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Cleveland Cavaliers (Last Year: 66-16)
Live 2009 NBA Draft Grades:
30. Christian Eyenga, G/F, Congo
I mean… OK, I guess. I don’t see why a guy like Sam Young wasn’t taken when he can step in and play right away, and add some much-needed depth on the wing as the Cavs are clearly trying to win it all this year. (Pick Grade: REALLY???)
46. Danny Green, G/F, North Carolina
Here we go… Draft a guy who know can come in and play some quality bench minutes every night. Green doesn’t thrive in any one area, but knows how to be a complementary player. (Pick Grade: LOVE IT)
2009 NBA Offseason Transactions:
2008-09 Season Summary:
They had the best record in the NBA, the league’s MVP and Coach of the Year, but once again LeBron and the Cavs fell short of the ultimate goal, winning the NBA Championship. The acquisition of Mo Williams proved to be a great move as he provided LeBron a running mate who could step up when the King was having an “off” night. Zydrunas Ilgauskas, Ben Wallace, and Wally Szczerbiak took a step back though and failed to be the complimentary players needed to deliver, especially down the stretch run in the post-season. LeBron is continues to live up to the hype and is quickly becoming one of the best to ever play the game. He simply cannot do it all by himself. Now faced with the potential departure of King James from Cleveland next summer, Cavs management has no room for finding the right pieces and must act now in figuring out what it will take to bring the gold ball home.
2009-10 Projected Depth Chart:
C: Shaquille O’Neal/Zydrunas Ilgauskas#
PF: Anderson Varejao/Leon Powe/J.J. Hickson/Darnell Jackson
SF: LeBron James/Jamario Moon/Danny Green/Rob Kurz
SG: Delonte West/Anthony Parker/Trey Johnson
PG: Mo Williams/Daniel Gibson
NBA Free Agents:
C Zydrunas Ilgauskas# (PO)
> SF Wally Szczerbiak (UFA)
C Lorenzen Wright (UFA)
F Jawad Williams (UFA)
2009-10 Team Salary: Approximately $71.8 million
2009-10 Expected League Salary Cap: $57.3 million
NBA Offseason Needs:
1. Sell your soul to keep LeBron – LeBron will be to the 2010 off-season what Lil Wayne has been to hip-hop the past year; the hottest commodity in the game. The King can’t blink without someone mentioning the possibility of him leaving Cleveland for the bright lights of NYC. The Cavs need to do any and everything in their power to not let LeBron hit the free agency market in 2010 when any team with the cap space will do whatever it takes to sign him. Re-name Cleveland, “LeBronland” or call Quicken Loans Arena, “King James Arena.” Hire Jack Bauer to kidnap LeBron’s family and make him sign a contract before they are safely released. ANYTHING!
2. Sure up the inside game – With Anderson Varajeo likely opting out of his contract and rumors that Ben Wallace will contemplate retirement this off-season, the Cavs need to sure up their depth down low. Zydrunas Ilgauskas also has a player option, but will almost certainly return. Outside of Z, Cleveland is pretty thin up-front and needs to find another scoring option down low since Wallace is pretty worthless on the offensive end. Re-signing Varajeo would be a must since the Cavs don’t have the cap space to find his replacement, unless a player like Rasheed Wallace takes the mid-level exception.
3. A wing shooter – Outside of King James, the Cavs lack any real threats on the wing. Delonte West plays bigger than he is starting at the two, while Sasha Pavlovic is incredibly erratic with his play off the bench. Wally Szczerbiak is a free agent meaning the Cavs need to bring in a wing player who can contribute off the bench and knock down the outside shot to take some pressure off LeBron and allow him to use the drive and kick more effectively.
Written by Paul Banks of NBC Chicago and the Washington Times, and David Kay of the The Sports Bank.
Send Paul an e-mail here: paulb05 AT hotmail DOT com.
All other e-mail, including advertising and link proposals, send to: [email protected]
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