Category: Cleveland Cavaliers (Page 80 of 88)

Okay, now I’m really excited. All the talk recently has been about which point guard the Cavs were going to spend their remaining cap room on, but instead the team has apparently decided that power forward Donyell Marshall is a better fit. Cleveland.com is reporting that the 6-9 Marshall has agreed to a four-year deal worth between $20 and $25 million. What makes this such a great signing? First, Marshall is a tough rebounder who pulled down nearly 10 boards a night for Chicago and Toronto in 2003 and 2004. Second, he’s a solid defender, averaging a block and a steal per game throughout his 10-year career. But the best thing is that Marshall can flat out shoot, hitting better than 40% of his three-point attempts the last three years and shooting 35% from beyond the arch over his career. He’ll instantly bring a defensive presence down low while also providing the Cavs with another potent scorer and, most importantly, a lethal three-point threat. Think the term “lethal” may be an overstatement? Marshall drained 12 of 19 three-point attempts (that’s not a typo — a DOZEN three-pointers) in a March 13th game against Philly last year and, despite not being a starter for the Raptors, Marshall ranked 13th in the NBA with 151 made three-pointers and 11th in the league with a .416 percentage from downtown. Yeah, this guy can shoot, plus he still managed nearly seven boards and a steal and a block a night despite only starting two games for the Raptors and playing 25 minutes per contest.

Of course, what this means for the Cavaliers’ vacant starting point guard slot remains to be seen, but we can expect to see Drew Gooden shipped out of town soon, most likely for a point guard. I would’ve liked to have seen Sarunas Jasikevicius in Cleveland next year but Marshall is a great fit as well. Plus, maybe Ferry can still figure out a way to fit Jasekevicius in once he unloads Gooden. We’ll see.

Mike Monroe from the San Antonio Express-News is reporting that the Cavs have reached an agreement with Lithuanian point guard Sarunas Jasekevicius. Free-agent movement has really slowed down since the initial Redd/Allen/Hughes/Z frenzy as teams are waiting for the salary cap to be set, so if the Cavs indeed have locked up Jasekevicius, it probably won’t be announced for a while. Still, this is potentially great news as Jasekevicius is a lethal shooter and extraordinary passer who would slide right into the starting lineup. His addition, according to Monroe, would make the Cavs one of the top-three teams in the East and, in an earlier column, Monroe called the Cavs the Spurs of the East. Is that an exaggeration? Maybe, but Danny Ferry certainly deserves a ton of credit for what he’s been able to accomplish this summer.

Most of the talk this offseason about the Cavaliers signing a point guard has revolved around Lithuanian star Sarunas Jasikevicius, but the Plain Dealer suggests that free agent Antonio Daniels may be the choice. Daniels isn’t the scorer that Jasikevicius is but he can hit a three, shooting 36% from long distance in 2003 and 40% in 2000 (though just 29% last year), and he’s a much better defender, which may be the reason the Cavs are looking at Daniels as a possibility. And according to Daniels, the interest is mutual:

“I’m interested in Cleveland because I’m from Columbus. Playing close to home would be a great opportunity. Plus LeBron [James] is there and Larry Hughes is there now and Z [Zydrunas Ilgauskas] is still there. That would be a very competitive team in the East.”

Daniels certainly makes sense on several levels, but he would’ve been a better fit had the Cavs signed Michael Redd or Ray Allen instead of Larry Hughes. Hughes’ questionable range, however, makes Jasikevicius more appealing than Daniels. Sure, his defensive liabilities are a concern (envisioning Z and Jasikevicius trying to defend the pick-and-roll scares the crap out of me) but the pressure would be on Mike Brown to mold Jasikevicius into a respectable defender. Plus, with Hughes, a superb defender, at the two, you can live with some shaky defense at the point as long as you’re also getting a three-point threat.

Terry Pluto makes a compelling case that the Cavaliers should now turn their attention to trading Drew Gooden. The main reason is defense. According to Pluto, Gooden just doesn’t get it. He’s more of a scoring power forward, and the Cavs don’t need that now that they have signed Hughes and brought back Z. He’s often a liability on defense, especially against physical power forwards like Elton Brand who can muscle him down low.

Pluto points out that Gooden has one year left on a deal that pays him $4 million next year, which would make him very attractive to teams looking to create salary cap flexibility. Pluto argues that the Cavs should set their sites on a rebounder like Reggie Evans from Seattle, and then let Varejao develop as a player.

Gooden was a decent fit last year, but this team needs some muscle down low. If Ferry gets the right deal Gooden needs to go.

Just days after agreeing to terms with free-agent guard Larry Hughes, the Cavaliers have reportedly re-signed Zydrunas Ilgauskas to a five-year, $60 million deal. Judging by the results of our poll, I’m one of the few who thought the Cavs would be better off with a more athletic center but at the very least, if Danny Ferry insisted on bringing Z back, I’d hoped it would be a reasonable contract. Unfortunately, $12 million annually for five years just doesn’t seem all that reasonable to me.

On the bright side, Z’s signing likely means the Cavs have a better shot at landing fellow Lithuanian Sarunas Jasikevicius, a highly coveted point guard who would instantly improve the team’s outside shooting.

July 12 UPDATE: The ABJ is reporting that the first year of Z’s contract will be worth roughly $9 million, which is both good and bad news. The good news is, the Cavs will still have about $6 million to throw at a point guard, most likely Jasikevicius, one of Z’s best friends. The bad news, though, is that Ilguaskas’ escalating contract will probably be a financial burden before it’s all said and done, although the Beacon Journal also reports the fifth year of the deal is not fully guaranteed.