Well, the Cleveland Cavaliers may be the team that ushers in the new NBA.
Oh, and by the way, anyone want to criticize GM Chris Grant now?
The Cavs made their first trade of the season by dealing little used Jon Leuer to the Memphis Grizzlies for C/F Marreese Speights, G Wayne Ellington, G Josh Selby and unbelievably a future first round pick, although the pick is protected by several criteria until 2019.
The trade was made by Memphis mainly to allow them to stay under the new luxury tax threshold, part of the new collective bargaining agreement negotiated last year following the lockout.
As said a week ago, the Cavs were a team with four building blocks and maybe two decent players who could be bench guys for a good team. They picked up another solid piece in Speights, a big man the team badly needed with the loss for the season of Anderson Varejao.
A former first round pick in 2008, the former Florida Gator gives Byron Scott some much-needed size inside. In recent games, the Cavs have had to use 6’8″ Luke Walton at power forward because of the lack of depth on the roster.
A year ago, Speights averaged 8.8 points and 6.2 rebounds in 22 minutes per night for a playoff team in Memphis. This year, his minutes have been cut to 14.5 a game with Zack Randolph healthy, but he still has been productive, getting 6.5 points and 4.7 boards on average.
Ellington has actually played more this year than Speights, scoring 5.5 points per game. He plays the same game as Boobie Gibson, which doesn’t bode well for the latter’s future with the wine and gold. He’s a spot up shooter who rarely makes a foray into the paint.
He’s bigger than Gibson at 6’4″, so he fits better than Gibson defensively because of his size.
Selby has a world of potential, but has played less than 300 minutes in his NBA career in two seasons. He’s a guy who went to Kansas with a big reputation, and probably should have stayed beyond his freshman year. He was ranked as the top recruit by at least one scouting service as a high school senior.
He should get a better opportunity to play with the Cavaliers, and perhaps he can realize his potential. He fits as a combo guard, but he has to earn time in a crowded backcourt with Kyrie Irving, Dion Waiters, and an emerging Shaun Livingston, as well as Ellington and C. J. Miles.
The first round pick is an added bonus, and is the sixth acquired by Grant in the last three seasons. The pick is available starting in 2015, but is protected from being in the top five and from 15 to 30 in that draft and the 2016 selection process.
In 2017 and ’18, Cleveland will get the choice unless it falls in the top five picks. It becomes unprotected in 2019.
The Cavs’ bench was horrible early in the season, and in the last month, Grant has picked up a veteran point guard in Livingston, who has been a clear upgrade to Jeremy Pargo and Donald Sloan, and at least two other contributors in Speights and one of the guards.
It is obviously too late to help this season, but it gives Scott some options for the second half of the season.
It has been said before, but Grant is accumulating assets by gathering first round picks like a squirrel heading into winter. The philosophy is to pounce and use those picks to bring in a big time player at some point, a la the Celtics with Kevin Garnett.
If Grant succeeds, he will be a genius and will be hailed as a great general manager. If it doesn’t work, he’s a bum.
No pressure there, right?
JK
Cleveland Sports Perspective 