1. Addressing the Paul George Rumors
2. So what assets do the Cavaliers have?
As mentioned before, Cleveland doesn't have a bevy of picks, trade exceptions, or young assets that they can give away, so the next obvious place to look at is breaking up their "Big 3". LeBron and Kyrie are untouchable, so that leaves Kevin Love ($22 million) to be the odd man out. But there's no reason for the Pacers to do a 1-for-1 trade, so Love may have to be shipped to a third team, and Cleveland would have to throw in some role players. So, what do they have? I think the only role player who would be particularly difficult to trade is J.R. Smith ($13 million) because of his reputation in the league. He's had a questionable attitude and was a chucker when he was in New York, and most seem to think that LeBron is responsible for J.R.'s improved conduct. It's hard for me to envision any other NBA team valuing Smith at this point. The next guy worth mentioning is the other shooting guard, Iman Shumpert ($10 million). He's suffered through a good amount of injuries throughout his career, but he's still young and has room to grow. He's got a great work ethic and showed that he could be of the league's top 3 and D players. Tristan Thompson ($16 million) is another young asset who could be flipped because he's valuable as an elite rebounder and defender who could comfortably switch onto guards from time to time. The last piece that could be a trade piece is Channing Frye ($7 million). Even though he's old, he brings value in his excellent shooting (especially from the Center position), but even more so from his contract. He has an expiring contract which could help teams free up some space if they want to make a big move for the following summer.
3. Reshuffle. Don't Reload
The last three games of the Finals showed me that the competition between the two teams isn't as lopsided as many seem to think. Because of this, I don't think a complete overhaul is necessary. If you look at the games, Golden State's bench is what separated them. People kept saying that the Warriors depleted their depth in order to sign Durant, but that's just not the case. They retained Iguodala and Livingston, they replaced Marreese Speights with someone arguably better in David West, and they still managed to add two seven footers. Specifically speaking, Golden State changed the tide in Game 3, when LeBron sat for 83 seconds, and the team tried to incorporate much of their second unit. In Game 5, Cleveland tried to slowly play some bench players, but again, the Warriors took advantage and responded with a 28-4 run. All of the games were relatively close at halftime too, which just goes to show that mental and physical exhaustion got the best of Cleveland. Focusing on the bench would help with that.
Livingston and Iguodala have always been the biggest problems for Cleveland, so you need to find people who can match up with them. David Lee, Marreese Speights, and David West also had their shining moments. The standard for bench players has been set; now it's up to Cleveland to meet those standards.
4. Cleveland's Current Bench
Of the players I'll be mentioning below, only Richard Jefferson and Channing Frye are under contract. It does seem like Jefferson will retire though.
PG-Deron Williams
He came to life towards the end of the series, and having Finals experience and a full year with the Cavs should help a lot. They should explore their other options, but he's a good safety net to have-especially if he takes a cheap contract.
SG-Kyle Korver
He's on the same boat as Deron Williams, except Cleveland has his Bird rights, making it easier to re-sign him if they elect to go that direction. His defensive awareness is good, but he doesn't really have the lateral quickness to make any impact on that side of the court. And if he's not making his jump shots, he's not going to be contributing at all.
SF-Richard Jefferson
I absolutely love RJ, and even though he's had some fantastic moments and keeps his body in phenomenal condition, he's probably going to retire. I look forward to a career in broadcasting, because he'd be absolutely phenomenal at it.
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Of the free agents here, Williams is the only one I think is an absolute necessity to re-sign. He gives a lot of effort on defense, gets easy dunks with good off-ball movement, shoots 40% from distance, and has been blessed with athleticism and good size. Derrick has the attributes to guard either forward position too, giving the Cavaliers some good versatility.
C-Channing Frye- The bench actually relies a lot on him in terms of scoring-something I alluded to in another article. Unfortunately, he can't be trusted to play against run-and-gun teams like the Warriors. He's a nice piece to have against virtually any other team though.
5. Hopes for Internal Improvement
The Cavaliers need some of their own players to improve if they want to keep up with the Warriors. Starting with...
PG-Kyrie Irving
- Kyrie is only 25 years old. 25! Which means that his body will continue to mature and grow stronger. This added physicality could help him become a defensive standout, something he's shown in spurts during his recent playoff runs. Cleveland has no way of hiding Irving on defense, so they'll need him to become excellent on that end of the court.
SG-Iman Shumpert
- Shumpert has had injuries stunt his growth, but he's worked on regaining his jump shot (after breaking his wrist last year), and actually became a corner specialist. He has great athleticism, and his ball-handling and passing are serviceable thanks to his days of playing Point Guard in college. Cleveland will need a lot out of Shumpert if he remains on the team.
SF-Cedi Osman
- The Cavaliers stashed him overseas for a few years now, and all signs point to him joining the team for the 2017-8 Season. If he's everything that the scouting report says, he'd be exactly what Cleveland needs. He moves without the ball well, is a much improved shooter, has great length at 6' 8", is a fantastic defender, fights through screens in superb fashion, and has quick hands. The only downside is that he seems to lack foot speed (at least from the tapes I've seen). It's always hard to tell how good European players are because the level of competition is vastly different, so Cleveland shouldn't be relying on Osman. If he's able to contribute anything, it should be considered a pleasant surprise.
PF-Kevin Love
- It's no secret that Love had the toughest time transitioning in Cleveland, but things are trending up for him. He just enjoyed a really good year where he looked fully comfortable with what he was doing. I also recently realized that he still hasn't had a full season with the "Big 3". In his first year, LeBron took two weeks off to get his conditioning back on track, and last year Irving missed the first few months as he was recovering from a fractured kneecap. Love, himself, missed six weeks due to requiring knee surgery this year too. It seems like Cleveland's superstars have their chemistry sorted out, but no one has ever complained about having more reps. Who knows, maybe 28-year-old Love can improve some more with these guys.
C-Tristan Thompson
- Of the guys I'm going to mention, Thompson has to be the one who improves the most. The Cavaliers can't afford to go 4 on 5 on every offensive possession-especially against a defensive juggernaut like Golden State. TT has to improve in either one or two areas: elbow jumpers, or mastery of one post move. He started taking elbow jump shots with more regularity and confidence at the beginning of the season, but as more games were played, Thompson faded away from them. Ideally, I'd like him to be able to hit floaters from 6 to 8 feet away from the basket too, so that he won't have to finish around the rim with bigger Centers all the time. Thompson is said to have a world-class work ethic, so this doesn't seem out of reach.
6. What Free Agent options are there?
Cleveland really needs a guy who can move without the ball to create easy buckets, reliable 3-and-D players, and a third ball handler. For the names mentioned below, you'll need to move a piece or two around to make things work, but here are some of the free agents (and potential FAs) who stuck out to me.
PG-George Hill
George Hill has always been a solid player that could provide good defense, but the improvements he's made on the offensive end could price him out of the Cavaliers' reach.
- Needs filled: Ball-handling, creates easy buckets for himself
I assume he is going to pick up his player option since $24 million is a lot to turn down, especially if you consider that his best playing days are behind him. But maybe his buddy, LeBron, can get in his ear. Wade has said he'd be willing to be a 6th man in order to compete for a championship.
- Needs filled: Ball-handling, solid defender, creates easy buckets for himself and teammates, improved 3 point shooter
SG-Tony Allen
His defense has remained stellar throughout his career, but as mentioned earlier, playing 4-on-5 offense against the Warriors doesn't work. It wouldn't be as big of a deal for Allen since he'd presumably come off the bench, and LeBron does have the ability to hide his teammates' offensive deficiencies. He could be had for a cheap contract too
- Needs Filled: Defense
SF-Carmelo Anthony
Trading Kevin Love to get Carmelo Anthony seems like a lateral move at best. Love is a better rebounder, passer, and shooter. The only advantages Melo has over Love is that he's a more reliable scorer and can run like a wing player. Fortunately for the Cavaliers, a buyout between Melo and the Knicks is looking more and more likely by the day. If that were the case, Cleveland could try to pursue him with the Mid-Level Exception.
- Needs Filled: Great scoring ability, opportunity to rest LeBron a lot more, another star wing player
SF-Rudy Gay
Of all the options mentioned here, Rudy Gay is the most intriguing to me. He hasn't competed for anything in his entire career, however, this may also be his last chance to cash in on a nice payday. During the course of the season, Gay requested for a trade to a playoff team. Cleveland fits the bill, but they don't have much wiggle room financially. The fact that he ruptured his Achilles tendon may play as an advantage for the Cavaliers in negotiations. His length and scoring ability could be a massive help to the team.
- Needs Filled: Reliable scorer, opportunity to rest LeBron
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