Ohio State President E. Gordon Gee to retire July 1
June 4, 2013While We’re Waiting… Vintage Gumball NFL helmets? Yes, please.
June 5, 2013Yesterday ESPN’s Chad Ford released his NBA Mock Draft 4.0. In it, he had the Cleveland Cavaliers drafting Nerlens Noel with the #1 overall pick. For the Cavaliers’ 2nd first-round pick at #19 overall, he had the Cavaliers looking to Russia for their pick, in the form of the 19 year old international sensation Sergey Karasev, writing:
If the Cavs grab Noel at No. 1, look for them to add a small forward or shooter with their second first-round pick. Karasev is interesting. His performance in Vegas on Friday wasn’t stellar thanks to some jet lag, but scouts are very high on him at the moment.
He has the size to play both wing positions, is a terrific shooter, has a high basketball IQ, and at 19, already has significant professional experience averaging 18.4 PPG in the Russian League. A few scouts compare him to smaller version of Toni Kukoc. Karasev could go as high at No. 9 to the Wolves but would be a great get here by the Cavs.
While a lot of teams are rumored to have serious interest in Karasev, the expectation was that he would be making the rounds and holding private workouts with many of the interested teams. However, Yahoo’s Adrian Wojnarowksi is now reporting that Karasev is going back to Russia and will not return for workouts with any team prior to the draft:
Sergey Karasev has returned to Moscow until the NBA draft in late June, fueling speculation among front-office executives that a team has given the Russian teen star a strong first-round guarantee, league sources told Yahoo! Sports.
Karasev’s representatives, Andy Miller and Justin Zanik, began to inform teams on Tuesday that Karasev, a sharp-shooting 6-foot-7 forward, will not be made available for any private workouts prior to the June 27 draft, league sources said.
Most NBA teams wanted to get Karasev into their facilities for closer inspection, but none will get the opportunity.
So are the Cavaliers the team who gave the guarantee? There are no indications who the team is that gave Karasev the guarantee, and certainly no clues or signs that point to Cleveland. However, using history as a guide, a move like this wouldn’t be out of character for the Cavaliers.
Cavalier GM Chris Grant was on Danny Ferry’s staff back in 2006 when Ferry masterfully got Daniel Gibson to cancel workouts in an effort to get him to slide to the team with their first pick in the 2nd round. Mike Brown was also the coach at the time, so the team certainly has experience using the pre-draft guarantee to try to get what they want. Furthermore, we know that Chris Grant is comfortable drafting players without holding workouts for them. Last season he drafted Dion Waiters despite the fact the Cavaliers never once had Dion in for workouts.
None of this is to say the Cavaliers are the team who is trying to get Karasev. Instead, this is just pointing out that it falls within their method of operations, and so they certainly have to be considered as one of the teams who would more realistically be inclined to make this kind of move. We’ll have to wait until draft night to see how everything plays out.
[Related: DeMarcus Cousins rumors fading, so what’s next for Cavs?]
64 Comments
good call re Boobie’s deal – not many remember that. Who knows whether it’s the Cavs, but I would also add that this is what Zydrunas has supposedly been doing the last year – sniffing out the European players on their home turf. Whether they grab Karasev or not, I won’t be surprised if they end up with a European.
The other thing is that a “deal” doesn’t mean they get the player. Dion stopped workouts because he had a deal with another team, but Grant foiled it by grabbing him at #4.
Great point regarding Z. I don’t think that point should be underestimated at all.
And yeah, even if the Cavaliers do draft Karasev, it doesn’t necessarily mean they were the team who had the deal. We may never know. The only reason we knew about the Boobie situation was because we were lucky enough to have Windhorst covering the team back then, and he reported it.
I’d be fearful of the Hawks taking him with one of their two picks immediately before ours. Karasev could be seen as a poor man’s Kyle Korver.
Might not even be a poor man’s version.
I miss reading Windy on the Cavs, a lot. To me, the best beat reporter any Cleve sports team has had. Substance, writing ability, pouncing as soon as he knew the info was reliable.
I thought Kyle Korver was the poor man’s Kyle Korver.
No beat writer in Cleveland has ever had a better grasp on the nuance between reporting and delivering analysis. Not only did he have impeccable sources within the organization, but he also really understood the game of basketball and could give phenomenal breakdowns on the on-court issues with the teams.
He was simply the best, and I really miss his writing a lot as well. I’ve grown a strong appreciation for the relationship between beat writer and blogger as well, as it’s so much harder to find interesting things to write about the Cavs when you don’t have a beat writer consistently drumming up interesting tidbits of news.
A promise only works if other teams don’t know about it. In in today’s wired universe, that’s unlikely, and ironically that prospect then becomes a hot commodity. Regardless, I don’t think we should expect Karasev to be there at 19. If he’s who we are targeting, a move up makes sense . The 13th that Dallas is reportedly shopping should do it (although even better options could be there).
I completely agree, but BW lost me when he didn’t report the Riley meeting in December in that last year, then started leaking out tidbits (like that meeting), saying there was more to the story and seemingly using his intimate knowledge as blackmail to get a cushy gig in Miami.
It may not have been how it actually played out, but it sure looked that way by the timeline of the statements. To me, what BW did was far worse than what LeBron did from an ethical standpoint (assuming that LeBron did conspire with Wade/Bosh ahead of time, it wasn’t perfectly ethical either, but understandable).
hmmm….who gave the guarantee?
Nets – Russian connections?
Mavs – they have great Euro scouts/connections and will need a replacement for Marion sooner than later.
also, the Spurs have done this repeatedly in the past (most recent example was withholding the DeJuan Blair medical reports).
so, really any FO modelled after the Spurs could be the team as well:
Cavs
Hawks
Thunder
know his rep here is tainted by that ending, but to me doesn’t diminish his high level of reporting and analysis and reliability for years with both the ABJ and PD. We caught a rising star. He was the rare whole package in a local beat writer, better than all of the decent ones – Graeff, Hoynes, Heaton, Grossi in his youth, Schneider.
I agree that he’s an outstanding writer (yes, still).
However, his journalistic integrety is gone forever. You cannot do what he did (blackmail and/or keeping quiet on a story just to land a better job/$$).
I for one am glad Ferry went to such lengths in order to select the much coveted Daniel Gibson out of Texas. His All-Star abilities carried this team and not only should he retire as a Cavalier but his number should be raised to the rafters!
Kyle Korver is the poor man’s Ashton Kucher!
he’s a big reason we had that one Finals appearance. for a 2nd round pick, he’s been okay (considering a vast majority of those don’t do anything positive for their teams).
The Ballad of Boobie Gibson plays on!!!
Strike that. Reverse it.
Wow “better” then those “decent” ones…sorry Harv this is a journey you must take solo. I liked Windhorst saw him on MS&LL before I ever read him but I don’t even think Windhorst would agree with your statement.
It’s kind of hard to fault the guy but he did hitch his wagon to LeBron early on so I guess his relocation only made sense. It’ll be interesting to see what happens when/if LBJ leaves Miami, for anywhere, but especially if the unimaginable occurs and he comes back to Cleveland. Will Windhorst do the same?
Fine, I guess I’ll be the one to say it….
“In mother Russia, NBA teams work out for YOU!”
Say what you will about Gibson, but compare him to other players taken at that point in the draft. He was mid-to-late 1st round talent that the Cavaliers got in the 2nd round. Danny Ferry deserves a lot of credit for the Daniel Gibson pick.
I agree that it might (probably?) take a move up to #13 to get Karasev.
I do not agree that there could be better options available there. Get Karasev!
I hope they resign him!
I think Kutcher makes more honestly.
Well, really, any team could be the one who made the promise. It doesn’t have to be someone who has done this before. But if we’re talking M.O.’s, this move would fit pretty well with how CG operates.
yes, of course. it’s just more fun to speculate.
wow – “such lengths”? He told a guy who was worried he’d go undrafted that the Cavs liked him and if he skipped private workouts the they would draft him, give him a second-rounder contract and give him a real opportunity to make the team. It’s hard for most second rounders to make a team at the end of the bench, forget meaningful contributions. The Carlos Boozers are huge exceptions.
I’m no Boobie fan, but he made a few contributions and turned himself into an average NBA bench player, good enough to hang around in a few roles for 5 years. Win-win for everbody. No need to rip the guy or Ferry.
You cannot use my WoW against me it’s not rubber nor am I glue but I give Gibson credit he turned one playoff series into a career and still has people thinking/saying he was more then a marginal player at best. He could never dribble which is why he couldn’t play backup PG, he couldn’t defend, he was always injured but hey he had one great series verse Detroit where all he had to do was stand and wait for LeBron to pass him the ball.
Well played sir, well played indeed!
So the homeless man’s Kyle Korver?
He was actually a very active defender, he was just usually asked to guard guys much bigger than him…so it was hard for him to disrupt their shot.
I think we got some value out of a 2nd round draft pick…but overpaid for him when it was all said and done. He (like Gee) was a good guy to have come off the bench for some quick impact (though in his case it was offense vs Gee’s defense)…but not a guy you want playing 20+ MPG.
LOL – I can’t help but laugh at your sarcasm. You’re being kind of an ass about it…but it amuses me anways. đ
Wouldn’t that just be a weird unwritten storyline?
I think what is killing Shamrock’s perception of Boobie is that he was much better as a younger player than he has been in his prime years. He’s been a consistently-injured, under-performing player in his prime. He was much more useful in his first couple of seasons on the team as a pure 3-point threat and active defender coming off the bench.
Possibly the same team that gave Dion the guarantee…and if it is, I hope they pick after the Cavs #19.
I can’t stand Gibson is it obvious?
You guys are really digging deep to defend Gibson’s continued inclusion on this roster but I think his time is coming to an end, at least I hope so anyways. If it doesn’t there is something horribly wrong.
This is the fuel for my anti-LeBron nature, and Windy was the one supplying it, and subsequently he was the one to cut it off. I was glued to those articles and interviews that BW was doing prior to leaving for Miami, and I really thought that he would do the right thing and write a real investigative piece to back it up complete with sources. But since that story never came out, the country forgets about that and only remembers the LeBron Leaving saga as “a poorly-conceived Decision and a bitter, broken-hearted Cleveland”. No. I am and always will be convinced that LBJ, Bosh, and Wade colluded to play together while on the Olympic team and that Riley and the three violated league rules by meeting about it. Miami didn’t get together some cap space, take their shot, and hit the target. They put together some cap space after they knew what the result would be, and they shot 3 fish in barrel big enough for exactly 3 fish.
I wish I was Pat for me he’s always been an underachiever who turned one series into a career while somehow finding a fan base. Perhaps it was all of his hair-dos or gestures that did it I don’t know I just wish his play had been what garnered the praise and attention. Although I’m willing to bet if you asked a majority of NBA fans who Daniel Boobie Gibson was they couldn’t tell you and even if they could it’s because of “Boobie” and his hair not his play.
Or maybe Mr. Keisha Cole! đ
I expect no I demand WFNY to cover this in detail should, no I mean, when it happens!
Actually I could care less if it means LBJ is back. Frankly I feel he’s the only real solution to turning this franchise back around. Not another #1 pick and certainly not rehiring an ex-coach.
he’s a pretty good 3pt shooter as well (his one discnerable skill that has helped him keep a NBA bench job).
who said anything about continued? all that is mentioned is that for a mid-2nd round pick, Gibson has paid some dividends (where usually none are paid). that’s it.
Maybe just a little. And by a little…I mean a lot.
Sham, you’re losing it my friend, you’re swinging but not listening. A second rounder who lasts 5 years in the NBA is overachieving, not underachieving, he’s beaten the odds. No one commenting here thinks he’s great, not sure anyone thinks he should remain on the roster. Look at our other second rounders and see what they contributed to the Cavs (not other teams later, us):
– First, a league-wide stunner: Boozer, 2002. But then there’s :
– 2001: Jeff Trepagnier
– 2003: Jason Kopono. Nothing for us, plenty for others later.
– 2006: Ejike Ugboaja – a total stud.
– 2009: Danny Green. Nothing for us.
– 2011: Justin Harper, Milan Macvan
– 2012:Bernard James, Jae Crowder
Boobie stacks up fine. Nobody’s loving him, no need to hate. He’s about what Ferry wanted, someone who could sometimes spot up for a shot. If he could dribble, penetrate, if he was stronger/sturdier, if he was a better shooter he needn’t have worried at all about going undrafted.
kudos, sir.
The Ex-Coach was a bit underrated when you look back at the talent he was working with. His defensive system allowed us to win a lot of games that we had no business winning when you look at the “talent” that was on this team surrounding a young and growing LBJ.
I would certainly take LBJ back, who doesn’t want the best basketball player on the planet back? Only those who are still butt hurt by how he left. (It was a dumb way to go about things, but whatever.)
I suspect that even if WFNY covered this “in detail” it still wouldn’t amount to much nationally. It’d be WFNY, maybe a few other Cavs-specific blogs…and that’s about it.
Continued inclusion? I said that He WAS a good guy to have come off the bench for some quick impact. He’s not a guy that you ever really wanted to see playing 20+ MPG. He’s good for some quick offensive…and if he’s cold, you just sit him down and bring someone else in.
To me, he’s a 12-15 bench player (at best.) If he comes back for veteran minimum, I’d consider taking him. Because that’s the best you can hope for out of him. He’d be a “veteran leader” with “playoff experience” guy who sits cheaply on the bench.
And those are all long shots. You seem to hate the guy. I like what he did for us when healthy…but think he’s been vastly overpaid for years now. (Even if you take into account him outplaying his rookie contract, he’s still overpaid through his career.)
Overachieving, beaten the odds, Boobie stacks up fine…here is what I know:
Seven years the most games ever played in a season was 75 in ’08-’09, lowest was 35 two years ago, he’s a .407% 3 pt shooter who averaged 1.5 out of every 3.6 taken, 7.8 ppg, 2.0 reb, 2.0 ast but you are right Harv I lost it!