Category: Cleveland Cavaliers (Page 23 of 88)

The Cleveland Cavaliers are entering this season with high expectations. Last season, the Cavs accomplished most of their preseason goals. This year, people around the organization are starting to mention NBA finals when talking about this team.

The rookies are playing above the level expected this early in the the year and LeBron James has been playing competitively overseas in the off season. Terry Pluto writes an interesting article on how just making the playoffs will not be a success this season.

Luke Jackson was traded Friday to the Boston Celtics for forward Dwayne Jones. Jones, 6’11” and 251 pounds, is young and didn’t play much for the Celtics last season, but found success in the D-League. He led the league in rebounds, offensive rebounds, and was second in shots blocked per game. If nothing else, Jones will bring more size and defense to the team.

Injuries have plagued Luke and he just never got the chance to consistently get playing time on the court. With the additions of Shannon Brown and David Wesley, the future of Jackson with the Cavs was very uncertain at best because of the depth we have in the backcourt. I was a fan of Luuuuuke, but he just got caught up in the numbers game and his window of opportunity here in Cleveland was closing since the end of last season.

“We think Dwayne will be a good fit with us. He has the potential to be a quality rebounder, defender and shot blocker in the NBA. We look forward to having him with us and helping him further develop as an NBA player. Luke has worked his tail off to return from injuries and we wish him the best as he takes the next step of his career. As we looked at our current roster situation, we felt that this trade would better balance our roster and hopefully also put Luke in a better situation to succeed,” Ferry said.

The Cleveland Cavaliers are ready to start a season of strong competition and high expectations. LeBron James is more experienced and Larry Hughes is healthy. This team went deep into the playoffs last year and is expecting the same this season.

The off season was very productive for the Cavaliers. They signed a couple talented free agents and drafted one the most talented players in the draft. The 6’4 Shannon Brown has showed promise and desire during the summer and preseason. I feel that by mid season, Brown will be starting and leading the Cavs into the playoffs and possibly the championship game.

Forget the Browns and the Indians – the Cavs will be starting up soon and we have every reason to expect a title run this season. Even realists like Bill Livingston and Terry Pluto are acknowledging that the fans should expect more this season.

In most sports, continuity is very important. The Cavs have everyone back, and they showed at the end of the season that they were beginning to gell as a team. They are also very deep, with interesting additions like David Wesley and Shannon Brown. Finally, many of their players are young and will continue to get better. I was surprised that they resigned Dwight Gooden, but his performance in the first preseason game might be a preview of an excellent season. If he gets better and more aggressive, the Cavs will be really tough to beat.

Guard David Wesley, who averaged 9.9 points and 2.9 assists last season with the Houston Rockets, will join a loaded Cavalier backcourt. Despite his tangible stats, it’s the intangibles that Wesley brings to the table that excites Ferry and the Cavaliers.

“He’s going to be a great addition to our team,” said Cavs General Manager Danny Ferry. “David adds a wealth of experience and professionalism to our team. His defense, shooting and toughness will add to areas that we want to continue to grow this year.”

Wesley will earn $1.75 million this coming season and only a portion of his contract in year two is guaranteed. He’s looking forward to the upcoming season.

“I’ve got to be a little tougher because I’m smaller than the rest of the guys out there,” Wesley said. “I’m a pit bull, just go out and bite a leg if I have to.”

If nothing else, the Cavs are now loaded to the gills at the guard position. It’ll be up to coach Mike Brown to sort through all the players and come up with a decent rotation among all the guards. The Wesley signing no doubt brings greater depth and competition to the team for next season.