May 22, 2013

Trading Anderson Varejao Still Doesn’t Make Sense for the Cavaliers

November 16, 2012 by 82 Comments

So here we are again. Another season, another never ending stream of talk about the Cleveland Cavaliers trading Anderson Varejao.

It’s not surprising. Exhausting? Sure. But not surprising. Any time you’re a young, rebuilding team and you have a top level player in his prime, it’s only natural that there will be speculation about trading him. To many, Anderson Varejao is nothing more than an asset. That’s an unfortunate way of looking at one of the most valuable players in the NBA.

Look, I get it. We all know top free agents don’t sign in Cleveland. The Cavaliers can’t keep drafting in the top 5. Eventually they have to start getting better. And when that happens, the draft will become much more difficult to add difference making talent to the team. That will leave trades as the primary way of improving the roster. So the thought is, why not trade Anderson Varejao while he’s still in his prime. He’ll never get more on the market than he will today.

That’s true. All of it. Good, sound reasons for trading Varejao. The problem is, there’s absolutely no return on investment in trading Varejao now. The Cavaliers will never, ever replace Varejao’s value to the team because players like Varejao are extraordinarily rare. [Read more...]

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Box Score: Cavaliers 101, Nets 114

November 13, 2012 by 11 Comments

Anderson Varejao started this game on fire, setting the tone for what would be a monster game for him. He ends this one with a career high 35 points and added 18 rebounds to go with it. Kyrie Irving was huge in the 2nd half and he finished with 34 points of his own to go with his 8 assists. It wouldn’t be enough for the Cavaliers, though.

The Cavaliers were actually winning after the 1st quarter, 30-29. They would follow with a 12 point second quarter, though, and they were never within single digits of the Nets from there. Kyrie and Anderson’s combined 69 points was impressive, but there just wasn’t enough help in this one.

The Nets routinely were able to get seemingly whatever basket they wanted inside the paint, taking advantage of some poor defense and countering with excellent ball movement all night. Deron Williams, Joe Johnson, and Brook Lopez looked the part of a Big 3 in this one, scoring 26, 25, and 23 points respectively  Andre Blatche scored 13 points off the bench to easily outscore the Cavaliers bench by himself. Jon Leuer had 4 points, Donald Sloan hit 2 FTs, and nobody else off the bench scored a single point. In almost 18 minutes Daniel Gibson attempted one shot, a 3 pointer he missed.

A lot of recurring themes in this game for the Cavaliers, and Anderson Varejao’s frustration with the team’s performance was palpable. To their credit, though, the Cavaliers never gave up and fought with everything they had to close the deficit to 10 at the end of the 3rd quarter. The Nets simply had too much down the stretch and the Cavaliers just aren’t a team capable of getting enough big stops when they need them at this point.

The Cavaliers now have 3 days off to work on defense and maybe find something to help the bench performance before they return home to face the Mavericks on Saturday.

Cleveland

Starters Pos Min FG 3Pt FT +/- Off Reb Ast TO Stl BS BA PF Pts
K. Irving G 37:44 9-19 2-6 14-14 -1 1 4 8 4 3 0 2 2 34
D. Waiters G 35:48 3-16 1-5 1-2 -10 0 4 2 2 2 0 1 2 8
A. Varejao C 37:29 16-21 0-0 3-3 +4 11 18 3 1 2 0 1 2 35
A. Gee F 37:57 2-7 0-1 0-0 +6 0 1 2 1 0 0 1 4 4
T. Thompson F 30:49 6-11 0-0 2-5 -5 3 5 0 1 1 0 3 4 14
Bench Min FG 3Pt FT +/- Off Reb Ast TO Stl BS BA PF Pts
Totals 38-87 3-14 22-26 16 35 16 12 10 0 10 26 101
Percentages .437 .214 .846 Team Rebounds: 13
D. Gibson 17:45 0-1 0-1 0-0 -9 0 1 1 0 1 0 0 4 0
J. Leuer 17:05 2-7 0-0 0-0 -13 0 1 0 2 0 0 0 2 4
S. Samuels 10:37 0-3 0-0 0-0 -12 1 1 0 0 0 0 1 2 0
L. Walton 5:57 0-0 0-0 0-0 -8 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 3 0
D. Sloan 5:44 0-2 0-1 2-2 -9 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 2
O. Casspi 3:05 0-0 0-0 0-0 -8 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 1 0
C.J. Miles DNP – Coach’s Decision
J. Pargo DNP – Coach’s Decision

Brooklyn

Starters Pos Min FG 3Pt FT +/- Off Reb Ast TO Stl BS BA PF Pts
J. Johnson G 38:37 9-16 3-9 4-5 +18 0 5 6 3 1 1 0 2 25
D. Williams G 35:55 10-20 1-6 5-5 -7 1 2 10 3 1 0 0 2 26
B. Lopez C 28:47 10-14 0-0 3-5 -2 2 7 1 2 1 4 0 4 23
K. Humphries F 27:13 4-5 0-0 4-6 +4 3 6 1 1 0 1 0 5 12
K. Bogans F 10:49 0-3 0-3 0-0 0 0 1 3 1 0 0 0 1 0
Bench Min FG 3Pt FT +/- Off Reb Ast TO Stl BS BA PF Pts
Totals 42-77 5-22 25-31 12 39 27 13 5 10 0 23 114
Percentages .545 .227 .806 Team Rebounds: 7
C.J. Watson 28:16 2-7 1-3 2-2 +10 1 1 2 0 1 0 0 3 7
R. Evans 20:47 0-0 0-0 2-2 +9 3 8 1 1 1 0 0 1 2
A. Blatche 19:13 4-7 0-0 5-6 +15 1 5 1 2 0 3 0 2 13
J. Childress 15:01 1-2 0-0 0-0 +6 1 3 1 0 0 1 0 1 2
J. Stackhouse 14:52 2-3 0-1 0-0 +10 0 1 1 0 0 0 0 2 4
T. Shengelia 0:30 0-0 0-0 0-0 +2 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
T. Taylor DNP – Coach’s Decision
M. Teletovic DNP – Coach’s Decision

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Cavaliers Head to Brooklyn to Finish First Road Trip of the Season

November 13, 2012 by 6 Comments

The bad news for the Cleveland Cavaliers (2-5, 12th in the East) is that once again, they are playing on the road. The good news is the game is in the Eastern Time Zone and closer to home. The even better news is that this one is  this is the final game of a debilitating and demoralizing road trip.

Yes, mercy comes to the Cavaliers as they head to Brooklyn to check out the Nets’ (3-2, 4th in the East) new digs. This road trip has seen heartbreaking buzzer beaters, tough injuries, bouts with sickness and food poisoning, bitter collapses, and in general, lots of losing. I won’t be sad to see it come to an end. I’m eager to see MGK’s face on my TV again 1 .

This may be broken record time here again, but if you want to know why the Cavaliers are 2-5 despite playing what seems like better basketball, look no further than the defense. The Cavaliers are dead last in opponents eFG% and 23rd in the NBA in opponents FTs per FGA. Essentially, the 2 most important factors on defense (not letting the other team get good shots and not fouling them) are the 2 areas the Cavaliers have been terrible at. [Read more...]

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  1. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hg_TZk45b84 [back]

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Box Score: Cavaliers 96 Warriors 106

November 8, 2012 by 20 Comments

The Cavaliers were without two of their most important frontcourt players. Tyler Zeller is out indefinitely with a fractured cheekbone and is subject to the league’s concussion protocol. More importantly  Anderson Varejao missed the game with a sore knee.

The shorthanded Cavaliers certainly missed their inside presence, as the Cavaliers dropped one to an improving Warriors team. Despite experiencing some flu like symptoms, David Lee feasted on the wounded frontcourt, putting up 22 points, 14 rebounds, 6 assists, and 3 steals. Steph Curry added 21 points and Carl Landry chipped in 19 off the bench.

The Warriors got off to a fast start, but the Cavaliers battled back in the 2nd quarter. Down the stretch, the Warriors just had too much offense for the Cavs defense and the Cavaliers could never close the gap. Kyrie Irving lead all scorers with 28 points, going 4-8 from three point range. Kyrie also had 7 assists and 3 rebounds. The Cavaliers’ next leading scorers were Dion Waiters and Daniel Gibson, who had 12 points each.

Cleveland

Starters Pos Min FG 3Pt FT +/- Off Reb Ast TO Stl BS BA PF Pts
K. Irving G 35:47 10-22 4-8 4-4 -10 1 6 7 3 0 0 0 3 28
D. Waiters G 30:39 5-15 2-5 0-0 +1 0 0 5 0 0 0 1 3 12
T. Thompson C 35:47 4-8 0-0 3-8 +10 4 10 1 3 0 0 1 4 11
S. Samuels F 37:57 5-9 0-0 1-2 -11 2 7 2 1 0 1 1 3 11
A. Gee F 21:13 2-4 0-2 3-3 -2 0 3 1 4 3 0 0 3 7
Bench Min FG 3Pt FT +/- Off Reb Ast TO Stl BS BA PF Pts
Totals 36-86 11-32 13-21 11 39 20 16 7 1 4 26 96
Percentages .419 .344 .619 Team Rebounds: 10
J. Leuer 21:48 3-5 0-0 1-2 -19 2 4 1 2 1 0 0 4 7
D. Gibson 21:40 4-8 4-8 0-0 -9 0 1 1 1 2 0 1 1 12
C.J. Miles 17:16 3-11 1-7 0-0 -15 0 1 0 1 1 0 0 5 7
O. Casspi 9:59 0-1 0-1 0-0 +7 2 5 0 1 0 0 0 0 0
D. Sloan 7:54 0-3 0-1 1-2 -2 0 2 2 0 0 0 0 0 1
L. Harangody DNP – Coach’s Decision
J. Pargo DNP – Coach’s Decision
A. Varejao DNP – Inactive
L. Walton DNP – Coach’s Decision
T. Zeller DNP – Inactive

Golden State

Starters Pos Min FG 3Pt FT +/- Off Reb Ast TO Stl BS BA PF Pts
S. Curry G 36:28 8-14 2-6 3-3 +7 0 5 6 3 2 0 0 3 21
K. Thompson G 22:20 4-10 1-5 4-6 +2 1 2 1 4 1 0 0 4 13
A. Bogut C 17:24 0-2 0-0 0-0 +3 1 3 5 1 1 1 0 0 0
D. Lee F 37:52 10-16 0-0 2-2 +7 2 14 6 1 3 0 1 4 22
H. Barnes F 30:24 5-9 1-2 3-5 -6 1 2 1 2 1 0 0 3 14
Bench Min FG 3Pt FT +/- Off Reb Ast TO Stl BS BA PF Pts
Totals 42-78 5-18 17-23 7 44 28 16 11 4 1 22 106
Percentages .538 .278 .739 Team Rebounds: 7
C. Landry 26:24 8-10 0-0 3-3 +3 1 9 0 2 0 1 0 4 19
J. Jack 25:42 4-8 0-0 2-2 +11 0 2 5 0 2 0 0 0 10
R. Jefferson 23:37 3-7 1-4 0-0 +14 0 2 3 1 0 1 0 2 7
F. Ezeli 12:15 0-0 0-0 0-2 +5 1 5 0 1 0 1 0 1 0
D. Green 7:34 0-2 0-1 0-0 +4 0 0 1 1 1 0 0 1 0
K. Bazemore DNP – Inactive
A. Biedrins DNP – Coach’s Decision
C. Jenkins DNP – Coach’s Decision
B. Rush DNP – Inactive
J. Tyler DNP – Coach’s Decision

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Cavaliers Road Trip Takes Them to Golden State

November 7, 2012 by 6 Comments

The Cleveland Cavaliers have played 4 games this season, and sit at 2-2. In 3 of the 4 games, the Cavaliers were able to feel good about the way they played. Only in the Chicago game last week could their effort and desire really be challenged. This is a good sign for the early season.

Tonight, as they continue their road trip by playing against the Golden State Warriors (2-2), the Cavaliers will try to keep the momentum going. One of the biggest positive for the Cavaliers is that 3 of their 4 opponents have been very good defensive teams this season. In terms of defensive efficiency, the Bulls are 1st, the Bucks are 3rd, and the Wizards are 12th. Only the Clippers (19th) fall in the bottom half of the league.

[Read more...]

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Box Score: Cavaliers 108, Clippers 101

November 6, 2012 by 17 Comments

The Cavaliers came out in this one sloppy, sluggish, and looking almost confused. It was an alarming start and most fans watching braced themselves for a long night. Little did we know how great of a game we were in for.

Kyrie Irving absolutely willed his team to life. In a breakout 1st quarter, Irving had 16 points to wake his team up and spark energy and belief into his team. And all of this against Chris Paul none the less. It was blossoming leadership and it was inspiring to watch.

The bench unit sans Luke Walton would actually manage to sustain the lead and when the starters took over, they were able to carry a 7 point lead into halftime.

In the 2nd half, though, it was the Dion Waiters show. The rookie went 7-11 from three to lead all scorers with 28 points. Waiters showed supreme confidence and star quality throughout the 2nd half. Kyrie Irving, who finished with 24 points of his own, seemed content to ride the hot hand in Waiters and again, showed great leadership in not trying to take the offensive focus away from Waiters.

There were so many positives in this game. Kyrie Irving’s clutch 3 to ice the game. Anderson Varejao with another double-double with 15 points and 15 boards. Tyler Zeller with a breakout game (15 points, 7 rebounds) before having to leave after taking an elbow to the face. CJ Miles with a big 10 points off the bench and some strong defensive plays. I could go on and on, but we’ll save it for tomorrow’s recap. For now, just enjoy this one, Cavs fans.

Cleveland

Starters Pos Min FG 3Pt FT +/- Off Reb Ast TO Stl BS BA PF Pts
K. Irving G 37:20 8-23 4-8 4-5 +8 1 3 10 3 1 0 4 1 24
D. Waiters G 32:15 10-17 7-11 1-1 +3 0 3 1 1 0 0 0 2 28
A. Varejao C 36:06 7-10 0-0 1-2 +5 5 15 1 1 3 1 0 3 15
A. Gee F 33:33 2-8 0-2 4-4 +8 3 3 4 4 1 0 1 2 8
T. Thompson F 31:48 0-6 0-0 1-4 +5 4 8 1 3 3 1 3 5 1
Bench Min FG 3Pt FT +/- Off Reb Ast TO Stl BS BA PF Pts
Totals 40-92 14-29 14-22   18 43 24 17 12 2 13 18 108
Percentages .435 .483 .636   Team Rebounds: 14
T. Zeller 24:12 6-10 0-0 3-6 +1 4 7 2 3 1 0 0 3 15
D. Gibson 20:20 1-5 1-4 0-0 +4 0 3 3 0 1 0 2 1 3
C.J. Miles 14:27 4-7 2-3 0-0 -1 0 0 0 1 2 0 0 1 10
D. Sloan 6:05 1-4 0-1 0-0 -1 0 0 2 0 0 0 2 0 2
S. Samuels 3:54 1-2 0-0 0-0 +3 1 1 0 1 0 0 1 0 2
O. Casspi DNP – Coach’s Decision
J. Leuer DNP – Coach’s Decision
L. Walton DNP – Coach’s Decision

LA Clippers

Starters Pos Min FG 3Pt FT +/- Off Reb Ast TO Stl BS BA PF Pts
C. Paul G 34:18 6-10 1-4 4-4 -9 1 5 9 2 1 0 1 4 17
W. Green G 21:08 3-4 1-2 2-2 -9 0 2 0 1 0 1 0 3 9
D. Jordan C 29:23 5-7 0-0 0-1 -4 1 6 0 3 0 5 1 2 10
B. Griffin F 35:24 9-14 0-1 2-2 -11 0 6 5 5 1 3 0 2 20
C. Butler F 21:45 4-9 3-6 0-0 -3 0 1 2 1 0 0 0 3 11
Bench Min FG 3Pt FT +/- Off Reb Ast TO Stl BS BA PF Pts
Totals 39-74 9-25 14-16   9 38 23 25 7 13 2 24 101
Percentages .527 .360 .875   Team Rebounds: 2
E. Bledsoe 25:38 3-10 0-2 5-6 +5 2 5 5 2 4 1 0 0 11
J. Crawford 25:05 7-13 4-8 1-1 -4 0 0 1 4 0 0 0 2 19
M. Barnes 16:06 0-4 0-2 0-0 -1 1 8 0 3 0 0 0 4 0
R. Turiaf 13:44 0-0 0-0 0-0 -1 0 0 0 0 0 2 0 1 0
R. Hollins 13:29 1-1 0-0 0-0 -3 4 5 1 2 1 1 0 1 2
L. Odom 4:00 1-2 0-0 0-0 +5 0 0 0 2 0 0 0 2 2
 

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Cavaliers Look to Shake Off Rough Weekend with First West Coast Game of the Season

November 5, 2012 by 17 Comments

(Photo by Nathaniel S. Butler/NBAE via Getty Images)

It was a rough weekend for the Cleveland Cavaliers, as they dropped both of their games Friday and Saturday night.

The Cavaliers showed us two very different types of losses, though. Friday night against Chicago was a reprise of the song we heard so many times last season. The Cavaliers fell behind by 16 in the first quarter and never really appeared too interested in playing and fighting back.

Here’s an example of how bad things were Friday night. With 4:41 left in the 1st, Kyrie Irving hit a 10 foot jumper to pull the Cavaliers to a 19-15 deficit. Here’s how the remaining first quarter possessions for the Cavaliers went:

[Read more...]

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Cleveland Cavaliers Look to Move to 2-0 on the Season

November 2, 2012 by 13 Comments

On opening night, the Cleveland Cavaliers gave us all a glimpse of some of the highlights, and just a few of the lowlights, that we can expect to see this season. Friday night, as the Cavaliers host the Chicago Bulls, the question will be about consistency.

Against the Wizards on Tuesday, we what the Cavaliers can be. A persistent team capable of outworking their opponents in the paint with a strong backcourt duo to keep opponents honest. We saw some crisp passing, some good cuts off the ball, and just a fun style of team oriented basketball. [Read more...]

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Box Score: Wizards 84 Cavaliers 94

October 30, 2012 by 26 Comments

It was less than a year ago when Kyrie Irving made his forgettable Cavalier debut. Tonight, we saw what a difference experience and confidence made for Kyrie as the Cavaliers survived a Wizards 4th quarter run to come away with a big opening night win.

Dion Waiters had a stellar debut, making Cavs fans forget about most of their preseason worries. Waiters finished with 17 points. Kyrie played like the blossoming young superstar that he is, leading all scorers with 29 points. But the story of this game was Anderson Varejao, playing his first Cavaliers game since his season ending injury. Andy more than made up for lost time finishing with 9 points, 23 rebounds (12 of them offensive), 9 assists, and 2 blocks.

Sure, this is a depleted Wizards team and without John Wall and Nene to counter Kyrie and Andy, a Cavalier win was to be expected. But never the less, the Cavaliers took care of their business, and they showcased a style of basketball that was just fun to watch (early parts of the 4th quarter not withstanding). The Cavaliers will host the Bulls on Friday before embarking on their first extended road trip of the season.

Washington

Starters Pos Min FG 3Pt FT +/- Off Reb Ast TO Stl BS BA PF Pts
A.J. Price G 29:24 2-13 2-9 1-1 -11 1 2 6 1 0 0 1 1 7
B. Beal G 21:33 2-8 2-4 2-2 -16 0 3 3 2 1 0 0 1 8
E. Okafor C 24:35 4-10 0-0 2-4 -5 5 7 0 1 0 4 0 1 10
T. Ariza F 24:35 3-8 2-4 1-2 -9 1 3 4 0 3 2 0 0 9
T. Booker F 16:45 2-9 0-1 0-0 -15 1 1 1 4 1 1 1 4 4
Bench Min FG 3Pt FT +/- Off Reb Ast TO Stl BS BA PF Pts
Totals 32-90 8-32 12-20 18 39 26 12 11 10 5 19 84
Percentages .356 .250 .600 Team Rebounds: 10
J. Crawford 28:42 4-13 0-6 3-4 0 1 3 5 1 1 1 1 1 11
M. Webster 23:25 4-6 1-3 0-0 -1 0 3 1 0 2 0 0 1 9
J. Vesely 21:14 3-4 0-0 1-4 -2 3 4 1 1 0 1 1 3 7
C. Singleton 17:11 2-7 0-1 0-0 +1 2 4 2 1 2 0 1 2 4
J. Pargo 16:21 2-6 1-4 2-2 +7 0 1 3 1 0 0 0 3 7
E. Barron 16:15 4-6 0-0 0-1 +1 4 8 0 0 1 1 0 2 8
N. Hilario DNP – Inactive
C. Martin DNP – Coach’s Decision
K. Seraphin DNP – Inactive
J. Wall DNP – Inactive

Cleveland

Starters Pos Min FG 3Pt FT +/- Off Reb Ast TO Stl BS BA PF Pts
K. Irving G 34:34 11-20 3-6 4-5 +23 0 6 3 4 0 1 1 4 29
D. Waiters G 28:14 6-14 2-5 3-4 +13 0 2 0 3 3 0 2 0 17
A. Varejao C 37:22 3-7 0-0 3-3 +7 12 23 9 1 0 2 1 4 9
A. Gee F 33:53 2-9 0-2 0-0 +14 2 3 2 3 2 0 3 5 4
T. Thompson F 31:31 5-8 0-0 2-4 +20 3 10 5 2 1 0 2 2 12
Bench Min FG 3Pt FT +/- Off Reb Ast TO Stl BS BA PF Pts
Totals 36-79 7-20 15-22 18 54 22 20 7 5 10 21 94
Percentages .456 .350 .682 Team Rebounds: 13
C.J. Miles 17:42 1-5 0-1 0-0 +2 0 4 1 3 0 0 0 0 2
D. Gibson 16:11 3-5 2-4 2-4 -9 1 3 1 0 0 1 0 2 10
T. Zeller 14:53 2-4 0-0 1-2 +4 0 2 0 0 1 1 1 2 5
D. Sloan 13:26 2-5 0-1 0-0 -13 0 0 1 2 0 0 0 2 4
L. Walton 12:14 1-2 0-1 0-0 -11 0 1 0 2 0 0 0 0 2
O. Casspi DNP – Coach’s Decision
L. Harangody DNP – Inactive
J. Leuer DNP – Coach’s Decision
J. Pargo DNP – Inactive
S. Samuels DNP – Coach’s Decision

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Cleveland Cavaliers Welcome Old Friends Washington Wizards For Season Opener

October 30, 2012 by 13 Comments

I love opening day of any sport.

I’ve discussed this point ad nauseam, but there’s nothing like that feeling of the unknown. Staring at a blank canvas, and yeah, you’re limited to the colors in your palette, but the possibilities are endless. The season could be anything.

Basketball, of course, is a bit of a different animal though. In baseball, you have a 162 game marathon of a season where injuries, bullpen strength, lucky hitting, etc. are all varying factors that essentially mean anything can happen. In football, you see it happen every year. Some team that is “playoff lock” falters and some team makes a rise from last to first. We just pray that it can be our year 1 . [Read more...]

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  1. of course, in Cleveland it never is [back]

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Breaking News: Mike Holmgren to Leave Browns, Possibly Within Next 24 Hours

October 16, 2012 by 49 Comments

With new Cleveland Browns owner Jimmy Haslam officially being voted into the club today by his fellow NFL owners, the curtains on Haslam’s plans for the Browns can finally start to be lifted.

According to ESPN’s Ed Werder, Jimmy Haslam will be immediately naming Joe Banner as CEO/President, a move everyone expected. What was less clear was what Holmgren’s future would be. Now it appears we have the answer:

New Cleveland Browns owner Jimmy Haslam, whose takeover of the team was officially approved Tuesday, will name Joe Banner the team’s CEO/president and current president Mike Holmgren will depart the organization within 24 hours, sources told ESPN NFL Insider Ed Werder.

Haslem has a news conference scheduled for noon and will announce the Banner move, the sources said. It is unknown if Holmgren’s status will be addressed at the news conference.

Many expected Holmgren would at least stay on through the end of this season, but if Werder’s sources are correct, the end of the Mike Holmgren era in Cleveland may be over sooner than most anticipated. For all the losses the Browns racked up under Holmgren’s watch, an argument could still be made that strides were made and that the talent on the team is in better shape today than it was 3 years ago.

No word yet on what the future holds for Browns GM Tom Heckert or head coach Pat Shurmur.

UPDATE (12:30 pm): ESPN’s Adam Schefter is now reporting that Holmgren will stay on for the remainder of the season, and then will leave the organization. Mary Kay Cabot of the Cleveland Plain Dealer is also saying that Holmgren will stay on for the rest of the season.

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Browns LB Scott Fujita Rips NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell

October 10, 2012 by 14 Comments

The NFL has announced new suspensions for participants in the Saints’ bounty scandal. Among them, current Browns linebacker Scott Fujita has been handed a 1 game suspension. And while the league seems to acknowledge Fujita was not a participant in the bounty scandal, he is still being suspended for 1 game for not speaking up (or something like that).

Obviously, this does not sit well with the beleagured linebacker, and on Wednesday, Fujita fired back at the commissioner, calling him out for his abuse of power and condescending tone. Speaking to the media before practice, Fujita said:

“Additionally, I am now purportedly being suspended for failing to confront my former defensive coordinator for his inappropriate use of language. This seems like an extremely desperate attempt to punish me. I also think it sets a dangerous precedent when players can be disciplined for not challenging the behavior of their superiors. This is an absolute abuse of the power that’s been afforded to the Commissioner.

For me, the issue of player health & safety is personal. For the league and the Commissioner, it’s about perception & liability. The Commissioner says he is disappointed in me. The truth is, I’m disappointed in him. His positions on player health and safety since a 2009 congressional hearing on concussions have been inconsistent at best. He failed to acknowledge a link between concussions & post-career brain disease, pushed for an 18-game regular season, committed to a full season of Thursday night games, has continually challenged players’ rights to file workers compensation claims for on-the-job injuries, and he employed incompetent replacement officials for the start of the 2012 season. His actions or lack thereof are by the league’s own definition, ”conduct detrimental”.

My track record on the issue of player health & safety speaks for itself. And clearly, as I just listed, the Commissioner’s does too.”

No word yet on whether Fujita will appeal this suspension.

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2012-13 Cleveland Cavaliers Preview

October 9, 2012 by 24 Comments

It’s the most wonderful time of the year! No, not Christmas. It’s NBA preseason! Training camp, conditioning, meaningless preseason games. We’ve got it all! But the real reason I love this time of year is because it means the NBA season is right around the corner. It’s so close I can feel it.

With the excitement Kyrie Irving gave Cavaliers fans last year, most of us can’t wait to see what he does this year. So with the 2012-13 NBA Blogger Previews upon us, what better time to look into this upcoming season than now? Let’s take our first look at the biggest questions facing this team this year as we dig into this year’s iteration of the Cleveland Cavaliers:

[Read more...]

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Bengals’ Maualuga: Trent Richardson “Didn’t do nothing spectacular”

September 13, 2012 by 29 Comments

Unintended double negatives aside, the Cincinnati Bengals LB Rey Maualuga is not concerned about facing Trent Richardson this Sunday when the Cleveland Browns and Bengals square off in Cincinnati.

According to ESPN’s AFC North blogger Jamison Hensley, the Bengals LB wasn’t too shy about making his unimpressed opinions of the Browns’ rookie RB known:

Middle linebacker Rey Maualuga didn’t come away impressed after watching tape of Browns rookie running back Trent Richardson. “He can run you over and you can miss a tackle, at the same time, from what we’ve seen he didn’t do nothing spectacular,” Maualuga told CBSSports.com. “From running screens, missing passes, trying to find a hole when he’s running the ball. He just didn’t do anything spectacular from what I’ve seen.” I double-checked and made sure this was Maulauga and not Jim Brown talking. This is funny because Maualuga “didn’t do nothing spectacular” in the season opener against the Ravens. He managed five tackles in a game where he got continually blocked by Ravens fullback Vonta Leach.

Outside of running over defenders and making people miss, I’m not sure what else a RB needs to do to impress Maualuga. Of course, presumably, averaging more than 2.1 yards per carry would be a good start.

Either way, I believe the first verbal shots have been fired. We’ll see how the Richardson and the Browns respond. A victory over the Bengals would be this author’s preferred response.

[Related: Browns Offer a ‘Taste of the Browns’ for the Cleveland Foodbank]

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Will there be a tailgating crackdown in Cleveland?

August 23, 2012 by 7 Comments

Twitter is abuzz with pics of signs that have reportedly been put up in the Muni Lot in downtown Cleveland recently. Cleveland Kate (@ClvlndK8) has the photo and will be checking it out for herself later in the day. 1

Picture from @ClvlndK8 on Twitter

As you can see, the sign calls out laws regarding open container, consumption of alcohol (period,) and public intoxication. Makes me wonder if this is a precursor to cracking down on the party culture in the Muni Lot or simply a liability play by the city to make sure that anyone who finds themselves in alcohol-related trouble isn’t able to sue the city for tacitly enabling alcoholic behavior.

We’ll obviously find out soon enough, maybe even tomorrow as Browns fans “get ready” for the Philadelphia Eagles tomorrow night. Is this a “wink wink” type of a sign or is it for real?

[Related: Browns’ John Hughes Preparing For First Season in the NFL]

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  1. I’ve had the good fortune to be invited to talk to Kate and co-host Nick on Saturdays on CSFRadio on occasion. I recommend you check their show out. [back]

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ESPN Future Power Rankings: Cavaliers’ Future Is Looking Better

August 15, 2012 by 24 Comments

Back in February, ESPN’s Chad Ford and John Hollinger released the latest (at that time) Future Power Rankings. For those unfamiliar, the FPR examines every team’s roster strength, cap situation, front office prowess, market desirability, and future draft picks to decide which teams have the brightest future.

In that installment, the Cavaliers jumped all the way from 29th in the previous version to 18th. Obviously that jump was mostly 1 thanks to Kyrie Irving. Now that Irving has taken home Rookie of the Year honors and the Cavaliers added a couple more first round draft picks, the future in Cleveland should look even brighter.

Hollinger and Ford agree with that sentiment and they have moved the Cavaliers all the way up to 12th in today’s update to the Future Power Rankings:

It’s getting better, Cavs fans. After spending a season in the FPR basement following the loss of LeBron James, Cleveland suddenly sports one of the brightest futures of any team in the league.

Much of that has to do with the addition of Kyrie Irving. The top overall selection in the 2011 draft showed enough potential in his rookie season to make us believe the Cavs may have a future All-Star on their hands. The long-term futures of fellow second-year player Tristan Thompson and rookie Dion Waiters also look promising, and we believe Anderson Varejao still has enough juice to man the middle for the Cavs the next few seasons.

The team also has plenty of draft picks coming its way. The Cavs will likely have another lottery pick in 2013, and possibly again in 2014, and they own future picks from both the Kings and Heat.

They also have such a good cap situation going forward that we’ve ranked them second in money heading into the summer of 2013. Cleveland isn’t a top destination for free agents, but there’s no question the team has the flexibility to continue to add to its roster.

For the record, the Cavaliers rank 21st in players, 14th in management, 2nd in money, 20th in market, and 5th in future draft.

In many ways, the speed with which Dion Waiters gets in shape and acclimates to the NBA game will largely determine when the Cavaliers return to contention. Based on Hollinger’s schedule, the Cavaliers are sill 2 years away from being in the playoffs, which likely places them 4-5 years away from Championship contending.

No matter how far away the Cavaliers are, the good news for Cavs fans is that the rebuilding plan is in place, is being followed with patience by the front office, and according to ESPN, the future is looking good for our Cavaliers.

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  1. entirely [back]

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Random Cavaliers Off-Season Thoughts

July 31, 2012 by 94 Comments

Now that Summer League has come and gone, things are probably going to be mostly quiet on the Cleveland Cavaliers homefront until training camp starts in late September/early October. Sure, the Cavaliers will likely sing restricted free agent Alonzo Gee at some point, they still have to decide whether or not to pick up Daniel Gibson’s team option (they probably will), and there’s always the chance of the Cavaliers being involved in some kind of trade. But for the most part, this is the quiet period for the team.

So in the meantime, while football is getting ready to start and baseball is going through all their trade deadline hoopla, here’s some random basketball thoughts to pass the time. [Read more...]

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Joe Banner Brings Winning Experience and Tough Decisions to Cleveland

July 30, 2012 by 29 Comments

Joe Banner will have some decisions to make in Cleveland

While Randy Lerner’s sale of the Cleveland Browns to Jimmy Haslam is not yet official, it’s becoming quite clear that everyone expects the deal to go through without issue. Furthermore, we now know that former Philadelphia Eagles President Joe Banner is a part of Haslam’s ownership group.

What does that mean for the Cleveland Browns? Well, it’s possible that Banner just wants to be a part of the ownership group and is done overseeing football operations. But that seems highly unlikely. Most observers fully expect Banner to take up the role currently being held by Mike Holmgren. For Holmgren, the writing is on the wall. It would be stunning to see Holmgren hang onto his job once Banner gets into town. [Read more...]

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Jackson: Cleveland Browns Aren’t Going Anywhere

July 27, 2012 by 6 Comments

The Cleveland Browns have some of the most loyal and passionate fans who have helped make it one of the most valuable sports franchises in the world. The city took precautionary measures to insure that fans would be able to cheer on the Browns at Cleveland Browns Stadium for years to come.

The 30-year lease to the Cleveland Browns commenced in 1999 and continues to 2029. This lease, like the prior Municipal Stadium lease, for which the City of Cleveland successfully obtained an injunction in 1995, requires the Browns to play all their regular season and playoff home games in Cleveland Browns Stadium.

If this requirement is not honored, the city has legal options that could be pursued if necessary.

– Cleveland mayor Frank Jackson in an official press release regarding the potential sale of the Cleveland Browns. Browns majority owner Randy Lerner addressed his current negotiations with Jim Haslam III earlier Friday morning.

[Related: So Jimmy Haslam Could Invest in the Browns?]

(Source: WKYC)

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Cavaliers Have Paid 6th Highest Amount in Luxury Taxes

July 26, 2012 by 29 Comments

The luxury tax in the NBA has been around for 11 years now already. According to Mark Deeks of ShamSports.com, in that time, 23 of the league’s 30 franchises have paid luxury taxes. The 7 teams who have never paid luxury taxes are the Bulls, Bobcats, Warriors, Clippers, Hornets, Thunder, and Wizards.

Of possible interest to Cleveland fans is that the Cavaliers have paid the 6th highest luxury tax amount:

  1. New York Knicks – $195 million
  2. Dallas Mavericks – $150 million
  3. Portland Trail Blazers – $89 million
  4. Los Angeles Lakers – $84 million
  5. Boston Celtics – $46 million
  6. Cleveland Cavaliers – $43 million

In total, Dan Gilbert paid $43 million out of his own pocket to support the last 3 years of LeBron’s time in Cleveland. Unfortunately for both Gilbert and Cavalier fans, the team doesn’t have a Championship to show for it. The only teams to pay more in luxury tax and not win a title are the Knicks and Blazers.

Another interesting point revealed in these numbers is that if you’re going to win an NBA title, you should probably expect to pay a tax for it, as ESPN’s Brian Windhorst points out:

For now, the Cavaliers remain safely under the tax threshhold, but if the Cavaliers return to playoff contention in the next couple years, Dan Gilbert has shown he is willing to pay out of his own pocket to make title contention a reality. Hopefully for both his sake and Cleveland’s, the future will yield a better return on that investment.

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