime of his career by the time the Cavaliers are (ideally) seriously competing for championships again.
If he can’t contribute to a future championship team, we should trade him when his value is at its peak to acquire assets that will.
Kirk, you’re the man. Thanks for breaking all the options down. I got tired of hearing the Cavs were hunting to deal the pick, but never hearing any actual trade scenarios.
I’m holding out hope with Kevin Love. Kyrie and Love would be very attractive to another all-star wanting to make their own 3-man-super team…..add Waiters to that, and we are on to something.
Also, if we keep the pick, put in the Ben McLemore pile. Draft the best available player – and he is by far in my opinion. Worry about the lineup later, just get him on your roster for the next 10 years.
What kind of assets would he net? I would think the rest of the league is a little hesitant to give up a first round pick for him, especially in next year’s draft, because of his injury history. So then what are you left with? A high second round pick maybe?
I understand the reasoning about trading him when his value was at its highest but that ship has sailed.
The Cavs never considered JJ untouchable.
Maybe untouchable was too strong a classification, but they did (supposedly) refuse to trade him for Amare Stoudemire, at the time an all-star caliber player who would have likely helped them more than JJ.
Please no to Lopez. We need interior defense…and he provides none of that. On paper it looks good with him as a scorer.
I like Ilyasova…but in a 6th man role. He isn’t big enough to play the 5 and not really quick enough to play the 3 with regularity. He’s not replacing TT as a starter…and we’re not moving him to Center.
While I didn’t mind the Cavs trying to sign Batum, I don’t really want to give up assets for him.
No to LMA if only because he really only wants to play PF. I worry about what he’ll do for us defensively anyways.
Horford is my “dream” scenario. But I think you’re right, Ferry very likely wants to build around him. I think he’d be the perfect fit for us at Center. He’s a good defender, and his shooting touch allows him to move away from the basket keeping the lane from being too clogged.
That was refuted, it was the Suns that backed out of that trade.
Brooklyn Nets center Brook Lopez is playing the best defense of his career. Lopez ranks second in blocks per game during the 2013 playoffs, behind Oklahoma City’s Serge Ibaka (3.5 to 3.4). According to ESPN Stats & Information, the Nets are giving up just 95.5 points per 100 possessions against the Chicago Bulls with Lopez on the court, compared to 118.9 without him.
—link.
yes, Kerr himself has said as much on multiple interviews.
yeah, the 2nd half of the season, in particular, Brook really turned it on with his defense as well.
if Deron didn’t retire with Jerry Sloan, then the Nets would have been a much bigger story in the Eastern playoffs.
I’m not sold on Ilyasova for the #1. Maybe 19, but not Enough value for first overall. Love, Aldridge, Lopez and Horford are all worth it, maybe Hibbert as well.
I’m not a huge fan of Waiters and Thompson, so if the right deal is on the table, I’d be on board. Especially if its for KLove or if we want Maclemore with the first overall pick(if Grant thinks B Mac is a future star, then take him at #1 and try and do a TT+Waiters+Sac pick for Love or Aldridge)
i’d be surprised if they answered the phone. how you gonna take the Brook out of Brooklyn?
My bad, strike it from the record. But I think the point remains, it’s a bad idea to over-value unproven youngsters, which is why I would lump Dion in with the rest of our assets at this point.
“like Gallinari a lot, despite that low shooting percentage, because of his ability to create shots for himself”
The food is bad, but the portions are huge.
Yeah it was pretty gross. He’s frail and not worth the top pick IMO
Unfortunately I think you’re right…the window for getting maximum value back for Andy has probably closed (which is why I was so intent on trading him when he started the season so hot…could have netted a pretty nice package from a team desperate for help at the 5 like OKC).
At this point, about the only bet they have is to start the season with him, hope that he comes out hot, and try to maximize value. Every season that this (now 3-season long) cycle repeats Andy gets a year older, picks up another injury red-flag, and sees his trade value drop again.
Great point, “No sleep ’till Brooklyn!”
Ahem ahem ahem!
i watched this guy a ton this year. he is a health risk (but may pull a Z) but his talent is undeniable. He can dominate a game by himself – he just plays in D-Will’s shadow a bit. I would be behind a deal for this kid, however unlikely.
I’m sorry but as a Cleveland native currenly living in Portland the idea of getting Aldridge and Batum is ridiculous and not even worth mentoning. Did you see what Portland did to keep Batum from going to Minnesota last year?
I will say this, Tristan Thompson is just a bigger, perhaps more athletic form of JJ Hickson, and the people out here loved JJ so that could spark interest. Varejao has been hurt and is too old for the young core Portland is selling to the city (keep in mind Portland had 5 rookies on their team last year, so they are going through a youth movement similar to the Cavs). If you want one of those pieces, Waiters is going to have to come along too. Perhaps Thompson, Waiters, and a couple first round picks for Aldridge and some junk (picks/Claver/Freeland/Barton/etc.) could work….anything less isn’t happening.
dude what the hell? the #1 pick and an additional first rounder for brook lopez?? are you insane? tristan, the #1 pick and andy for aldridge and batum? the cavs are getting raped in these deals! if you’re gonna do that just take nerlens noel… the only guy in this article I would want and MAYBE give up the #1 pick for is rudy gay.
Wouldn’t we be better off just sticking with the #1 and getting Porter at this point though? He’s a plus defender, a plus shooter, a plus passer and much much much cheaper (allowing us to go after better FA.)
I’m not a huge fan of small sample size.
Dude, I know! Raped…. totally!
You have to be able to take your Cavs fan hat off for a moment and look at it from the other team’s perspective. They won’t pull the trigger unless they get something worthwhile.
Lopez is maybe the only deal suggested that makes sense for both sides, but even that has Brooklyn taking steps back when they were supposed to be taking steps forward.
I think we try to shop this pick all we want, but at the end of the day, I think we’re forced to pick. And I would not at all be surprised to see us take Len at 1. Everyone says there’s not much of a drop through the top 6-8 picks, so why does it seem like pundits are insisting that Noel and McLemore are the only guys worth the 1? Len is the center we want. Why not take him? I’d then use those second rounders to move up from the 19 and take the best shooter and/or perimeter defender we can find. After that, use whatever futures you have to, plus Andy to get a small forward that can defend and score efficiently as a third option. I think a Kyrie/Dion/Batum/TT/Len lineup looks pretty good in a couple of seasons, and maybe along the way we pick up a nice free agent or score big with a mid first round pick that would complete a pretty good 8 man rotation.
But unless Len turned out to be an All Star center, I don’t know if that’s a team that wins a championship, even if Miami gets broken up. Sigh…
The very, very small chance that Love is available goes to a complete zero if you think he can be had without the #1 pick being involved in the package.
Rudy Gay???
Um, no.
Thanks for this. Nice to have an intelligent discussion about the available options. (Just too bad it happened on the holiday when I wasn’t paying attention.)
Love is the dream scenario, but there’s almost no chance he’s on the market, making Horford the more realistic dream scenario to me. Hopefully Dwight Howard decides to head to Atlanta, which would probably make Horford available.
I’m not crazy about the SF options. Most of them because of skill or contract. Batum I do like, but shouldn’t we be able to sign a competent SF like Dorell Wright or Chase Budinger? Hell, I bet we could get Wilson Chandler for the 19 pick if that’s a route we wanted to take.
Lopez would make me think twice due to his aversion to defense until only recently.
Love, Horford, Aldridge, Monroe, Hibbert, and maybe even Cousins are the guys I’d be most willing to cash in the #1 + maybe some other things for, although I’d be surprised if most of those guys were available.
I’ll pass on Lopez. Particularly on the terms you’ve outlined. In truth, you could probably get him for the 19th pick. He isn’t worth his contract and I think he has reached his ceiling.
If Love says that he wants out of Minnesota, then they will trade him. Uncle Drew needs to talk to Wes about getting the team back together. I think Tristan, Andy, and #1 would be enought for the Wolves to deal Love. What is unfortunate is that the value of the number one overall pick this year isn’t very much.
I agree. The possibiliy of the T’s trading Love depends entirely on how bad he wants out. KI just has to put a bug in his ear
Okay here is my pipe dream…. I know this would almost certainly never happen but fun to consider. Three team trade:
Cavs get:
Love
Pekovic (sign and trade 4 yr/ 52m from t-wolves)
Budinger (sign an trade 4 yr/ 18m from t-wolves)
Timberwolves get:
Lopez
Dion Waiters
Varajeao
Cavs 2014 1st pick unprotected
Nets get:
Cavs #1 pick 2013
Cavs #19 pick 2013
Kings 1st round from Cavs
Cavs new roster:
Irving/ Livingston
Ellington/ (#31 and #33)
Budinger/ Gee
Love/ Thompson/ Speights
Pekovic/ Zeller