Cleveland Sports Forum

The Cavaliers fired Tyronn Lue on Sunday after an 0-6 start to the season.



Congratulations to Lue, who now doesn't have to sit through a season going nowhere only to be mercilessly fired next summer. The benefits of getting the hachet now are immeasurable: he doesn't have to interact with J.R. Smith,Tristan Thompson or (most importantly) Dan Gilbert any more than he wants to, no more red eye flights to anywhere, no big national profiles when LeBron comes to town to beat the Cavs' tails, he still gets the reported $15 million due to him, he can sign with ESPN or TNT to do studio work well before the playoffs, he can interview for jobs well before the crunch of summer hirings. This is a blessing.



On that note, let's give our condolences to Larry Drew, who has been elevated to interim head coach. Apparently, Drew is playing a little hardball, refusing to take the job for the full season (minus the six games played) without a contract for next season. That pressures Cleveland to either guarantee him a few million in what will effectively be severance pay or go find a new head coach right now. Power to Drew. Make Dan Gilbert beg for it.

Just watched David Griffin comment on the Kevin Love situation.

He said, "The way the Cavs put Kevin Love's contract together....if you are a contender looking for a great piece then Love's contract is actually a very attractive piece of paper."

He should know.

And it wouldn't surprise me if Love's injury was somewhat of a phantom. Probably he is injured but there is absolutely no rush to bring him back. He can't even be traded until January - having just signed this summer.

Interesting:

Love, who will be 30 by the start of the 2018-19 NBA season, had one year remaining on his current contract and a player option for the 2019-20 season. He will make $24.1 million this season. According to Cleveland.com's Joe Vardon, Love will decline his player option, and his extension will begin at the start of the 2019-20 regular season.

Hue and Lue out within 24 hours ! Things are looking up !

Lol, cracked me up the Cavs Altman's official release spoke of a "new approach" they were looking for.

Translation is that "new approach" = tanking



Better late than never.

Cavs were 0-6 when they weren’t trying to tank. Imagine how good they can be at it now!

And so...they win one. Lol.

That said, it is Atlanta, a co-lottery team.

Notice though that Sexton played more minutes and that should continue. George Hill played well too and hopefully he can generate some sort of value to get traded.

Does this win mean we may
never lose again?

That is not the way to tank, guys. Damn. We go 0-6 when we aren’t trying to tank then all of a sudden when we decide to tank we win one.

Lol that's the problem with the tanks. Front offices tank. Coaches/managers and players never do.

Interesting artice here... big surprise JR is upset:

REPORT: Cleveland Cavaliers gauging trade market for Kyle Korver, may shop other veterans

According to ESPN's Brian Windhorst and Adrian Wojnarowski, the Cleveland Cavaliers are gauging the trade market on guard/forward Kyle Korver.

CLEVELAND -- With Tyronn Lue fired and Kevin Love sidelined indefinitely, the Cleveland Cavaliers appear to be headed toward a youth movement.

Hours after the team's 136-114 victory over the Atlanta Hawks on Tuesday, ESPN's Brian Windhorst and Adrian Wojnarowski reported that the Cavs are actively gauging the trade market for guard/forward Kyle Korver. In 15 minutes against Atlanta, Korver scored 3 points on 1-of-5 shooting and is averaging 5.5 points in six appearances off the bench this season.

Consistent playing time, however, has proven hard to come by for the 16th-year swingman, who was held out of the Cavs' Oct. 21 matchup with the Hawks. Following the offseason departure of LeBron James, Cleveland has put a newfound emphasis on developing its youth, with players such as Rodney Hood, Jordan Clarkson and Cedi Osman being prioritized over the NBA's fourth all-time leading 3-point shooter.

In addition to Korver, Windhorst and Wojnarowski report "the Cavs could become more active in looking to trade other veteran players in the coming weeks." Although not specifically mentioned, those players could presumably include point guard George Hill, center Tristan Thompson and swingman J.R. Smith.

Speaking of Smith, the 15th-year guard didn't play in the Cavs' Tuesday night victory as acting head coach Larry Drew opted to play guard David Nwaba in his place against the Hawks. Per Windhorst and Wojnarowski, Smith has been told there is no longer a place for him in the team's rotation and he has considered taking time away from the team as a result.

With its victory over Atlanta, Cleveland moved to 1-6 on the season. The Cavs will return to action on Thursday when they host the Denver Nuggets.

Cleveland Cavaliers gauging trade market for Kyle Korver, may shop other veterans


That and Love's fortunate toe should help us pretty solid draft lottery status

Joel Embiid - C - 76ers
Joel Embiid was dominant from the tip on Thursday, scoring a season-high 41 points (16-of-32 FGs, 6-of-9 FTs) with 13 rebounds, one assist, four blocks, and three 3-pointers in 33 minutes against the Clippers.

Embiid posted his second 20-point first half of the season and became the first Sixer to score 40+ in Philly since Hall of Famer Allen Iverson in 2006. He's already registered more 30/10 games this season (6) than he did all of last season (5). A few days after posting the lowest usage rate of his career, he posted his highest usage rate (40 percent) of the season. He's threatening to be in the MVP conversation this year.

Remember Cavs fans?

Alas, it wasn't meant to be ...Embiid in a Cavs uniform.

JR Smith wants the Cavs to trade him. Now what?
4
Here are four ways Smith can find a new home.

By Matt Ellentuck@mellentuck Nov 1, 2018, 5:36pm EDT

J.R. Smith wants to be traded from the Cleveland Cavaliers, and we know this because he said so to a reporter who asked. “Yeah,” Smith said, according to ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski. “They know. They don’t want me here, so they obviously know.”

Smith could be fined for admitting his desires, as there is a rule forbidding players from making public trade requests, but according to Joe Vardon of The Athletic, NBA commissioner Adam Silver doesn’t expect to do so. (Last season, when then-Suns guard Eric Bledsoe tweeted “I don’t wanna be here,” he was fined $10,000.)

Smith’s desire to move on from the Cavs doesn’t come as much of a surprise as a new regime is taking shape in Cleveland. The team fired head coach Ty Lue in October as management quickly realized this team couldn’t compete, and would need to begin a rebuild. That means playing the younger talent more minutes.

In four games this season, 33-year-old Smith has played 48 total minutes. Last year, he averaged 28 per game. Smith can still play, but he doesn’t fit into the Cavs’ vision any longer as they exit LeBron James’ world of annual title contention. He shot 38 percent from three-point range last season, which is good, but he’s still a one-dimensional player.

Whatever team is interested in him will likely need to have a very specific role for him to fill in a similarly limited time slot. His contract is expiring, but at a hefty $13 million, it’ll be difficult to deal. He has few options, but here are four reasonable ones.

1. The Detroit Pistons trade for him
The Pistons are one of the NBA’s teams awkwardly stuck somewhere between rebuilding and competing. After trading for Blake Griffin last season, the playoffs should be an expectation in a shallow Eastern Conference, but Detroit’s roster is shaky. Griffin and Andre Drummond make up a star-studded frontcourt, but the backcourt — particularly in its lack of shooting — is below par.

The Pistons are No. 26 in the league in three-point percentage despite ranking in the top half of the league in attempts. The mindset is right, but the execution isn’t, which is where Smith can help.

A trade including Jon Leuer and a semi-protected second-round pick might work. Otherwise the options for trade aren’t obvious. But this is at least a team that makes sense for Smith.

2. The Los Angeles Lakers trade for him
If LeBron has really gotten over J.R. forgetting what the score was in Game 1 of the Finals, maybe he’ll want him in L.A. There’s space for shooters on the Lakers, a team that intends to make the playoffs, and Smith fits that role.

The Lakers would likely have to wait until Dec. 15, when they’re eligible to trade Kentavious Caldwell-Pope, to make the move. It’s unclear if Smith would wait that long, but his options aren’t exactly plentiful.

3. Maybe Smith waits to get packaged in a Jimmy Butler deal
Jimmy Butler’s trade is the biggest domino that hasn’t yet fallen in the NBA. It’s appeared that the Heat have been the leader for a while to snag him, but the Rockets have creeped in and other darkhorses could join. Smith could hope that he ends up in the mix, wherever that is.

If a third team is involved in a Butler trade, maybe that can be the Cavs, who are able to unload a hefty expiring contract in Smith.

4. A buyout might be the most reasonable option
If all else fails, and the Cavs and J.R. are ready to move on, negotiating a buyout may be the best way to relieve the tensions on both sides. It will allow Smith to earn some cash and look for another team of his choosing, and sets up Cleveland to focus on the players they want to move forward with.

It says his contract is expiring because there is a $4 million buyout for next year. The Cavs could add some cash in a deal for that purpose.

There ARE teams out there that could use an outside shooter with minimal commitment to that shooter.

So there IS some value, not much, to JR.

Stan Van Gundy commented on ESPN that he thought JR's request was totally legitimate. This from a former coach and GM.

He said, "Once an organization says that they are not going to put out their best players but instead their youngest players (in other words, not try to win) then the player certainly has the right to ask out."

Hard to argue that.