Former Cleveland Indians’ Julio Franco becomes player-manager in Japan
February 10, 2015Dwyane Wade headed to Cleveland for Wednesday night
February 10, 2015While winning 13 of their last 14 games, the Cleveland Cavaliers have quietly had just 14 players on the active roster. Fans and media types have debated endlessly as to whether or not said roster space should be used for a back-up point guard or a reserve big man. But according to ESPN.com’s Brian Windhorst, it appears that those may be fallback plans as the team waits for veteran sharpshooter Ray Allen to decide on his playing future.
Coveting Allen since the summer, the Cavs are one of several teams waiting on Allen to make the move.
Allen, 39, still has not decided whether he wants to return for a 19th season but has been keeping in shape and doing on-court work to keep his options open. Additionally, Allen has been in contact with teams to explore his possibilities and may take meetings during the upcoming All-Star break.
Numerous teams have been staying in touch with Allen in hopes of signing him, including the Washington Wizards, Cleveland Cavaliers, Golden State Warriors, San Antonio Spurs, Miami Heat, Los Angeles Clippers and, recently, the Atlanta Hawks. … The Cavs have left a roster spot open for the past month, ostensibly saving it for Allen. They have been confident they will be his choice if he returns because of his close relationships with former Heat teammates LeBron James, Mike Miller and James Jones, who are now with the Cavs.
James met with Allen last month during a trip to Miami, and all three players regularly keep in touch with him. They have been recruiting him, off and on, since July.
This could make for one of the more intriguing storylines for the second half as the Cavaliers have added several wings to the point where JR Smith and Iman Shumpert have rendered Shawn Marion, Mike Miller and James Jones to end-of-bench status. Allen reportedly wants to be ensured a role with the team, and the East-leading Atlanta Hawks have a little more wiggle room in this regard. The connections to Cleveland, however, may win out due to the friendships with James, Miller and Jones in addition to former Celtics teammate James Posey who is currently an assistant with the team.
Allen, a 10-time All-Star and two-time NBA champion, played 73 games for the Heat in the regular season and all 20 postseason games last season. He averaged 9.3 points per game on 41 percent shooting in the playoffs. He’s the all-time leader in three-pointers made (2,973) and has a career average of 40 percent.
16 Comments
Who says the Cavs are confident about this? The Cavs themselves?
Mike Miller’s inability to shoot the ball into Lake Erie has relegated him to the bench.
He’s the Jason Giambi of the Cavaliers.
At least give me credit if you’re going to steal my line!
Pass, the “old dudes who specialize in shooting 3’s” quota is currently filled on this team.
All energy goes into adding Jameer Nelson and Kevin Garnett.
“Pass, the “old dudes who specialize in shooting 3’s” quota is currently filled on this team.”
True.
Unfortunately, we don’t have any “old dudes who specialize in MAKING 3’s”
Ray will be a great fit for my NBA2k15 basketball team. Real life Cavs? Not so much…
On the plus side we have a nice stock of “young dudes who specialize in making 3’s”.
Now go get me KG. We need playoff bruisers.
i agree. however, I’d rather stock up on a Ray Allen while dumping a James Jones to create a roster spot to go get Garnett.
DIdin’t realize KG was on the menu. I both love and hate the idea. Can he fit in in a small role? Will his, um, “enthusiasm” get in the way?
This plan works as well, although not sure how GM LeBron would feel about dumping one buddy for another.
And the “big” spot definitely goes to Garnett. Stoudemire plays defense like he’s a member of the Knicks…..oh.
Love/Hate is definitely the feeling if KG joins the team.
He’s most certainly in a buyout state with the Nets who are desperate to clean house with the team “up for sale”.
Of all the landing spots possible I would imagine it boils down to the Clippers and the Cavs.
His “enthusiasm” is why I would like to see him on this team. Don’t come down the lane on the Timmy and definitely don’t come down the lane if KG is coming off your bench.
Just the thought of that prick in a Cavs uniform makes me nauseous.
You’ll feel better at the parade.
http://www.reactiongifs.com/r/oco.gif
Completely agree. Its not often for me that sports hate translates in to real hate for me. But KG seems to be a genuine jerk, and I would have a very hard time rooting for him.