GM Grant Needs to Add Shooter

The Cleveland Cavaliers are a struggling basketball team.

They’ve had four draft picks in the top four of the draft over the last three years. They’ve hired a new coach. They’ve taken some chance on the free agent market.

Yet, to date, the result is the same. They continue to struggle and right now they are sitting at 10-21 on the season, and are on pace to win 27 games, a mere three more than last season, a record that got their coach, Byron Scott, fired.

That would seem to put the onus squarely on the shoulders of GM Chris Grant.

Grant has brought in some talented players, with the prime example being Kyrie Irving, the first overall pick in 2011, won the NBA Rookie of the Year, and has made an all-star team.

Outside of this year’s first overall pick, Anthony Bennett, the other two players who were selected in the top four of the draft were power forward Tristan Thompson, a solid player in the league and Dion Waiters, who has shown ability since entering the league last year.

So, Grant hasn’t taken any stiffs, with the disclaimer that it is still way too early to make any judgment on Bennett, who’s only 31 games into his rookie season.

Still, it seems that the GM hasn’t put together a basketball “team”, meaning the mix of talent hasn’t been working.

While we have supported Grant’s talent evaluation in the past, we did so thinking he would convert the duplicate talent he has at certain positions and convert them where the team’s weaknesses are.

The wine and gold have a plethora of power forwards in Thompson, Anderson Varejao, Earl Clark, and Bennett and a bounty of point guard types in Irving, Waiters, and Jarrett Jack.

This forces Mike Brown to have to play two power forwards and two point guards for much of the game. That’s not a good mix offensively and defensively.

What the Cavaliers do not have are shooters. Sure, Irving won the three point shooting contest last season, but he’s more of a penetrating guard than a pure shooter.

The odd thing is, these types of guys should be fairly easy to obtain, a lot of them bounce around the league like Kyle Korver and J.J. Redick.

That’s what is lacking with the Cavs right now. They don’t have a lot of guys who can put the ball in the basket from outside.

So when Irving and Waiters get into the lane with dribble penetration, they don’t have options to kick it out to, which makes the defense protect the basket all the more, making it tougher for those guys to score.

The extra power forwards aren’t as critical because Brown can use them, along with Tyler Zeller at center to alleviate some of the logjam, but the imbalance in the backcourt and at the small forward spot isn’t providing a winning mix.

On New Year’s Eve, the Cavs played the Indiana Pacers even for three quarters, but simply couldn’t make shots in the fourth quarter, being held to eight points for most of the quarter.

When a guard did get into the paint, there was the overwhelming presence of Roy Hibbert, and when the ball got kicked outside, they don’t have a reliable shooter.

If anything is to be salvaged this season, Grant has to act quickly. As it stands, the wine and gold can still make the playoffs despite their mediocre record.

In basketball, pure talent isn’t the only determining factor. You have to have the right mix and the Cavaliers don’t.

It’s on Chris Grant to make the correct moves and balance out his roster. And he needs to do it sooner than later.

Lack of Waiters Takes Away Huge Chunk of Cavs’ Offense

The Cleveland Cavaliers have hit a wall since Dion Waiters went down with a sprained wrist, losing four of their last five, following a skein where they won five of six.

That stretch made it appear that the team was turning a corner and at 9-13 following the winning streak, they looked poised to challenge the .500 mark, which in the Eastern Conference would certainly get you in the playoffs.

Casual fans throughout northern Ohio were also talking about how the offense had picked up with the wine and gold scoring over 100 points five games in a row. They were quick to point out that Mike Brown’s offense was working.

But Waiters injury has sent the Cavaliers into a tailspin. Why? Is he that important to this basketball team?

How can that be since he is supposedly a malcontent?

The reason can be explained by examining Brown’s offense.

In today’s Plain Dealer, Terry Pluto discusses how the Cavs’ shooting percentage and scoring are down from last year. This drop in offensive efficiency has offset the improvement made on the defensive end.

As we have discussed before, Cleveland’s attack is predicated on dribble penetration, and right now, the Cavs only have two players who can take defenders off the dribble consistently: Kyrie Irving and Waiters. This means the latter’s absence cuts the number of players who can perform the primary tenet of the offense down to one.

Watch tonight’s game. There is very little movement away from the basketball. And in close games, where defenses tighten up, it becomes increasingly more difficult for players to get to the basket. That’s why the wine and gold struggle in late game situations. They spend 3/4 of the shot clock trying to get to the basket, and have precious little time to set up a good shot.

Instead, why not pick away from the ball to free up an open and very makeable mid-range jump shot or even open up a driving lane for someone else to get to the basket?

The Cavaliers’ shooting percentage is down because they are forced to take bad shots with the shot clock winding down because there is no offensive plan.

C. J. Miles was hitting shots early in the year, scoring 86 points in his first six games (14.3 ppg), but since, he has scored in double figures just three times, scoring just 6.2 per night. The closest anyone has come to picking up the perimeter shooting has been Earl Clark.

They can be effective when the defense is playing well, and they are forcing missed shots and getting out to run the floor, because they aren’t in half court situations. We also see Irving trying to force tempo off of made shots to get the Cavs into situations where they can get a good look before the opposing defenses are set up.

So, what is the solution?

Well, there are two. First, they could get one or two more players who can get to the basket on a regular basis. Then, the Cavs can spread the floor and open up the court to create driving lanes.

Or, they could develop an offense that has some movement away from the ball to free players up for open mid-range jump shots. At this point in the season, that would certainly be more difficult.

Brown has tried to develop a low post presence with Andrew Bynum in the game, and that has helped. Bynum most definitely draws a double team down low, which leaves someone open. Starting Clark at small forward would provide two outside shooting threats (along with Miles) to go with the inside out game.

The points total is starting to climb, but the Cavalier offense isn’t really more effective. Getting Dion Waiters back in the lineup would be a start in making the attack a lot better.

Cavs’ Need to Stop Expirimenting

A little over a week ago, on November 20th, the Cleveland Cavaliers lost a home game to the Washington Wizards 98-91 to drop their record to 4-8. After beating the Wizards on the road in the previous game, this was a tough pill to swallow.

Following the contest, Mike Brown told the media that only one player played hard the entire night, rookie G Matthew Dellavedova. When the Cavs took the floor for the next game in New Orleans, the coach wanting to send a message to his team, started Dellavedova.

The wine and gold blew a 12 point lead late in the fourth quarter that night and they haven’t one a game since, getting blown out in their two road games (San Antonio and Boston) and dropping a home game to the Miami Heat.

In both the road games, the contest was basically over in the first quarter. Could that be because Cleveland doesn’t start their best players?

It is time for the coaching staff to go back to basics and start the games with veteran players to keep them in the game right from the get go.

Mike Brown needs to settle on a regular rotation to settle down the mess that the Cavs are becoming.

Let’s start at center. We get that the staff wants to start Andrew Bynum because he can get loose before the first and second halves, and there is no problem with that. The big man isn’t killing the team with his play and he needs the time to get his game back.

At power forward, Tristan Thompson needs to play more. The third year man from Texas is averaging 32 minutes per night, but in the last five games, all losses, he hasn’t played more than 26 per night, and has only scored in double figures once, and also only has one game with more than 10 rebounds.

He needs to play at least 30 minutes per night, and probably should get 33-35 minutes.

The small forward spot is a mess, but Earl Clark has to be shaking his head after last night. On Wednesday vs. Miami, Clark shot 5 of 11 from the floor scoring 13 points. Against Boston on Friday, he received 12 minutes.

Clark may have problems guarding small forwards, but he is a better shooter than Alonzo Gee. If Cleveland has the lead, Brown can give more time to Gee, a good defender to protect the lead.

In the backcourt, most people thought the idea would be that Kyrie Irving, Dion Waiters, and Jarrett Jack would split the time. We would start Irving and Jack, another veteran who can help the team get off to a good start, and use Waiters as the key offensive player on the second unit.

Irving should be out there for at least 36 minutes with Jack and Waiters splitting the other 60 at the guard spot.

The second unit should be Waiters and Gee, with Anderson Varejao backing up Thompson and Bynum. Brown needs to also work Tyler Zeller and Anthony Bennett in the rotation, and he should let them know when they are going to get into each game and give them time. As young players, they need that type of stability.

That is, of course until GM Chris Grant can deal Varejao to a contending team. The Brazilian has had a fine career in Cleveland, but with Thompson, Zeller, and Bennett needing minutes, it is time to cash in on the asset.

Brown’s statement about playing hard has the Cavs spinning out of control. It’s time to go back to basics and tonight’s game against the Bulls would be the perfect time to do it.

Cavs’ Parts May Not Fit

Since the holiday season is upon on, it seems appropriate to refer to the roster of the Cleveland Cavaliers as the island of misfit toys.

This isn’t to denigrate the talent of some of the players, and really, it is not to rip on GM Chris Grant for his selections in the draft.

Grant’s job is to draft the most talented player available when it is his turn to pick. So, if he thought Anthony Bennett was the best player last summer (and it is way too early to judge otherwise) then you have to take him.

The problem with the roster is it is too heavy in some areas and it needs help in others. Our thought was that Grant could deal from strength to shore up the weaknesses, and he may do that in time, but he can’t wait much longer.

Let’s look at the power forward position. Currently, the wine and gold have four players that are primarily “fours”: Tristan Thompson, Anderson Varejao, Earl Clark, and Bennett.

Mike Brown tries to alleviate the problem by playing Varejao at center and Clark at small forward, but they give up a lot (Varejao—size, Clark-quickness) at those spots.

Most NBA teams use two power forwards on the roster, so right now, there is an overload there.

At the small forward, the Cavs have Alonzo Gee, a defensive specialist, and they can play swingman C. J. Miles there as well, although in limited minutes.

Gee doesn’t shoot well enough to be considered a problem for the player assigned to guard him, and Miles doesn’t have the size to be able to guard the elite small forwards of the league, although he is the one Cleveland player who has knocked down open shots thus far.

In the backcourt, the Cavaliers have the centerpiece of the current roster, point guard Kyrie Irving. Irving can score and set up teammates, and if he has a weakness, it’s that he loves his dribble.

It would be one thing if he were moving with the dribble, but more often than not, he’s at the top of the key bouncing the ball and going nowhere.

That could be because of the simplistic offense the coaching staff runs.

The other players who get time in the backcourt (along with Miles) are Dion Waiters and Jarrett Jack, both combo guards rather than true off guards. This means both are more effective with the ball in their hands.

However, the coaching staff probably wants the ball in Irving’s hands.

You could have plays where the ball starts in Waiters or Jack’s hands and they set up Irving, but you would have to have something set up for that, and right now that doesn’t look to be the case.

So, the three-headed backcourt doesn’t seem to fit well together right now.

So, the pressure is on Grant to convert his superfluous parts into ones that can help this basketball team win and win now, because although there is talent on the roster, it doesn’t fit together.

There are too many players who have similar games, which is fine if they play at different times, but when you have to play Waiters and Jack at the same time or have Thompson and Varejao on the floor at the same time, it’s a problem.

If this team is going to start winning, this roster may have to be fixed. Grant has to make some moves to get this team to start putting games in the win column.

Cavs Victim of Unrealistic Expectations?

The Cleveland Cavaliers are a victim of excessive expectations.

They won 24 games last season, and yet, some people were projecting them to win between 45-50 games this season, an incredible leap considering the wine and gold didn’t add a “franchise” type player over the summer.

They did add Mike Brown as coach, a man with a winning legacy in his time in the NBA, but a guy who has had one of the game’s best players on his roster every single year he has been a head coach in the NBA.

Sort of a Phil Jackson-lite, so to speak.

We always wondered how Jackson would do if he didn’t have Michael Jordan, Shaquille O’Neal or Kobe Bryant on his team. Now, Brown may show us what would happen in his place.

Brown has a sterling reputation as a defensive coach, and one look at last season’s Cavaliers would show you the wine and gold needed to change their mindset about playing on that end of the floor.

Offensively, Brown needs help. His best offensive team in his previous stint in Cleveland was when John Kuester was on the staff handling it.

This year’s team looks like Brown’s early teams with LeBron James when the attack was little more than give the ball to James and hope something good happens. Except that Kyrie Irving isn’t the player that James is.

This isn’t to dismiss the play of the team thus far, nor do we insinuate that the Cavs will be a failure this season.

It’s only nine games in, and actually the Cavaliers are on a 41 win pace because they’ve lost all their games at home and lost all the road contests.

Brown’s team is also one with several new players (Andrew Bynum and Jarrett Jack) getting key minutes, another (Anderson Varejao) returning from injury, and still others (Dion Waiters and Tyler Zeller) in just their second year in the league.

They are still getting to know each other and also getting better as players.

However, that doesn’t mean that the offensive scheme doesn’t mean to be changed.

When the Cavs have the ball, the offense is mostly run and pick-and-roll, and if that doesn’t work, then they look for someone to take the opponent off the dribble and go to the basket where he can score or pass to a wide open teammate.

That’s as simplistic of a scheme as you can get.

There is little motion away from the ball, nor are any screens set away from the ball to free someone up for an open look.

That may not seem like a big deal, but in close games against good defensive teams, you have to be able to execute offensively. There has to be a plan, and right now we don’t see one.

And we also don’t agree or believe the coach’s statement that they worked only on defense in training camp. High school and college coaches put in offenses and defenses in a four-week time period.

We don’t believe there was no opportunity to at least put in a workable motion offense to this point in the season.

It’s much too early to get discouraged about this basketball team; they’ve played only nine games. But people need to realize they may have been overly optimistic about this year’s Cleveland Cavaliers.

This isn’t a top tier playoff team in the Eastern Conference, and getting to that point was an unrealistic goal.

On the Cavs Offense Troubles

The NBA season is a week old and after the Cleveland Cavaliers won their opener, apparently there were a few fans that felt the days of 60 win seasons returned with Mike Brown.

That is based on the reaction of some people after the wine and gold lost consecutive road games to Charlotte and Indiana.

The truth is this team has to get used to playing together. There are several new, key pieces getting a lot of playing time.

Think about it. In Brown’s top nine players are only five players (Kyrie Irving, Tristan Thompson, Alonzo Gee, C. J. Miles, and Dion Waiters), who were with the Cavs last season.

And since those five aren’t usually on the court at the same time, there is an adjustment period needed.

The holdovers have to get used to playing with Earl Clark, Andrew Bynum, and Jarret Jack and have to be re-acquainted with Anderson Varejao.

They have to learn where these players want the ball to be effective, and in Bynum’s case working off a legitimate low post threat.

That could explain the offensive struggles that hurt the Cavs during the two road losses. Of course, it also could be the schemes that Brown has put together which at times seems like an early pick and roll, and if that doesn’t work, it’s up to Irving to come up with something.

That’s how Brown’s offense worked when LeBron James was here. Last night, Austin Carr mentioned the Cavaliers struggled late in the game because there were too many 1-4 sets with Irving trying to break down the defense.

Brown has stated he has stressed defense in training camp and has done very little with the offense, and we will give him the benefit of the doubt on this right now. Still, his history has shown his offense has struggled especially against good defenses and in crunch time.

The other problem for the Cavaliers right now is they aren’t shooting the basketball very well. Whether that is part of the offensive design or not remains to be seen, but several Cleveland players are having problems in this area.

Both starting guards are really having problems.

Irving is the league’s defending three point shooting champion and right now, he is shooting just 37% from the floor, compared to 46% in his first two years in the league. He has also hit just 2 or 11 attempts from behind the arc.

You have to expect that this is just temporary based on his track record.

His backcourt mate, Dion Waiters had some issues with shot selection as a rookie, but he still made 41% of his shots. Through four games this season, he is making just one out of every three shots.

Newcomer Earl Clark is another player way off his career norm. Clark hit 44% of his field goal attempts a year ago, and is making only 32% from the floor after four games.

Thank goodness for C. J. Miles, who is off to a sizzling start, hitting 52% of his shots and making 8 of 21 from three-point range.

Irving, Waiters, and Clark will start to make more shots, but Brown’s history shows people have reason for concern about the ability to score points late in games.

There has to be a better plan than get the ball to Kyrie and hope for the best.

Optimism for Cavs Should Be Guarded

Tonight, the 2013-14 edition of the Cleveland Cavaliers will debut tonight at Quicken Loans Arena when the wine and gold take on the Milwaukee Bucks.

There is a lot of optimism regarding the team this season, with many national experts picking the Cavs to make the playoffs for the first time since LeBron James went to Miami.

Is this optimism warranted?

You can make arguments both ways.

The first concern would be the injury factor. Three key members of the squad have had problems staying on the court over the last three years: Kyrie Irving, Anderson Varejao, and newcomer Andrew Bynum.

If all three can play 60 or more games, Mike Brown’s team will be in great shape. But that’s a huge “if”.

Bynum and Varejao, along with Tristan Thompson, who we feel will be much improved, and Tyler Zeller will provide a formidable frontcourt combination.

However, the first two players mentioned can’t be counted on to stay healthy.

We said over the off-season that the Cavaliers needed to proceed as if Bynum would not play one minute this season. They needed to continue to build as if he wasn’t going to play.

Perhaps reducing Varejao’s minutes will help him stay on the court. Even if Bynum can’t play, Thompson and Zeller can handle the post, and first round draft pick Anthony Bennett and free agent signee Earl Clark can split time at the four spot as well.

However, if both big men are out, does the wine and gold have enough at the key rebounding positions?

In the backcourt, Irving has shown he can be one of the most dynamic players in the NBA, but he has missed significant time in each of his first two seasons with injuries. Perhaps this will be overcome as the former first overall pick gets stronger with age.

If he misses a lot of time this year, he could get the “injury prone” rap that no one wants.

Last year, when Shaun Livingston came in from Washington on Christmas Day, he brought veteran leadership for the guards. He has moved on, and in his place, GM Chris Grant signed Jarrett Jack as a free agent.

Jack will bring that same leadership and he has a proven history of putting the ball in the basket, scoring 13.0 points per game last season and 15.6 per contest the year before that.

The veteran is a true combo guard, playing the point when Irving is on the bench and playing off guard when Irving is on the floor.

Along with Dion Waiters, the Cavaliers will have a solid three guard rotation most nights. That is if Irving can stay healthy.

One thing can be said with certainty for this year’s squad. They will be better defensively; Brown will make sure of that.

Because of that, no longer will the Cavs lose huge leads down the stretch. The coaching staff will make sure that everybody makes an effort when the opponents have the basketball. That alone will lead to more victories.

If Irving, Varejao, and Bynum can stay on the court for most of the season, the Cavaliers will definitely be much improved.

However, none of those three can be counted on for durability until they prove otherwise.

Until this is proven, the Cavs will have to be viewed through jaundiced eyes.

Signing Bynum Well Worth the Risk

Less than a week ago, we posted a blog criticizing the Cleveland Cavaliers relative inactivity since the NBA signing period started on July 1st.

Not that Earl Clark won’t help, but that’s not exactly the big splash fans of the wine and gold were looking for.

However, GM Chris Grant has caught our attention, and we are pleasantly surprised.

First, he inked free agent G Jarrett Jack, who we liked when he came in the league as a rookie out of Georgia Tech. He’s a solid combo guard, averaging 11.0 points and 4 assists per game for his career.

Jack should combine with Kyrie Irving and Dion Waiters to form a solid backcourt. There are 96 minutes per game available at guard, and these three players should be able to divide them up without a significant drop off in production.

He’s a lifetime 45% shooter from the field, and 36% from beyond the three-point line. He also makes free throws, connecting on 85% since he entered the league.

His last two seasons, he’s averaged 15.6 points and 12.9 points per game.

It is not difficult to see him getting significant minutes for Mike Brown next season.

He was a star in the playoffs for Golden State this year, scoring 17.2 a game, but we caution not to get to carried away with post-season numbers. His regular season stats speak for themselves.

Then, Grant took a gamble and signed C Andrew Bynum to a two-year contract with only a reported $6 million guaranteed. An excellent low risk, high reward move.

If Bynum can play, he’s a quality NBA center, who will be just 26 years old next season, and has averaged 11.7 points and 7.8 rebounds per game in his career.

In his one season playing for Mike Brown, the big man scored 18.7 points and grabbed 11.8 boards per night. That was two years ago.

Unfortunately, that was the last time Bynum played, as he missed all of last season after being traded to Philadelphia with knee problems.

So, the Cavaliers should proceed by thinking anything Bynum gives them will be a bonus.

That means they still have to sort out the logjam at the power forward and center spots, and they still need a small forward.

There were several reports that Grant isn’t done yet, but you have to figure any future moves will come from trades, as the Cavs have only the mid-level exception left (approximately $2.6 million).

You would have to think if a deal is to be made, it will involve one of the big men that the wine and gold are stockpiling. And if you can parlay one of those guys (Varejao?) for a legitimate small forward, you would have to think long and hard about it.

That doesn’t mean it was a bad signing. If Grant doesn’t take a chance on the former Laker, then he signs a few more minor free agents which probably don’t make a huge impact on the Cavaliers.

This way, he gets Bynum, who if healthy is a top five center in the NBA and will be with the team for two years. And if he isn’t the parties can part ways at the end of the season, and Grant is free to pursue someone else.

That’s a win-win scenario if there ever was one.

Grant was patient and seems to have done a solid job. Here’s hoping he’s still working to improve the 2013-14 edition of the Cavaliers. The guess here is he is.

Brown Has to Develop Players

When the Cleveland Cavaliers rehired Mike Brown as head coach for the 2013-14 season, they knew they were getting a strong defensive presence, something the team needed the past couple of years.

The Cavs allowed the sixth most points in the league last season, and they allowed the highest shooting percentage against in the NBA as opponents shot 47.6% vs. the wine and gold in 2012-13.

However, in this tenure with Cleveland, Brown will also be charged with developing a bunch of young players, something he didn’t have to do in his first term as Cavaliers’ head coach.

Yes, we know he made LeBron James into a solid, if not great defender, but James is a different story. He was touted as being one of the league’s best from the minute he was drafted into the NBA.

In Brown’s first year as Cavs head coach, the only young player who received a lot of playing time was Anderson Varejao, then in his second season with the team, and he only appeared in 48 games that season.

Brown’s second season with Cleveland included a roster with Shannon Brown and Daniel Gibson as rookies. Gibson ranked 10th on the team in minutes, while Brown, the Cavs’ first round pick played just 202 minutes for a team than went to The Finals.

Granted, the Cavaliers were in a different mode then. They were trying to win titles, and there wasn’t time available for rookies, and it wasn’t a priority for the head coach to develop players.

The only rookie to get significant playing time in Brown’s final three years as Cleveland’s coach was J.J. Hickson, who has developed into a journeyman at best.

In the coach’s one full season leading the Lakers, again, he was guiding a team built to win and win now. There wasn’t time to bring a rookie in and give that player significant minutes.

Now, the Cavalier squad that Brown is guiding is totally different. It is a roster full of young talented players that need to be finished off and learn how to win. Brown can help with the latter by emphasizing defense, but it is unclear if he can make the young core of talent better players.

This is only because there is no track record of the coach doing just that.

What Brown has proven in his coaching career is that he stresses defense and he can win when he has the best player on the floor, which he had most of his tenure as the bench boss because he had James and Kobe Bryant.

Can he make Kyrie Irving the NBA’s best point guard? Who knows?

Can he develop Dion Waiters into a championship quality #2 guard who can average 18-20 points per night?

Can he transform Tristan Thompson and Tyler Zeller into big men who can play big minutes for a playoff team?

Can he show Anthony Bennett the ropes and make him a contributing player as a rookie?

The answer to all of these questions is that we just don’t know. But Brown will need to do at least three of those things if the Cavs are going to return to the NBA’s elite teams. It’s just another reason he was a curious pick to be the new coach of the wine and gold.

It should have been something that was taken into consideration. If the coach can’t make the young core better, then it won’t be long until Brown is looking for another gig.

Cavs Collecting Talent, Still Need Leadership

The Cleveland Cavaliers surprised quite a few people with the first pick in the NBA draft.

After weeks of speculation about Nerlens Noel and Alex Len being GM Chris Grant’s top choice, the Cavs went with F Anthony Bennett from UNLV at number one.

The question mark on Bennett is whether or not he is a tweener, too small to play power forward and not quick enough to guard small forwards. He does have an NBA body, measuring at 6’7″ and 240 pounds. He’s big enough to not get pushed around by older NBA veterans.

On the other hand, looking at him from the offensive end, he could be a match up nightmare for opposing forwards because with his size, he can overpower many small forwards in the league, and if other teams put a power forward on him, he will be too quick for them.

However, he needs work on defense, which he will get from coach Mike Brown. He reportedly also needs help with his aggressiveness on the boards, which again, the coaching staff will work on.

One question that will need to be addressed with Brown is how well he works with young players. He didn’t seem to have a lot of patience with guys like Shannon Brown, but he will need to tolerate rookie mistakes from Bennett, and the team’s second first round pick in Sergey Karasev.

Karasev is 6’7″ and can shoot the basketball, given a score of 10 out of 10 in shooting on NBADraft.net. He is reportedly a good passer and has a good feel for the game, but he needs to get stronger. It was reported that Grant had coveted him for a while, and the rumor was the Cavs were going to trade up to #13 to get him, but he fell to them at #19.

The problem with the Cavaliers right now is still the absence of a veteran to give guidance to all the young players. That is a definite need, someone who can teach Kyrie Irving, Tristan Thompson, and Dion Waiters how to win in the NBA.

Also, Bennett was a good player in college, but we don’t feel he was a dominant one. Last year, Anthony Davis was clearly the best player in the college game. You can’t say that about Bennett, and if you can’t dominate at the college level, what makes anyone think he can be a great pro.

That’s why we advocated dealing the first pick if at all possible.

Right now, Cleveland has one potentially great player in Irving, and a bunch of other young players who might develop into solid NBA players, or they might not.

And they seem to be collecting guards with Irving, Waiters, Karasev, and second round pick Carrick Felix. They still don’t have a big man who can put the ball in the basket on a consistent basis.

Perhaps Tyler Zeller will be that player in his second year, but no one can be sure of that.

We realize they still could make a trade or do a sign and trade before the season started. But right now, it is tough to project this team as the playoff team owner Dan Gilbert said he wanted.

Hate to put a damper this soon on draft night, but if there no more moves for the Cavs, it looks like another long winter for the wine and gold.