June 19, 2013

NBA playoffs, Armonty Bryant, Browns Draft, 2013 NBA playoffs, Death Cab, Nine Inch Nails with Andrew – WFNY Podcast – 2013-05-07

WFNY Podcast LogoAndrew and I got rolling and in what seemed like a few minutes, 50 of those bad boys went floating by. We talked about some business of sports by comparing it to the business of the music industry. We talked about the NBA playoffs, the Cavs, the Browns draft and pretty much everything else other than the Indians. We like the Indians though.

  • Spotify and the business of music

  • Ben Gibbard of Death Cab yelling at me on Twitter

  • Nine Inch Nails and their sales experiments

  • The business of baseball and the bubble

  • You can’t make it harder for people to buy what you do

  • The network battles and bringing it to the people

  • The emergence of Steph Curry as a superstar

  • The Bulls and the coaching job that Tom Thibodeau is doing

  • Derrick Rose still in the street clothes

  • Can Mike Brown coach a team to stop LeBron James?

  • Why are there no more Bruce Bowen types of players?

  • Has the lockdown defensive specialist become extinct?

  • Jason Kidd’s late career three point ability

  • Armonty Bryant and whether there’s a spot for him in Cleveland

  • Are the Browns going to be an organization that turns troubled players around?

  • Javarris James’ arrest when he was a member of the Colts

  • What about trading a pick to the Steelers?

  • Shamarko Thomas and how exactly could the Browns keep the Steelers away?

  • The Browns coaching staff and whether or not it’s better than what they replaced

  • How much Browns stigma can Browns fans thrust on new people?

  • Are Browns fans doing it to themselves? [Read more...]

NBA Free Agency Update: Villanueva to DET?

While we anxiously await the addition of a “stretch” power forward, a defensive stopper on the wing or anything of that ilk, I thought it would be best to update you all on the most recent grumblings around the league regarding the top-billed free agents.

smugly-hedo-turkogluHedo Turkoglu

Listening to WKNR last night, “J-Fed” kept mentioning the 12:01 call, and who it would be if said listener was in charge.  Well, it turns out that Hedo Turkoglu did receive a call at 12:01, and it was from the Portland Trailblazers.  Shortly thereafter, he was contacted by the names you will likely see a lot of given their ability to spend: Detroit, Memphis, Sacramento, and Toronto.  Noticeably missing is Orlando, but many of us saw this coming with the addition of Vince Carter coupled with the fact that the forward is looking for about $10 million per season.  There were talks of a sign-and-trade with the Raptors, which may not be out of the question, but for now, it looks like Turk will be out west next season.  Not necessarily a bad thing given that we’ll see a lot less of his smirk thanks to 10PM starts.  [Read more...]

While We’re Waiting… NBA Free Agency, Shaq and Portland, and Berea’s QB Decision

While We’re Waiting aims to be the round-up of the recent WFNY-esque information for your morning viewing. Have something you think we should see? Send it to our tips email in the sidebar.

shaq-blazers

The Big Veto? “During [Shaquille O'Neal and Steve Kerr's] midseason conversations Kerr never raised the possibility of a trade with Cleveland, according to O’Neal, who said he asked Kerr to not deal him to Portland because the Blazers weren’t close to winning a championship.  “They have a young team, and their team is pretty good the way it is,” O’Neal said of the Blazers. “When he called me, he didn’t mention (Cleveland). He said, ‘Portland is really making the move for you.’ And I said, `I don’t really want to go to Portland.”‘ [Ian Thomsen/SI.com]

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Jason Kidd: Not Interested In Cavaliers?

Yes, I know the season isn’t over, and we would much rather be talking about actual games than potential off season moves, but we haven’t played in like a month, so cut me a little slack…

lebronkiddagain

For at least 2 years Cleveland Cavalier fans have been hearing about a potential trade that would bring Jason Kidd to the Cavs to play alongside BFF LeBron James. As we all know, the trade never materialized and the Cavs ended up with a backcourt of Mo Williams and Delonte West instead. The Jason Kidd conversation never fully died however, as Kidd finds himself a free agent this summer, and many have wondered if the 36 year old wouldn’t have an interest in signing with the Cavaliers for a Championship push next year. Rock wrote a piece about the possibility back at the end of March, and what impact it might have on the Cavaliers. [Read more...]

Kidd To Cleveland More Fantasy Than Reality

LeBron James and Jason Kidd

It seems a little absurd to me to even be considering thinking about the roster next season when the Cavaliers’ hopes in this current season are more than alive and well. I’d much rather look ahead to the playoffs than look ahead to free agency next year. It’s one thing to wonder what will happen to current free agents-to-be Anderson Varejao and Wally Szczerbiak, and quite another thing to wonder about outside players who the Cavaliers may be looking to bring in.

However, a bit of that happened this weekend when the Cavaliers played the Dallas Mavericks on Sunday. It’s no secret that LeBron James and Jason Kidd have formed a very close friendship, and that LeBron has publicly stated more than once how much he would like to play on the same NBA team with Kidd at some point. So, with Kidd being a free agent this off-season, I suppose it’s only natural that some would ask Kidd about the chances of him signing with the Cavaliers this summer.   [Read more...]

Jason Kidd Would Take MLE to Join LeBron James in New York?

“The only good news came in the morning when [Dallas point guard] Jason Kidd told the New York media he would consider the Knicks as a free agent in 2009 to play for Mike D’Antoni and return to some old stomping grounds. Kidd doesn’t look so great anymore but he’s good enough to be a drawing chip for LeBron James. He’d have to take the $6 million mid-level exception in a long-term deal that would pay him $35 million. Not bad for a 36-year-old PG.” [New York Post]

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Defense Dominates In Big D

Anderson VarejaoCavaliers Use Stellar Defense and Offensive Explosion From Mo Williams in the Second Half to Topple the Mavericks in Dallas 100-81.

Monday night the Cavaliers made their first real statement of the season. They opened the season by playing the Celtics tough in Boston and giving them all they could handle before succumbing late in the game. They bounced back and thrashed an inferior Charlotte at home. They kept the Hornets’ hands full in New Orleans before again letting the game slip away in the 2nd half.

Monday night’s game looked for a while like it was going to be another repeat of the other 2nd half collapses against playoff teams, but this time Mo Williams found his shot and the Cavaliers’ defense slammed the door shut before Dallas even knew what hit them. This was a book-end game for the Cavaliers as they destroyed the Mavericks in the first and fourth quarters (28-16 and 28-15, respectively) and just hung on through a couple rough middle quarters (23-26 and 21-24).    [Read more...]

Cavaliers Preview Game #4

Cavaliers vs MavericksCleveland Cavaliers (1-2) vs
Dallas Mavericks (1-1)
American Airlines Center,
Dallas, TX
Monday, November 3, 2008
8:30 PM EST
FSNOH, NBATV/WTAM

One day before a maverick is probably going to be defeated in the general election, the Cavaliers will try to get out of the Central Division cellar by defeating another group of Mavericks as the they take on Dallas in the American Airlines Center tonight. Tough schedules and slow starts are nothing new to the Cavaliers, but this year was supposed to be different. You can’t get too down after just 3 games, or even 4 games (especially when 3 of the 4 are on the road against playoff teams), but if the Cavaliers are ever going to become an elite NBA team with a real chance to win an NBA title, they need to start beating some good teams on the road. The Cavaliers have been relying on moral victories on the road by hanging tough with good opponents, but it’s time to turn the moral victories into actual wins. Tonight, against a Dallas team that may not be as good as Dallas teams of old, the Cavaliers will face a good test in a game that would be a great start toward taking that next step.    [Read more...]

Breaking Up Is Hard To Do

Before the Cavaliers traded for Mo Williams, I was about ready to suggest that if the Cavaliers wanted to lock LeBron up for the long term trading for Jason Kidd might be the way to go. The Cavs superstar blatantly told us in the past that he would like for Kidd to come to Cleveland. The pair were seen all over Beijing together- at other events, sitting next to each other on the bench, standing on the podium together, etc.

The trade made the acquisition of Kidd somewhat unrealistic. (By the way, I wasn’t real high on the idea of taking on Kidd anyway, it seemed more like a means to an end.) But since the games ended we have this bit of information floating around- [Read more...]

On Second Thought…

Jason Kidd and Mike Bibby
Jason Kidd and Mike Bibby

It wasn’t all that long ago that many (most?) Cavaliers fans couldn’t stop talking about the Cavaliers trying to trade for a legit point guard, whether that be Jason Kidd or Mike Bibby. We here at WFNY were far from immune from talking about it, as Scott, Rick, and myself all wrote many posts on this subject. Cavs fans were definitely split on how much we wanted Bibby, and with Kidd I would say that Cavs fans were in favor of getting him 70/30. Far from unanimous, but it was definitely the top subject when it came to talking about the Cavaliers. Well, instead, the Cavs wound up with Delonte West. But sometimes in basketball the hand you get dealt isn’t always as weak as it might seem, and in this case, I think the Cavaliers got a little lucky. [Read more...]

03/08 Morning Minute: Kidding Around

Jason Kidd's DefenseWhile I’m not a Bill Livingston fan, I occasionally envy him only in the fact that he gets to write about things the second he comes up with them.  Most of us bloggers that have other things in life to deal with from time to time come up with ideas to write about, but have to put them on the back-burner from time to time as that pesky prioritizing steps in.

When I saw today’s Livingston piece regarding Jason Kidd, I felt like the guys in the movie Knocked Up as they had a solid business model set in place, only to find out right before launch that someone else has the exact same service already up and running.  When the Kidd deal went down, it was hard to find anyone outside of Dallas that was excited.  Those of us that follow the sport know that Kidd is one of those players who is “beyond the numbers,” and while he may average a triple-double (or close to), it’s on 30 percent shooting and horrid defense.

While Bill chooses to poke at LeBron James a bit, I’m not faulting him in the least.  He wanted his team to get better.  He wanted a point guard.  He wanted someone that he had played with before.  Mike Bibby was not the answer to any of those questions, as seen by his play in Atlanta.  Thus, Jason Kidd was.

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02/23 Morning Minute: Who Needs The New Guys?

Damon JonesIf there is any possibility that you had either been in a coma, overseas with no access to the United States, or just plain out of it and you pick up a newspaper today to see the Cleveland-Washington box score, I wish I could be there to see your face.

The fact that LeBron James just barely missed his third straight triple-double comes as no surprise. 33 points, 15 rebounds, eight assists. Just another day at the office. But Damon Jones? 10-of-16 from the floor, 7-of-11 from behind the arc? The mohawk was stroking last night to finish with 27 points in 44 minutes of play. The last time Jones started a game was January 15, 2006. Coincidently enough, it was during a seven-game stint that saw the Cavs only win two of the said contests.

The last time he played over 40 minutes? You’ll have to look back to a post-season win for the Miami Heat that took place on May 12, 2005. Regular season? That would be February 23, 2005. I think I speak for the rest of my colleagues on this site when I say that his stepping up last night could not have been more timely. Well done, Damon. I look forward to seeing your offense a bit more in the near term as we’ll need it thanks to our injuries.

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The Cavs Trade Rumors Continue

Mike MillerNow, while I realize that Chad Ford is the same guy that rumored Larry Brown to be locked and loaded to coach the Cavaliers not all to long ago, his latest bit has me at least a little intrigued.

“The deal, as described to me by a player agent, would send Miller, [Brian] Cardinal and [Kyle] Lowry to the Cavaliers for Ira Newble, Donyell Marshall, Shannon Brown, Cedric Simmons and Dwayne Jones along with cash and at least one first-round pick from Cleveland.”

You read that right.  Not only would we add a solid scoring option, but a point guard as well!  Mike Lowry is no Jason Kidd, but he has been one of the more underutilized guards in the league – and given the recent addition of Mike Conley to the Grizzlies, there is little to no use for him in Memphis.

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02/19 Morning Minute: Where Can I Sign?

Three J'sWell, it looks like Jason Kidd is heading to Dallas after all.  All it took was a different set of veterans – two veterans that have neither a no-trade clause nor a big mouth.  In fact, all it took was a vet that wasn’t even playing at the time. 

If you ask me, Keith Van Horn is the biggest winner in this whole situation.  Dude went from sitting on his recliner to making $4 million just overnight.  I love that they used the word “consented.”  He consented to making millions of dollars for a half of a season.  Now he gets court-side seats to every Nets game for the rest of the season.  Perhaps even a Sean Williams autograph.  Does he even have to attend practice full-time?

Shortly before [Rod] Thorn climbed aboard his flight from Atlanta, Van Horn signed off — or so he was told — on what was believed to be a laundry list of league requirements – when he must report, how long he must stay with the team, and perhaps how often he must participate in practices.

Which leads me to the fact that I had no idea you could trade players that you didn’t even have on the active roster during trade talks.  If I was a washed-up ex-player that had nothing to do, I would be calling every GM in the NBA to lobby myself as an “asset.”  And when said GM would come back with, “but you don’t make enough money to matter,” all I would say is, “That’s not a problem.  We’ll just increase my salary until it works!”

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Point Guard Drama

Jason Kidd - Mike BibbyBibby to Atlanta, but what about Jason Kidd?

With the trade deadline rapidly approaching, we have seen (arguably) one of the largest contingencies of “big name” players being moved from one team to another. And its understandable to be flustered that all of this moving is going on when we have a team in Cleveland that is in dire need of something. I italicize as while we need a point guard in the biggest way, we have still had a tendency to get a bit upset when we see a Pau Gasol or a Shawn Marion move to another team without our brass even trying to bring them over.

Or at least that’s what we think.

I mentioned it briefly this morning, but it is now being reported in the Sacramento Bee that the Kings have agreed to send Mike Bibby (in principle) to the Atlanta Hawks for Tyronn Lue, Anthony Johnson, Lorenzen Wright and Shelden Williams. I know what you’re all saying. The Kings traded him for WHO?

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Surfing fodder…your weekly best of the web!

28-funny-warning.jpg

It’s been a busy week here at WaitingForNextYear, highlighted by Derek Anderson’s egg-laying, Larry Hughes’ big performances, Rock taking a national columnist down a notch, Sarge discussing Brady Quinn’s alleged comments, and a pretty long discussion about the future of C.C. Sabathia.

While we’re on the topic of Sabathia, here’s what Clevelanders are saying about #52-

According to the PD, Mark Shapiro has no intention of trading the Tribe ace.

Just because C.C. Sabathia doesn’t want to talk contract until the end of the season doesn’t mean the Indians are any more interested in trading last year’s American League Cy Young winner than they were a week ago. “Our priority is to win now,” said GM Mark Shapiro on Thursday as spring training officially opened with pitchers and catchers reporting to camp.

More after the jump…

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02/14 Morning Minute: DNPs, K2 and the Rich Get Richer

Manu GinobiliManu Ginobili sees your 40, and raises you six more.  With a quick shot back to yesterday’s blurb regarding Branson Wright’s comparison to the San Antonio Spurs, let’s compare injured players. 

  • San Antonio DNP: Brent Barry, Francisco Elson, Matt Bonner, Tony Parker, Ian Mahinmi
  • Cleveland DNP: Eric Snow, Cedric Simmons, Daniel Gibson, Sasha Pavlovic, Anderson Varejao, Shannon Brown

Two quick things jump out at me.  1) Who the heck is Ian Mahinmi?  and 2) Had at least a few of the Cleveland DNP’s played, we likely would have had more than two players in double-figures.  If there’s any consolation, how often will Tim Duncan drain 7-of-9 free throws?  I mean, that was the difference-maker.  Cleveland’s free throw attempts: 16.  San Antonio: 30.  Done deal, pal.

Is it just me, or did this news regarding Kellen Winslow get a bit of a gloss-over yesterday?  If it wasn’t for my hellacious week, I would have mentioned it, but it obiously isn’t good – even if it may be a rumor.

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King Of His Castle, Indeed

LeBron JamesLeBron Dictates The Future Of The Franchise With His Actions, Not His Words

LeBron James has always been a bit more of a lead by example guy than a lead with words type of player. He inspires the confidence of his teammates more so when he gets that look in his eye and he begins to take over games than he does with anything he says in the huddle during timeouts. Now, that’s not to say LeBron won’t bark out orders on or off the court, because we’ve seen him do it plenty. We saw him not all that long ago grabbing Drew Gooden by the jersey and explaining to him what he should have done in that situation. But more often than not, LeBron is a man who quietly leads by example, takes his teammates upon his shoulders, and leads them to heights none of us could dare imagine this team could otherwise reach. [Read more...]

Wait, Cleveland Could Have Had Marion?

Shawn MarionA good friend of mine forwarded me a piece from today’s chat with ESPN’s Chad Ford (subscription required).  Within it, Ford was apparently discussing the Cleveland Cavaliers and their current rank amongst the NBA as well as the East.  And then he said this…

The Cavs are doing well in a bad conference. I still think they’re not in the same league as this year’s Celtics or Pistons and I think everyone in Cleveland knows that too. The problem is that they really don’t have the assets they need to pull off a big trade. Their best bet is to try to pawn off their $6.5 million in expiring contracts and perhaps Drew Gooden for a good player. But I’m not sure it will be enough. They need another star.  Too bad they balked at a deal this summer that would’ve sent Gooden, Varejao (in a sign-and-trade) and some of their expiring contracts to Phoenix for Marion.

You read that right.  Marion.  As in Shawn Marion.  The power forward, defensive powerhouse that typically is among league leader in steals and blocks every year, while putting up 20 points and 10 rebounds per night.  That Marion. 

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01/31 Morning Minute: First Three Quarters Are Overrated

LeBron James
Who’s this Joe Johnson you speak of?

As Rick already mentioned, LeBron James did it again.  With the Cavaliers struggling to amass much of an offense for most of the contest, James took over in the fourth quarter – per usual – as Cleveland outscored the Blazers 22-15 to win by one.  How about this for a fantasy line:37 points, 12 rebounds, four assists, two blocks, two steals, three 3-point field goalsSeventeen of said points were in the fourth quarter, including the last two with .3 seconds left on the clock to seal the win.  While this win was not of the same magnitude as the win over the Pistons, it definitely had to rekindle a few memories as James went virtually untouched for the game-winning lay-in.What are Blazers fans saying?

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