Archive for the 'Free Agency' Category

Best Offseason Moves of 2008

Published
by
Bob
on September 29, 2008
in Free Agency, Signings and Trades
. 1 Comment

Well it’s time I stop being a lazy piece of shit. After the Delonte signing, I needed to put some real work in so as to not get fired from my paying job. But at this point, it’s time to start writing again and start looking around the division/league. Seeing as I already did a write-up on my least favorite moves of this offseason, it’s only fitting that I make my feelings known about which moves I like best.

So without any more delay, I give you my five “Best Moves of 2008 Offseason”:

1.) Elton Brand signs with the Sixers

This one is pretty obvious to sit atop my list in large part because it was unexpected. If you had told me that Brand would leave the Clippers, under rather nefarious circumstances, after the Clippers acquired Baron Davis, I would have told you that you were crazy.

The guy has been nothing but a loyal workhorse, and the monetary differences didn’t seem enough to prompt a guy to uproot his life and walk away from a potentially contending trio of Brand/Davis/Camby with promising young support from Thornton and Gordon.

But yeah…. That happened, and now I have to hope the 20 and 10 we’ve all come to expect from Brand is either a thing of the past, or mostly hollow numbers that don’t translate to “surpassing the Cavs”. Call me skeptical that another year together and the addition of Brand/Speights/Ratliff won’t spell significant progress for the Sixers.

He’s worth every cent of the deal he got, and the fact that Sixers resigned Igoudala and Williams only makes this deal all the bigger in my eyes.

2.) Rockets acquire Ron Artest

This is one of those fantasy roster moves that of course I love until I see how it plays out. It’s low risk, and simply for that reason alone, I can get behind it. If Artest works out, you’ve put yourself in the driver’s seat when he negotiates his next contract. If not, he plays out the final year of his contract and he’s off the books next summer. Either way, the on court impact he could have on an already solid defensive squad could be tremendous. With Battier and Artest harassing the opposition, Tracy can focus on what Tracy does.

Giving up Donte Greene after his summer league showing might have been unfortunate, but we all know summer league ball does not an NBA player make (see Shannon Brown), and considering the way his stock free fell during the actual draft (sliding all the way to Memphis at #28 before being traded to Houston for weed smoking Darrell Arthur, the Rockets were probably fortunate to luck into such a promising talent that late in the first round anyway. Turning him and the corpse of Bobby Jackson into Ron Artest is a deal you make 11 out of 10 days.

2.5) Clippers acquire Marcus Camby

I already posted my thoughts on why this was a bad deal for the Nuggets, so logically I’d love it for the Clippers. Low risk, high reward. Moving on.

3.) Portland acquires Jerryd Bayless and Ike Diogu for Brandon Rush/Jarrett Jack/Josh McRoberts

A slashing point guard like Bayless would have been a dream scenario for the Cavs, but most expected he could go as high as the fourth overall pick. Why dwell on something which will never happen? He did slip quite a long way…. all the way to #11 where he was taken by the Pacers. Instead of holding on to him as the replacement for Jamaal Tinsley, the Pacers shipped him off to the Trailblazers.

The Trailblazers essentially turned the 13th overall pick (Brandon Rush) and two other players (Jarrett Jack and Josh Roberts) into the summer league’s best rookie who could start immediately or provide a huge scoring punch off the bench, a big man in Diogu, and almost as importantly, they opened up one more roster spot which is valuable for a team that is loaded up on overseas talent.

After seeing Rudy Fernandez’s performance in the Olympics, you’d be hard pressed to find somebody that would take issue with the Blazers offseason roster maneuvers. Did I mention Greg Oden returns?

4.) Roger Mason signs with the Spurs for 2 years, $7.3 million

I had to make at least one of these picks about a role player who flew under the radar. I loved this signing. The Spurs are aging and they added a 28-year old perimeter player who can do a little of everything to ease the loss of Brent Barry and the decay of Michael Finley. He shot nearly 40% from behind the arc last year, showed the ability to put the ball on the floor a little, and even spelled Daniels and Arenas at point when injuries required it.

Considering players like Michael Pietrus got the entire midlevel exception even after the Magic invested a first round pick in a player of the same position (Courtney Lee), you can hardly second guess the Spurs for acquiring yet another versatile role player for only $3.5 million to plug in alongside their starters. Watching Mason play these last few years have given me a healthy respect for his all around game. Mason won’t be enough to offset the age/injury concerns the Spurs continue to have, but he was a nice addition.

5.) Timberwolves acquire Kevin Love, Mike Miller, Brian Cardinal, and Jason Collins for OJ Mayo, Greg Buckner, Marko Jaric, and Antoine Walker

Let’s take the dead weight out of the analysis of this deal (Marko Jaric, Antoine Walker, Brian Cardinal). It’s moving bad money for other bad money, with the only difference being years.

The core of this deal is Kevin Love and Mike Miller for OJ Mayo. Personally I think I’d take Love for Mayo straight up. Love is a big man with both an inside and outside game (although we’ve yet to see how effective his inside game will be in the pros). He’s worked tirelessly to get his body in optimal NBA condition. He rebounds very well. He has a good attitude and fundamentally, he’s perhaps the best player in this year’s draft.

As for Mayo, he’s got the “upside”. Many would say at USC he was underwhelming given the level of hype he came in with. His character certainly can be called into question after witnessing his youtube antics and reading about his alleged “benefits” while playing at USC. But I’m trying to view this independently of any off court related reasons.

Why would a big man starved team (the Grizzlies) trade a very promising big man for another perimeter player on a team that already has Conley, Crittendon, Lowry, and Gay? Mayo has the “upside” but he’s hardly shown that’s he’s a traditional point guard, and with Crittendon and Gay on the outside, the Grizzlies don’t lack for guys who can fill it up when given the green light.

Call me a hater, but I think the Mayo legacy that was created post-Lebron is responsible for the Grizzlies trading away a guy who will end with a better NBA career.

Ronald Dupree coming to camp with the Cavs

Published
by
Bob
on September 18, 2008
in Free Agency and Signings
. 0 Comments

Well Hoopshype is reporting that Ronald “Super Dupe” Dupree, the former Piston small forward has signed on with the Cavs to compete for a roster spot in training camp. 

Ronald Dupree, who will go in history as the last player inked by the Seattle SuperSonics, will be signed by the Cleveland Cavaliers.

While Dupree has had a largely insignificant career in the NBA, he has managed to stick around filling up a spot on the bench for a few different squads.  Undrafted out of LSU, Dupree (6′7″, 200 lbs.) had his biggest on court impact his rookie season when he logged 20 minutes a night with a bad Bulls team averaging 6 points and 3 boards per game during ‘03-’04.

Since then, he served as roster filler for Larry Brown’s Pistons, had a short stint in Minnesota when he was traded there for a second-round pick, and then returned to Detroit where he rode the bench until he was waived to make room for Primo Brezec and Walter Hermann in the Pistons-Bobcats deal that sent Nazi Mohammed to Charlotte.

It’s not really a surprise that Mike Brown would want bring in another long wing player since he seems to be searching for some more defensive help on the perimeter.  Whether Dupree makes the team or not (which is unlikely), is largely going to depend on what happens with Eric Snow, since the roster is pretty full up now on guys who are better options.  Regardless, I wouldn’t expect him to have any more of a roll with the Cavs then he did with the Pistons after his initial year…. that being the role of a towel waiver and seat warmer.

Delonte guaranteed $500,000 in third year of deal

Published
by
Bob
on September 15, 2008
in Free Agency, Rookies and Trades
. 0 Comments

So Bob Finnan had a follow up to the Delonte West signing that included some concrete numbers, but more importantly, it included information about the all-important third year, which previously had been reported as one that included a team option. While that is by and large true, Delonte does have a portion of that third year guaranteed even if the Cavs waive him during the summer of 2010. Finnan reports:

West’s contract starts at $3,850,000 this season, a source said. It’s a three-year deal worth $12,705,000. He will be paid $4,235,000 in 2009-10 and $4,620,000 in 2010-11.

The third year might not be a club option, as once thought, but it’s conditional. West has $500,000 in salary protection in the third year. If he’s on the roster by a certain date — perhaps by July 1, 2010 — his contract will become guaranteed. But the Cavs can waive him and he would be owed $500,000.

Signing West puts the Cavaliers at somewhere between 90 and 91 million dollars of guaranteed salaries. That ranks behind only New York and Dallas for the league’s highest payroll. There’s a reason why the Cavaliers have so many potential trade packages. It’s because their roster is still loaded with highly paid, underachieving players. Ferry is doing all he can to fix that. So what else can we expect to see this year?

The next item we’ll likely see is the release of Lance Allred (who currently sits 7th on the depth chart of Cavalier big men). Billy Thomas was waived last week and has already signed overseas, and those moved together would leave the Cavs with 14 players on the roster. Eric Snow’s situation is still largely unresolved, but the one certainty is that he won’t be suiting up with the Cavs again. Finnan adds some details on his injury settlement situation:

Cavs guard Eric Snow’s knee is shot and he can no longer play in the NBA. He has one more year on his contract worth $7.3 million.

A source said he won’t be on the Cavs this year — as a player or coach. So what gives?

Let’s muddle through this. If he’s waived, his $7.3 million contract will remain on the books.

That’s not what the Cavs want. They can’t petition the league to remove his salary from their payroll until one year after Snow’s last game (last Feb. 22 against Washington) in an injured player exception.

Up until that time, Snow could theoretically be used in a trade. Remember, he still owns an expiring contract, which could come into play near the trade deadline of Feb. 19, 2009. If he’s traded, though, the team that acquires him can’t use the exception.

Let’s hope Gilbert and Ferry keep him around, if for no other reason then to add to their options come trade deadline.

Delonte West Resigns: Two years with third year option, $4-5 million per year

Published
by
Bob
on September 12, 2008
in Free Agency and Signings
. 0 Comments

Well just as I was thinking, “nothing is going on today”, Brian Windhorst has reported that Delonte West has resigned with the Cavs for the term of two years, at a per year salary of $4-5 million dollars.  From his article:

After a summer of intense negotiations, the team came to terms with restricted free agent guard Delonte West today.

West has agreed to a two-year contract with a team option for the 2011-12 season. According to league sources, the deal is worth between $4 million and $5 million per season.

The Cavs have scheduled a conference call later today to announce the news.

This is great news for Cavs fans. 

For Danny Ferry, he struck the perfect compromise.  I myself was skeptical to think West would settle for a two-year deal, but he’s essentially done just that, and even consented to an option year which will allow the Cavs to keep him around without fear of open market competition after the 2010 season should he exceed expectations. 

West’s contract, as so many other before him, lines up with the expiring contracts of 2010.  If the Cavs need his allotment of cap money, they can cut ties in a manner similar to how Robert “Tractor” Traylor’s run as a Cavalier ended.  And don’t shed a tear for West, because if that is in fact what happens to try to lure a second superstar to pair with James, West will still be in the prime of his career at the age of 26.

All the contractual length considerations aside, West proved to be a great fit for the Cavs last season, and considering there are role players on this roster making much more but contributing much less (Eric Snow, Wally Szczerbiak), this offseason’s modest contracts given out to Daniel Gibson and West are much more palatable. 

As opposed to the risks the Cavs took when spending $4-5 million per year on Donyell Marshall and Damon Jones, Ferry has made that type of monetary investment in proven commodities who have already flourished alongside James.  The previous years have seen the Cavs get burned by their fair share of external role player additions (Marshall, Newble, Damon Jones, David Wesley, Wally thus far).  Even marginally better luck with Maurice Williams would be met with rejoice by the fans.

Having touched on the money and years here, I think the other positive is that West seems to genuinely be happy to be here.  In Mary Schmitt Boyer’s story on the resigning, she had these quotes from West:

“This is the first time since I was offered a scholarship at St. Joes that I feel like I am valued as a person and a player,” West said in a release issued by the team. “Dan Gilbert and the Cavaliers have shown me that they value me as a person and a player and that was the most important thing to me.

“In that sense, this was not about a specific dollar amount. You can’t really put a dollar value on a person - their skills you can, but not their heart and what kind of person they are. My family is blessed and I feel a great relief to be able to concentrate on basketball now.”

Couple those comments with the recent press of what kind of character and class Darnell Jackson has shown in his dealings with his supporters in Kansas, and any Cavs fan can be happy with the personnel decisions this team has made in regards to their offseason dealings. 

Not that it’s relevant or prudent to link personal loss to character, but I find myself hoping that Lorenzen Wright enjoys success after being reminded of this story about the hardships he’s endured. 

I’ll follow up with more later as it develops.  Be sure to catch Dan Labbe’s write-up here.  And of course, I’d be remiss if I didn’t mention WFNY, where RockKing has again done an excellent piece.

With this signing all but concluding the Cavs offseason activity, next week we’ll be shifting to looking around the league and getting ready for preseason.

 

Cavs sign Lorenzen Wright

Published
by
Bob
on September 5, 2008
in Free Agency and Signings
. 0 Comments

In a move that was expected for the last week, the Cavs added Lorenzen Wright.  From Mary Schmitt Boyer in the Cleveland Plains Dealer:

The Cavaliers have signed veteran center Lorenzen Wright to a contract, Cavs general manager Danny Ferry announced today. Per team and league policy, terms of the deal were not disclosed, but NBA sources indicated it was a one-year deal for the veteran’s minimum of $1.2 million.

Wright, 32, played 13 games last season with the Atlanta Hawks and five games with the Sacramento Kings. The 6-foot-11, 255 pound center was drafted by the L.A. Clippers with the seventh overall pick in the 1996 NBA Draft and has played in 761 career games (445 starts) with averages of 8.1 points and 6.5 rebounds per game.

“Lorenzen brings us valuable size and experience and adds depth to our frontcourt,” Ferry said. “We think he’s a good fit for us and look forward to him joining our team.”

The 12-year veteran has appeared in 15 postseason games (11 starts) and averaged 7.7 points, 5.3 rebounds and 1.1 assists per game.

The Cavs are expected to announce a deal with second-round draft choice Darnell Jackson from Kansas on Saturday. Point guard Delonte West, a restricted free agent, remains unsigned.

It’s tough to get too fired up about this move.  Wright is on his last legs, and isn’t going to see much court time.  It’s a similar addition to Scot Pollard two years ago, in that he’s a veteran who likely won’t see much court time, but adds an insurance policy in case of injuries or extreme foul trouble.  Still, considering the alternatives are Lance Allred or Dwayne Jones, Wright certainly could be a modest upgrade from those options.

Wright is not a “replacement” for Joe Smith as some outlets have reported it.  He’s nowhere near as skilled as Smith at this point in his career.  But he can rebound.  And he has enough bulk to be able to spell either front court position in limited minutes.  If a Darnell Jackson signing follows that would bring the Cavaliers to 13 players signed.  Delonte West would make 14, but most expect Eric Snow’s retirement paperwork to be accepted by the league prior to training camp bringing the open roster spots on the Cavaliers down to just two. 

That would leave them considerable flexibility, albeit maybe only temporarily, in taking on players in trades.