Sexton’s Injury And Its Effect On Okoro

It was curious that the news came out about Cavaliers’ guard Collin Sexton being ruled out for the rest of the 2021-22 season late Friday night.

It seems there is some tension in the relationship between the former first round draft pick and the team since a contract extension was not reached prior to the start of the season.

We agree with the organization’s stance since we don’t know what the market is for the 6’2″, soon to be 23-year-old shooting guard. Why not allow him to see what other teams are willing to pay him and allow the Cavs to match it.

Regardless, we are about to see how important Sexton is to this basketball team. Yes, J.B. Bickerstaff’s squad has lost three in a row, but that probably has more to do with the absence of Jarrett Allen and Evan Mobley.

Little used Ed Davis was forced into action in the last two losses to Brooklyn and Golden State.

Before the season started, most thought Sexton was the team’s best player. He led the team in scoring last season at 24.3 per game, ranking 18th in the NBA. But where would he rank on the team’s pecking order right now?

You could make an argument that he would be fifth, behind Darius Garland, Mobley, Allen, and Ricky Rubio. That’s not an indictment of Sexton’s ability, but more about the development of Garland and Allen, and adding Mobley and Rubio to the roster.

Right now, Sexton has been replaced in the starting lineup by Isaac Okoro, but that presents a bit of a problem. Although Okoro is a much better defender, he’s a liability on offense, shooting 37% from the floor and is just 6 for 34 from behind the three point line.

So, if he is standing outside, there is no reason for opponents to guard him, and that in turn, causes driving lines to close and create a lack of room inside for Allen.

You have to wonder how much longer Bickerstaff can go with Okoro in the starting lineup. His defensive ability is valuable to the team, but if he doesn’t need to be guarded, that’s a problem.

We think the coaching staff likes Cedi Osman and Rubio coming off the bench, but one of them may have to start to give the floor better spacing.

Going back to Sexton, the injury couldn’t have come at a worse time for him because the contract extension wasn’t reached. If the team continues to do as well as they were before Allen and Mobley went out, he has lost a lot of leverage, and you have to wonder if GM Koby Altman would go in a different direction.

It has been pointed out by some that the Cavs have scored 100 points in a game only once (last night) since Sexton was injured, but we would remind those folks that the wine and gold haven’t had their full complement of players since then either.

Kevin Love and Lauri Markkanen have been out, and now so have Allen and Mobley.

As for Okoro, we said when he was drafted that taking a defense first player with the fifth overall pick wasn’t a good move. That said, there is still time for him to improve his shot to make it passable and punish teams that leave him wide open.

If he doesn’t, he will become a nomad in the league, moving from team to team as a defensive specialist.

Cavs Continue To Amaze Early On.

We cannot say enough how surprised we are by the start for the Cleveland Cavaliers.

While it is still very early, the Cavs are currently in 4th place in the Eastern Conference with a 9-5 record, and have done it battling with players out with COVID (Kevin Love and Lauri Markkanen) and others missing time with injuries, including last year’s leading scorer in Collin Sexton and second year player Isaac Okoro.

The wine and gold have a very tough stretch coming up with a road game vs. Brooklyn on Wednesday, followed by home tilts with Golden State, Brooklyn, and Phoenix heading into Thanksgiving. Hopefully by then, Love and Markkanen will be back on the court.

We have said for a few years now that this organization wouldn’t go anywhere until they emphasized defense, and we will pat ourselves on the back a bit for that one. Cleveland is second in the NBA in least points allowed and 8th in overall defensive rating.

Both figures are the best they’ve ranked in many years.

The Cavaliers have a pretty solid top of the roster right now, but beyond the top eight players, they need to get more help.

While before the season, most would have said Sexton is the best player (not us), now he might rank no higher than fourth. Through these 14 games, rookie Evan Mobley would rank at the top, averaging 14.6 points, 8 boards, 2.5 assists, and 1.6 blocks per contest.

And he was shooting over 50% from the floor before last night’s game, and perhaps more impressive, is a 77% free throw shooter.

Add in third year player Darius Garland and you have a very good (and very young) guard/big man combination for opponents to worry about.

Garland currently leads the team in scoring at 16.8 per night, but has also dished out 6.7 assists and is knocking down three point shots at 40%. The playmaking of Garland and veteran Ricky Rubio have Cleveland ranking 7th in the league in assists, compared to 21st last season, and 24th in 2019-20.

We haven’t talked yet about Jarrett Allen, who we felt was the Cavaliers’ best player when last season ended, and this year has combined with Mobley to create a formidable barrier to scoring that the team has lacked, since who knows when?

Still just 23 years old, Allen is scoring 14.2 points and is grabbing 10.9 caroms a game, and is shooting (or perhaps dunking) 69.4% from the floor.

What is special is both Allen and Mobley are able to guard smaller men out on the floor, and we know from watching Tristan Thompson on the teams that went to the NBA Finals what a valuable ability that is.

Another player who has really helped out is a man many were ready to write off, and that’s Cedi Osman. He’s making 40.6% of his three point attempts, and if that is sustainable, he can be a help off the bench. He’s a solid defender and we still think his strength offensively is as a slasher.

When Love and Markkanen return to action, J.B. Bickerstaff will have nine players who can give him solid minutes. He will then have to figure out who else deserves minutes so he can play ten players.

It could be Dylan Windler, who has hit 9 of 21 from behind the arc, something he has struggled with in his injury plagued career. The wine and gold badly need players who can make shots from outside because it opens things up for Allen and Mobley inside.

The next four games will be measuring stick for how good this team is. However, even if they lose the majority of these contests, this team is fun to watch and the future bodes well.

After the past few seasons, that’s a large step in the right direction.

NBA’s Biggest Surprise? How About The Cavs?

It is fair to say the Cleveland Cavaliers have been one of the surprise teams in the NBA through the first three weeks of the 2021-22 season.

Faced with a brutal early season schedule, which had them playing just three of their first 11 games at home, and with games against eight playoff teams from a year ago, J.B. Bickerstaff’s crew has gone 7-4, winning the last four contests, and now have a schedule featuring eight of their next nine at Rocket Mortgage Fieldhouse.

Just think about what you will think if the Cavs take care of business at home.

However, this is still a very young basketball team, so it is tough to predict the future, but they have won the last four despite not having Isaac Okoro, Kevin Love at all, and no Lauri Markkanen for the last three. All three of those players are in the nine man rotation Bickerstaff favors.

After the first two games, in which the Cavaliers allowed 132 and 123 points respectively, we would not have thought this type of success would be possible. We have said on many occasions, that until defense is taken seriously by this organization, winning would be very difficult.

Since then, the 113 points put up by the Lakers on October 29th (game #6) is the most scored against Cleveland. They rank in the top half of the league (13th) in defensive efficiency.

They also started trying to race up and down the floor in those first two games, but since have slowed it down, so much that Cleveland is 25th in the NBA in pace.

It’s a formula that has led to success. Hats off to Bickerstaff and the coaching staff for developing a system that allows this group to have some prosperity.

Bickerstaff decided to go with size at the beginning of the season, using Markkanen, Jarrett Allen, and rookie Evan Mobley at the same time. That move has paid dividends to date, even without Markkanen on the floor lately.

Allen, who signed a $100 million deal over the summer, has played like an all star, averaging 14.9 points and 11.6 rebounds per night, and shooting 68.7% from the floor. He also keyed two wins on the defensive end in this streak, defending Damian Lillard and OG Anunoby from making game winning shots.

We can’t say enough about Mobley. When we saw him at the summer league, he looked frightfully thin, but obviously he has a great work ethic. He’s noticeable bigger and stronger, and playing like someone in the conversation for Rookie of the Year.

He’s scoring 14.9 points and grabbing 8 rebounds per game and is a force defensively near the basket and on the perimeter. And he’s shooting 52% from the floor. Add in two and a half assists and 1.3 blocks, and you have someone impacting both ends of the court.

The scoring is more balanced as well. Collin Sexton doesn’t have to score 25 points per game anymore. This year’s team has eight players averaging nine points or more per contest. They have five players taking more than 11 shots per night.

And what an addition Ricky Rubio has been! We said when he came over from Minnesota, he knows how to play. His 13.7 points and almost 7 assists per night have been invaluable so far.

And despite what on most nights is a nine man rotation, no one is playing more than Mobley’s 34.4 minutes per night, and that’s probably a little high considering he’s a rookie (and his frame). Our guess is when Love and Markkanen return, that number will go down some.

Right now, this group is one of the game’s surprising teams, and the key word is “team”. If the wine and gold can continue this style of play on this extended home stand, it could be a fun winter in downtown Cleveland.

Teams will start figuring a way to counter what the Cavs are doing, but they do have veterans in Rubio and Love to help the young guys through it.

Sexton Has A Different Role For These Cavs.

Basketball has been declared at times as the jazz of sports. It is spontaneous. While certainly there is a coaches’ blueprint to a free break, many times the players make it up as they head to the basket.

We always favored getting the ball to the middle of the floor, with two other players filling the wings, with spacing being important so one defender cannot cover two players. But really, once the player with the ball heads up the floor, there is room for creativity, as long as the ball gets in the basket.

It’s a joy to watch teams playing the game by moving the basketball around by passing. Some of our favorite teams were that way. Before the Cavaliers existed, we loved watching the Knicks of the late 60’s, with Red Holzman preaching “hit the open man”, led by Walt Frazier, Dave DeBusschere, and Willis Reed.

Even though the Cavs went to the playoffs the first time in 1975-76, the team that won the NBA title the following year, fellow expansion team Portland led by Bill Walton, operating the offense from the high post, and Maurice Lucas providing muscle and toughness, passed the ball incredibly.

Walton’s nagging injuries probably kept them from a long run at the top.

The 1985-86 Celtics, with Larry Bird, Kevin McHale, Dennis Johnson, and Walton as a sixth man, were another team who won playing a beautiful style of hoops.

We think about this because even though this year’s edition of the Cavs has been an early surprise, starting out 3-3 despite just two home games, some fans don’t like how they are winning.

Keep in mind, those three wins came against playoff teams from a year ago: Atlanta, Denver, and the Clippers.

The problem is the lesser role being taken offensively by Collin Sexton, and right now, it is working for the wine and gold.

Sexton’s shots are down from 18.4 per contest to 13.6 this year. And so far, it’s been good for the wine and gold.

Last year, only five players averaged 10 or more shots per game, and two of them were Andre Drummond, who played just 25 games with Cleveland, and the other was Yogi Farrell, who played only four.

This year, five players who are entrenched in the J.B. Bickerstaff’s rotation all average at least 10 shots. Besides Sexton, Darius Garland, Ricky Rubio, Lauri Markkanen, and rookie Evan Mobley all get that many looks.

That’s what happens when you add more talent to the roster.

Also, it doesn’t appear Sexton is buying in to the offense being played by Garland and Rubio. Garland’s assist numbers are up from 6.1 to 8.2 thus far, and Rubio’s 6.6 helpers per game are two more than Matthew Dellavedova provided in his limited time last season. He was second on the team in assists.

Sexton’s numbers have dropped from 4.1 in 2020-21 to just 1.9 this season. Big men Mobley and Kevin Love are averaging more.

The four year guard from Alabama’s role is changing. He’s on a team with more talent, and has to adjust.

What we don’t understand are the fans who seem disappointed by this changing role. They seem to want the guy who scored 24 points per night on a team that frequently were non-competitive.

Basketball can be individualistic in terms of moves and dunks, but it’s still a professional sport, and winning is the ultimate goal. If the Cavaliers are better with Collin Sexton taking less shots, that’s fine.

And for sure, there will be games the team needs Sexton to score 35 points to win. And he needs to be ready to do that.

By the way, the year Kobe Bryant took the most shots in his career (27), the Lakers went 47-35. The seasons in which the Lakers won their last two titles with Bryant? He averaged about 21 shots per game. Reason? The team was better.

This Cavalier team seems to more good players. Mobley is pretty good for a rookie. Rubio is a solid veteran. Garland continues to improve.

Fans (and Sexton himself) need to be more concerned with the number in the win column increasing, even if the number in the scoring column is dropping.

Have Cavs Found A Winning Style?

Three games is hardly enough time to make any judgments on the any team and the Cleveland Cavaliers are no exception. A lot could change during the next eight games for the wine and gold, especially because seven of those games are on the road.

The Rock & Roll Hall of Fame induction ceremonies are the reason for the games away from Rocket Mortgage Fieldhouse, by the way.

It might surprise you based on the team’s first two games, but the Cavs have moved up to 20th in the league in defensive rating after the victories over Atlanta and Denver.

Much was made about the five words on the wall in the Cavs’ practice facility being the coaching staff’s mantra, but we felt until one of those words becomes “defense”, we fear this team in going to struggle.

Perhaps J.B. Bickerstaff hit on something by switching to a zone, with rookie Evan Mobley at the top of it to start the second half in Saturday night’s victory over the Hawks. The rookie can be a monster in this defense with his length and quickness, and he covers up for most of the lack of ability defensively by his teammates.

It will be interesting to see how often Bickerstaff goes to this defense on this trip.

Also interesting is the rotation employed by the coach, who right now seems to only trust nine players, and with Darius Garland nursing a sore ankle, he played only eight guys in a game he probably figured he needed badly with the long trip coming up.

The only bench players getting time are the veterans, Ricky Rubio and Kevin Love, and Isaac Okoro and Cedi Osman.

He tried to use Kevin Pangos and Dean Wade in the home opener against Charlotte, but neither gave much in the way of performance.

We did not understand Bickerstaff’s insistence on pushing the ball up the court. The last two games, Cleveland has slowed the tempo and taken care of the basketball.

We fear the young players do not make good enough decisions trying to beat teams up the floor and that leads to turnovers. Rubio can handle this. Perhaps later in the year, after watching the veteran, Garland and Sexton can handle this as well. But for now, we love the decision to slow it down a bit.

And as with last season, three point shooting continues to be an issue. The Cavs are still one of the worst teams in terms of shooting the long range shot, and that’s with Rubio knocking down 9 of 23.

The next two players in terms of attempts, Lauri Markkanen and Sexton, have made a combined 14 of 46 shots from beyond the arc (30.4%). Although Osman has hit 5 of 14 shots from distance, 14 of his 24 shots have been threes and we don’t understand why.

In our way of thinking, he’s a slasher and a decent passer once he drives to the hoop, and we feel he would be more effective playing that type of game.

Despite starting three players seven feet tall, the Cavaliers are getting hammered on the board, outrebounded by an average of nine per night. We think this is due to the big men trying to stop the parade of guards going to the basket, and then being out of position.

Once again, that would be corrected with a better defensive concept in the half-court.

It’s going to be a tough trip to start the year, for sure. But starting with a win last night, it certainly was an encouraging start.

A New Season, And Hopefully Big Progress For Cavs

Wednesday night, the Cleveland Cavaliers will open their 2021-22 season at Memphis trying to show some improvement from the previous three seasons.

Since LeBron James departed for free agency, the wine and gold have suffered through years of 19, 19, and 22 wins, the last two seasons being shortened to 65 and 72 games respectively.

This year, the plan is to play all 82 for the first time since the 2018-19 campaign.

The Cavs will have a new look this season, and quite frankly that look is “up”. They feature basically three seven footers in Jarrett Allen, newcomer Lauri Markkanen and rookie Evan Mobley, and just added another big man off the bench in veteran Ed Davis.

This is quite a departure since for many years, the organization ignored big people.

We like this quite frankly. To us, if you play the same style as other teams but don’t have the same talent to play that style, you are going to come up short on the scoreboard. We think this current roster of Cavaliers isn’t suited to play fast and shoot three pointers. They don’t have the long distance shooters.

So why not play slower, control the tempo and use what you do have, which is size. Markkanen can shoot from outside, so he can play the small forward spot offensively, and we would love to see if Mobley can handle playing defense out on the floor with his size and quickness.

We know that isn’t how J.B. Bickerstaff is going to start, he will use Isaac Okoro at small forward to start, and even though we just discussed how long the Cavs are, that lineup will be rather small.

This is still a very young basketball team, with no one outside of Kevin Love and Ricky Rubio having more than four years experience in the league. Why not play a little slower and let hopefully that will lead to fewer turnovers/mistakes.

That isn’t to say the Cavs shouldn’t fastbreak when they get the opportunity. Hopefully, the bigger front line will lead to blocked shots and a larger percentage of defensive rebounds, and they absolutely should run off of those situations.

But there isn’t a need for quick possessions in the halfcourt offense. Move the ball, in and out and side to side and hopefully that will lead to open looks. This team isn’t in the mode of moving the ball up the court quickly off of makes and taking the first shot available.

Play to the strengths you have.

We believe there is talent on this roster. However, the problem remains does the talent fit, is it complementary? Can the Cavs win with two smaller guards? Can they have success with three bigs playing at the same time? And how do Rubio and Love fit in, and will the latter be happy in his role?

Bickerstaff has already indicated Rubio might play more than a normal reserve. Why? Because he has a good understanding of moving the ball and playing for others.

And we continue to say, accountability is of utmost importance. If a player isn’t doing the job, or playing defense, he should be shown the bench. It’s time to take the gloves off and tell everyone winning is the goal.

If this team doesn’t make a big jump in the win column, someone is going to lose their job. So, there’s a lot at stake for both GM Koby Altman and his coach.

Cavs Need To Start Building A Winning Attitude

The Cleveland Cavaliers have played four pre-season games to date, after watching them, we still have no idea what to think about J.B. Bickerstaff’s team.

Our guess is there will be more losing on the horizon, which won’t thrill the fan base who have been watching bad basketball for three seasons since LeBron James departed for Los Angeles.

The Cavs are very much still a young basketball team and if they decided to not start Lauri Markkanen, all of their starters will be 23 years old or younger. By the way, Markkanen is only 24.

However, sometimes younger doesn’t always mean better. We have used this analogy many times, but remember when you went up to the local YMCA or playground when you were just out of high school and a bunch of old guys ran you off the court?

It’s called experience.

Now that doesn’t mean the youngsters can’t learn from old heads like Ricky Rubio and Kevin Love. Here’s hoping Rubio makes a huge impression on Darius Garland and Collin Sexton, because in these practice games, the ball moves a lot more when the veteran from Spain is on the court.

Playing in an average of 19.4 minutes per game, Rubio leads the team in assists in exhibition play at 5.8 per game. That’s almost two dimes more than the next best figures, Darius Garland and another experience newcomer, Kevin Pangos, both of whom dish out four assists per outing.

We believe Bickerstaff’s goal should be getting his five best players on the floor as much as possible and figuring out what style of play is best suited to that group. The coach has said he wants to play up tempo and shoot threes, but it’s hard to see how that works when several of his best players are big men.

We would start Garland and Sexton at guards, with Jarrett Allen, Markkanen, and Isaac Okoro up front, although we’d keep an eye on the latter, who seems to have a problem fitting in offensively right now.

And we would emphasize defense. That keeps you in basketball games. You expended high draft picks each of the last two seasons on players who are good defenders. Let them do what they do best. And at the same time, force your guards to understand that’s what is important on this basketball team.

This past year’s first round pick, Evan Mobley, looks to be a force defensively, but let him get acclimated to NBA life and get stronger by limiting him to around 20-25 minutes per night. To us, he still looks like he will be really good in 2-3 years, but he definitely appears he can contribute now.

But why put pressure on him?

So, if that’s your starting five, your primary bench guys are Rubio, Mobley, and Love, with any other minutes likely going to Cedi Osman, Dylan Windler (who could get more time if he can make shots, something the Cavs desperately need), and Denzel Valentine.

It’s also time to start holding players accountable. If the ball movement isn’t there offensively, take someone out and put Rubio in. It will improve. If one of the guards isn’t working on defense? Move Okoro to guard and bring in Mobley or another forward.

If the Cavaliers aren’t going to win this season, at least they should be laying a foundation for winning. We think there has been a shortage of that thinking since James left after the 2017-18 season.

Cavs Start Camp. What Exactly Will They Be?

In a little more than two weeks, the Cleveland Cavaliers open the regular season. They hasn’t been a big turnover from the roster of last year’s team that went 22-50 in the COVID shortened season, and quite frankly we don’t know what to expect.

The best player from a year ago no longer on the roster is Larry Nance Jr., moved in a three team deal which netted GM Koby Altman forward Lauri Markkanen.

Nance is an all around player, but missed more than half the season a year ago, playing in just 35 of the 72 contests. He will be missed, but the potential of Markkanen could more than make up for his loss.

Altman also brought in veteran point guard Ricky Rubio, which is nice, the Cavs could use a veteran who plays smart basketball. However, he plays the same position as one of the team’s best players in Darius Garland. Rubio could be a good sounding board for the third year player, but if Garland makes the strides expected by many, how much time does Rubio get on the floor?

Coach J.B. Bickerstaff still has a relatively inexperienced team. The only “old heads” are Kevin Love and Rubio, both of whom have been in the NBA for 10+ years. Beyond that pair, the two oldest players who figure to see decent playing time are newcomer Denzel Valentine (28) and Cedi Osman (27).

The most important Cavs figure to be Garland (21), Collin Sexton (22), Jarrett Allen (23), Markkanen (24), Isaac Okoro (21) and rookie Evan Mobley (20).

That’s a lot of youth for the coaching staff to have to teach about the ways of the NBA.

We also still have concerns about how the roster fits. Starting Garland and Sexton at guard, as expected, leaves the Cavaliers very small in the backcourt. Okoro, a tough player who had a solid rookie season last year, is short at 6’5″ for a small forward.

We still believe his size makes him a better fit at the off guard, but can he score enough to play there.

Then we have the frontcourt where the bulk of the playing time will go to three seven footers, Allen, Markkanen, and Mobley.

And what to do with Kevin Love, who is still here, and it probably won’t be long, particularly if he isn’t getting a lot of time, before he makes it known he would like to be elsewhere.

What style will Bickerstaff use for his squad. Right now, this doesn’t figure to be a strong outside shooting team, particularly from three point range. So, does he try to defend, force missed shots, and try to take advantage of fast break opportunities?

The problem with that is can the smallish guard apply the type of defensive pressure needed for this to work? Defense is as good as the weakest defender on the floor. Good teams will find the bad defender and take advantage.

Can Cleveland have that kind of defense?

We have heard the staff wants to use Mobley off the bench, at least early in the season. We think this makes sense, because at his stature, we can see him taking a pounding from bigger, more veteran players. It might be best to use him about 18-20 minutes per night at the start of the season, and we also might use him at small forward at times as well.

But the biggest thing for this team is can they play together, for each other, particularly when things go poorly. Can they make each other look like better players than they are individually?

That’s the key to success. And knowing what you can do and can’t do as a player, and where you rank in the pecking order on the team.

That’s our biggest worry about the wine and gold. Altman hasn’t made any bad picks, none of his high picks are complete busts. However, right now, they don’t seem to fit very well together. Getting them to do just that is the biggest key for success by the Cavs this year.

Cavs Should Be Trying To Get Simmons, He’s Really Good

There has been a lot of discussion lately about the Cleveland Cavaliers trading for disgruntled Philadelphia 76ers’ star Ben Simmons.

Should the Cavs be interested? What would they have to give up? Would it improve the roster for the upcoming season?

First, let’s say Simmons is a very talented player, being elected to three all star teams in his first four seasons in the league. The consensus around the Association is that he is probably in the top 25-30 players in the league right now.

Based on that, Koby Altman should be interested in bringing him to Cleveland. It says here he would be the best player on the team the minute he put on the wine and gold.

Let us also say right now that we doubt such a trade will involve the Cavaliers. But it is fun to speculate.

The main rap against the former first overall pick in the 2016 NBA Draft is his shooting ability, notably from long distance. He has famously (or maybe infamously) taken just 34 shots from behind the arc in his four years in the NBA, making just five.

On the other hand, he has made 56% of his field goal attempts in his career, so he knows where he needs to be on the court to score. There’s nothing wrong with that. We have seen many players throughout the league fire up shots that have little chance of going in, and continue to take those bad shots.

Sometimes, selectivity is a good thing.

Other than shooting, Simmons does everything else very well. He averages 7.7 assists per game at 6’11” and grabs 8.1 boards per contest in his four year career. He’s also a very good defense player, making first team All-Defense in each of the last two seasons.

We understand there is a section of basketball fans out there that focus on one thing, scoring. Unfortunately, there is way more to the game than that and Ben Simmons is very good at doing all of those things. He just isn’t a very good shooter from outside the paint.

As for a potential trade to Cleveland, it is hard to see what Philadelphia would want from the Cavs, and in turn, would Altman give up the players. For example, we are sure Philly would ask for Darius Garland, but we would not give him up.

There has been recent speculation that the Sixers would be interested in newly acquired Lauri Markkanen, but in that case Altman would be giving up a three point threat (something Cleveland needs) for someone who is not. We would prefer not to give up the newest Cavalier.

As for Collin Sexton, who is probably the most marketable player the Cavs have, we would certainly be willing to move him in a package for Simmons, but it’s tough to see a fit for the 76ers. Joel Embiid and Tobias Harris are the primary scorers there, so would Sexton get the shots he is accustomed to?

And Kevin Love would seem to be useful as a sniper off the bench in Philadelphia, but you would have to add a whole lot to that package to get anyone to take on that contract.

Would Cedi Osman be of interest? Maybe. But again, anyone the Sixers are interested in is probably a good player, and the Cavs certainly need good players.

Again, we don’t expect anything to happen on this front, but adding Simmons to the roster would make the Cavaliers a better team. Adding a three time all star in his prime is always a good idea.

Cavs Add Talent, But Is The Fit Better?

Cavaliers’ GM Koby Altman made another move on Friday executing a sign and trade deal with free agent forward Lauri Markkanen, with fan favorite Larry Nance Jr. and a second round pick going to Portland in the deal.

The Cavs get younger in the transaction as Markkanen, who agreed to a four year deal with Cleveland, is just 24 years old and Nance will turn 29 on New Years Day.

First, let’s talk about the hometown player in Nance. We love his game. He has an old school game in that he does everything well. He averaged 9.5 points per game in his time with the Cavaliers, with 7.5 rebounds and almost three assists.

He was third on the team in assists last year, and might have been the second best passer on the team.

However, he also misses a lot of action. His high in games played since entering the league is 67, and last season, played in just 35 games due to illness and a broken hand.

He also has a game that fits better with a winning team, because he’s a complementary player. He passes, defends, block shots, and can finish at the rim. He will be a very good fit with the Trailblazers, a team trying to win.

Markkanen’s numbers have fallen off since his first two years with the Bulls, when he averaged 15.2 and then 18.7 points per game, and grabbed a career high 9.0 rebounds in his second season in Chicago.

In that second season, he averaged 15 shots per night, second to Zach LaVine. The next season, Chicago drafted Coby White in the first round and they became more of a guard oriented offense with LaVine getting two more shots per game and White taking more shots than the former 7th overall pick who played one season at Arizona.

Last year, he did raise his overall shooting percentage to 48% (his career mark is 44%) and his three point shooting to 40.2% (36.6% lifetime). If that’s a trend, that’s something the wine and gold could really use, as they had the league’s worst shooting from beyond the arc.

Where does he play? Our thought is maybe he starts at power forward giving J.B. Bickerstaff the option of bring rookie Evan Mobley off the bench in his rookie season, backing up at both center and power forward.

We understand there is pressure to start the third overall pick, but as we have discussed, Mobley needs to put on some weight and get stronger, so maybe this is good for his development.

Again, we love what Nance gives you, but really Markkanen is the better player.

We do have a problem with Altman giving up a draft pick, albeit a second rounder. When you are building, you need draft capital, and second round picks can be valuable.

Getting Markkanen really emphasizes the point that there is no role or spot for Kevin Love on the roster and the team would be better off at this point to buyout the veteran. Thank him for his contributions and his part on the championship team, but let him part on decent terms.

This can’t be the last move by Altman either. The Cavs still have an odd fit of players, with small guards and three seven footers who need playing time. The also still need a legitimate small forward, one who can score. Our feeling continues to be that Isaac Okoro’s size makes him a #2 guard.

In terms of talent, the Cavs are better than they were yesterday. In terms of fit? It’s still an weird mix.

We also understand the sadness seeing Nance go, someone who grew up here, was great in the community, and was a link to when the Cavaliers were very good.