Author Topic: Am I the only one who thinks The Cavs just made a lateral move?  (Read 3988 times)

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Am I the only one who thinks The Cavs just made a lateral move?
« on: February 09, 2018, 12:35:31 PM »

Offline liam

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Everything I read is just so positive for these Cavs trades. I don't even see how they are better. Three of the four guys they traded for are very injury prone and none are anything more than role players. Last summer I was reading everything about how the Cavs crushed it in the Kyrie/IT trade and how they got better by adding Crowder and that IT and Kyrie was a wash. I think that was clearly wrong.

This looks like a panic move that doesn't make the Cavs better this year or in the future but I keep seeing writers giving the Cavs an A for the trade. The Lakers won that trade. Confusing...

Re: Am I the only one who thinks The Cavs just made a lateral move?
« Reply #1 on: February 09, 2018, 12:49:18 PM »

Offline Timdawgg

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It was definitely a lateral move but still a good move for them. The pieces weren't fitting. Sometimes addition by subtraction works. They have players that will know their roles and probably perform their roles better while definitely improving on d. I still dont see them getting out of the east but they did improve just by eliminating the toxins....
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Re: Am I the only one who thinks The Cavs just made a lateral move?
« Reply #2 on: February 09, 2018, 12:51:10 PM »

Offline Green-18

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In terms of talent you could argue that it's a lateral move.  However, talent alone isn't the biggest factor in why this could work well for the Cavs.  Hill, Hood, Clarkson, and Nance are all used to playing a specific role.  They will defer to LeBron and do whatever is asked of them.  Don't be shocked when LeBron begins playing with a renewed sense of urgency again.  Once this happens you will see JR Smith and Tristan Thompson return to their form from a few years ago. 

The Cavs also get younger and more athletic with the trade.  Don't underestimate the impact of removing the players that LeBron doesn't like (Wade excluded).   

Re: Am I the only one who thinks The Cavs just made a lateral move?
« Reply #3 on: February 09, 2018, 12:59:25 PM »

Offline SHAQATTACK

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so Lebron probably wanted to go to LA this summer ....unless they reach or win finals.

But basically the Cavs deal paved an open path for Lebron to walk right into Laker Land.

Before .....it was reported IFFY if the Lakers could clear cap space this year

Now Cavs ....helped make that dream come true for the Lakers , Magic , NBA, Lebron .  They have all but put Lebron on the Lakers .....and it cost them to do it.   Did they want Lebron gone 100 % , is that the real emd game ......get Lebron out of town too.

What kind of pay off does Gilbert get .....3 lottry firsts for letting this go down so easy ?

Maybe James agrees not to bad mouth Gilbert in public this summer ,  as Gilbert handed him directly tomtue Lakers .   

Gilbert spent alot of money to be sure Lebron doesn't return IMO.   This trade with the Lakers is the craziest thing ever. 

No way does adding Hill , Nance , and Clarkson make them competitive with GS or Rockets .......i doubt they beat Washington, Boston, Toronto to get slaughtered by GS or Houston.

None of the guys they added are defensive stoppers or known for their great defense.

The whole thing is a lets be done with Lebron .....help make his mind up .....start over deal.  If they were really serious , they whould have used tye Nets pick , and brought in Avery Bradley and
DJ.   
« Last Edit: February 09, 2018, 01:24:09 PM by SHAQATTACK »

Re: Am I the only one who thinks The Cavs just made a lateral move?
« Reply #4 on: February 09, 2018, 01:04:18 PM »

Offline blink

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Liam - I pretty much agree with you.  The hype around those trades seemed to just go off the charts.  Charles Barkley basically said that Cleveland is now the team to beat in the east.  I just roll my eyes.  How some people are saying this team is better than last year's cavs I have no idea. 

George Hill is a fine player.  He may help them some, he has playoff experience.  Is George Hill as good as Kyrie?  No way.  Not even close.

Is Jordan Clarkson a better backup 2 than Wade?  Maybe a close call during the regular season, but not in the playoffs.  Wade had played pretty well coming off the bench 11ppg/4rpg/3.5 apg in 23 mpg.  I call this one a push.

Is Rodney Hood better than JR Smith?  Hood has 11 games of playoff experience last year where he was pretty bad.  shot 35% from the field and 23% from 3 in those games last year.  He is a good player so maybe you say he starts and he is an upgrade over last years JR Smith.

I don't consider larry nance jr. a bit impact on the trade.  I don't see him getting a lot of minutes after Love comes back, Jeff Green has been averaging 22 min a game and that was before Love was hurt. 

Cavs may be better than the pile of dung that they were during the last few weeks, but I don't see any way this years team with these trades is better than last years Cavs team.

Re: Am I the only one who thinks The Cavs just made a lateral move?
« Reply #5 on: February 09, 2018, 01:10:23 PM »

Offline Green-18

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so Lebron probably wanted to go to LA this summer ....unless they reach or win finals.

But basically the Cavs deal paved an open path for Lebron to walk right into Laker Land.

Before .....it was reported IFFY if the Lakers could clear cap space this year

Now Cavs ....helped make that dream come true for the Lakers , Magic , NBA, Lebron .

What kind of pay off does Gilbert get .....3 lottry firsts for letting this go down so easy ?

Maybe James agrees not to bad mouth Glbert in public this summer ,  as Gilbert handed him directly tomtue Lakers .   

Gilbert spent alot of money to be sure Lebron doesn't return IMO.   This trade with tye Lakers is the craziest thing ever.

I understand the sentiment that the Cavs opened up the cap space for the Lakers but I believe LeBron would have found another home either way if he truly wants out of Cleveland.  What's clear is that the current version of the Cavs was going absolutely nowhere.  Gilbert made the best of a bad situation IMO.  Let's also not forget the potential financial impact of the deal.  A motivated LeBron gives them a great chance to get back to the Finals.  Assuming he leaves then Gilbert will want as much playoff revenue as possible this season.   

Re: Am I the only one who thinks The Cavs just made a lateral move?
« Reply #6 on: February 09, 2018, 01:19:49 PM »

Offline Surferdad

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I don't know if it's a lateral move, but it certainly sets them up nicely for the post-LeBron era.

Re: Am I the only one who thinks The Cavs just made a lateral move?
« Reply #7 on: February 09, 2018, 01:32:13 PM »

Offline Green-18

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Liam - I pretty much agree with you.  The hype around those trades seemed to just go off the charts.  Charles Barkley basically said that Cleveland is now the team to beat in the east.  I just roll my eyes.  How some people are saying this team is better than last year's cavs I have no idea. 

George Hill is a fine player.  He may help them some, he has playoff experience.  Is George Hill as good as Kyrie?  No way.  Not even close.

Is Jordan Clarkson a better backup 2 than Wade?  Maybe a close call during the regular season, but not in the playoffs.  Wade had played pretty well coming off the bench 11ppg/4rpg/3.5 apg in 23 mpg.  I call this one a push.

Is Rodney Hood better than JR Smith?  Hood has 11 games of playoff experience last year where he was pretty bad.  shot 35% from the field and 23% from 3 in those games last year.  He is a good player so maybe you say he starts and he is an upgrade over last years JR Smith.

I don't consider larry nance jr. a bit impact on the trade.  I don't see him getting a lot of minutes after Love comes back, Jeff Green has been averaging 22 min a game and that was before Love was hurt. 

Cavs may be better than the pile of dung that they were during the last few weeks, but I don't see any way this years team with these trades is better than last years Cavs team.

The trade does nothing for this season if we are talking strictly in terms of winning a title.  On the flip side it definitely gives them a MUCH better shot to win the Eastern Conference.  This has more to do with a motivated LeBron than anything else.  I can't stand LBJ but we all know he can carry a team to the Finals without elite talent.

There is no better example than the 2015 NBA Finals.  The Cavs went 6 games against the Warriors with the following healthy roster:

LeBron James
Timofey Mozgov
J.R. Smith
Tristan Thompson
Matthew Dellevadova
Iman Shupert
James Jones
Mike Miller
Kendrick Perkins
Joe Harris

Kyrie played game 1 but missed the rest of the series.

Re: Am I the only one who thinks The Cavs just made a lateral move?
« Reply #8 on: February 09, 2018, 01:33:58 PM »

Offline wiley

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they made an aesthetically pleasing lateral move...and aesthetics should be worth
a few more wins all by itself.  ;D

Re: Am I the only one who thinks The Cavs just made a lateral move?
« Reply #9 on: February 09, 2018, 01:41:28 PM »

Offline hpantazo

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It’s the right move for them for the future. Clarkson, Nance, and Hood are some good young talent and they got a 1st rounder too I believe. It won’t hurt them this year, but I don’t think it helps them this year either. Celtics or Raptors will come out of the east this year.

Re: Am I the only one who thinks The Cavs just made a lateral move?
« Reply #10 on: February 09, 2018, 01:55:49 PM »

Offline Green-18

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I still say this boils down to one thing.  Motivated LeBron vs Unmotivated LeBron.  We don't know which version will show up in the playoffs but are people really falling for the "lack of talent" trap?  He has more than enough around him to make the Finals as long as he plays to his full potential.  Boston and Toronto have a great shot but it would be stupid to dismiss LeBron after making 7 Finals in a row. 

I'm really baffled that people are so dismissive of their chances.

Re: Am I the only one who thinks The Cavs just made a lateral move?
« Reply #11 on: February 09, 2018, 02:07:50 PM »

Offline celticsclay

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I agree it improves their chemistry and potential future outlook (I like Nance a lot). As far as championship chances? Very very marginally. Their ceiling was and still is a finals trip and a beatdown from Golden State or Houston (barring injuries to the surviving squad). Their 3rd best player is George Hill

Here is the 3rd best player on the last 10 NBA Champions (imo at least)

2017: Klay Thompson
2016: Kevin Love
2015: Draymond Green
2014: Kawaii Leonard/Tim Duncan
2013: Chris Bosh
2012: Chris Bosh
2011: Jason Terry/Tyson Chandler
2010: Andrew Bynum
2009: Lamar Odom
2008: Ray Allen

So my thoughts on this list. I think just about everyone views the Mavericks as one of the great Cinderella teams to win the championship in the last 20 years (perhaps along with the " no stars " pistons teams.). So I would not view that as a repeatable title team.

Aside from that you have the spurs and Lakers teams. I think these would be the best hope for the Cavs to look to, but those teams have some pretty major differences in coaching given they have 2 of the top 4 or 5 all-time coaches (the Cavs have a terrible coach). Can a team like those Lakers and Spurs win in today's NBA when many of the teams have 3 all-star players and the Warriors have 4?

Some may say that Houston only has two stars, which I would agree with, but Capela is getting close and more importantly Paul and Harden are clear top 10 players in the NBA.

Re: Am I the only one who thinks The Cavs just made a lateral move?
« Reply #12 on: February 09, 2018, 02:23:24 PM »

Offline Bucketgetter

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It’s the right move for them for the future. Clarkson, Nance, and Hood are some good young talent and they got a 1st rounder too I believe. It won’t hurt them this year, but I don’t think it helps them this year either. Celtics or Raptors will come out of the east this year.
Not only did they not get a 1st, they actually traded their own 2018 first away.
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Re: Am I the only one who thinks The Cavs just made a lateral move?
« Reply #13 on: February 09, 2018, 02:35:52 PM »

Offline Moranis

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I agree it improves their chemistry and potential future outlook (I like Nance a lot). As far as championship chances? Very very marginally. Their ceiling was and still is a finals trip and a beatdown from Golden State or Houston (barring injuries to the surviving squad). Their 3rd best player is George Hill

Here is the 3rd best player on the last 10 NBA Champions (imo at least)

2017: Klay Thompson
2016: Kevin Love
2015: Draymond Green
2014: Kawaii Leonard/Tim Duncan
2013: Chris Bosh
2012: Chris Bosh
2011: Jason Terry/Tyson Chandler
2010: Andrew Bynum
2009: Lamar Odom
2008: Ray Allen

So my thoughts on this list. I think just about everyone views the Mavericks as one of the great Cinderella teams to win the championship in the last 20 years (perhaps along with the " no stars " pistons teams.). So I would not view that as a repeatable title team.

Aside from that you have the spurs and Lakers teams. I think these would be the best hope for the Cavs to look to, but those teams have some pretty major differences in coaching given they have 2 of the top 4 or 5 all-time coaches (the Cavs have a terrible coach). Can a team like those Lakers and Spurs win in today's NBA when many of the teams have 3 all-star players and the Warriors have 4?

Some may say that Houston only has two stars, which I would agree with, but Capela is getting close and more importantly Paul and Harden are clear top 10 players in the NBA.
Outside of Golden State, George Hill is absolutely on par with the 3rd best player on every other contender this year, including Houston (Gordon and Capela aren't exactly well rounded players).  Outside of Golden State, Rodney Hood is on par or better then every other contender's 4th best player.  Thompson, Nance, Korver, Smith, Green, and Clarkson are probably the best 5-10 of every team in the league, including Golden State. 
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Re: Am I the only one who thinks The Cavs just made a lateral move?
« Reply #14 on: February 09, 2018, 02:46:10 PM »

Offline alley oop

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