While We’re Waiting… The next GM for the Cavaliers will be?
February 17, 2014Browns pursuing their pair of Pro Bowl free agents
February 17, 2014
Bob Donnan, USA TODAY Sports
As Kyrie Irving held the All-Star Game MVP trophy above his head Sunday night in New Orleans, his confident smile seemed to give off a sense of relief. In what Kyrie himself has described as one of the toughest seasons of his career, going as far as to call it “a wake-up call,” you sort of got the sense that Kyrie needed this.
This season hasn’t been much fun for anyone associated with the Cleveland Cavaliers. In one of the worst seasons of basketball in the history of the Eastern Conference, the Cavaliers somehow find themselves in 11th place in the conference with a 20-33 record. And it took a four-game win streak1 just to make the record look that good. There’s been fighting, poor play, “pouting,” confusion, insecurity, and a complete void of fun in the Cavs’ world.
But something seems to have changed in the past couple weeks. From the moment GM Chris Grant was fired, the team seemed to flip the proverbial switch. Young SG Dion Waiters has spoken openly about how he took Grant’s dismissal personally, taking accountability for his inconsistent if not poor play. But in the wake of one man’s loss, the team did something remarkable. They came together, they started winning some games, and above all else they started having fun.
Both Dion Waiters and Kyrie Irving carried the momentum into All-Star weekend and neither one failed to deliver on a spectacular performance. Waiters scored 31 points on 10-13 shooting in the Rising Stars challenge while Irving followed that up with 31 points of his own along with 14 assists and 5 rebounds in the main event Sunday night. It was a thrilling display for Cavs fans and a tantalizing taste of what could be yet to come.
That’s really the question, though. What does this mean for the Cavaliers and where do they go from here? All-Star weekend is a fun event, but we’ve seen Kyrie mesmerize in previous All-Star weekends, only to not exactly translate the experience into regular season success.
After Kyrie was elected to the starting lineup by NBA fans, the Akron Beacon Journal’s Jason Lloyd wrote his second-most scathing rebuke of Kyrie this season2, asking the question: “Who will Kyrie Irving be when he returns from New Orleans?”
Perhaps the better question is how will Kyrie and Dion interact when they return from New Orleans? ESPN’s Michael Wallace wrote about Kyrie’s MVP award in Monday’s Daily Dime column, and he pondered whether Kyrie and Dion can truly coexist:
One takeaway from the weekend is that it was obvious how confident and effective Irving and Waiters are when they’re separated. But with Thursday’s trade deadline looming, the question in Cleveland now is whether more patience is prudent with the young and talented pairing, or whether they should part, with Waiters being dealt elsewhere.
Of course, the reality is, Kyrie and Dion have spent plenty of time separated this season. After a brief experiment with starting Dion early in the season, Mike Brown quickly moved Dion to the bench and Kyrie and Dion’s minutes have only sparsely interlaced since then. If the Cavaliers weren’t a team divided, they certainly were a backcourt divided.
Derick Hingle- USA TODAY Sports
The odds of the Cavaliers making the playoffs this season are miniscule. It could happen, but the Cavaliers will have to play much better basketball and several teams will have to start playing really bad basketball.
Either way, the thought of trading Dion Waiters after his explosive performance Saturday might seem counter-intuitive. But the other side of the equation is that acting GM David Griffin could use the spotlight to showcase to other teams that Dion just needs a fresh start, and he’s worth giving up real assets to acquire.
But I hope it doesn’t come to that. The trade deadline is coming fast, but it’s coming at an inopportune time for the Cavaliers. Just as Kyrie and Dion seem to be bonding in a way we haven’t seen yet, the harsh reality is that if they can’t figure out how to put together consistent performances together, a clean break might be best for all.
To be clear, this is not advocating trading Dion Waiters. This is just saying, if that’s the route the Cavaliers did want to go, this could be the best time to do it. But anyone who observes the Cavaliers day in and day out can recognize the energy between Kyrie and Dion has been different lately. And by different, I mean definitively better.
So if someone was looking for a takeaway from the All-Star weekend, this could be it. This can be, and perhaps should be, the springboard to the Cavaliers taking the next step, whatever that may be. It might not mean a playoff berth, but it could be setting a real backcourt foundation to build around. Kyrie and Dion may not always be best friends, but they need each other more than they perhaps realize.
This weekend was a showcase of just how talented the Cavaliers’ backcourt really is. Sure, the Rising Stars game was a showcase of arguably the two worst drafts of recent memory, but Waiters showed that he belongs in the conversation of best young players in the NBA. And for Kyrie, he may not have had the scoring explosion of players like Kevin Durant and Blake Griffin, but by bringing home the game’s MVP honors, he solidified his status as one of the elite young players in the game.
The Cavaliers can’t afford to squander this. Having two such dynamic young players is a luxury, not a liability. Despite reservations with overlapping skill sets, these two players are simply too good to not figure out how to play together on the court.
Kyrie’s smile of relief wasn’t one of “Mission Accomplished.” It was more of vindication. In a tumultuous season, Kyrie proved he still has it and still belongs in any discussion of best rising stars in the NBA. Kyrie is capable of being a top 5 player in the NBA, but now he needs to figure out how to elevate his team. He can’t do it alone. He needs Dion Waiters to be the same player he was Saturday night in the regular season. If these two players can figure it out, though, who knows just what the Cavaliers are capable of.
- the first four-game win streak of the post-LeBron era, nonetheless [↩]
- though some may disagree, I thought this article by Lloyd was far more scathing [↩]
40 Comments
Two things:
– I don’t see how Kyrie’s excellence in a street ball game propels the Cavs. He already knows he’s great at that, the nation knows that, and he has the commercials to prove it. Mike Brown is trying to break his in-game street ball habits.
– If you think they’re about to trade Dion, read Gilbert’s interview with Jason Lloyd which Rick tagged this morning. Gilbert sure sounds like a guy intending to keep Dion and let the two learn to play together. There’s no way Gilbert will let an interim GM make that deal without selling Boss Man on it. Maybe Gilbert is blowing smoke in the interview, but I don’t think so.
Kyrie was the leading scorer from the East with 31 (only 7 less than Blake and KD). He made the same number of FGs as KD (14) on 10 less shots (17 vs. 27). It was a scoring explosion, though perhaps a less explosive one. Although I found his scoring to be as exciting as KD’s. Of course, he could’ve dunked 17 times.
These comments and stories are nothing but LeBron Part Deux personally I’m tired of it. Irving is hands down the best player on the Cavaliers just like LBJ was when he was here and earning the AS MVP is an example of it. Ironically LBJ won the same award the last time the game was in NO as a representative of the Cavaliers.
As far as Gilbert goes he should have learned to let the people who know what they are doing do their jobs. His mouth and fingers haven’t done the people he’s hired any favors in the past I was really hoping he had learned that lesson.
“From the moment GM Chris Grant was fired, a flip seems to have switched.”
You made me think I suddenly developed dyslexia.
I’m eager to see if this 4 game win streak is a mirage, or a sign of things to come. I’m hoping Grant’s dismissal was the wakeup call that this team needed, but we shall see.
I think that the Grant firing was a component but I also think whatever was said in the meeting Gilbert had with the team followed by the meeting Griffin had with the team were also big wake up calls.
Issue with Kyrie isn’t his scoring ability or efficiency, it’s more so about his attitude. What separates KD from Kyrie is KD’s ability to take over a game when he needs to. It’s a trait that separates the men from the boys, and I don’t think Kyrie’s developed it yet. Not saying that he never will, but I need to see some development in that direction before we can declare Kyrie better than the big boys.
“Street ball”, eh? Hmm, not sure how to respond to that, exactly.
I may or may not have been suffering a stroke while writing that. Yikes. We were on a time crunch and this was posted without editing. I guess that’s what we get. Thanks for the heads up.
I also think 4 relatively easy opponents helped as well. The real test will come in March, when the schedule looks like a gauntlet of playoff teams.
u cant cheapen the win by saying it was against easy opponents. They’ve played against worse and lost before so regardless of who its against, 4 straight wins is significant
I thought it was kind of clever, since the syllables of the saying were also flipped/switched.
Agreed. Wasn’t intent to cheapen, just pointing out that it’s one of many, many factors.
I wish I could claim it as clever. Unfortunately, the truth is it is one of the most embarrassingly butchered sentences I have ever written.
I hate hearing/reading a line like that because I’m going to say it that way from now on..
I’ll agree that when looking at the 4 game winning streak you have to look at all the components; not just Grant being fired.
But even in playing those easier teams the Cavs showed a composure, rythym and tenacity not shown all year.
You can beat relatively easy teams in the NBA without any of those factors relying purely on talent alone.
Instead of “street ball” let’s say a game where legitimate defense is played against you, and expected out of you. Do Dion and Irving look as good?
Not to look for darkness in what was a great weekend for the players, but this is still a valid concern.
Soon after Grant was fired, the stock market rose, the climate cooled, Bode won an Olympic medal, and I won $20 on the lottery. Man, that guy sure caused a lot of problems.
Waiters in his game? Ball in hand, making his shot everywhere, lots of assists and barely missed a shot. Clutch 3 pointers. Now watch Irving’s game in Cleveland, he needs the ball, 10 to 15 seconds per possession while Waiters stands around err…waiting.
Did everyone just not play defense against Kyrie and Dion, or were the rules the same for everybody? And if the rules were the same for everybody, isn’t it completely fair to say that both Dion and Kyrie were two bright spots in the weekend?
That is the bright side, it has been a tough place to find this season…
I still think the Cavs need to make another move. Grabbing Asik, plus trade exeptions and an unprotected 1st due to the “poison pill” contract, from Houston for Varejao would be a trade that benefits both teams and helps them get into the playoffs. Before anyone freaks out, I’m sure that Jakey Stats has pointed out that the Cavs have a better record sans Varejao the last 3 years than with him.
Thanks Chris.
20 dollars huh? You must have been very excited.
If the Cavs could just get their opponents to stop playing defense, like in the All Star games, then they’re really have something!
More excited than Bode was. Man, that interview he did with that mawkish NBC news-twit was awful. She took a very happy moment for Bode and went all Oprah on him and had the poor man in tears.
I blame Russell Branyan. Still.
mg-bode?
Yeah, they’ve been doing that for everyone. When Katie Uhlaender lost bronze by 0.04 seconds, they got all up in her face asking how it felt.
Push-push-push-tears = SUCCESS!
Damn, beat me to it.
I was asking whether playing great offense in a game intentionally devoid of any semblance of defense is a “springboard” for winning NBA games, as you seem to suggest. If it has any effect, it’s just as likely to reinforce the bad habit of thinking playing one-on-one offense is the winning path. Kyrie’s problem is unwillingness to trigger the offensive set or share the ball when a defense collapses on him, not beating a single half-hearted defender like yesterday.
for everything
NBC has been terrible this Olympics. They have been the absolute worst at driving the negative moments high and taking any positive moments and turning them into drama. Disgusting coverage.
naw, they won’t let me in Russia.
I just don’t agree at all. You can correct me if I’m wrong, but I have a suspicion you didn’t watch the All Star Game. Kyrie did most of his work in the 4th quarter when each team was absolutely trying to win the game (not saying the defense was playoff level, but it was far from “streetball” at that point). He was decisive with the ball, knowing when to attack himself and when to dish to a teammate. In a game which featured all the best players in the world, Kyrie stood out amongst them all. I’m sorry, I just don’t see how you can spin this into a negative.
It may not translate back to the Cavs, but it had to be a confidence boost, something I think he could use. It’s just up to Kyrie and Dion to both understand that not only do they belong, but they should be able to thrive together. They just have to figure out how to put it all together.
wow. Again, I’m not trying to spin negative about Kyrie’s all-star game performance, I’m challenging that there’s a link between this type of exhibition and real NBA games, and your implication that confidence in scoring is what Kyrie lacks. This game bears about as much a relationship to a real game as the Pro Bowl does to a NFL game, or the home run derby does to in-game hitting. (almost 80 points per team per half – what sport is that?). I saw some of the first 3 quarters and most of the last. He was great. But no defensive scheme was employed. Kyrie is always plenty unselfish and can explode for points against an opponent not playing defense.
Jakey Stats might also go the other way and mention that the only player who gives the Cavs a positive +/- as a team when he’s on the floor is Anderson Varejao. The Cavs are something like +1.5 this season when he’s on the floor and -13 when he’s off the floor. With that said, the Cavs have started to buck that trend over their last 4 wins.
I agree, I think there’s plenty of historical evidence that Kyrie gets up for playing on a stage when the world is watching. I’d like to see more of it from him when the game is only being broadcast by Fox Sports Ohio and NBA League Pass. As Andrew mentioned, though, Kyrie has certainly started to come around in the last month or two and look like the Kyrie we are used to seeing. I hope he can continue with his development and become better than the Kyrie we have seen before. He may never be an elite defender, but he has the offensive skill to be elite on that end. I truly believe he could be a 50/40/90 guy in his prime.
We could know very quickly. The streak should absolutely be extended to 5 games tonight if the Cavs are indeed a playoff team. They have no business losing to the 76ers in full tank mode. For that matter, they have no business losing the game after that to the Orlando Magic at home.
Well, agree to disagree. Kyrie’s shooting numbers are down across the board this year, and I do think his confidence was down. He himself publicly said this has been the hardest year and a wake up call for him. He said he doesn’t have all the answers. His ability to finish around the rim, normally a strength, has been inconsistent all year. He’s searching.
I don’t know if he will use All-Star break as a jumping off point or not, but he certainly can if he wants to.