Long Time (Part 1)

Hello everyone, it has been a pretty longtime since I last wrote. In between my laziness, and work I never got around to this. I also wanted to wait till the NBA offseason was complete, and the MLB trade deadline to finish before writing. Since both of those have finished, I will share with you my thoughts.

Cavs Offseason

-The addition of Shaq was a great move in my opinion. As long as he stays in shape he is good for 15 points and 6 rebounds a game. Since Carlos Boozer, the Cavs have not had a serious low post threat. Shaq will be much better against Dwight Howard one on one, but he will struggle defending the pick and roll.

-Teams will now have to respect Shaq by doubleteaming him. This leaves shooters such as Daniel Gibson, Anthony Parker, Mo Williams, Delonte West and Danny Green open. Remember how well Damon Jones and Jason Kapono shot with Shaq on their teams? Kapono shot 40% and 51% from 3 in his 2 years with Shaq, and Jones shot 43% in his lone season with Shaq. Kapono is a career 45% shooter from 3, and Jones is 39%. Yeah, Shaq will make a difference...

-People often times complain about Daniel Gibson's struggles, and I was dissapointed in him last year. He had a toe injury that affected his shot and confidence. Now that he has an offseason of rest, he will come back strong, and I expect him to shoot well.

-Andy's extension was a pretty big one (6 yrs $43 million, could go up to $50 million), and he did get overpaid. Bigmen in the NBA tend to get overpaid, look at Kenyon Martin ($15 million a year), Kenny Thomas ($8 million a year), Zach Randolph ($17 million a year), and Brian Cardinal ($6.7 million a year). Anderson is only 26 and he is a great energy guy, who will bug opposing players, play tough defense, and grab rebounds. LeBron likes him a lot too. I am sad we overpaid for him, but he fills a solid role on our team.

-The addition of Anthony Parker was a solid move. He will fill the role that Sasha couldn't fill. He is a solid defender, great midrange shooter (Top 10 midrange shooter in the NBA), and solid 3 point shooter (39% last year). Although he is 34, he has the legs of a 31 year old because he played 6 seasons overseas. Overseas basketball does not have the rigor of an 82 game schedule like the NBA does, and they do not play 4 times a week. He adds size (6'6), and some scoring punch to our bench (10 ppg last year). The Cavs signed him to a 2 year deal, thus not getting bogged down in a longer contract (Damon Jones? Donyell Marshall?)

-Jamario Moon was a GREAT pickup. People do not realize how athletic this guy is. Go to YouTube, type his name and see what you will find. He is a solid defender with long arms, and can finish when near the basket. He is exactly what we need to guard the Orlando Magic, a long athletic perimeter guy who can close out quick on the Orlando shooters. He will be catching many alley-oop dunks from LeBron this year. The Cavs signed him to a 2 year deal, with a team option for a 3rd year, thus increasing his trade value after next year.

-Drafting Christian Eyenga was a head scratcher for me, but I think he could pan out to be a Leandro Barbosa/Mickael Pietrus type of player. He is a freakish athlete, who has good size for a SG/SF (6'6), a developing jumper, solid defender, and he is only 19! Eyenga lacks some fundamentals as he isn't a great shooter, has low basketball IQ, and he cannot create his own shot. Add to the fact that he speaks no English, you have yourself a project. While playing for the Cavs in the NBA Summer League he showed some flashes of his amazing athletiscm and defense. The Cavs even thought about keeping him here for the year. He signed a 3 year deal to play with Spain's DKV Joventut (same team Ricky Rubio player for), with an opt out clause every year, so the Cavs can bring him back next year. He is better suited to play overseas anyways because they develop players in a more fundamental way than the NBDL.

-SG Danny Green was a great pick. He will be able to contribute right away. Playing for Roy Williams and North Carolina for 4 years was a great benefit. Williams has a knack for sending a lot of players to the NBA. His teammates Wayne Ellington, Ty Lawson, Tyler Hansbrough were all drafted in the first round. Green will be a solid SG off the bench, who has good size (6'6), smarts, a great shot (51% from 3 last year), and a good defender. He will benefit from the double teams Shaq will get. Again, this is what the Cavs wanted out of Sasha and Wally, and they really never got it.

- The Cavs bought the Suns 2nd round pick SF Emir Preldzic. He is 6'9 who can pass very well, and is a very smart basketball player but he lacks a great shot and athleticism. He is a good gamble late in the draft, and he will be stashed away overseas for awhile. I am glad Dan Gilbert was willing to spend some money on a developmental player like him.

-Former Kansas Jayhawks PG Russell Robinson accepted an invitation to training camp. He could make the roster because of the fact that he plays solid defense, and was a solid PG in college. The Cavs do not have a true point guard on the team, and Robinson could fill the void of 3rd PG.

-The Cavs have made a contract offer to PF Leon Powe. He will miss at least half the season after knee surgery. He could be a low risk/high reward pickup because it will allow us to play JJ Hickson more, and see what we have with him exactly. If Hickson struggles and is not ready, we can plug Powe in half way, if Hickson is doing well we can continue to play him, or use him or Powe as trade bait. Powe will probably come cheap as well because he won't be able to play half the year.

-The Celtics added Rasheed Wallace and might end up losing Glen Davis and Leon Powe. Their team is very old, and after players reach their 1,000th game, their numbers tend to fall. Did anyone watch Tim Duncan after his 1,000th game? Garnett got injured after his 1,000th game. Ray Allen is 34 (will hit 1,000th game this year too), Garnett is 33, and Paul Pierce is 32. Rasheed is 34 as well. Rajon Rondo was on the trading block the entire NBA offseason because he clashed with both his teammates and Doc Rivers. Both Rivers and GM Danny Ainge badmouthed Rondo during the offseason as well. Also, after Rasheed who comes off the bench for the Celtics? Eddie House? Ha. Tony Allen? Ha Ha. Brian Scalabrine? Ha Ha Ha. Think about this too, you have 2 of the most wild personalities in the NBA on the same team in Rasheed and Garnett. Cavs fans have seen Rasheed blow up numerous times, and even shut it down if his team wasn't winning. Garnett will chase after white PG's in an attempt to scare them (Ask Jose Calderon and Luke Ridnour). Age, chemistry issues, and a lack of depth are really going to the hurt the Celtics.

-To me the Cavs and the Magic are the teams to beat in the East. The Magic lost their BEST offensive option in Hedo Turkoglu, backup PG Rafer Alston, backup C Tony Battie, and young up and comer Courtney Lee. Alston is expendable because of the return of Jameer Nelson, but losing Courtney Lee and Hedo was huge. Lee is going to be a good player in the NBA, and he was even starting for the Magic. He is a great shooter and a good defender.

-Turkoglu is a matchup nightmare at SF because he is 6'10, can drive, shoot, and run the pick and roll to perfection. The Magic lost height on the perimeter, and one of their main facilitators in Hedo. While Vince Carter puts up big numbers (21 points per game last year), he gets his offense mainly through himself, as he creates his own shot to score. What makes the Magic so deadly is their ability to pass out from Howard to the perimeter and knock down 3 point shots, or run the pick and roll to get open looks. Carter cannot facilitate like Hedo, and he does not drive as well as him either. If Carter is trying to create his own shot, it neutralizes the Magic's strengths. Carter played with Jason Kidd and Richard Jefferson, and they still could not beat the Cavs in the 2007 playoffs.

-The Magic re-signed Marcin Gortat and added PF Brandon Bass, SF Matt Barnes, and PF Ryan Anderson. Losing Courtney Lee is a bigger loss than the gain of Matt Barnes, but Bass and Anderson will be solid upgrades over Battie. Anderson is a solid 3 point shooter, but he doesn't defend that well. The Magic gained more depth downlow, but they lost some of their backcourt depth, and their best forward. Losing Hedo and Courtney Lee (who were both great shooters and defenders) will really come back to hurt the Magic in my opinion.

-The Lakers are my favorite to repeat for the NBA championship. They re-signed Lamar Odom, lost Trevor Ariza, but added Ron Artest. They got tougher defensivley, and still kept a lot of the length that helped them win it all last year. It will be great to see the Cavs and Lakers play on Christmas Day.

-Overall, I think the Cavs had a great offseason. They addressed their most pressing needs of a scoring bigman downlow (Shaq), an athletic wing defender (Moon), and taller perimeter defenders who can knock down shots (Parker and Green). We overpaid to re-sign Andy, but the Cavs need to win now and there weren't any replacements out there. We need to show LeBron we are serious about a championship here in Cleveland. We currently have the 3rd highest payroll in the NBA, and it will probably be 2nd highest after we sign Danny Green. I have a lot of appreciation for Danny Ferry's patience and smarts (losing out on Artest, Ariza, and Villanueva/turning Ben Wallace and Sasha into Shaq), and Dan Gilbert's willingness to open his checkbook. It just goes to show you that you have to spend money to put a quality team on the field.

I will write about the Indians trades' in a little bit. Thanks for reading!