Official Offseason News and Rumors

[Andresrenee]

On the real, Russ...great offseason, but don't get overly excited...why?

1-They have a bunch of new players that will have to learn to play TOGETHER. Remember, the games aren't played on paper.

2-Good coaching hire who has won a ton, but he'll be a rookie in the NBA. And we just don't know how he'll do. Just being honest.

3-They have 2 players with a history of injuries. If James is healthy & the other 2 are hurt in the playoffs...that's a bad ending to a storybook offseason.

4-Very little depth. That cost the Heat this past offseason.

Good post...ask the Knicks about their superteam...

 

[OutlawImmortal]

Good post...ask the Knicks about their superteam...

In their defense, Amare's a 20 million dollar bench player.

 

[WiggyRuss]

On the real, Russ...great offseason, but don't get overly excited...why?

1-They have a bunch of new players that will have to learn to play TOGETHER. Remember, the games aren't played on paper.

2-Good coaching hire who has won a ton, but he'll be a rookie in the NBA. And we just don't know how he'll do. Just being honest.

3-They have 2 players with a history of injuries. If James is healthy & the other 2 are hurt in the playoffs...that's a bad ending to a storybook offseason.

4-Very little depth. That cost the Heat this past offseason.

1. yah there is going to be an adjustment period just like there was on the Heat- with how the East- is- and especially now that the Pacers are done- the Cavs should be able to put it together fairly quickly - and while there will be an adjustment period- the East being so mediocre- and the one seed winning like what was it? 56 gameslast year? - the Cavs should be fine

2. David Blatt is a question mark- the Cavs went out and gave Tyron lue a ton of moeny who was their #2 choice to be the assistant head coach- between those 2- and LeBron leading by example- and Love being free from losing- i expect the team to be great attitude wise and really working towards their goals in a unified way

3. Again- yes- Andy is a concern injury wise- but the last 3-4 years- what was he? the Cavs 2nd best player? he was asked to do WAY too much- now? he is probably their 4-5th best player- and wont be asked to do NEARLY as much---- and on Kyrie- we totally disagree on "injury prone"- Kyrie sat out a ton of games he would NEVEr have sat out if the Cavs werent tanking- and he came into the league as a 19 year old kid that looked 19- he looked like a high school kid- 4 years of physically maturing and 4 years of being an in NBA weight room and being adjsuted to the NBA game and he will befine- plus- unlike guys like Rubio, Rose, Rondo, RW, he has never had a significant injury that should worry his team going forward--- plus- like Varejao- this guy doesnt have to carry the whole load anymore and get the crap beaten out of him!

4. Depth? cmon- their 4, 5, 6 is Waiters, Varejao, Thompson- thats WAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAY better than any 4, 5, 6 Miami ever through out there- and we are not even done with the offseason- who nkows what exactly comes back in the Minne deal- --and after that 4 , 5 , 6- is Miller 7 which everyone would agree is solid as your 7th man, 8/9/10/11 is probably Haywood/Harris/Powell/Delledova which is fine- and then Ray Allen very well might sign to take that 8th spot.....

 

[WiggyRuss]

In their defense, Amare's a 20 million dollar bench player.

well- the Knicks also thought a big 3 of Amare, Chandler and Melo would get it done- but Amare was ACTUALLY terribly injury prone- - those 3 are just not a good combination - Melo plays a decent amount of his minutes at the 4 anyway....they needed a great perimeter player more than Chandler but were just impatient.

 

[TurnUpTheHeat]

yes it sure seems as if Wiggins is being concluded- i am not happy about that---- but in retrospect- the Cavs had a 1.3% chance to even get that pick- and using that pick to add Kevin Love- a top 10 - player in the league that is only 25....and a guy who is basically a better version of Chris Bosh -

like i have said numerous times- I would have liked to see what Wiggins can do and take this team into the season- but I cant complain about getting Kevin Love and adding him to LeBron and Kyrie......and still have Waiters, Varejao, and Tristan Thompson as your 4, 5 ,6 guys- thats pretty damn good

I hope they sign Ray Allen now and get a big somehow....



First of all, once you posses something , it becomes yours, regardless of odds.

Why can't James just live 1 season with the roster as is, and then try for the home run ( if that's what you feel Love is) next summer?


And better than Bosh? You make it sound like a no brainer.
The ONLY thing that makes Love more desirable IMO is his age.

You are looking at selected stats vs understanding the importance of things that don't appear on the stat sheet.
Let's see how Love looks as a #3 option.


I do not think everything will fully sink in for me until on the court opening night I see - in Cavs uniforms and on the court- Kyrie, Love and LeBron- just wow- who would have thought?

Hopefully the Spurs aren't as impressed as you are.

Kevin Love is probably the #1 player in the league that compliments LeBron's game too.

a big that is an amazing stretcher of the floor, an amazing rebounder, and is an amazing passer- especially throwing those outlet passes that start fast breaks.

its honestly giving me chills thinking about those guys playing together with a point guard that can actually push the ball and has to be respected from the outside

As is evident here- i definitely expect a back-lash against the Cavs from many national fans- while many other national fans get on the bandwagon as 3 of the most marketable and well-liked players in the league are now on the Cavs.

Please stop with the amazing passer stuff. It's way over rated.

And I saw no mention of team defense?

That's where if you even make it that far, and assuming all are healthy, the Bulls would win a 7 game series in my opinion.

 

[DJ Fieri]

Time to get shopping...later.

I'll get back to you later, Russ.

 

[TurnUpTheHeat]

cmon- why would the league possibly rig the draft for the Cavs? Cleveland is definitely not in the top half of media markets in the league that is for sure-

The lotto isn't fixed. It's next to impossible.
Cavs have just had a unique run of the balls bouncing there way.

 

[WiggyRuss]

Are you that naive to ask the question? Who currently controls the league? It is Lebron's world and every one else lives in it. Great made for TV writing. The WWE writers could not have written a better script for a wrestling season. Do you not think Lebron's camp opened the door for Cleveland? I am not a conspiracy theorist so just good fortune for the Cavs in my book and perhaps they can take advantage. Now, what could be equally cruel for Cleveland is that Wiggins is the next it player and Love, Irving and Lebron don't gel and Love leaves to go back to California after spending a season in Cleveland.

who would rig it? i mean- to me- personally- it was hilarious how disgusted the other teams looked on lotto night when the Cavs won it....but you know the other owners were not about to gift the Cavs #1 again...Silver? Stern?

the lotto happened before the Finals- and if LeBron wins that Finals he probably goes back to Miami anyway to try and win his 4th in a row

 

[WiggyRuss]

Hopefully the Spurs aren't as impressed as you are.



Please stop with the amazing passer stuff. It's way over rated.

And I saw no mention of team defense?

That's where if you even make it that far, and assuming all are healthy, the Bulls would win a 7 game series in my opinion.

Amazing passer is way over-rated?

I cant agree with that- especially when your Kevin Love- he is a GREAT outlet passer- that effect is made even more important since he leads the league in rebounding and has so many opportunities to make a play with that ability!- especially on a team that should be running a lot

and while yah- defense is important- how many GREAT defenders were on the Spurs? Leonard?- what the ancient Duncan is not exactly a spry defender-

LeBron is obviously a great defensive player- Varejao is a very good defensive player, Thompson can play some defense- and the Cavs have what will be an absolutely MONSTER rebounding between Lebron/Thompson/Love/Varejao and that helps a lot- limiting other teams 2nd opportunities.

 

[bksballer89]

Cavs should go 98-0 this year

 

[bksballer89]

they have all this firepower 1-7 that they should be able to avg 118 PPG

 

[WiggyRuss]

Cavs should go 98-0 this year

personally I think they win 61 - and that is no small function of how mediocre the East is- and the fact that Cleveland will win at least 35 of their 41 home games.

 

[Heatles84]

Amazing passer is way over-rated?

I cant agree with that- especially when your Kevin Love- he is a GREAT outlet passer- that effect is made even more important since he leads the league in rebounding and has so many opportunities to make a play with that ability!- especially on a team that should be running a lot

and while yah- defense is important- how many GREAT defenders were on the Spurs? Leonard?- what the ancient Duncan is not exactly a spry defender-

LeBron is obviously a great defensive player- Varejao is a very good defensive player, Thompson can play some defense- and the Cavs have what will be an absolutely MONSTER rebounding between Lebron/Thompson/Love/Varejao and that helps a lot- limiting other teams 2nd opportunities.

You apparently don't know much about basketball. The Spurs play great TEAM defense. Yes, you're about to have some talent on the Cavs roster once Love is traded. But as Turnup mentioned a few posts back, Shane Battier even said it after the Heat lost - defense wins championships. No team who's not in the top 10 in defense, isn't winning the title. Why do you think Lakers fans were so pissed when D'Antoni was their coach? Because he didn't believe in team defense.

You have no idea what Blatt is going to bring to the team as far as defense is concerned. But yeah, the Cavs should easily shatter the 96 Bulls record of 72 games won in a season.

 

[bksballer89]

A lot of those role players numbers will take a significant hit.

 

[WiggyRuss]

You apparently don't know much about basketball. The Spurs play great TEAM defense. Yes, you're about to have some talent on the Cavs roster once Love is traded. But as Turnup mentioned a few posts back, Shane Battier even said it after the Heat lost - defense wins championships. No team who's not in the top 10 in defense, isn't winning the title. Why do you think Lakers fans were so pissed when D'Antoni was their coach? Because he didn't believe in team defense.

You have no idea what Blatt is going to bring to the team as far as defense is concerned. But yeah, the Cavs should easily shatter the 96 Bulls record of 72 games won in a season.

i guess thats why they play the games. We shall see. I think the Cavs have the talent to have a very solid team defense- and be maybe the best rebounding team in the league- which is huge in preventing 2nd chance shots.

Think of how good the rebounding on the Cavs will be- James LED the Heat in rebounding last year. Varejao is an elite rebounder. Thompson nearly averaged 10 a game- and Love IS the best rebounder in basketball.

and as much as i love San Antonio- there is a reason why they won their first title since '07- EVERYTHING went right for them last year. The chances that Duncan/Ginoboli/Parker are all 100% healthy when the Finals come around after they have to go through the absolute gauntlet of the West?-

I dunno- I am just looking at this Cavs team- with a bunch of young and highly motivated guys and think it should work out just fine-

but as i said above- thats why they play the games-----plus- there is sooo much time between now and the February trade deadline to tweak this roster- or add a Ray Allen or a vet that becomes available on a buy out

 

[bksballer89]

People numbers would drop

Those guys are not going to avg the same amount of rebounds as they did on their previous teams. They will take rebounds from each other which would lead to less rebounds for each player probably especially.

The way you're talking is like they're going to avg 55 rebounds per game

 

[TurnUpTheHeat]

Amazing passer is way over-rated?

I cant agree with that- especially when your Kevin Love- he is a GREAT outlet passer- that effect is made even more important since he leads the league in rebounding and has so many opportunities to make a play with that ability!- especially on a team that should be running a lot

and while yah- defense is important- how many GREAT defenders were on the Spurs? Leonard?- what the ancient Duncan is not exactly a spry defender-

LeBron is obviously a great defensive player- Varejao is a very good defensive player, Thompson can play some defense- and the Cavs have what will be an absolutely MONSTER rebounding between


Lebron/Thompson/Love/Varejao and that helps a lot- limiting other teams 2nd opportunities.

First of all, I agree that 2nd chance points often doomed the Heat.

Second, you don't think the Spurs can defend?


Then, you act like the 4 players you named will be on the court together.
Good luck with that.
The Cavs are not a big team. Quite the opposite.
To boot, no matter how you look at it, Verejao will be counted on to do a lot.
With his injury history that should be a huge concern.

 

[TurnUpTheHeat]

People numbers would drop

Those guys are not going to avg the same amount of rebounds as they did on their previous teams. They will take rebounds from each other which would lead to less rebounds for each player probably especially.

The way you're talking is like they're going to avg 55 rebounds per game

Correct.
He's playing X box.

 

[gordontrue]

Obviously there's a lot for Cavs fans to be excited about. Not sure why posters are criticizing that enthusiasm.

That said, the East is full of teams that we don't know what to expect from, including the Cavs. The raptors and maybe the wizards are really the only teams without very different rosters.

That is awesome, cause it makes for a super interesting reg season in the East which we havnt really had in awhile.

 

[bksballer89]

Thompson avg 9, Varejao avg 10, Love avg 12, and Lebron avg 7.

Do you really expect 4 players on one team to combine for 38 rebounds on their own per game?