Tag: Spencer Hawes

This Off-Season, It’s Time for Cavs to Deal Andy

The Cleveland Cavaliers probably won’t make the playoffs this season because they have too much of a deficit behind Charlotte and Atlanta and a tough March schedule to maneuver.

Still, it was the right move to try to get in the post-season, and the trades obtaining Luol Deng and Spencer Hawes were worth making, and an effort should be made to keep both for next season.

After all, the Cavs are still a very young team with Kyrie Irving just turning 22 years old, Dion Waiters just reach that age in December, and Tristan Thompson will hit 23 years of age later this month.

All three players have plenty of improvement which will be made by experience and getting stronger with age.

Even Hawes won’t turn 26 until just after the season ends, and he has played well in a Cavs’ uniform thus far, averaging almost 14 points and nine rebounds since coming over from Philadelphia at the trade deadline.

Keeping the free agent would give the wine and gold depth so they can finally make the move they should have made the season after LeBron James left town for Miami.

It’s time to deal Anderson Varejao.

Every year, the Cavaliers trick themselves into thinking “Wild Thing” will be healthy, because when he is, he is a quality NBA big man, averaging almost 8 points and 8 rebounds per game, mostly due to a highly active style of play.

He takes charges, dives for loose balls, and keeps plays alive and does so with relentless effort.

Because he’s been the best big man on the team since James left, he has often been overexposed, playing too many minutes.  When that happens, the Brazilian gets hurt, thus having no impact on the team.

This has been a trademark of Varejao’s career.  He misses a lot of games, playing 75 games or more just three times (’06-’07, ’08-’09, and ’09-’10) in his ten-year NBA career.

Yes, injuries are a part of sports, but when it happens to the same players year in and year out, it is not a coincidence.  They are injury prone, thus no longer reliable to the team they play for.

The same thing happened with Courtney Brown for the Browns, and Grady Sizemore for the Indians.  They simply couldn’t stay on the field long enough to make a contribution.

In those four years since he appeared in 76 games in 2009-2010, Varejao has missed 162 out of a possible 291 games, that’s more than half of the contests played by the wine and gold.

He has currently missed the team’s last 10 games with a back injury.

Assuming he will be back soon, the acquisition of Hawes means Mike Brown can play Varejao less minutes, meaning he will have a better opportunity to stay in the lineup, and off of the training table.

The Cavs need to establish Varejao’s health for the rest of the season so they can use him as a trade chip this summer in an effort to help the organization.  The last few years, his injuries were season ending, so nobody was willing to deal for him until he showed he could get back on an NBA floor.

His skill set would be very important to a team trying to make a push toward a title, so however the GM is this summer, should be able to make a favorable deal for Cleveland.

It will be a bittersweet day, because Varejao is the last link to the glory teams in Cleveland, including the one that made the NBA Finals in 2007.  But the time has come to make the move.

What is needed is for Varejao to get back on the floor this season.

JK

Cavs Continue to Push for Playoffs By Getting Hawes

If you are one of those fans in Cleveland that is always looking toward next year, it was a bad day for you yesterday.

Acting Cavaliers’ GM David Griffin decided to continue the team’s pursuit of a playoff spot by acquiring 7’1” center Spencer Hawes from Philadelphia.  The price wasn’t extravagant either, as the wine and gold parted with two second round draft picks and two players who aren’t currently in Mike Brown’s rotation:  C Henry Sims and F Earl Clark.

Why would anyone complain about that price?

Second round picks in the NBA are like lottery tickets.  Sometimes one will pay off, but most times, you throw them away because they are useless.

On the other hand, Hawes is just 25 years old, and averages 13 points and 8.5 rebounds per game, and he definitely can be used as a stretch big man, hitting almost 40% of his shots from outside the arc.

As the owner’s son has been known to say, “What’s not to like?”

Yes, Hawes can be a free agent at the end of this season, so he could be a rental player for the rest of the season.  But, neither Sims nor Clark was probably going to be on the roster next season, so really, what did Griffin give up?

Besides, maybe the Cavaliers continue to play well and Hawes wants to stay with the Cavs.  We realize the doomsayers can’t fathom that, but it is possible.

Our first thought when the deal was rumored is that Anderson Varejao must be hurt worse than the team is letting on.  The newcomer gives Brown another solid big man to go with Tyler Zeller, Tristan Thompson, and Anthony Bennett.

If Varejao can return soon, it means that the coaching staff can cut down on his minutes to around 25 per night, which may just keep him healthier, and should have been the plan for him all along.

And Hawes outside shot should open things up for those guys and Varejao, when he comes back to operate near the basket.  Too often, both bigs are in the paint clogging things up so it is difficult for Kyrie Irving and Dion Waiters to go to the basket.

Hawes should help immediately, and also provides another veteran who has been around the league for years, like Luol Deng.

Speaking of Deng, there were plenty of rumors about the Cavs shopping him, but no deal was made, which is also a good thing.  Mainly because Cleveland still doesn’t have an alternative at the small forward spot.

Yes, we understand Deng is also an unrestricted free agent at the end of the season, and has made comments, which appear to show he is unhappy here, but if Griffin has a chance to sign him this summer, they have a better shot with Deng spending the balance of the season in Cleveland.

Besides, if the wine and gold can stay hot and make the playoffs in let’s say, the 6th seed, maybe the former Bull looks at a pretty good future here with a lot of young talent, and stable leadership.

Deng would have looked crazy if he would have said he liked it here among all the chaos when he first arrived.

Things change in team sports.

Just a few weeks ago, Irving and Waiters couldn’t stand to play together.  Chris Grant gets fired and Dan Gilbert and Griffin have a “come to Jesus” moment with the players, and they look like they actually like each other.

A lot can change by the end of the playoffs, and here’s hoping the young Cavaliers can get their first experience in the post-season.

JK