Gee likely to be back in Wine and Gold
July 2nd, 2012 marked the first moment that NBA teams could contact free agents for the NBA season. The Cavaliers wasted no time tendering the maximum qualifying offer to SF Alonzo Gee. A move that didn't take anyone by surprise. Gee is coming off of a career year putting up new personal bests in scoring, rebounding, and steals per game. The former D-League star is starting to become quite a good wing and a lot of fans and analysts alike see Gee being a key role player moving forwards for the Cavaliers. Gee was expecting some offers from numerous teams, including a rumor 4 year/16 million dollar offer from the Suns, but thus far nothing has come to fruition. Gee is a Restricted Free Agent, meaning if any team offers him a contract, the Cavaliers have the first right to match said contract offer. The Cavaliers will likely match any reasonable dollar figure.
Unfamiliar place
One of the most interesting features of this off-season thus far has been the shear amount of Free Agents that the Cavaliers have been linked to. This, is likely in large part due to the fact that the Cavs are one of very few teams to have significant cap space this summer. Most rumors and sources are saying that the Cavs will save most of that cap space to make a big splash in free agency next summer (2013). Agents of the free agent class for this summer are throwing the Cavs name out there on many players to hopefully get other teams to up their offers. The Cavaliers have been linked in talks to names like: Alexey Shved, Ersan Ilyasova, Anthony Tolliver, Nicolas Batum, Derek Fisher, Mirza Teletovic, Sonny Weems, Johnny Flynn, and others. Don't expect them to go after any big name guys though this summer.
Draft day head scratcher
"With the fourth pick of the 2012 NBA draft, the Cleveland Cavaliers select, Dion Waiters, guard out of Syracuse University." These were the words uttered by commissioner David Stern on draft day. Afterward there was a social media stream of the usual Cleveland negativity. The young guard out of Syracuse was predicted to go 7th overall by draft express and even later in most other mock drafts. However, the Cavaliers and Byron Scott were more than excited about getting their guy. Although Scott and GM Chris Grant are saying they're excited, it's still hard to imagine that Waiters was the the very top of their wish list. It was common among teams in the lottery that Anthony Davis was the consensus #1 guy out of this draft class, and after that there were about 5-7 guys who made up the "second tier". Cavs probably would have been happier with Kidd-Gilchrist or Bradley Beal, but they'll take what they got. The Cavaliers second pick was Senior Center Tyler Zeller, out of North Carolina. They made him the 17th overall pick in the first round as they traded with the Mavs to secure the big man. Most analysts including John Buccigross of ESPN's sportscenter applauded the pick however, and some even said that Waiters may have been the steal of the draft. His former coach Jim Boeheim commented on Waiters being similar to Dwyane Wade in a lot of ways, and as the best slasher in the draft, Waiters may be the best 2-guard that Cavs fans have seen in a very long time. Only time will tell on these picks.
Helping in the Howard trade?
As of this posting, rumors are aplenty about the possible move of Dwight Howard from Orlando to Brooklyn. The Cavaliers have been active in the trade talks and most reports have them taking on cap space (in the likely form of Kris Humphries) in order to make the deal work out logistically for both squads. Once again, Dan Gilbert is willing to open up the pocketbook to improve the team. Other rumors include the Cavaliers possibly gaining offensive dynamo SG Marshon Brooks, who will be entering his sophomore season. Probably the most common rumor would be the Cavs gaining draft picks in the future. It's always good to stockpile assets and Grant has done a masterful job of that during the rebuild thus far. We'll keep you posted as this develops, stay tuned!
Team needs
Projected opening day starting line-up:
PG: Kyrie Irving
SG: Dion Waiters
SF: Alonzo Gee
PF: Tristan Thompson
C: Anderson Varejao
Bench: Tyler Zeller
Bench: Boobie Gibson
Bench: Veteran wing, possibly Michael Redd or Sonny Weems
Taking a look at their projected starting line-up going into the season, the Cavaliers have a lot of youth, athleticism, and question marks. After watching last years playoffs, it's clear to see that having athleticism is a premium in today's NBA, and the Cavaliers do have a solid athleticism throughout their line-up. Byron Scott loves a fast team that can get out and run, and looking at the Cavs roster, they have 3 mobile big men who are GREAT on the break, this should be a strength of the squad. The most interesting thing to watch during the season will likely be the growth and play of Dion Waiters as well as Tristan Thompson. Irving will likely continue to amaze the rest of the league and will likely improve on his historical rookie campaign, but Thompson is more of a question mark. Many fans and analysts were scratching their heads in the 2011 draft when the Cavs make the Texas forward the 4th overall pick, however, a close look at this athleticism and raw ability justified the selection to some. Thompson's showed glimpses of serious defensive prowess last season and all reports from the Cavaliers organization seem to agree that Thompson has been the hardest working player so far in the off-season.
Once again, time will tell!
Thanks for reading, I'm going to try and do a few posts a week for the rest of the summer. Feel free to e-mail me questions for our Friday weekly Mailbox section. You can e-mail to jflint@heidelberg.edu or contact me on facebook. I'd be happy to share some opinions with you all.
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