Should Cavs Shut Down Kyrie?

For a city that hasn’t won a professional sports title in almost 60 years, Cleveland sports fans are a relatively patient group. When their teams are mediocre and floundering, they understand that rebuilding is needed and usually they can accept it.

The Cleveland Cavaliers are a good example.

After the shock of losing LeBron James to the Miami Heat, Cavs’ fans realized that it would take more than one year to get back to the playoffs. After watching a team which suffered through a 26 game losing streak the following season, supporters of the wine and gold rejoiced when Cleveland won the draft lottery and picked Kyrie Irving.

Irving was better than expected, winning rookie of the year honors, and the Cavaliers win total jumped from 18 wins in 2010-11 to 21 the next year in a lockout shortened season. They have matched that total so far this season in 61 contests, mostly by winning 12 of their last 21 contests.

Finally, Cavs’ basketball is worth watching again.

Irving is now an all-star, and many experts feel he will be one of the NBA’s ten best players in a year or two.

Then yesterday comes the news that the front office may shut Irving down for the rest of the season because he has a sore knee.

Maybe the former Dukie’s knee may be damaged worse than the public has been led to believe, but watching his performance in the fourth quarter of Wednesday’s win over Utah, it looks like he’s pretty healthy.

If his knee is bad, he should be held out of games until it is ready to go, but if he can play on it without risking further damage, he should be out on the court and helping this team learn how to win again.

A possible decision to hold the reigning Rookie of the Year out of games smacks of tanking, a tactic other NBA teams, including the Cavs have used in the past.

It’s just not a good decision for the 2012-13 Cavaliers.

First of all, since the Memphis trade which brought Marreese Speights and Wayne Ellington to Cleveland, the wine and gold are playing well. They are learning how to win and they shouldn’t be looking to take a step backwards now. Especially because of the next point.

There is no consensus #1 pick in this year’s NBA draft. College basketball expert Jay Bilas, who also works on the draft coverage (talking about wingspan) recently said that Michigan’s Trey Burke is probably the player of the year in college this year, but the first selection in the draft will depend on that particular team’s need.

The point is that GM Chris Grant is going to have one pick in the top ten and another (assuming the Lakers can make the playoffs) in the mid teens, and there isn’t a franchise maker available this season. The Cavs will get good players, but not a slam dunk all-star.

So, it comes down to what is more important to the future of the franchise, winning games now and developing a winning mentality, or moving up a couple of spots in a weaker draft.

With Irving in tow, and Dion Waiters showing improvement every month, the Cavs need to learn how to win, to get used to the feeling. If you don’t think that’s important, then you haven’t been watching this basketball team since Speights and Ellington arrived.

They came from a winning atmosphere in Memphis and it has rubbed off on their new teammates.

No one is asking Kyrie Irving to play if he is injured, he is too valuable to the franchise for that. But holding him out of games to improve draft position isn’t what the Cleveland Cavaliers need right now if they want to start winning as soon as next season.

Cavs Finding Out Vets Help

We’ve all seen it. You go to an outdoor basketball court or the Y, and some young hot shots are dominating the action. They win game after game, having fun and belittling their opponents.

Then some old guys show up, move the ball around on offense, keep people in front of them on defense, play a little more physical, and they knock the young turks off their pedestal.

Why? Because they know how to play the game. They’ve been around, and know how to take advantage of players who are cocky and overly aggressive.

The Cleveland Cavaliers have two of those guys on their roster and they are contributing on a night in and night out basis. They are Shaun Livingston and Luke Walton.

Livingston was a Christmas present from GM Chris Grant to coach Byron Scott, being claimed on waivers that very day. For whatever reason, the Washington Wizards, who were struggling as badly as the Cavs at that time, couldn’t use the veteran who was once the 4th overall pick in the draft in 2004.

Their loss is Cleveland’s gain.

Livingston’s value isn’t found in the stat sheet. He’s averaging just 5. 3 points and 3.4 assists a game in the 25 contests he’s played in the wine and gold. But he is a steady hand and a catalyst for a bench bunch that is one of the most potent in the league after the acquisition of Marreese Speights and Wayne Ellington from Memphis a few weeks later.

The Cavs have gone 13-13 since Livingston started playing. They were 7-25 prior to that point.

Livingston overcame a horrible knee injury in 2007 and really didn’t play a full season for three years. He was a heralded high school player, but as Scott said when he arrived, he is an old soul when it comes to hoops, playing the game they way it is meant to be played. He makes the right pass and for the most part keeps himself between his man and the basket on defense.

Walton came to the Cavs as someone who could balance the salary cap in the trade that sent Ramon Sessions to the Lakers at the trade deadline last season. He was a starter for LA in 2006-07 and started half the time the following two campaigns.

However, when Grant obtained him, he had played just nine games for the season due to back woes.

He’s another player that stats don’t tell the real story, averaging just 3.3 points, 2.6 rebounds, and 2.6 assists in 16 minutes per game. Early in the year, many fans (including us) were wondering why he was getting time, probably because he struggled playing with young guys who don’t share his IQ for the game.

Since the addition of Speights, Ellington, and Livingston, Walton has made a difference coming off the bench for the young Cavaliers. In that time, he’s averaged just 2.8 points, but has had five games (out of 11) where he has had five or more assists.

And he made a key defensive play late in Tuesday’s win over Chicago, knocking a pass away, and then firing it off a Bulls’ player in the final minute to preserve the lead.

Lost in most fans’ wishes for high draft choices is the fact that young teams need veterans to learn from. With the players acquired from Memphis, plus heady players like Livingston and Walton, Chris Grant has given his young guys some worthy teachers.

Cavs Need to Keep Speights

Most NBA observers saw the Cavaliers recent trade with the Memphis Grizzlies as something just short of highway robbery, at least from the talent standpoint.

Yes, fans were told that Memphis made the deal in order to get precious salary cap space to keep both Zack Randolph and Rudy Gay, but Gay was dealt shortly thereafter, so it looks like the new Grizzlies ownership just wanted to save cash.

Meanwhile, Cavs’ GM Chris Grant was able to get two players who can definitely get minutes on a nightly basis in F/C Marreese Speights and G Wayne Ellington and a project in G Josh Selby. Oh, and he also picked up a first round pick.

Immediately, people started speculating that Speights would be a short time member of the wine and gold, and would be dealt before the trade deadline to a contender, probably to get more picks.

That still may happen, but it shouldn’t.

The argument that Speights’ current deal, with a player option for 2013-14, is similar to the situation that Ramon Sessions was in last year ignores a few points.

First, Sessions was never going to start here over Kyrie Irving. Sessions wanted to get playing time, as well as the big money that comes with free agency. He was never going to get that in Cleveland because Irving is a better player.

Sessions is a quality NBA player, and if averaging a career high 27 minutes a night although he isn’t starting.

Speights doesn’t have the league’s reigning Rookie of the Year and an all-star in his second full season ahead of him on the depth chart. In fact, there is no question that Byron Scott needs a big man of Speights’ talent if they want to contend for and make the playoffs next season.

The former Florida Gator has already helped three teams to the post-season, including getting a seventh game loss to the Clippers last season.

Even if Grant has Anderson Varejao on the roster heading into next season, Speights would still garner playing time in a four man rotation up front with Tyler Zeller and Tristan Thompson.

The second factor that make Speights’ situation different is that he is a big man, and teams around the NBA are always looking for bigs who can play.

While that makes many think Speights would bring back even more in a deal, it has been proven since Varejao was injured that he has a problem playing with Thompson, mainly because they have similar games.

Add to this, the fact that Speights is only 25 years old, five years younger than the Brazilian, and it makes even more of a case that Grant should keep their recent acquisition.

He’s not as good of a rebounder as “The Wild Thing”, but he a better spot up shooter, which is a much-needed skill for NBA teams that win consistently.

Another thing is the Cavs need to start building the next wine and gold squad to make the playoffs, so you can’t get in the habit of continuously dealing players off for more draft picks. The picks are needed to lay a foundation, and Grant has had four first round picks in the last two years, plus what appears to be another top ten pick this summer.

That pick can be used to either pick or deal for another foundation piece.

A quality big man who can shoot and has experience with winning teams is something the Cavaliers will need as they get better and contend.

They already have one on the roster in Marreese Speights. It’s time to check that one off in the “done” column.

A Little Experience Goes a Long Way for Cavs

There is no question that the Cleveland Cavaliers are a very young basketball team. The third youngest in the NBA according to age.

Pretty much on a nightly basis, the wine and gold start two rookies (Dion Waiters and Tyler Zeller), two second year players (Kyrie Irving and Tristan Thompson) and a free agent who they found in the D-League in Alonzo Gee.

That’s not a recipe for success.

After the injury to Anderson Varejao, there was little help off the bench. C.J. Miles has been inconsistent, although better lately, and Luke Walton had moments where his veteran leadership made a difference.

However, as the Indians have found out in recent years, in order to provide leadership and a steady hand, the older players have to play on a night in night out basis so the younger guys like learn.

Since Christmas Day, GM Chris Grant has brought in some productive, experienced players to help coach Byron Scott, and the difference has been noticeable.

Shaun Livingston was claimed on waivers that day, and since his first appearance on the floor for the Cavs, the team has gone 8-10, a much better record than the 7-24 mark prior to his arrival. He’s averaged just 4.8 points and 3.2 assists since joining the team.

However, it’s not just the numbers. His experience and feel for the game has made a great deal of difference because Livingston knows how to play. Scott uses him frequently in crunch time.

He’s not the player he was before a devastating knee injury, but he understands how to play, something the young Cavaliers need to understand.

Then, Grant picked up two more veterans in Marreese Speights and Wayne Ellington from Memphis.

Speights gave Scott another quality big man to use behind Thompson and Zeller, a good shooter from outside and a solid rebounder. Most nights, the big man is on the floor during the fourth quarter of close games.

Ellington is a bigger version of Boobie Gibson, who can match up size wise defensively with other #2 guards. Being just a shade over 6’ (and that might be generous), Gibson has become a good defensive player, but just doesn’t have the height to match up with bigger guards.

The other thing that the former Grizzlies bring is winning experience. Memphis won a playoff series a year ago, and both Speights and Ellington are used to winning. There is no question is our mind that for most players, winning is learned.

Young guys, even a player as good as Irving, usually don’t know how to play winning basketball in the NBA. Irving has shown the ability to be tremendous at the end of games in terms of making shots, but he has to understand what needs to be done defensively and when to take chances with the basketball.

Now Scott has someone to turn to in tight games, guys that have played in playoff games and know what to do when games are on the line.

The young players have veterans to look up to and to learn from. And they are out there on the floor doing it, not just sitting around talking about it.

Fans all look at the incredible talent the players like Irving, Thompson, Waiters, and Zeller have, but every team needs players like Livingston, Speights, and Ellington too.

Now that the Cavaliers have them, the proof is showing up in the win column.

Cavs Trade Has No Downside.

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?