Cleveland Sports Forum

Bleeding Wine, Craving Links: At least it’s Friday
By Mike Mayer
Updated: January 31, 2014
irving cavs knicks

Bleeding Wine, Craving Links is your daily guide to all of the good stuff you may have missed on the internet over the past 24 hours or so. If you wrote or read something that you think we should be linking to, let me know by hitting me up on Twitter: @RS64mikemayer.

Happy Friday! At least, I hope it is as happy for you as it possibly can be on the day after ESPN ginned up rumors about Kyrie Irving wanting to leave town, immediately followed by an embarrassing Cavs loss on national television.

As you probably know by now, Chad Ford dropped some interesting “news” about Irving’s future during an ESPN.com chat. As Jason Lloyd, Ryan Mourton, and others have pointed out, Irving cannot become an unrestricted free agent until 2016.

-

“Irving is reaching a crucial point and he and his support system realize it. This summer the Cavs can offer him a contract extension. Between now and then Irving is going to have the most leverage he has had in his career to this point. It seems like he intends to use it.” Brian Windhorst, ESPN.

-

“But Irving has the rare possibility of earning ‘Rose exception’ status. He’s already halfway there. The Rose exception is named after Derrick Rose and awards a player 30 percent of the cap rather than 25 if he hits certain escalator clauses. One of those is being voted to an All-Star team twice within his first four seasons. This year is his first. If he’s voted to the All-Star team again next season, he’s automatically entitled to 30 percent of the cap rather than 25 percent – which can amount to about $15 million over the life of the contract, so it’s a significant figure.” Jason Lloyd’s Final Thoughts. Basically, if Irving does want to leave, he’s going to have to turn down a whole lot of money.

-

“It’s rare for disappointing teams to be young teams. Usually, the teams that disappoint the most are the ones with players who, to some degree, have given NBA viewers some body of work on which to project their inflated expectations. The Cavaliers, though, have no featured player with an established body of superior work.” Robert Attenweiler, Cavs: the blog. This piece really reflects the mood of the moment.

-

“It’s time for Brown to take his foot off the pedal of trying to get wins (not that it’s been too successful) and make the rest of this season about player development. This starts with Anthony Bennett. Playing just over 10 minutes per game, Bennett ranks 25th out of 27 qualifying rookies. That staggeringly low number for a first-overall pick has him stuck in the pecking order begging for minutes behind Earl Clark, Tyler Zeller, Matthew Dellavedova, and Alonzo Gee. None of those guys are going to make the Cavaliers a better basketball team in the future, but there is still hope Bennett might.” Ryan Jones, Waiting for Next Year. It is absolutely the right call to keep giving Bennett consistent minutes.

-

“During the Cavs home loss to the New Orleans Pelicans, some people looked up and saw that Austin Carr’s #34 jersey was missing. The team confirmed on Wednesday that the jersey was gone and that they were currently trying to track down the culprit.” Conrad Kaczmarek, Fear the Sword. It’s been a very weird season, but this story has to be the weirdest.

From Jason Lloyd:

NEW YORK: Twenty-five thoughts for 25 shots from Kyrie Irving on a turbulent day in New York, which concluded with a terrible 117-86 loss to the New York Knicks…

1. Kyrie Irving is smart. He’s well spoken. He has learned the craft of saying things without actually saying them. So when he said “I’m still in my rookie contract and I’m happy to be here. And I’m pretty sure I’m going to be here for a long time,” I’m sure it sounded swell to a lot of fans who were clamoring for him to say something along those lines.

2. But I gave him another chance to say he’d accept a max contract extension from the Cavs this summer and he again refused. That’s twice the topic of a max extension has come up and both times he refused to say he would take it.

3. “It’s still too early to say. I’m still trying to get through this season,” Irving said tonight. “Everybody is trying to antagonize this team and put it on me … I’m here for my teammates, I’m here for Coach Brown and the coaching staff and I’m going to play my heart out every single night for the Cleveland Cavaliers.”

4. I asked him last summer, in the days after John Wall signed his max extension, if he would accept the same deal from the Cavs. “I’m not really worried about that right now,” he said. “Right now I’m focusing on the year ahead, my third year, then I’ll worry about that in the summer time.”

5. I’m not saying Irving is leaving, I’m not saying Irving is staying. But I know Dan Gilbert has said he’ll never allow another player to hold his organization hostage, and I also know if Irving wants out, his chance could come this summer.

6. Since Irving was voted an All-Star starter this year, his max contract offer this summer is slightly complicated. If the Cavs deem him their franchise player (from all accounts they will), they can offer him a five-year deal worth 25 percent of the salary cap. The numbers get filled in later when the cap figure is set.

7. But Irving has the rare possibility of earning “Rose exception” status. He’s already halfway there. The Rose exception is named after Derrick Rose and awards a player 30 percent of the cap rather than 25 if he hits certain escalator clauses. One of those is being voted to an All-Star team twice within his first four seasons. This year is his first. If he’s voted to the All-Star team again next season, he’s automatically entitled to 30 percent of the cap rather than 25 percent – which can amount to about $15 million over the life of the contract, so it’s a significant figure.

8. Only a handful of players have qualified for the Rose exception: Rose (who won a league MVP award to qualify) and the Clippers’ Blake Griffin among them. Indiana’s Paul George can become another member if he is named to an All-NBA team again this season (he made third team last year). George agreed to a max extension with the Pacers last summer and the numbers will be filled in later once a.) the cap is set; and b.) it’s determined whether George is entitled to 25 percent of the cap or 30.

9. How does all of this apply to Irving? He’ll be in the same position this summer. The value of his max extension with the Cavs could soar past $90 million if he reaches Rose exception status next year. That’s a lot of money for someone to turn down, particularly given his injury history.

10. But if he truly wants out of Cleveland, he can reject the max offer, play out the final year of his rookie contract next season, accept a one-year qualifying offer of about $9.7 million for the 2015-16 season and leave as a free agent in the summer of 2016. That’s technically what he could do, but obviously the Cavs won’t just stand by and watch their best player play out his contract and walk away without getting anything significant for him. They’ve been down that road before.

11. If Irving truly wants out of Cleveland, we’ll find out this summer. All he has to do is reject the extension and force the Cavs’ hand. At that point, the Cavs would be forced to explore trading him. He could then get his five-year max deal in another market, which is what James Harden received from the Houston Rockets after the Thunder traded him prior to the start of last season. All of this is why I’ve been writing since last summer that this is a huge season – and this summer is a huge offseason – for the Cavs. It’s also why the Cavs’ 16-30 record and pathetic performance on Thursday is so very damaging.

12. I watched that hapless 112-57 loss at the Lakers the first year after LeBron left, the loss that remains the worst in franchise history. I watched a couple weeks ago as the Cavs were drilled by a terrible Kings team by 44 points. I thought the Kings loss was worse than the Lakers’ loss just because that Cavs team barely had an NBA roster and what few legitimate NBA players they had were injured. This team was built to compete and win. That was a very good Lakers team and these were the freaking Kings. But given the circumstances, tonight’s loss might trump them both.

13. The players were publicly lashed by both their coach and general manager over the previous 48 hours. “Our competitive spirit is non-existent,” Mike Brown said after Tuesday’s abysmal loss to the New Orleans Pelicans.

14. “The lack of effort is just not acceptable,” General Manager Chris Grant said on Wednesday. “It’s not who we are and who we want to be. It’s got to be addressed head on.”

15. If it was addressed, it certainly wasn’t resolved. The Cavs allowed a combined six layups and dunks to the Knicks in the first quarter, nine in the half and 17 for the game. Brown was calmer after the game than I expected, but he already fired his cannon shot on Tuesday with his “competitive spirit” remark that obviously had no effect.

16. “We all have to hold each other accountable and hold each other at a higher standard,” Irving said after the game. “We have to play with more fire, especially starting the game.”

17. The only player that seemed truly disgusted with Thursday’s performance was Luol Deng, who just got here. Perhaps that’s the most damning indictment of all.

18. “You’ve got to fight. It’s one thing to play hard and to lose, it’s another thing to just let the team do whatever they want,” he said. “As a man, you’ve got to at some point just stand up and battle and play your heart out.”

19. So I asked Deng if this team has reached that point yet. “We wouldn’t have lost like that if we have,” he said. Ouch.

20. At one point, J.R. Smith’s step-back jumper left Tristan Thompson flat on his rear end. Smith also had a behind-the-back dunk when Irving and Waiters were too lazy to get back defensively. Chandler followed with another dunk as Irving and Anthony Bennett stood by and watched. Smith and Carmelo Anthony took turns abusing poor Anthony Bennett, who inexplicably was left to defend them.

21. The Knicks danced and pranced off the court following timeouts. The Cavs stood by and watched. This team has shown no heart, no fight, no pride. There is an obvious disconnect between Brown and these players. A few players have said this season regardless of what they thought of Byron Scott as a coach, he was a players’ coach. He played in the league, he related to these guys, he got along with them. For whatever reason, the transition to Brown has been much more difficult than anyone expected.

22. Of course, by being a “players coach,” Scott let guys get away with things that Brown isn’t. The belief throughout the organization is Brown is holding guys more accountable than Scott did. There clearly is some resistance there.

23. Look at what Grant said Wednesday when he was asked about the way Irving is defending this year: “It coincided with Mike. Mike is demanding a lot more of those guys, and they have a lot more expectations on both ends of the court offensively and defensively demanded of them. I think Kyrie, Tristan, Dion, a lot of the younger guys, see that, feel it and are starting to step up to it.”

24. Whether or not they’re starting to step up to it can certainly be debated, but Grant subtly made it clear Brown has ramped up the expectations on players this season. And there clearly has been resistance to it.

25. The Cavs lost another game tonight against a team they’re chasing for the playoffs. It sounds silly to still be talking about the postseason, but the Cavs are now 3 ½ games out of the final spot. With the Rockets and Mavericks (a combined 19 games above .500) still to come on this road trip, that gap will likely continue to grow. See you in Houston.


http://www.ohio.com/blogs/cleveland-...gency-1.463099

I guess Bennett has some defensive problems too:

Bennett, the No. 1 overall pick, was coming off a season-best 15 points in his last outing. But this one was another of the forgettable performances that have made up his season: four points on 1-of-6 shooting.

He came in a little more than 4 minutes into the game, and the Knicks immediately began attacking him. Smith had the ball in the corner and blew by him along the baseline before pulling the ball down while in the air and then pulling it back up before slamming it in. Anthony had the ball near the free throw line on the next possession, easily went by the rookie and laid it in to make it 26-9.

Civ, did you watch the game or could you explain how Anthony Bennett a power forward was guarding a 2 guard (JR Smith) or a small forward ? (Carmelo Anthony)

Could you also explain why Anthony Bennett had to wrap up his offensive guy and commit his 3rd foul in the first half on a breakaway when he was clearly winded minutes before ?

I don't watch I just read the paper Good questions!

Chris Herring ✔ @HerringWSJ
Follow

Melo, on Anthony Bennett: "I talked to him. ... Told him everything will be fine; don't get down on yourself."


11:13 PM - 30 Jan 2014

Jake S (Ohio)


Why do so many NBA analysts have a negative view on Dion Waiters?



Kevin Pelton
(4:54 PM)


Because he has a sub-.500 true shooting percentage, doesn't make plays for teammates and is often indifferent defensively. Other than that, there's lots to like.

Probasketballdraft ‏@Probballdraft 1h

Cavs talking deals with several teams. Cavs positioning themselves to be buyers or potentially sellers come the deadline.

http://cleveland.cbslocal.com/2014/01/3 ... ree-weeks/

Jason Lloyd interview from today about the future of the Cavs.

rusty - thanks for the link.

I was surprised to hear Lloyd NOT implicate Mike Brown though.

So was I but I know that Mike Brown is a very nice guy. There are some basketball writers that deal better with personalities then X and Os. Mike Brown does not understand or coach offensive basketball. He loves ISO. This team does not run a lot of set offense and when you have undisciplined players that leads to a bunch of chucking at the end of the shot clock.

Cavaliers point guard Kyrie Irving calls team and individual struggles a wake-up call

By Jason Lloyd
Beacon Journal sports writer

Published: January 31, 2014 - 08:32 PM | Updated: February 1, 2014 - 07:41 AM


HOUSTON: Kyrie Irving conceded this season has been more difficult than he imagined, he’s upset so much attention has been placed on his contract and he admitted he doesn’t always have all the answers to what is plaguing the Cavaliers this season.

“I needed this. It was more or less a wake-up call,” Irving told the Beacon Journal following practice Friday. “I got away with so much my first two years. It wasn’t a breeze, but everything came easy. This is the first year where every single night it’s going to be a challenge. That’s one of the things I’m getting used to and I’ve accepted.”

Irving came under fire throughout the week, particularly after a Beacon Journal story last Sunday questioning the progress he’s made this season, followed by an ESPN report Thursday that Irving wants out of Cleveland.

“Everybody has all these rumors and stories they’re coming out with and it’s all based on me,” Irving said. “It’s not really about me. It’s about the team and what we’re going through as a team together. Obviously, some things will be put on me and I take responsibility for that, but all that extra stuff that comes with it. … It’s the business. I understand that. But that’s one of the things I wish I could change. It’s definitely not about me, it’s about my teammates and what we can accomplish.”

Irving is averaging 21.6 points, 6.1 assists and 2.6 turnovers. He’s shooting under 43 percent this season, by far the lowest of his three years in the league, and the Cavs enter today’s game at the Houston Rockets 16-30 and coming off a humiliating loss Thursday night on national television at the New York Knicks.

Irving spoke last summer of taking a big leap in this his third season, but the numbers — both individually and the Cavs’ record — suggest it hasn’t happened.

“The numbers don’t suggest it, but for me, this is the first year I was really challenged the whole entire year,” Irving said. “I spent the whole entire summer preparing as much as possible to be in this position. It was a lot harder than I expected. That’s part of life and part of this game. It’s growing up.”

Irving said Cavs coach Mike Brown challenged him shortly after getting the job, encouraging him to be a leader offensively and defensively, encouraging him to be more vocal and take command of this team.

“I just feel like what people fail to realize is I don’t have all the answers all the time,” Irving said. “I’m still the third-youngest on this team. I’m a 21-year-old kid trying to figure this whole thing out. It’s a daily job and that’s probably why it’s been one of the toughest years for me. I’m learning every single day.”

Irving took exception to the idea that he is “pouting” and said his morale was low last season following the All-Star break because he was injured and the team was losing. The Cavs had losing streaks of 10 and six games near the end of the season as Irving battled through knee and shoulder injuries.

“I’ve never been known for pouting,” Irving said. “Just because I don’t smile on the court when we’re losing, I don’t think I’m supposed to smile. You smile on the court, that’s a problem, especially when you’re losing like this. I think last year my morale definitely changed just from being frustrated and hurt all the time the second half of the season.”

Brown said despite all the attention on Irving, he sees him improving.

“But because of who he is, an All-Star and all that other stuff, there’s a lot of tension and focus on him all the time,” Brown said. “That makes it magnified 10 times what it should be. But that’s part of being who he is and growing into the great player he’s going to be.”

Jason Lloyd can be reached at jlloyd@thebeaconjournal.com. Read the Cavs blog at http://www.ohio.com/cavs. Follow him on Twitter http://www.twitter.com/JasonLloydABJ. Follow ABJ sports on Facebook at http://www.facebook.com/sports.abj.

Jason Lloyd ‏@JasonLloydABJ 14h

I give @KyrieIrving lot of credit. After column I wrote last week he sat down w/me after practice today & was terrific. Story coming shortly (above)

Brian Windhorst ‏@WindhorstESPN 10h

The Pacers are planning to sign Andrew Bynum, sources told ESPN

Veteran Luol Deng not happy about being traded into mess that is Cleveland Cavaliers
Deng has seen how the team wrongly caters to its young star players, even as they continue to undermine head coach Mike Brown at almost every turn -- and there's no accountability.

NEW YORK DAILY NEWS

Saturday, February 1, 2014, 4:30 PM




It’s been a true culture shock for Luol Deng since he’s been a Cleveland Cavalier over the past 26 days. Not in a good way, either.

Deng has seen how a team mired in losing since LeBron James left town wrongly caters to its young star players, even as they continue to undermine head coach Mike Brown at almost every turn. In Chicago, where Deng broke in and played nine-plus seasons, there is a winning culture where players are expected to act like professionals and understand that they will suffer the consequences if they step out of line.

As Deng recently told one close friend, “the stuff going on in practice would never be tolerated by the coaching staff or the front office back in Chicago. It’s a mess."

Deng was brought in to help clean it up when he arrived in a deal for Andrew Bynum on Jan. 7. But since then, he’s seen players get thrown out of practice, take off their uniform tops at halftime and threaten not to play, mouth off to Brown and generally act like spoiled brats. Entering Saturday’s game at Houston, the Cavs had lost seven of their last 11 games since the Deng trade.

Dion Waiters is kicked out of practice but still gets his usual minutes vs. the Knicks.

There is no accountability, as Dion Waiters found out when he was kicked out of practice last week but still got his usual minutes against the Knicks. Brown isn’t getting much help from GM Chris Grant, who is expected to be fired at season’s end because of the losing and problems in the locker room.

The Cavs were supposed to challenge for a playoff spot, but not to worry. All the losing isn’t keeping them from having a good time. During their trip to New York, several players enjoyed themselves immensely the night before the game against the Knicks, partying into the wee hours with J.R. Smith, Iman Shumpert and 49ers QB Colin Kaepernick, and other NFL players. Their late-night/early morning carousing played a factor when they didn’t even try in their blow-out loss to the Knicks.

STERN’S LEGACY
David Stern bowed out on Saturday after attending the Knicks-Cavs game at the Garden on Thursday night.

Financially, there is no question the league is in great shape, with the values of the 30 franchises at record highs and the average player’s salary exceeding $5 million per season, thanks in large part to Stern’s efforts over the past 30 years. But the game itself? Well, if you like offense, it’s never been better, as all the rules changes that Stern pushed for in the early 2000s have made for high-scoring games. It’s as if the ’90s Knicks never existed.


But it’s also a league now where the night after Carmelo Anthony scores 62 points, someone named Terrence Ross of the Toronto Raptors goes for 51. Ross had scored only 15 points in a game just 14 times since breaking into the NBA last season, and was the first player in league history to score at least 50 points in a game without ever averaging 10 ppg in a season. As a rookie last season, he averaged 6.4 ppg.

Kobe Bryant had his 81-point game in 2007, long after hand-checking and grabbing were outlawed, giving the advantage to the quickest of the skilled perimeter players. He wasn’t as stunned as some of Ross’ teammates by his landmark game.

“If you can shoot and have a good-pull shot, you’ll be able to have explosive nights," Bryant said during his visit last Sunday to the Garden. “In this structure, with the freedom of movement that we have and the athleticism (Ross) has, you’re now able to have these huge nights.’’ Doesn’t seem right. . . . Kyrie Irving is close to firing his agent, Jeff Wechsler, according to a league source. We hear part of the reason Irving is seeking a new rep is that he intends on leaving the Cavs, while Wechsler wants him to stay. As we reported at the start of the season, Irving wants to come back home to the New York area — he’s from West Orange, N.J. — and play for the Knicks. Lord knows they could use an All-Star talent at point guard, and Irving will be headed for his first starting assignment in an All-Star game in a couple of weeks. . . . Good job by Lance Stephenson not overreacting to his All-Star snub. Although he leads the NBA in triple-doubles, with four, the Brooklyn product was a longshot to make the team, with teammates Paul George voted in as a starter and Roy Hibbert selected by East coaches as a reserve. The Pacers have never had three players make the All-Star team in the same season and didn’t expect Stephenson to make it, knowing he’s a role player and his showboating rubs a lot of coaches the wrong way. “I’m disappointed,” he said. “But it’s just an All-Star game. We want to win championships, that’s what’s important.” And let’s not go crazy about measuring a player by how many triple-doubles he produces. Larry Bird posted 69 in his playing days, “but I never played for triple-doubles. I played to win,” said the Pacers president. “A lot of guys get caught up in that and that’s selfish. When they get selfish, I don’t think a triple-double is worth a damn.” . . . Miami wants to re-sign LeBron James, Dwyane Wade and Chris Bosh, but all three have already sent signals that they want maximum salaries this time around because they feel they all sacrificed by taking less than max dollars in 2010. As one Miami insider put it, “that’s a real concern for us.” The biggest concern? LeBron leaving. . . . The Spurs are now 1-11 against the top seven teams in the league and could be without Manu Ginobili for a month due to a hamstring injury. Here was Gregg Popovich’s message to his depleted team, via the media: “You just go play. It doesn’t matter who is hurt, what your schedule is, or anything like that. You go play. Nobody cares. All that matters is the win or the loss.” . . . They finally got around in Utah to hanging a banner for Jerry Sloan. The 1,223 on the banner is for his number of wins during his 23 seasons as head coach. . . . Blake Griffin and DeMarcus Cousins share the lead for technical fouls, each with 11. It’s a low total, granted, but that’s what happens when Rasheed Wallace retires.

SLAM DUNKS...
-- Carmelo Anthony’s 62 points isn’t a scoring record for an NBA game played in New York City. As Cal Ramsey pointed out, Elgin Baylor once scored 71 points against the Knicks, back at the old Garden in November of 1960. It might have slipped Cal’s mind, but his very dear friend, Wilt Chamberlain , did Baylor even better, once scoring 73 against the Knicks in the old Garden, in November, 1962. Not that Ramsey will be surprised because Chamberlain’s name dominates the record books. . . . Adam Silver’s deputy commissioner is Mark Tatum , formerly the NBA’s executive vice president of global marketing partnerships. An NBA executive for the last 15 years, Tatum primarily headed the league’s marketing partnerships business involving the NBA, WNBA, NBA D-League and USA Basketball.

-- Kobe Bryant didn’t want to play in the All-Star Game and he won’t be able to, as he’s going to miss another few weeks because of his knee injury. Silver should replace Bryant with Phoenix’s Goran Dragic , who has been the key to the Suns’ amazing season, including a sweep of the Pacers. After Dragic, only Memphis’ Mike Conley Jr. can also make a strong case to replace Bryant among guards who were passed over.

Read more: http://www.nydailynews.com/sports/baske ... z2s7lVvj4a