Cleveland Sports Forum

Lebron entered the NBA younger and didn't take a leave of absence for a baseball sojourn His career will be longer and more stat-filled. Two great talents and era-definers. I'd take them both on my starting five along with Magic and which among Wilt and Kareem and Bill Russell, or two of them?

Stats never really tell the true story. Basketball is played on both ends of the court.

I had not thought of that

Chris Fedor of Cleveland.com said the Cavaliers have received calls for Kevin Love.

Fedor didn’t sound optimistic that a deal would happen. "As I've written numerous times, it will take close to the perfect deal for the Cavs to pull the trigger," Fedor said.

There aren’t any rival teams mentioned in the report, but between Love’s massive contract, Cleveland’s desire to hold onto him and questions about his health, things aren’t looking great for him moving on.

Denver, Portland and LA Lakers are the teams that are interested...... supposedly.

And just what would we get for him? Future draft picks from contending teams that will amount to crap picks?

Best to just hold onto him and hope we end up with a top pick to pair with him in the near future.

Two of those 3 teams have decent young players to consider.

Well, I’m no huge Love fan. I’ve always said he was soft. But we have so much invested in him, hate to see him dealt for a song.

Don't forget, that song also includes CAP SPACE which has lots of value in itself.

Meanwhile Kevin Love gets older on a team that won't be much better for a pretty long time.

Going to have to take back 30 million in contracts if they do not trade Love to a team with cap space.

Would have to be a #1 hit song.

Just for TFIR !


David Griffin says Cleveland Cavaliers in better shape than when LeBron James left in 2010 – Terry Pluto


Updated Jan 16; Posted Jan 18, 5:00 AM




David Griffin knows the pain Cleveland Cavaliers fans and the front office is feeling after LeBron James leaves.


By Terry Pluto, The Plain Dealer


CLEVELAND, Ohio – I called David Griffin to talk Cavaliers.

He is the right man to offer a perspective on the team. He was hired by the Cavs late in the summer of 2010 -- about three months after LeBron James left for Miami via free agency.

At the time, Griffin was the assistant to General Manager Chris Grant.

When Grant was fired in 2014, Griffin was promoted to GM. He remained in that spot until the summer of 2017, when he was fired a year after the Cavs won the 2016 NBA title.

“You can look back at the (2010-11) roster and see the team back then had no one like Kevin Love,” said Griffin.

Of course, Love only played the first four games of this season. He has been sidelined by foot surgery. He is now working out on the court and hopes to be back in a few weeks.

Griffin stays in contact with Love, who came to the Cavs in a huge deal for Andrew Wiggins in the summer of 2014. Griffin said Love is looking forward to playing, and that Love still would prefer to stay with the Cavs, even during the pain of rebuilding.

“Think back to what it was like when LeBron left (in 2010),” said Griffin. “It was an emotional storm. The whole city was galvanized (against James). The goal was to make the playoffs without him.”


Just as the losses piled up early this season to kill that dream, it was clear in 2010 that a massive tear down of a veteran roster was in order.

“Just like now, we had a huge advantage of an owner (Dan Gilbert) willing to take on money to help add assets and draft picks," said Griffin. “He’s doing it again.”

Griffin pointed out the trade bringing Baron Davis and adding $14 million to the payroll also produced a first-round draft pick from the L.A. Clippers.

That draft pick became Kyrie Irving, the All-Star point guard.

Chris Grant pulled off the trade. As Griffin said, Gilbert was willing to trust Grant to make bold moves to pile up draft picks and lottery ping-pong balls.

“I believe Dan trusts (current GM) Kobe Altman in the same way he he trusted Chris Grant,” said Griffin. “He has belief in this front office."

Griffin now works for NBA television, appearing on Friday and Saturday nights. He has a Sirius radio show called “Dunks and Deals.” My guess is he’s looking for what he considers the right opportunity to return the game.


A YEAR AHEAD

When Grant took over as GM after the 2009-10 season, the Cavs did not have a first-round draft pick in 2010. They had been trading picks for years, trying to add veterans to help James win a title.


“But the Cavs did have a pick this season,” said Griffin. “That’s huge.”

After Kyrie Irving requested a trade in the summer of 2017, the Cavs shipped him to Boston. They still have Ante Zizic and Collin Sexton to show for that deal.

They also used Jay Crowder and Isaiah Thomas as parts of trades bringing Jordan Clarkson and Larry Nance Jr. to the Cavs.

LOOKING BACK

“We really didn’t have young players like that,” said Griffin. “The roster we inherited was old. A lot of guys didn’t want to be there. But that’s not the case for the Cavs right now.”

The starters early in the 2010-11 season included Antawn Jamison, Anthony Parker, Anderson Varejao and Mo Williams. They did have young players such as Daniel Gibson and J.J. Hickson, but their careers never reflected their early promise.

Griffin compares Tristan Thompson to Varejao because of his relentless rebounding.

“This team has some pretty good players,” said Griffin. “They just have had a lot of bad luck with injuries and other things.”

The 2010-11 Cavs were 19-63. For a team that was admittedly “tanking” as Griffin said, those Cavs won 4-of-6 games to end the season. They even beat James and the Miami Heat, 102-90, on March 29, 2011 at Quicken Loans Arena.


“It was hard year," said Griffin. “We had the 26-game losing streak. The town was angry after LeBron left. We really didn’t have young players to develop.”

Griffin is very high on Cedi Osman.

Just as Griffin traded for Love while he was general manager, he made a 2015 draft-day deal to acquire the rights to Osman who was playing in Turkey. The Cavs waited two years to sign him.

“He can initiate the offense like a point guard,” said Griffin. “He can defend small forwards and shooting guards. He’s athletic. He just needs to play.”


DIFFERENT CLIMATE

A lot has changed between 2010 and 2019.

The Cavs did win the 2016 title.

As Griffin said, the plan put in place by Grant worked. James returned. Griffin had taken over for Grant and used many of the draft picks acquired in the four seasons without James to add veterans for a championship push.

With James gone and most fans content to wish him well in L.A., these Cavs are operating almost in obscurity. The fans are obsessed with the Browns and Baker Mayfield. The Indians have been in the playoffs the last three seasons

The Cavs are 9-35. They broke a 12-game losing streak Sunday with a 101-95 victory over the Lakers. It was a game James missed because a groin injury.


When James was with the Cavs from 2014-18, they had a 4-18 record when he missed games. The Lakers are 3-7 without him.

When James was gone for four years between 2010-14, the Cavs had the NBA’s worst overall record.

MORE DEALS COMING?

Griffin doesn’t think the Cavs will be that bad for that long.

The Cavs will have their own draft pick this season. Atlanta holds the rights as part of a 2017 deal for Kyle Korver. But the pick stays with Cleveland if it’s among the top 10 in the draft.

Gilbert will push his front office to be very creative in trades. He will keep his check book open if needed.

“The Cavs have expiring contracts (Rodney Hood and Alex Burks) to trade," said Griffin. “Dan’s willingness to spend also will help them add assets. I think they will be in the epicenter as the (February 8) trading deadline comes. It should be really interesting.”

Surprised to hear Griff talk so positively about Gilbert. He is a class act.

Thanks rusty!

He is a class guy. Plus he had a confidentiality clause in his contract.

Griffin is very high on Cedi Osman

Didn't mention anyone else on the current roster besides Thompson. Notably no Sexton.

Well Sexton is post Griffin. TT and Cedi he was very much involved in - I think he was using his Cav "identity" and inside knowledge to talk about Cedi in particular.