NBA Trade Deadline Coming, What Say You, Cavs?

In less than three weeks, the NBA trade deadline will be here. It actually arrives sooner than the Super Bowl, as it is on February 7th, whereas the NFL title game is the 9th.

Cavs’ fans and media alike were preaching continuity, letting the current roster play through the season and seeing what they could accomplish, after all the wine and gold have the league’s best record at 35-6.

That is until last Thursday’s blowout loss at the hands of the other roster dominating the NBA right now, the Oklahoma City Thunder, who sit with a 35-7 mark.

OKC led by 18 at the end of the first quarter, 26 at halftime, and 38 points at the end of three quarters in the rout. And suddenly, everyone said the Cavs needed to make a move on or before February 7th.

We will blow our own horn here for a second by saying this was always an issue for Kenny Atkinson’s squad, even coming into the season. If the Cavs have a weakness, it is they lack size throughout the roster.

Long, athletic teams have given them a problem all year (although not that much of an issue because they are 35-6). Boston handed them their first loss. Atlanta knocked them off in back-to-back games.

In last Thursday’s game, the Thunder were missing big men Chet Holmgren (7’1″) and Isaiah Hartenstein (7’0″), but a look at who plays the most minutes for them reads this way: Shai Gilgeous-Alexander (6’6″), Jalen Williams (6’6″), Lu Dort (a rugged 6’4″), and Cason Wallace (6’4″) along with the two big men.

That is where Cleveland’s smaller backcourt has a distinct disadvantage. Donovan Mitchell found it very tough sledding against Dort, shooting 6 of 31 in the two games against the Thunder. We also know that Atkinson will come up with some ways to get Mitchell freed up if the two teams meet in the NBA Finals.

We said going into both of the games that fans should not read too much into the pair of contests, that they would simply be a good measuring stick and as it was, the two teams split the games.

We simply found it interesting that everyone jumped to the same conclusion we had since the first game of the regular season. The Cavs need to add some height.

It was almost immediately reported after the loss last Thursday that the Cavs were interested in 6’8″ wing Cameron Johnson from Brooklyn. He would add some size along the perimeter and also shoots 42.6% from three.

We would definitely be someone the front office should have interest in.

They also need another solid big man. Evan Mobley missed the last two games with a calf injury, and outside of Jarrett Allen, Cleveland doesn’t have another big man you can trust putting on the floor for 20 minutes per night.

Tristan Thompson is a good locker room guy, but we would bet Atkinson doesn’t want him on the floor very long.

As for the locker room chemistry, if it is as strong as reported (and we have no doubt otherwise), there shouldn’t be an issue. The one thing Koby Altman has always prioritized is character, he has never brought a “knucklehead” into the locker room. We have no doubt it will be no different this year.

But the Cavs have been so good this season, the front office has to go for a title right now. This is the time. Taking steps is one thing, but when you have played halfway through the schedule and you are on a 70-win pace, the shiny gold Larry O’Brien Trophy should be on everyone’s mind.

There is less than three weeks to go for it.

Cavs Seem Out Of “Play In” Tourney. Did They Really Want To Be In?

The Cleveland Cavaliers keep saying they would like to qualify for one of the spots in the “Play In” tournament for the 7th through 10th seeds in each conference (a ridiculous concept, by the way), but are they really interested in getting in?

They currently sit at 21-40 with 11 games remaining in the truncated 72 game schedule this year, and are now 6 games behind suddenly red hot Washington, who sit in 10th place.

So, it doesn’t really look promising, does it?

We never really thought the Cavs, as an organization, were really gung-ho about going after the spot, because of recent coaching and personnel moves.

For example, after beating another contender, Charlotte, on the road on April 14th, the wine and gold lost at home to Golden State. That shouldn’t seem to be weird, as the Warriors are over .500 on the year.

When watching this game, what stood out was the lack of playing time for backup big man Isaiah Hartenstein, who played just three and a half minutes. Why was that strange? Well, Jarrett Allen, the Cavaliers’ starting center, was having a great game.

Allen made six of his seven shots, scoring 17 points and corralling 14 rebounds in almost 35 minutes. So, J.B. Bickerstaff wanted to play small ball when Allen was resting? Also, Allen was a minus one while on the floor, and it wasn’t as though the Warriors took huge advantage of Hartenstein being on the floor. He was a minus two.

The next game for Cleveland was at Chicago, with the Bulls not having their leading scorer, Zach LaVine, due to COVID protocols. The Cavs led at the half, but got blitzed in the third quarter and lost by ten. Oh, and by the way, the wine and gold were very much in the playoff chase at that time, a half game behind Toronto.

The strange thing about this game (and the Golden State game too) was a cut in minutes for Matthew Dellavedova. After missing most of the season with a concussion, when he returned, he was playing about 16 minutes per game, and the Cavaliers were 3-4 in the seven games he played.

Against the Warriors, Delly played just 13 minutes and versus the Bulls, just 10 minutes. Given he is usually a stabilizing factor for the young Cavs, don’t you think he could have helped when Cleveland was getting run off the court in the third quarter?

Now, he was a -16 and a -14 in the two contests, but he was a +9 in the win over Charlotte. Again, in viewing the game, we thought his absence was a little odd.

You also have the case of Taurean Prince opting for season ending ankle surgery following the April 21st win over the Bulls at home. Prince averaged over 20 minutes per game over the previous five games, averaging 12 points a game in those contests.

He had two 20 point games and a 19 point outing since returning from injury on March 29th. It doesn’t seem like Prince’s ankle was hampering him that much, as he was playing well, and there were only 14 games remaining.

If the Cavs were going for the play-in tournament, they could have used Prince’s outside shooting. He’s made 41.5% of his threes since coming to the Cavs, who shoot 34% as a club from distance.

To us, it sends another bad message throughout the organization. While we think the play-in tournament is a dumb idea, if you get a chance to get into the “real” playoffs, why not go for it? To continue to play for a chance to get a high draft pick, when you’ve had three picks in the top eight the last three seasons seems a little like the definition of insanity.

Winning starts when everyone is pulling in the same direction. Hopefully, that direction starts next season. There has been some progress this season, but a playoff berth, something this franchise hasn’t accomplished without LeBron James in almost 20 years, should be the goal and should be attainable.

But it starts at the top.

The Sexton Dilemma

When discussion regarding the Cleveland Cavaliers’ future comes up, a talk about Collin Sexton is sure to follow. He is a polarizing figure to be sure.

Sexton was the 8th overall pick in the 2018 NBA Draft, taken with the choice secured from Boston, originally that of the Brooklyn Nets, in the Kyrie Irving. There is a lot to like about the former Alabama standout, who just turned 22 years old earlier this season.

He is a gym rat to be sure. He is a tireless worker. There are stories during his rookie season that he had to be thrown out of the Cavs’ practice facility because he was consumed by basketball.

He can score the ball too. He is averaging a career high 24.0 points per game this season, a step up from 20.8 a year ago.

But the question for many, including ourselves, is this: Can he be the best player on a contending team?

Our answer is no, but could he be a contributor on a good team? We think so.

Watching him play, he doesn’t seem to have good basketball instincts. And what we mean by that is he doesn’t have a good feel in getting the ball to his teammates where they can succeed. However, again, he can flat out put the ball in the basket.

When the Cavs are struggling offensively, he can keep them in a game. We think about the recent contest against the Lakers where Cleveland led at the half because Darius Garland and Larry Nance Jr. were playing great. Sexton was out with an injury.

In the second half, the Lakers’ defense determined someone other than Garland and Nance were going to have to score. No one else could. That’s exactly the kind of game where Sexton could have been a huge factor. That’s when you need to have the “scorer’s mentality”.

The other thing is can a backcourt of Garland and Sexton be successful defensively. Perhaps, but that’s where Jarrett Allen and another big (Isaiah Hartenstein?) are needed.

Toronto won a title with small guards, but they had Marc Gasol and Serge Ibaka, elite defenders behind them. And Utah has the best record in the league this season, and have shot blocker extraordinaire Rudy Gobert protecting the rim.

Can Sexton be a part of Cleveland’s success going forward? Yes, he can, but to do so, it might have to involved taking a step back. Getting his teammates involved more, and then scoring when needed or just let Garland run the offense and be the finisher.

And take the open shots when they are there. We have seen Sexton have a good look, and dribble his way into the defense, thus causing a more difficult shot.

Maybe more direction is needed from the bench too. Being a young team, sometimes you have to tell the players where they want the shot to come from and who they would they want shooting.

Perhaps some of that comes from having veterans Kevin Love and Matthew Dellavedova back on the floor.

Many NBA players, including Michael Jordan, have had to learn to do this. So, Sexton can definitely learn this skill. Our question is anyone in the organization telling him this? For the Cavs to start playing consistent winning basketball, we think that’s what is needed.

No Big Moves For Cavs, But A Change That Can Still Be Made.

There is one thing that is certain with the Cleveland Cavaliers. And that one thing is change. You can be pretty certain every season that the roster that opens the season will have major changes by the end of that year.

We understand why. The Cavs are far from a finished product, in year three of the second post-LeBron rebuild, and GM Koby Altman should be looking for assets to keep the franchise moving forward.

Cleveland already took part in the biggest trade of the season, the one sending James Harden to Brooklyn, which netted the wine and gold center Jarrett Allen, a major building block for the rebuild, and forward Taurean Prince. The only roster player Altman surrendered in the transaction was guard Dante Exum.

This year was relatively quiet at the deadline, with the Cavs dealing veteran big man JaVale McGee to Denver for a pair of second round draft picks and a young big man, Isaiah Hartenstein.

Hartenstein is a seven footer, a second round pick of the Houston Rockets in 2017. He’s played in the league for three years, appearing in 81 games, averaging 3.3 points and 2.7 rebounds per game.

He’s a project and can also play some power forward, something McGee really couldn’t do. And since he’s averaged just nine minutes per game in his time with the Rockets and Nuggets, he figures to get more time in Cleveland.

As for McGee, the franchise did right by the veteran. We will skeptical what kind of attitude he would come to town with, considering the Cavs’ rank in the league, and that he has played most of the latter part of his career with championship teams (Warriors and Lakers), but he took the veteran leadership role to heart and was a solid guy, by all reports, in the locker room.

The Nuggets have aspirations of getting to The Finals this year (they traded for Aaron Gordon from Orlando today as well), and getting a big man with McGee’s experience should help in that regard.

So, what do the Cavs do going forward? We would like to see playing time start to be based on merit rather than draft status.

It’s time for the organization to start bringing some mental toughness for the players. Yes, they are a very young squad, made even more so with today’s trade. The oldest guy who gets significant playing time is Larry Nance (28). The second oldest is Prince (26), who is currently injured, followed by Cedi Osman at 25.

There needs to start being accountability for the players. We understand fans want the team to lose and gain a higher pick in the NBA Draft, and maybe Altman feels the same way. And while the team might wind up getting a very talented player, you can’t have the other young players thinking losing is acceptable.

If a Lamar Stevens or a Brodric Thomas are giving Bickerstaff more than say, former first round pick, Dylan Windler, then play the former. This isn’t youth sports where everyone should get an equal chance. If you produce, you earn more playing time.

Ask Dean Wade. He took advantage of his opportunity even though some people, including us, thought he looked unplayable.

It’s called culture, and the Cavaliers franchise has been in a malaise since James departed for Los Angeles. The rest of this season should serve as the beginning of a change.