What’s Next for Jerome Harrison?
December 23, 200912 Days of a Cleveland Christmas
December 23, 2009
So it seems trade talk season is starting up. Brian Windhorst teased us a few days ago via his twitter account, and Brendan followed up with the news that our options appear to be three-fold: Rumored to be targets are Anthony Randolph of the Warriors, Antawn Jamison of the Wizards and Troy Murphy of the Pacers. We’ve certainly heard Jamison’s name before, as the Cavs kicked the tires on that option last season.
Randolph is in his second year. He averages 11.4 points, 6.5 rebounds, 1.3 blocks in just under 23 minutes per game. His PER is 17.82. (For those looking to compare, Hickson averages 7.4 points, 3.8 boards, 0.4 blocks in 19 minutes a contest. His PER is 13.7.) Here is a piece of Hollinger’s comments on Randolph’s play:
Randolph is a rail-thin 6-foot-11 with tremendously long arms. He’s quick off the floor and that makes him an elite shot-blocker who may lead the league in that category at some point. Moreover, despite his lack of muscle, he was fearless going into the paint for blocks and rebounds.
Randolph’s fundamentals left plenty to be desired, so his D didn’t make the impact on the scoreboard that it did on observers imagining his future — the Warriors allowed more points per possession with him on the court than off it. He’ll need to learn pro defense, leave his feet less often and add some muscle to better withstand physical play inside, but the potential is clear. He has the speed to handle smaller players and the length to protect the rim, and he could be an awesome force on D if he focuses.
Offensively, he doesn’t have a clue yet. He likes to push the ball himself after rebounds but he does it very slowly and would be better off getting it to a guard and using his speed to beat his man up the floor and finish at the rim. The left-hander has a push jumper from under his chin that’s a little flat and doesn’t spin quite right, so his shot needs some work. He likes to attack off the dribble but this produces turnovers and wild finishes under duress more often than clean looks at the rim.
Those looking for an offensive minded PF might be quick to dismiss Randolph. He does have a friendly contract, and that certainly counts. The Warriors will likely want some type of talent back, as this certainly wouldn’t be a salary dump. Either the Cavs will have to swallow one of Golden State’s bad contracts or they will need to get a third team involved in this one. Randolph doesn’t make a ton of sense to me. I admit freely that I haven’t seen him play very much, but he would have to be a substantial upgrade over Hickson, and I’m not sure that he is. He certainly doesn’t stretch the defense like the Cavs are looking for. He would be an asset on defense however, and would be more than a rental.
As Brendan said, Randolph is the best option defensively, already has “cult” following amongst NBA superfans, and posesses more upside than either of the other two options.
Antawn Jamison is the old man in this group. He’s by far the most polished offensive player in this group. He averages a hair under 21 points per game and grabs 8.5 rebounds. His PER is 19.62. He shoots the ball well (48% FG shooter this season, 32.5% from three point land) but is having a difficult year at the free throw line. He has been a bit banged up this season, but fights through it. In fact, he has missed a total of 30 games in the past 5 seasons for the Wizards. That number surprised me a bit, but I suppose it is hard to keep track of which Wizards are injured. Even with his age, Jamison might be the best defender of the screen and roll in the group, and can help guard perimeter big men like Rasheed Wallace.
The real problem with Jamison is the contract. He is due to make $13,358,905 next season, and $15,076,715 the following year. That isn’t very friendly to signing additional free agents. The other problem might be a reluctance on Washington’s part to trade him.
That brings us to Troy Murphy. ESPN’s Chad Ford said Murphy makes the most sense for the Cavs-
Jamison has the biggest immediate impact, but he’s also 33 years old. Murphy is the middle ground. He’s younger, has a better contract than Jamison and can rebound and really stretch the defense. Most realistically, I see them landing Murphy. Given Indy’s woes right now, I think that an expiring contract for Murph might hit the spot.
Let’s hold on a minute. Murphy may be a good three-point shooter, and his 6’11” frame can usually get a shot over smaller forwards, but is his defensive liabilities worth taking on his deal for next year? Maybe.
Murphy isn’t the answer to the screen and roll problem. He also isn’t going to help in transition defense with his not-so-fleet-of-foot physique. (No, he’s not fat, but he isn’t fast either.) He will rebound, and he can shoot from outside the paint. I guess you could look at him as a slightly (emphasis on slightly) faster and younger Zydrunas Ilgauskas. Yes, having a younger Ilgauskas sounds appealing, but I ask you to look at the big picture and think about this – is Troy Murphy the piece that puts us over the Magic/Celtics/Hawks/Lakers? I’m not so sure.
34 Comments
For the record, I’m a huge fan of Randolph. I’m not sure we need a three-point shooter as much as we need a guy who can simply be a factor on offense. Given his contract and abilities on the defensive end, he’s a piece that can be here for years while only getting better.
Who would we be giving up for these guys?
Also I’ve heard Gerald Wallace’s name thrown in there on a talk radio show. That would be the best possible scenario, don’t know if it’s even realistic. We can hope…
“Who would we be giving up for these guys?”
The only consistent that I’ve heard, JK, is that Wally Szczerbiak would likely be a sign-and-trade piece if we went for a higher-priced player. Golden State would likely want “talent” back for Randolph, but they said the same thing about Stephen Jackson and they settled for an injured Raja Bell and Vladamir Radmanovic.
If it is in fact AR, Hickson wouldn’t be a far-fetched move. Windhorst has repeated that the team is not looking to move Shaq or Z at this point as they have “worked hard to build their frontcourt, so why tear it down now.” If they did move Z, the only option I could see would be if a team would be willing to buy him out and ship him back after 30 days.
Let me just say I am NOT a huge fan of slow, white power forwards who can only shoot. Getting Randolph is our best option for keeping LeBron long-term (and replacing him if he bolts as well) but Jamison is our best option for winning it all this year. I do not see Troy Murphy making a significant impact one way or the other.
I’m with DocZeus.
The Bobcats won’t wanna trade Wallace now that their team is meshing and is moving towards the playoffs as he is one of the main reasons for it. BUT, they may be open to moving Boris Diaw ($9M/yr), who is better than all those guys at this stage and he’s only 27.
We need a big that will be around next season. We know JJ, Andy, and D-Block will be our bigs next year, assuming Shaq isn’t re-signed (I hope he isn’t) and that Z retires (which may happen). Murphy wouldn’t be bad because his deal would also expire next year, so we could make a trade, but the summer after he expires is when we’ll be back to having some real cap space. I firmly believe that if Sasha Kaun keeps playing well he’ll be on this team next year, and we’ll probably draft someone.
Jamison is real nice but that contract may kill us. I think he’s a better defender than given credit for, but Washington’s never played defense so it doesn’t show. Mike Brown made Mo a good defender I’m sure he could with Jamison.
Randolph doesn’t solve our problems, especially is we gotta take Magette’s contract.
Murphy can get us boards and shoot, but can’t defend. That is up to Ferry, and in Ferry I Trust.
Rudy Gay and Marko Jaric’s deal for Z would be fantastic.
I hate to involve race, but I agree with the slow white shooter descriptor. We could just sign Wally. We’d have the same guy, less four inches.
Well the cavs better try to trade with memphis soon then because jaric is about to get bought ought and sign in europe. Gay may have been possible when they were 1-8 but now they have a legitimate shot at making the playoffs and I don’t see them letting him go just for cap relief.
DWade in 2010. Hello, best team ever.
Regardless of whether we win the title this year or not, we have to possess an appealing young core for LeBron to stick around long-term. I have to admit, I’m a little worried about the Clippers young nucleus (Blake Griffin and Eric Gordon) potentially luring James away and if the Nets land John Wall in the draft, they start to look scary as well (Wall, Brook Lopez, Courtney Lee).
I like Hickson and think Danny Green could be tough, but other than Mo Williams, we don’t really have many sure-fire stars on our roster. Anthony Randolph came out as a freshman and is only 20 years old. He is widely regarded in NBA circles as a future Garnett/Odom type player with outstanding athletic abilities.
Only because of Don Nelson’s ego and incompetence is acquiring Randolph a possibility. We can’t let the opportunity to obtain a young future star go to waste. Get Randolph.
Murphy for Z would be a solid move, it would make us more likely to beat Boston or Orlando and would help us offensively greatly. He is Z, but with better range and is younger. I’d rather have Murphy than Jamison, its not like Jamison is any better of a defender, and Murphy is a better shooter. If we swap Z for Murphy, then we are a better team, no way around that, Murphy is just a better player than Z. I’d rather get somebody better of course, but that player has yet to present itself. S-Dub, I’m not sure you can say Mike Brown made Mo a good defender, seeing how he has killed the Cavs defensively all year and because of it his adjusted +/- is pretty bad, -7.85 according to basketballvalue.com
I don’t know how Rudy Gay got brought up, Memphis has no reason to trade him, typically teams hold onto players like that.
Randolph would be a great get if the price was right, because he helps give us a young core to help make staying here more attractive to LeBron. I haven’t read anywhere that we would have to take on Maggettes contract but I could be wrong
“Murphy isn’t the answer to the screen and roll problem.”
Does a potential return to form for Leon Powe give us any relief in this regard?
As terrible as that Maggette contract is, he can still actually contribute to the team. So it wouldn’t be a complete wash.
That pic makes Murphy look more like the Missing Link than the Missing Piece.
i feel like we always undervalue our own guys and overvalue other teams’ guys. for instance, courtney lee is a nice player but is he any better than delonte west? not at all.
@Huggs – Thank you for mentioning Powe. Everybody forgets about Leon! His return might make J.J. expendable. As much as I love his potential, J.J. has at times looked like he’ll never “get it.” We know Powe gets it and they have similar styles. Randolph is the same age as J.J. with just as much potential, if not more, and is a totally different style. He can guard Sheed, Rashard, and Pau Gasol, where I can’t say the same about J.J. And he scores the ball differently than J.J., Powe and Andy, which adds another dimension to the offense.
Plus, I feel that the small minutes and general jerking around of when and for how long J.J. plays is an indicator of Mike Brown not trusting J.J. Their contracts are a match, so J.J. straight up for Randolph would work.
I’d be OK if they kept J.J., but I also wouldn’t mind Ferry pulling the trigger on that trade to get J.J.
Sorry, I of course meant to get Randolph.
Well, I’m more than ready to bring race into this thing.
What in the name of Chris Dudley has happened to the personal grooming habits of white ballers? If they can’t grow those fugly beards or avoid haircuts for years they compensate with that creepy-tat-up-the-neck move. And don’t get me started on the Phoenix forward with that middle school girl hair clippy thing. Yo, David Stern, please, use your power for good. Your sport coat edict is being thwarted by a slew of Anderson/Nash wannabees.
@Kevin H, right on.
Randolph at 6’11” is a big plus. For those that think he’s too skinny, the guy is 20 and can always add more muscle. J.J. can’t grow another 3 inches.
I really wish everyone would stop with all the silly “bad contract talk’ and how it may hurt our ability to sign free agents. Even if we give up rights to Shaq and Z we won’t be under the cap, which will be what? $52 million. Have you seen our payroll figures?
The only way to get better is to use those contracts for pieces now, or else we have to wait two years to get under the cap and that means bye-bye Bron birdie!
Please. Make. A. Trade. We can get Randolph if we take Magette I think. And I’m not opposed. He has a “bad” contract too. But it’s reasonable enough for a guy that is strong, gets to the rim and is athletic enough to defend wings. We have exactly one player that fits that the description right now and having another wouldn’t hurt.
I saw we ship Z and Hix for Randolph and Magette. I think they would buy it. I think they might trade Hix for Randolph in order to save 9 million over the next 4 years.
And Kevin Hignett, I don’t know if you were suggesting it were possible, but there is no way in hell the Warriors make that trade straight up. That would be idiotic.
I’d also ship Moon…he is expendable if we pick up Magette.
This trade is viable:
Hickson, Z, Moon
for…
Randolph, Magette, Devean George/CJ Watson
jack – amen. thank you. no corey maggette isnt “perfect” but its not like taking on marko jaric.
Murphy would be a great trade if you could use Wally’s bird rights, but not giving up JJ Hickson because next year we still need a big time player for the future, and we still haven’t totally evaluated what JJ might become.
Randolph is a good trade if it was straight up with JJ. Leaves room for the future. You can’t lose Z in this trade because the Cavs still need that OTHER big player.
Bottom line. One trade isn’t enough. We need a trade for this year, and a trade for the next few years. A guy who impacts this team the minute he gets here, and a guy who contributes more and more every year.
At the end of the day, we are still missing that one BIG player to go with Lebron. If Gerald Wallace was available, that would be a key pickup ONLY if they were able to bring in Murphy as well.
What about SG? Need work there.
Could you imagine going small with West, Williams, Magette, Bron, Andy…That’s pretty dirty.
@Natty – One step at time, my man. One step at a time. I like the point about turning Z into more. But at this point…I might send him off there. I mean, who else is available? I wish Jamey would come our way. That would be a very Merry Christmas indeed.
Is LeBron leaving?
Oh, and the answer to the question…NO, he is not the missing piece.
Not when the Lakers are lurking with a roster brought together by luck to ruin LeBron’s career.
Z is going to get bought out by just about any team we trade him to. I mean what would Golden State want with him? We know who he is and EVERYONE knows he can’t get up and down the floor with that team. So I fully expect him to come back. We need to trade his contract because we have NO space this summer, except for our mid-level.
@Jack: Why on earth would you put Moon into that trade for a terrible player like George or an average guard (at best) like CJ Watson? That doesn’t make sense for us when Moon costs very little and has a very positive impact on this team. I would welcome trading a guy like Anthony Parker, but Watson and George don’t help us as much as Parker and Moon do.
Maggette is a nice player. He is set to make $9.6M, $10.2M, and $10.9M for the next 3 years after this year where he’s making $8M. With LBJ set to make $20M (after extension) and no other additions, that contract puts us right at the cap after next season (where we have no cap, just exceptions)and we’ll continue to be at the cap for the remainder of his deal. Do you really want Corey Maggette tying up THAT much money for us? Or, have Troy Murphy coming off after next season when we’ll have some more room (right now it stands at about $10M) to maneuver.
Jack: The Lakers weren’t brought together by luck. David Stern is the best GM in the league.
@Jack – I’m saying the money works for a straight up trade of J.J. for Randolph. Whether Goldent State does it is another matter entirely. But we’ve seen really stupid trades in the NBA every year. From salary dumps, to just getting rid of a guy who the coach doesn’t like, to pretty much any trade Memphis or Minnesota have made in the last 5-7 years. So anything is possible. There are rumors that Don Nelson and Randolph aren’t getting along well and Nelson has been jerking Randolph’s minutes around, so anything is possible. The only condition I’ve heard is that they want “talent” in return, indicating that it’s not a salary dump. Well, J.J. is young and talented, so I’m saying it’s possible given what we know today.
Also, your proposed trade doesn’t work. Plug it into ESPN’s NBA Trade Machine, the dollars don’t even out so it’s impossible. Plus Corey Maggette has been a loser everywhere he’s played and I don’t want him. But that’s just me.
Yea but getting Jaric = getting Adriana Lima.
LETS DO THIS.
S-Dub: obviously we wouldn’t WANT to give Moon up. Since the Gasol deal everyone looks at trades so one-sidedly. We throw Moon in because it makes it attractive for GSW because Moon fits their system and can actually play some perimeter D.
Kevin: The trade works fine, you just have to put both DG and CJW in there. I didn’t mean to put the dash.
And the more S-Dub friendly trade Z/JJ – CM/AR also works.
And I don’t think the argument that a guy has “been a loser” everywhere he goes is necessarily fair. I mean what does that mean? Would you not have wanted KG because he had always been a loser, making it to only one conference finals? What about Chris Bosh?
Chris Bosh has ALWAYS been a loser, and Gerald Wallace, and Antwan Jamison, Michael Redd, Andrew Bogut, Rudy Gay, et al.
I’d love to have some of these guys playing in a Cavs uniform.
Remember Bill Russell ? Make LeBron player / coach see how many stars he would attract.Besides LeBron couldn’t leave his team if he were coach. Seriously make James the player coach and get a experienced coach to handle bench duties.Take a shot Cavs you got to keep him………………………at any cost……..
I saw we let the season play out, LBJ won’t leave and if he does we could try to replace him with two young talented guy.. Rudy Gay comes to mind and I’m sure we could get another young talent for the money left over. DO NOT trade JJ for any of these guys.. JJ’s ceiling is ten times higher than all three of those people.