Cavs Making Moves, Hopefully More To Come.

The Cleveland Cavaliers made a couple of roster moves in the past couple of days, converting Dean Wade’s two way contract to a multi-year deal and adding free agent Jordan Bell on a two year deal.

Both players have some size, Wade is 6’9″ and Bell 6’8″, so that’s a good thing, and they didn’t have to give anything else to sign him, and that’s another good thing.

It was also announced Ante Zizic will play in Europe next season, and that’s a loss of a big body.

Really, none of these moves are significant.

It’s hard to get excited by Wade, who is really a stretch four, but at 24 next season, maybe he’s a player who gets better and finds his niche in the NBA later in his career, but it’s tough to see him having a significant role for the wine and gold in the 2020-21 season.

Bell has been with three teams in four years, and was regarded as a hot commodity when Golden State purchased his draft rights from the Bulls. He did play 14 minutes a night in his rookie year, which is his high water mark.

Our thought is he is a victim of the idea that everything the Warriors touched turned to gold a couple of years ago, so if they wanted him, he must really be good. He played in 29 games this past season, averaging 3.2 points and 2.8 rebounds in nine minutes.

Can he develop his game and become a solid player? Of course, but for now, we can’t think too much of this move.

As for Zizic, while we would have liked him to get more of an opportunity we understand the move. He averaged 7.8 points and 5.4 boards a game when he got regular playing time in ’18-’19, getting 18 minutes per game (59 games).

However, here’s our thought on most NBA players. They can all score if given touches, but what determines playing time is how you play defense, and if you can’t guard someone, then you sit.

Again, he’s just 23, and he wouldn’t be the first big man to go overseas, gain some experience, and come back to the NBA a better player. Perhaps he can learn to make up for a seeming lack of lateral quickness with anticipation and positioning.

There have been multiple rumors of the Cavs looking for young, athletic wings in free agency, and two names that have been reported are Derrick Jones Jr., currently with Miami and Josh Jackson, with Memphis.

Jones is just 23 years old, and is averaging 8.9 points and 4.2 caroms for the Heat, the best marks of his career. And he comes from a good culture, playing for Erik Spoelstra in Miami.

Jackson, also 23, is the former 4th overall pick in the draft in 2018, but was traded to Memphis at the draft last summer, and played most of this year in the G-League. He did score 10.4 points in 18 games with the Grizzlies.

While we definitely see a need for wings, here’s hoping the organization doesn’t ignore big folks either. Losing Zizic and perhaps Tristan Thompson will leave a hole in this area too.

We were encouraged to hear of interest in Harry Giles, a 6’11” player out of Duke that has battled injuries since leaving high school. In 96 NBA games with Sacramento, 17 of them starts, Giles has scored seven points with four rebounds per game.

In the 10 games after the All Star Game, he upped those figures to 10.8 and 6.2. Hopefully, the rumors are true about Cleveland’s interest in Giles, he could wind up being a very good option here if the Kings do not pick up his option.

So, while the most recent moves don’t really get us excited, the young, athletic wings make us intrigued. Unfortunately, we will have to wait until the playoffs are over for real moves to be made.

Looking At Cavs’ Free Agents

Now that the Cleveland Cavaliers’ season is officially over, the speculation and planning for the 2020-21 season can officially begin.

The first order of business is decided which, if any of the pending free agents will return to wear the wine and gold (or whatever jerseys they will be wearing on a given night) when the league starts up again in December.

First there is the Andre Drummond situation. Drummond has a player option worth over $28 million for the ’20-’21 campaign, and it is widely thought the big man will exercise that option and remain a Cavalier.

No matter how the game is played today, with the emphasis on smaller players and shooting, there is a place for a 6’10” player who averages 17.7 points and 15.2 rebounds per night.

And he will be 27 years old.

He has a career 54.2% shooting percentage from the floor, and has improved his free throw percentage which was once dismal (38.6% in 2016-17) to 57.5% this past season.

He’s not a big shot blocker, but he gets a lot of steals, which is weird, but nevertheless, he’s creating turnovers.

Will he ever get another $28 million per year multi-year deal again? That’s up for debate, but the Cavaliers don’t have to worry about that for next season.

Tristan Thompson is another big man who will be a free agent this fall, but he is unrestricted, and we doubt he will be back in Cleveland when next season begins.

It is hard to believe Thompson will be 30 years old when next season ends, having spent nine years in Cleveland, and was a key member of the 2016 NBA Champions.

He had a very good season too, averaging a career high 12.0 points per game, grabbing 10.1 rebounds, and is a very good post defender.

Our guess though, is having experienced the winning seasons here, Thompson would like to be part of that once again, and his skill set should make him a much coveted piece for teams with title aspirations.

He’s also received his big pay day, so he will look for the best situation for him to advance deep in the playoffs, and perhaps get back to The Finals.

If Thompson wanted to stay and the dollars made sense, he’d be someone we’d be interested in keeping, but we just feel he thinks it’s time to move on.

Which brings us to Matthew Dellavedova. Delly will be 30 when next season starts, and his shooting declined last season to the dreadful level. However, it would be interesting to bring him back as an end of the bench guy because of his experience and feel for the game.

Don’t forget the Aussie was tied for second on the Cavs in assists in ’19-’20 despite playing an average of only 14 minutes per night. When he got extra time due to injuries at the end of the season, he averaged seven helpers per game over an eight game span.

If he’s willing to be the “old head” on a very young team, and the price is right, why not bring him back. Plus, he’s a crowd favorite and a link to the great teams over the last decade.

Yet a third big man, Ante Zizic picked the wrong time to have injury issues, and his numbers regressed from a year ago. It has been reported he would like to return to Europe to continue his career.

Quite frankly, we like his offensive game, but doubt if he has the lateral quickness to be an effective defender in today’s NBA.

Matt Mooney and Dean Wade are also free agents, and if the Cavs want them to compete for a roster spot in training camp, whenever that starts, we are sure they will be welcome. Wade is a stretch four, so he may be able to help if he can show he can defend a bit.

Apparently, we will know what happens with these players around Halloween. As we have said before though, the wine and gold still need to get bigger, and if Thompson and Zizic leaves, that just means the need is even greater.

Even With Drummond, Cavs Need To Find More Big Men

When the Cleveland Cavaliers traded for Andre Drummond at the trade deadline, we were thrilled because it was the first time in a long time the Cavs addressed the lack of height on their roster.

Since Timofey Mozgov left as a free agent, Cleveland either didn’t have legitimate big men (read traditional center) on the roster or didn’t use those people.

When the wine and gold went to The Finals in 2018, the last season LeBron James played in Cleveland, the Cavs had three players taller than 6’9″: Channing Frye, Kendrick Perkins, and Ante Zizic.

That trio played a combined 774 minutes. COMBINED.

The Golden State Warriors, known for their long range shooting and small ball lineups, had four players 6’10” or taller: Kevin Durant, Zaza Pachulia, JaVale McGee, and Damian Jones.

Pachulia alone played more minutes than the Cavaliers trio.

Let’s look at the two best teams in the NBA this season, the Lakers and Bucks.

Los Angeles has three big men getting over 15 minutes per night: Anthony Davis, Dwight Howard, and McGee.

Milwaukee uses three tall people more than 14 minutes per contest: Brook and Robin Lopez, and of course, Giannis Antetokounmpo.

The point is, size is still important even in today’s professional basketball where positions are fluid and the scoring has drifted to the perimeter.

So, getting Drummond was an important step in remedying this situation, but the Cavs could have a problem in this regard this off-season.

Drummond can be a free agent at the end of this season, albeit with a player option, with the situation the world is in right now, he seems unlikely to decline because he figures to not see as much money on the open market.

However, the other two big men wearing the wine and gold, Zizic and Tristan Thompson (who is 6’9″ but is most definitely a C/PF and provides interior defense) are also eligible to test the market, meaning GM Koby Altman could again have a roster devoid of size.

No doubt there will be some veteran free agents from other teams out there for the Cavs, but hopefully they will sign at least two of them, because Cleveland is already small in the backcourt, and at the start of the season, they were the smallest team in the NBA.

Should Altman take a big man in the draft? It wouldn’t hurt, but the team has needs in other area (not guard) and since big men take longer to develop, it would be doubtful a rookie such as James Wiseman (7’1″, 235 lbs) could make much of an impact in his first year, particularly on the defensive end of the floor.

In our opinion, Thompson staying in Cleveland is a long shot and we’ve seen rumors that Zizic is returning overseas, and we have doubts that he can play interior defense in the NBA due to lack of quickness.

That means beside the draft and solving the impending roster problems at guard, Altman needs to find some big people as well. Ideally, we would like to see three players over 6’10” added to the roster, but at the very least, two would do.

Height is still a requirement in the NBA. Good teams seem to have players who can provide defense around the rim. The Cavaliers can’t lose sight of that before the 2020-21 season begins.

Could Playing With Size Be More In Vogue For Cavs?

In the fourth quarter of Monday night’s comeback victory over the Miami Heat, new Cavs’ coach J.B. Bickerstaff did something we have advocated for about three months.

He went big.

He played Darius Garland at the point, played Kevin Porter Jr., a two guard with some actual size at 6’4″, and then went with Larry Nance Jr. at the three, with Kevin Love and Tristan Thompson up front.

These Cavaliers were better defensively, and we feel a big reason for that is the height being used.

Nance’s improved three point shooting, he’s a respectable 34% from distance in the past two seasons, allow the coaching staff to play him there. Nance referred to himself as a “swiss army knife” after the game, and that’s a pretty good analysis.

We loved the acquisition of Nance in 2018 at the trade deadline, because in watching a few Lakers’ games that season, we felt he was the best “player” on the team.

He’s a solid defender, which the wine and gold desperately need, and a very good passer for a forward. Defensively, he has enough quickness to stay with small forwards, and with his leaping ability, can bother the shots of power forwards.

The only questions about the former Revere High School product are his durability, he’s never played more than 67 games in a season, and his lack of bulk when defending in the paint.

We have written about this ad nauseum, but a big part of Cleveland’s struggles defensively is lack of size. Playing Garland and Collin Sexton at guard together make the team very small, and that is compounded playing Porter Jr. at small forward.

Notice that Andre Drummond wasn’t in that lineup against the Heat, but he soon will be part of that group, at least we hope so.

The new big man is getting just 10.8 shots per game with the Cavs, compared to almost 14 a night with Detroit. In the loss to Miami Saturday night, Drummond took just three shots, which is ridiculous.

We are not worried about this because the Cleveland guards are quite frankly, terrible at making entry passes into the post. That’s amazing to say about a player in the NBA.

As the coaching staff works with them, and playing Porter, who is a willing passer, more often, we would expect that to improve, and Drummond will get more shots.

He is active defensively, moves well for a big guy, and at 6’10”, gives the franchise a legitimate offensive big man. Tristan Thompson has done a great job, but he is really more suited to being a defensive oriented power forward.

The other player we hear being questioned is Cedi Osman. He is another player we feel is not being used in an optimate manner.

We think Osman is best used as a slasher, a guy who drives to the hoop and either finishes or has the ability to find the open man. Right now, he’s kind of a spot up three point shooter, and although he is hitting 38% from behind the arc, he is more streaky from distance.

It will be interesting to see if Bickerstaff uses this bigger lineup more often. It certainly can’t hurt. Hopefully, he is using the rest of the year as a laboratory, seeing what does and does not work.

Even though teams are playing smaller in today’s NBA, make no mistake, size is still important. It’s about time the Cavs’ front office got on board.

Cavs’ New Direction Is Hopefully Forward.

When the Cleveland Cavaliers take the floor Friday night, they will have a new coach in J. B. Bickerstaff.

This is will be the third time the soon to be 41 year old has taken over a team in the middle of a season. He took over for Kevin McHale in Houston during the 2015-16 season, guiding the Rockets to a 37-34 record.

He also assumed the reins in Memphis from David Fizdale in 2017-18 and coached through last season, going 48-97 with the Grizzlies.

Here, he takes over what appears to be a mess. And we say that including the front office, John Beilein’s relationship with the roster, and the players themselves.

Let’s start with the front office. Koby Altman was the first GM to receive a second contract under owner Dan Gilbert, but since LeBron James departed via free agency after the franchise’s fourth consecutive Eastern Conference title, the Cavs have a 33-103 record.

Yes, the wine and gold are rebuilding, but they haven’t stripped the roster bare either. Kevin Love, Tristan Thompson, and Larry Nance Jr. all received a lot of minutes on that 2017-18 team, and they are still here.

So is Cedi Osman, who was considered a youngster with talent on that squad.

However, has Altman put his thumbprint on this organization? It seems here like he is collecting talent, which on the surface would appear to be a good thing, but basketball is a different sport. Collecting talent isn’t everything, collecting complementary talent makes for a winning team.

Getting Andre Drummond for pretty much nothing is a good move. But it seems to clash with the team’s leading scorer, Collin Sexton.

Shouldn’t the current roster be playing inside out, with Drummond and Kevin Love getting the ball around the paint and the guards playing off them when they are double teamed? That doesn’t seem like Sexton’s strong point.

We would guess Bickerstaff has a better relationship with the players than Beilein, because they didn’t seem to like the former college coach, and the assistant would typically be the guy the players complain to about the head guy.

But now Bickerstaff is the boss, and he is setting up the rotations and controlling the playing time. Because of his previous experience, maybe he will grab the players’ attention, and get them to buy in to the way he wants the game played.

The players aren’t immune from criticism either. It’s one thing to complain about a coach trying to teach when you are winning, but when you are losing 3/4ths of the time you take the floor, perhaps you should listen.

We have said this before, but two former players who do Cavs’ telecasts, Austin Carr and Brad Daugherty, use this word all the time…accountability. It is lack among this roster and we fear nothing will improve with the Cavaliers until there is some.

And that goes for the young guys and the veterans. Perhaps this was lost when the coaching staff didn’t hold the newbies to an NBA standard from day one. We don’t know that, but it has to be enforced by both the coaches and the veterans starting now.

The defenders say Cleveland is only a year and a half into the post-LeBron era, so the struggles are understandable.

Our problem is we don’t see a lot of progress in performance particularly in the basics of the game. You can play the right way and lose or play the wrong way and lose. We prefer the former.

The next era starts Friday. Hopefully, the internal strife is behind this organization and they can start to pull in the same direction.

Getting Drummond For Virtually Nothing? Why Not?

We have commented for several years that the Cleveland Cavaliers’ organization ignored height in a sport where it matters a lot.

They addressed that yesterday in a huge way, trading impending free agents John Henson and Brandon Knight, and a second round draft pick to the Pistons for one of the best big men in the game, Andre Drummond.

Yes, we understand Drummond can be a free agent at the end of the season by declining his player option, but the Cavs have his “Bird rights”, meaning they can offer him more than any other team.

And even if he leaves via free agency, GM Koby Altman basically gave up the second round pick, because Henson and Knight were leaving anyway.

That’s what you call a win/win. He’s just 26 years old.

Quite frankly, Drummond is one of the game’s best big men. He leads the league in rebounding at 15.8, and has led the NBA in this category in three of the last four seasons. He’s also scoring 17.8 points per game.

Is he a guy who can be the best player on a playoff team? That’s doubtful, but he is a productive big guy and is a deterrent around the basket, averaging 1.7 blocked shots per game.

Does he make the wine and gold significantly better right now? Again, probably not, so any fear of a lengthy winning streak starting soon and putting the Cavs with lower odds of getting a top five pick in this June’s draft are probably unfounded.

However, no one should complain about adding a good player for virtually nothing, and Drummond is a very good player.

He isn’t like the flashy players today’s NBA seem to love, but you still need quality big men to win, even today.

How does he fit in with the current Cavs’ roster? That would be up to the coaching staff and the young backcourt players.

Beilein has talked about ball movement offensively, but we really haven’t seen it. And the young players (Darius Garland, Collin Sexton, and Kevin Porter Jr.) have had issues making entry passes to the low post, which is where you want Drummond to have the basketball.

If they don’t learn quickly how to do that, then the new big man won’t be much of a factor offensively.

On the other hand, Kevin Love and Larry Nance Jr. are very good passers, so perhaps some imagination getting the ball into the high post to either of them, and then playing off Drummond can work.

With Tristan Thompson remaining on the roster, you may be able to give Nance some minutes at the small forward spot, which we have also advocated.

That also makes you stronger defensively, and it goes without saying that is a huge need for this squad.

The point is this is a low risk move for the Cavs. They basically gave up a second round pick for a quality big man.

When in doubt, we are always in favor of adding good players to the team. That’s what Altman did yesterday.

Can’t complain about that.

Will Cavs Roster Be Reshaped This Week?

With the NBA trading deadline coming up on Thursday, this figures to be a pivotal week for the future of the Cleveland Cavaliers.

After a 4-5 start that had many people optimistic about the young roster, the last month to six weeks have been tough to watch. The Cavs have lost 11 home games in a row, and in the past few weeks, have been blown out at Rocket Mortgage Fieldhouse by three of the league’s worst teams: The Knicks, Wizards, and Warriors.

Clearly, there is a problem. While no one expected the wine and gold to make a playoff run this season, winning only nine games out of the last 42 (a half season) wasn’t what the organization was hoping for either.

Things looked a little promising after the “slug/thug” comment right before the Disney On Ice trip with road wins at Detroit and Denver, but since then, they’ve lost 11 of 12, with only four of the losses by less than 10 points.

We know the Cavs have five free agents to be at the end of this season: Tristan Thompson, John Henson, Matthew Dellavedova, Brandon Knight, and Ante Zizic, plus Kevin Love would like to be moved elsewhere.

Will GM Koby Altman be able to move any of these players before Thursday’s deadline? Or will be move one, if not more, of this group with another piece in an effort to revamp the entire roster.

Let’s face it, playing two small guards (Collin Sexton and Darius Garland) isn’t working, particularly on the defensive end, although really, that should have been expected.

Cleveland’s roster compounds this situation by having just one shot blocking threat, Henson, around the basket. It is very noticeable that the defense is better when Henson is in the game, he has the best defensive rating on the team.

Really, this franchise has ignored height for much of the last five seasons. The last move to get a true center (and yes, he know the game is different now) was when David Griffin brought in Timofey Mozgov in 2015.

Even the Steph Curry/Klay Thompson Warriors had big guys like Andrew Bogut, JeVale McGee, and Festus Ezeli to protect the basket. The Cavaliers need to get an inside presence, and we feel doing so would see an instant improvement.

And this isn’t to denigrate Tristan Thompson who works as hard as any player on the floor, but in reality, he’s a defensive minded power forward. At 6’9″, it’s tough for him to handle guys like Andre Drummond and Joel Embiid. He gives up a lot of size and bulk to those players.

So, we would not be surprised if Sexton isn’t included in a deal before the week ends. It wouldn’t be about the second year guard’s effort, he puts a lot of time in working on his game, but it would have to do with the mix with Garland, and can the franchise move forward with the pair getting big minutes.

We look at teams like Oklahoma City, who traded stars Russell Westbrook and Paul George after a 49-33 season, and now they sit at 30-20.

We look at teams like Toronto (who lost Kawhi Leonard) and Utah, who have a system for success at this point. The Cavs need to develop an identity as a franchise that doesn’t include LeBron James.

Bill Fitch did this when he took over the expansion Cavs in 1970. Lenny Wilkens did it in the 80’s, and Mike Fratello the same after the Mark Price/Brad Daugherty era ended. Right now, there is nothing for the organization to hang their hats on.

The rebuild may have started after James left for free agency in 2018, but the first retooling could take place this week. It seems to be badly needed.

Cavs Need To Decide What They Want To Be.

Since the Cleveland Cavaliers lost Game 4 of the NBA Finals on June 8, 2018, LeBron James’ last game with the wine and gold, the Cavs have played 126 games.

Cleveland has won just 31 of those.

And there are only five players who were on the roster then who remain: Kevin Love, Tristan Thompson, Larry Nance Jr., Cedi Osman, and Ante Zizic, and the latter two only played in mop up roles.

By the time the All Star game is played, it would not be surprising to see Love and Thompson both moved for younger players and/or draft picks.

Last summer, GM Koby Altman hired John Beilein, the former University of Michigan coach who had no professional experience as the head coach, presumably to teach the very young Cavs how to play the game.

Still, with a 12-32 record, currently the third worst mark in the NBA, more than one person has wondered what exactly is the Cavaliers plan to get back to the post-season, because right now, only the most optimistic person can see a light at the end of the tunnel.

Right now, it seems like the only plan is to acquire as many young players as they can and have Beilein and his staff get them to improve. While that’s fine in theory, does Beilein have a vision for his team and how do they get there?

The key phrase around town lately has been “alignment”. It’s what the Browns talk about in terms of having the coach and the general manager on the same page.

Is that the case with the Cavaliers? We think it’s a fair question to ask.

We have to assume Beilein and his staff have discussed what kind of style the young Cavs should play, but all we hear is that the coaches want the players to move the ball.

Is that it?

We don’t think basing a team on just athleticism alone seems like something that can be sustained.

Last season, the Cavs were terrible defensively, some experts said they were among the worst defensive teams of the past 20 years. This season, they are just slightly better, ranking 29th (out of 30) in defensive efficiency.

That’s something that should be addressed and quite frankly, should be the foundation for the franchise going forward. All young players know how to put the ball in the basket, heck, that’s how they get to the NBA.

However, learning defensive skills? That’s another matter and it’s also where we would start. Make it a mindset that playing time is based on defensive ability.

The late, great high school coach, Morgan Wooten used to tell his teams he was sure of two starting players: The best defender and the best rebounder. It puts a premium on those talents.

At the end of this season, we will be two full years removed from the beginning of the rebuilding process. It is fair to ask the organization to set a course for the future, identify the types of players you want, players who can fit together to get this team back on the winning track.

It’s easy to build a team when you can draft LeBron, Giannis, or Luka. If you don’t you need to build a culture. That’s what Miami and Utah have. They seek out players that fit their culture, that is to say, a style of play.

That can always be changed if you get the superstar player.

We fear no progress will be made until some sort of identity is established.

Clarkson Deal First Of Many?

After winning two straight games, the Cleveland Cavaliers took the first step to rebuilding their roster for the 2020-21 season.

They moved Jordan Clarkson to the Utah Jazz in exchange for oft-injured guard Dante Exum and two future second round draft picks.

It may not seem like a big return for the wine and gold’s third leading scorer at 14.6 points per game, but perhaps it was a deal GM Koby Altman thought needed to be made sooner than later.

A few weeks ago, it was reported that several veterans weren’t happy with coach John Beilein’s “rah-rah college” coaching philosophy.

We immediately figured Clarkson was one of those critical, which was merely speculation on our part, mostly because Tristan Thompson and Larry Nance Jr. came out and quickly squashed the comments, and Kevin Love spoke highly of Beilein during training camp.

So, if Clarkson was indeed not happy here, Altman probably figured the sooner, the better to get him out of here.

Plus, Beilein was playing Clarkson at the end of close games because of his scoring ability, especially when his shot was falling, and this generally took one of his young guards, usually Darius Garland and Kevin Porter Jr. off the floor during crunch time.

Porter, in particular, has been earning more time with his recent play, averaging 11.1 points per game on 51.1% shooting in December, and it would figure that he would get first crack at Clarkson’s minutes.

Plus, Clarkson was going to be a free agent after the season, and why not get something back for the veteran who arrived in Cleveland with Nance at the trade deadline in 2017-18.

He also isn’t a “move the ball” type of player than Beilein prefers.

Exum is a wild card because he’s suffered with injuries pretty much since he entered the league as the fifth overall pick in 2014.

First, he’s 6’5″ (an inch taller than Clarkson, which we have said is a must in any deal), and at his heart is a point guard first.

The only year he was relatively healthy was 2016-17, when at 21 years old, he averaged 6.2 points and 1.7 assists per night in 18.6 minutes.

This season, he’s barely played, getting into 11 games and playing just 83 minutes.

However, in the Cavs’ position, why not see if Exum can be an NBA player? It’s not as though Cleveland is making a playoff run, and if he can play up to the potential of his draft status, the wine and gold have a 24-year-old lottery ticket.

As we said before the real reason for the deal is to clear out a potential problem in the locker room, and to open up playing time for Porter, who by the way, when he plays well, the Cavaliers are a much better team.

This is the first of probably a few more moves for Altman before the trade deadline in February.

Besides Love, who has asked to be moved, Cleveland still has free agents (read: Expiring contracts) to be in Tristan Thompson, Brandon Knight, John Henson, Matthew Dellavedova, and Ante Zizic.

The Cavs might be interested in bringing back Thompson and even Dellavedova next year, and Zizic can’t get on the floor right now, but all of these guys could be available for future draft picks plus a bad contract.

Although the return wasn’t great, this was a move Altman felt he needed to make, and right now was the best time.

If Anything, Beilein Should Be Tougher On Young Cavs.

We have been saying for the past couple of seasons, the one good thing you could say about the front office of the Cleveland Cavaliers, is they haven’t brought in any knuckleheads.

After the reports that some players are quoted that coach John Beilein’s too much of a “rah rah” college coach, we stand corrected.

To be fair, it could be a false report, or it could also be the rantings of a disgruntled player who is trying to ease his way out of Cleveland, but with the Cavs currently at 5-17, and losers of 12 of their last 13, it wasn’t a good time to be happening, for everyone involved.

First of all, Beilein was brought in for his teaching skill. The wine and gold have a very young roster, outside of Kevin Love and Tristan Thompson, and maybe of them need to learn how to play the game, and we aren’t speaking about just the pro game either.

Second, if a player is upset about not getting playing time in Cleveland, he should be more worried about his future in the NBA. The Cavaliers are one of the worst teams in the league, and if you can’t get on the court for that team, then perhaps as Chuck Noll used to say, you need to get on with your life’s work.

In our opinion, Beilein should be tougher. The coach says he wants a team that moves the ball, like Boston or Dallas, but his starting guards average 2.9 assists (Darius Garland) and 2.4 assists (Collin Sexton) per game.

The teams’ best player, five time All Star Kevin Love, averages the third most shots on the team, behind Sexton and Thompson, and is barely ahead of Garland and Jordan Clarkson.

And it isn’t like Love is coasting, waiting to be dealt to a contender. He’s still averaging 10.5 rebounds per night, and this is for a Cleveland team that is smaller than the opponents on a nightly basis.

What would be do if we were coaching? We know Beilein was brought in to develop the young players, so he is trying to give them the benefit of the doubt, but we would start making some cuts in playing time to send a message.

Sexton is showing signs of being a “chucker”, looking for his shot before anything else. It might be time to have some time to understand what the coach is looking for offensively.

We have said this for a few weeks, but we would move Nance into the lineup at small forward (he’s shooting 37% from three) and move Cedi Osman to the two. That would instantly make Cleveland bigger, but Nance is a very good passer and Osman isn’t bad, so it would increase ball movement.

And maybe, it lights a fire under the second year guard, who we think has regressed from the way he ended his rookie season.

It would also open up some time for Alfonzo McKinnie, who we would like to see more of.

Whose minutes would be cut? We understand the Cavs would like to deal Clarkson, an asset because of his expiring contract, but his shoot first mentality is an odd fit here anyway.

Moving Nance to the three would also open up minutes for Ante Zizic, who the organization needs to find out about.

Thompson was very vocal after Friday’s game about the comments about the coach, saying it was a bad look, although he was much more forceful than that.

GM Koby Altman should be finding out who made the comments and get them out of town as quickly as possible.

The Cavs made a bold choice in bringing in Beilein. Now they need to have his back.