Danny Ferry, after having to settle for a 34-year-old shooting guard, is back on the free agent horse.
Very secretly, while Miami was indulging their fantasies of bringing back Lamar Odom from L.A. (who can pay him more money and is a better team in a bigger market), the Cavaliers have signed the Heat's Jamario Moon (6-8, 200 lbs., 29 years old) to an offer sheet worth somewhere around $3 million per year for 2 years. How awesome is this? For those of you who don't know what it means to sign a restricted free agent to an offer sheet, here is what it is:
When you are an unrestricted free agent, you can sign with any team you want. Your old team can offer you more money because of something called "Bird rights," but you can still do whatever you want. When you are a RESTRICTED free agent, other teams can sign you to "offer sheets." After that happens, your old/current team has 1 week to match that offer, or you now have a new team. So why is this cool?
Because the Heat are having trouble. Pat Riley and Dwyane Wade have been going back and forth through the media about Wade committing to the Heat so they could get free agents to come to Miami. Now, the Heat have been trying to finagle Carlos Boozer and Lamar Odom as desperation moves to quickly and easily improve the team, while still having young guys like Daequan Cook and, yes, Jamario Moon that they need to re-sign. They are sort of in trouble...so Ferry is trying to pick off one of their quality yet more expendable guys for cheap. It's kind of a dirty move and I love it. It's clearly possible that the Heat will match this offer and, I won't lie, I do have my hopes up. I just like the spirit of this move.
For anyone unfamiliar with Jamario's work, here's a quick taste. He can jump...HIGH. I would like him.
Dunking on LeBron
I would like to say that the national sports media has reached a new low, but this is pretty much par for the course.
After turning LeBron's non hand-shaking policy and his themed shirts he wears on vacation into a reason he is a bad guy, "dunkgate" arrives.
Before I get started, here is this article written by Brian Windhorst, aka, "The Best (as opposed to Jon Scheyer whose nickname is "The Worst"). I'll wait for you to read the whole thing...
......
OK.
Regardless of whether or not these are the real motives behind taking the tapes, has anyone heard this point of view on any ESPN show? Any sports show? I haven't. So what has happened is this: The most likely explanation for such an odd story is not told by anyone other than the Cavs' beat writer. Never is it put forth by the national media as a possibility. The only way we talk about it is assuming the worst and asking, "what this means." We are asking what something that didn't happen means about a person as if we are sure it happened...which it didn't. This false demonstration of ridiculous insecurity is now on LeBron's permanent record. It's like a rumor getting started in school that you're gay or that you like someone when you're 10 years old and the more you deny it, the truer it becomes in the public eye. It's disgraceful. This is what the media is.
This situation infuriates me to no end. I don't want the tapes released. I want LeBron to come up to a podium and say to the media, "I am the best player since Jordan, I'm an unselfish winner, I'm a good role model...and you people feast upon me as if I fight dogs and yet roll out the red carpet for Kobe, who is selfish, not as good a player as me and has been accused of rape. I give an interview before and after every single game and get no love from you people. Fuck you all, I'm leaving."
I don't really want LeBron to say these things...that isn't really much of a high road. These are just the words that the media deserves. Congratulations guys, you earned them.
Sunday, July 19, 2009
Thursday, July 9, 2009
Major Rationalizations: Anderson Varejao and Anthony Parker
In case it's unclear, I actually do believe the things I'm about to say here. Granted, I am forced to talk myself into basically everything the Cavs do at this point, but regardless, this is how I really feel:
Last night, while normal people slept and I was up reading Brian Windhorst's Twitter page, the Cleveland Cavaliers signed Anderson Varejao to a 6 year, $42.5 million contract (with the last year not fully guaranteed and incentives that could net him up to $50 million) and came to an agreement with former Toronto Raptors shooting guard and Euro-League MVP, Anthony Parker.
Let's start with Varejao. The vast majority of fans and media have laughed at this deal, saying that Varejao was drastically overpaid. Bill Simmons' Twitter: "Statement by the Cavs: 'Look, any time you can lock up a role player for $42.5 million+ incentives with the cap going backwards, you have to do it.'"
I love Bill Simmons. He's basically all I read on espn.com now that everything John Hollinger writes is of "Insider" status (what the hell!!?!?!). But it's so easy to hate on the Cavs...hate on Varejao, on Danny Ferry....it's easy to hate on anything. That's basically what I do most of the time...I know. Here, let me show you:
Buddies (theoretical) Twitter: "Statement from Bill Simmons: 'Anytime you can hate on a conference rival without explaining why the contract is bad or mentioning that it's basically an extension to the contract the player already had or that you have written and spoken about how the positive ways Anderson Varejao affects the game cannot be measured by the current stats basically to make yourself look smart, you have to do it.'"
See how easy that is? That was a low blow, Bill...but so was mine, so we're even.
How about this: Anytime you can lock up a versatile big man who always plays hard, rarely gets hurt, plays well off your star player, is WELL LIKED by your star player, you have to do it...no really, I think you do.
I understand that it is instinctively frustrating that a player is so effective with so little basketball skill, but Anderson does it. How many times have basketball people agreed that effort is a skill? That durability is a skill? That chemistry matters? And now we're all criticising this deal that locks up this guy who is key to the identity of a 66-win team. I also happen to believe there is something to be said for not low-balling a key role player who has been with your team from the hard days and now entering some very likely glory days. The contracts that kill you are the ones where you're paying people who aren't playing $10 million or something, not the ones where you might be paying a key piece maybe $1 million too much, especially with Dan Gilbert dishing out money the way he is. I have roughly no problem with this deal. I know the argument, "We could get better players for less!!" I ask you, "How?" We don't have cap space and, more importantly, the players people would list as "better" are not better.
Newsflash: Charlie Villanueva is not better than Anderson Varejao (read above: "effort is a skill").
Anthony Parker.
He's going to be LeBron's Pippen! It's over!!! START ENGRAVING THE NAMES IN THE TROPHY!!!
Sorry about that...calm down Buddies...
OK, so who is this guy?
First of all, the word is that he signed for 2 or 3 years for around $3 million per season. I'm not sure why or how that is the word, but let's pretend it's true.
He's 34, 6-6, and 215 pounds. He is a former Euro-league MVP. He is the brother of Candace Parker.
One thing Anthony Parker is without question is a great shooter. He shot 39% from deep last year (which is very good), but the two years previous he shot 44% from deep (which is very very very good). He has a history of clutch shots as well being the guy on the Raptors who guards Kobe (in case you're wondering, Kobe's 81 points came against the Raptors the season BEFORE Parker came to the Raps). I don't think he is a lock-down defender, but he seems like a smart enough player.
So what do we have now? We have LeBron James, Shaq, and Varejao. We have a bunch (four) super good, super clutch shooters from three and mid-range. We have Zydrunas Ilgauskas, Anthony Parker, Boobie Gibson, the young guys (JJ, Darnell, and Danny Green), and hopefully one more stretch Power Forward coming off the bench (possibly starting...Andy and Z play well together...wouldn't Channing Frye play well off of Shaq? I think he might).
The Cavs have, without a doubt, drastically improved from last season. Last 66-win season. We can all cry about how nobody wants to play in Cleveland, but clearly some do. And I think the people who are (mis)fortunate enough to play in Cleveland share a bond because they are all outcasts. I like this team, I think we're the best team, and I think we're going to sign one more player. How's that for optimism?
Last night, while normal people slept and I was up reading Brian Windhorst's Twitter page, the Cleveland Cavaliers signed Anderson Varejao to a 6 year, $42.5 million contract (with the last year not fully guaranteed and incentives that could net him up to $50 million) and came to an agreement with former Toronto Raptors shooting guard and Euro-League MVP, Anthony Parker.
Let's start with Varejao. The vast majority of fans and media have laughed at this deal, saying that Varejao was drastically overpaid. Bill Simmons' Twitter: "Statement by the Cavs: 'Look, any time you can lock up a role player for $42.5 million+ incentives with the cap going backwards, you have to do it.'"
I love Bill Simmons. He's basically all I read on espn.com now that everything John Hollinger writes is of "Insider" status (what the hell!!?!?!). But it's so easy to hate on the Cavs...hate on Varejao, on Danny Ferry....it's easy to hate on anything. That's basically what I do most of the time...I know. Here, let me show you:
Buddies (theoretical) Twitter: "Statement from Bill Simmons: 'Anytime you can hate on a conference rival without explaining why the contract is bad or mentioning that it's basically an extension to the contract the player already had or that you have written and spoken about how the positive ways Anderson Varejao affects the game cannot be measured by the current stats basically to make yourself look smart, you have to do it.'"
See how easy that is? That was a low blow, Bill...but so was mine, so we're even.
How about this: Anytime you can lock up a versatile big man who always plays hard, rarely gets hurt, plays well off your star player, is WELL LIKED by your star player, you have to do it...no really, I think you do.
I understand that it is instinctively frustrating that a player is so effective with so little basketball skill, but Anderson does it. How many times have basketball people agreed that effort is a skill? That durability is a skill? That chemistry matters? And now we're all criticising this deal that locks up this guy who is key to the identity of a 66-win team. I also happen to believe there is something to be said for not low-balling a key role player who has been with your team from the hard days and now entering some very likely glory days. The contracts that kill you are the ones where you're paying people who aren't playing $10 million or something, not the ones where you might be paying a key piece maybe $1 million too much, especially with Dan Gilbert dishing out money the way he is. I have roughly no problem with this deal. I know the argument, "We could get better players for less!!" I ask you, "How?" We don't have cap space and, more importantly, the players people would list as "better" are not better.
Newsflash: Charlie Villanueva is not better than Anderson Varejao (read above: "effort is a skill").
Anthony Parker.
He's going to be LeBron's Pippen! It's over!!! START ENGRAVING THE NAMES IN THE TROPHY!!!
Sorry about that...calm down Buddies...
OK, so who is this guy?
First of all, the word is that he signed for 2 or 3 years for around $3 million per season. I'm not sure why or how that is the word, but let's pretend it's true.
He's 34, 6-6, and 215 pounds. He is a former Euro-league MVP. He is the brother of Candace Parker.
One thing Anthony Parker is without question is a great shooter. He shot 39% from deep last year (which is very good), but the two years previous he shot 44% from deep (which is very very very good). He has a history of clutch shots as well being the guy on the Raptors who guards Kobe (in case you're wondering, Kobe's 81 points came against the Raptors the season BEFORE Parker came to the Raps). I don't think he is a lock-down defender, but he seems like a smart enough player.
So what do we have now? We have LeBron James, Shaq, and Varejao. We have a bunch (four) super good, super clutch shooters from three and mid-range. We have Zydrunas Ilgauskas, Anthony Parker, Boobie Gibson, the young guys (JJ, Darnell, and Danny Green), and hopefully one more stretch Power Forward coming off the bench (possibly starting...Andy and Z play well together...wouldn't Channing Frye play well off of Shaq? I think he might).
The Cavs have, without a doubt, drastically improved from last season. Last 66-win season. We can all cry about how nobody wants to play in Cleveland, but clearly some do. And I think the people who are (mis)fortunate enough to play in Cleveland share a bond because they are all outcasts. I like this team, I think we're the best team, and I think we're going to sign one more player. How's that for optimism?
Sunday, July 5, 2009
Free Agency Status on the Fifth of July
During the insane first few days of NBA free agency, I'd like to take the Independence Day Weekend to take a step back and review what has happened so far (yes, this will include a mild amount of bitterness).
Here's an off-the-top-of-my-head time line of the events so far:
- Carlos Boozer somewhat surprisingly opted INTO his contract, making Charlie Villanueva the most attractive young Power Forward in Free Agency instead of a talented lazy ass who could be had for shockingly cheap...
- The Detroit Pistons immediately lock up Ben Gordon and Charlie Villanueva by overpaying both of them rather severely. They don't even make a run at Ariza or Turkoglu.
This is not even a creative analogy, it's just exactly what's going on: Free Agency is like a bunch of guys at a bar trying to pick up ladies. Period. It's the exact same thing. And the Pistons, instead of trying to play it cool or go for the really high class ladies, they just snagged two "fives" and said, "See ya later."
To explain further, I was a proponent of bringing Charlie Villanueva into the Cavs' system. He would have been our second leading scorer and would be the second most athletically gifted player on the roster. He is totally lazy on defense (and actually offense) but I thought the pressure of LeBron and Shaq would have been enough to force him into trying. But a bad team with no leaders and no coach? And adding Ben Gordon as well? For more than the Mid-Level Exeption? That's a big pass and a half...on BOTH.
- News spreads that Trevor Ariza is feeling a little dissed by the Lakers for the lack of an offer above the mid-level and is looking around for another team. Let me put this another way: Ariza's boyfriend wasn't being nice enough to him so he started flirting with other teams to make him jealous. Little did he know, the Lakers had a hotter girl lined up right behind him (Ron Artest signs with the Lakers for the mid level) for the same price. Now Ariza is out in the abyss of the bar waiting for teams to start buying him drinks.
The Cavs immediately contact him and put on the "full-court press," as Chris Broussard put it. Ariza even talked directly to Mike Brown. Then, Rockets' GM Daryl Morey flies to wherever Ariza is and later that night, Ariza is a Rocket.
Why did Ariza choose Houston, a team with two broken down stars and roughly no title hopes in the tough Western Conference over Cleveland, the Vegas odds on title favorite as well as the team who is most likely to face Ariza's ex-boyfriend in the Finals? Nobody really knows. The obvious answers are that:
a. Cleveland sucks. I don't like saying that but there are a lot of reasons not to live in Cleveland, it's an unavoidable truth.
b. Is Shaq staying? Is LeBron Staying? Probably not and maybe. That is definitely worrying for a guy thinking about signing a five-year deal when he is 24 years old. But still, it's a two-way street. Think about this:
LeBron won't sign an extension or commit to Cleveland allegedly because he wants more flexibility and wants to keep pressure on the Cavs' organization to build a winner around him, but the assurance that he will be there is making it nearly impossible to convince top-flight free agents to come to Cleveland and therefore, build a winner around LeBron James.
Ariza assumedly wants to play for a winner and wants security that LeBron will stay past this year before he signs, but the only way to get that security is if someone like Ariza would sign long-term...it's more than a little bit frustrating from where I'm sitting.
(These two topics are covered more in depth and much more clearly here and here)
- Hedo Turkoglu semi agrees to an offer with Portland and then actually agrees to a contract with Toronto. I knew he was going to be the one to rock the boat. He's foreign and has always seemed to weirdly oblivious to everything, even while playing. He is clutch because he feels no pressure because he has no concept of where he is. I don't believe he will feel awkward for screwing the Blazers because I don't think he knows that he did it.
Either way, the Raptors are still bad and Portland is still good and at least the Blazers still have options.
- For the rest of the free agents, we can only assume that Rasheed Wallace will be going to Boston so I'm going to put it on the timeline like it happened. He'll fit right in with their core of veteran douche bags (also known as the "Big Three.")
So with the Lakers, Spurs (Richard Jefferson), and Boston improving (I'm not including Orlando on purpose), what is left for Cleveland to do?
Well, they are rumored to be interested in Anthony Parker. As Cleveland proved last summer, there are less impressive signings in the world than a guy like Parker, but the fact remains, nobody is getting excited about a 34-yeard old who has been back and forth between Europe and the NBA his whole career. You can't even, in good conscience, give him the full mid level. Still, he's not bad. He's a great shooter, a good defender, and a smart player (by all accounts). And from what I know, Danny Ferry is cut from the cloth (or the other way around) of Daryl Morey, the MIT stats machine who hits bargains rather routinely. The fact that Ferry is oddly interested in a seemingly ho-hum player gives me hope that he will fit in exceptionally well if we get him. Of course, I have to believe that.
With that said, here is who I would go after if I were in charge.
1. Josh Childress
Once again, I'm extremely unclear as to his situation with his Euro club and the fact that we don't seem to have any interest in him at all leads me to believe he would not consider buying out his Euro deal to play here. He does serve roughly the same purpose as Ariza, in fact, he's probably better than Ariza. Ariza is attractive because of his sacrifice on a Championship Team, but his stats really aren't eye-popping by any means. This seems unlikely for whatever reason.
2. Grant Hill
Again, a much better player than Ariza (I keep coming back to him because he was my documented first choice in free agency) at the present time. He is injury prone and old as hell, but if you can't get Ariza long-term, you might as well go for Grant Hill for one year if he is interested in being the back up small forward on a Championship Team. He may be 36, but he did take a few years off and he certainly doesn't play like he's 36.
3. Marvin Williams
Anthony Parker would actually be in between these two. We're honestly already to the point where I really am not excited about these people at all. However, Marvin Williams is very talented and somewhat admirably toughed out an injury to his shooting wrist in the playoff series against the Cavs. Glenn likes this guy.
4. Brandon Bass
A cheap and athletic Power Forward. He's fine...I'm about to die of yawning. There's also Matt Barnes, but I don't even feel like wasting a number on him.
So that's what we have on our hands. A super mediocre free agent pool and the least attractive city amongst the contenders. But here's the bright side:
I have almost never heard of Ferry going after a guy I didn't like. There were rumors of Cleveland wanting Rasheed Wallace, J.R. Smith, and Shawn Marion...all unfounded. You know why? Because those guys are assholes. When we traded for Mo Williams, who really knew anything about that guy? Well, he worked out perfectly so I have no other choice but to trust Ferry in whatever small or large moves he makes for the rest of the off season. Let's hope it's well founded.
Here's an off-the-top-of-my-head time line of the events so far:
- Carlos Boozer somewhat surprisingly opted INTO his contract, making Charlie Villanueva the most attractive young Power Forward in Free Agency instead of a talented lazy ass who could be had for shockingly cheap...
- The Detroit Pistons immediately lock up Ben Gordon and Charlie Villanueva by overpaying both of them rather severely. They don't even make a run at Ariza or Turkoglu.
This is not even a creative analogy, it's just exactly what's going on: Free Agency is like a bunch of guys at a bar trying to pick up ladies. Period. It's the exact same thing. And the Pistons, instead of trying to play it cool or go for the really high class ladies, they just snagged two "fives" and said, "See ya later."
To explain further, I was a proponent of bringing Charlie Villanueva into the Cavs' system. He would have been our second leading scorer and would be the second most athletically gifted player on the roster. He is totally lazy on defense (and actually offense) but I thought the pressure of LeBron and Shaq would have been enough to force him into trying. But a bad team with no leaders and no coach? And adding Ben Gordon as well? For more than the Mid-Level Exeption? That's a big pass and a half...on BOTH.
- News spreads that Trevor Ariza is feeling a little dissed by the Lakers for the lack of an offer above the mid-level and is looking around for another team. Let me put this another way: Ariza's boyfriend wasn't being nice enough to him so he started flirting with other teams to make him jealous. Little did he know, the Lakers had a hotter girl lined up right behind him (Ron Artest signs with the Lakers for the mid level) for the same price. Now Ariza is out in the abyss of the bar waiting for teams to start buying him drinks.
The Cavs immediately contact him and put on the "full-court press," as Chris Broussard put it. Ariza even talked directly to Mike Brown. Then, Rockets' GM Daryl Morey flies to wherever Ariza is and later that night, Ariza is a Rocket.
Why did Ariza choose Houston, a team with two broken down stars and roughly no title hopes in the tough Western Conference over Cleveland, the Vegas odds on title favorite as well as the team who is most likely to face Ariza's ex-boyfriend in the Finals? Nobody really knows. The obvious answers are that:
a. Cleveland sucks. I don't like saying that but there are a lot of reasons not to live in Cleveland, it's an unavoidable truth.
b. Is Shaq staying? Is LeBron Staying? Probably not and maybe. That is definitely worrying for a guy thinking about signing a five-year deal when he is 24 years old. But still, it's a two-way street. Think about this:
LeBron won't sign an extension or commit to Cleveland allegedly because he wants more flexibility and wants to keep pressure on the Cavs' organization to build a winner around him, but the assurance that he will be there is making it nearly impossible to convince top-flight free agents to come to Cleveland and therefore, build a winner around LeBron James.
Ariza assumedly wants to play for a winner and wants security that LeBron will stay past this year before he signs, but the only way to get that security is if someone like Ariza would sign long-term...it's more than a little bit frustrating from where I'm sitting.
(These two topics are covered more in depth and much more clearly here and here)
- Hedo Turkoglu semi agrees to an offer with Portland and then actually agrees to a contract with Toronto. I knew he was going to be the one to rock the boat. He's foreign and has always seemed to weirdly oblivious to everything, even while playing. He is clutch because he feels no pressure because he has no concept of where he is. I don't believe he will feel awkward for screwing the Blazers because I don't think he knows that he did it.
Either way, the Raptors are still bad and Portland is still good and at least the Blazers still have options.
- For the rest of the free agents, we can only assume that Rasheed Wallace will be going to Boston so I'm going to put it on the timeline like it happened. He'll fit right in with their core of veteran douche bags (also known as the "Big Three.")
So with the Lakers, Spurs (Richard Jefferson), and Boston improving (I'm not including Orlando on purpose), what is left for Cleveland to do?
Well, they are rumored to be interested in Anthony Parker. As Cleveland proved last summer, there are less impressive signings in the world than a guy like Parker, but the fact remains, nobody is getting excited about a 34-yeard old who has been back and forth between Europe and the NBA his whole career. You can't even, in good conscience, give him the full mid level. Still, he's not bad. He's a great shooter, a good defender, and a smart player (by all accounts). And from what I know, Danny Ferry is cut from the cloth (or the other way around) of Daryl Morey, the MIT stats machine who hits bargains rather routinely. The fact that Ferry is oddly interested in a seemingly ho-hum player gives me hope that he will fit in exceptionally well if we get him. Of course, I have to believe that.
With that said, here is who I would go after if I were in charge.
1. Josh Childress
Once again, I'm extremely unclear as to his situation with his Euro club and the fact that we don't seem to have any interest in him at all leads me to believe he would not consider buying out his Euro deal to play here. He does serve roughly the same purpose as Ariza, in fact, he's probably better than Ariza. Ariza is attractive because of his sacrifice on a Championship Team, but his stats really aren't eye-popping by any means. This seems unlikely for whatever reason.
2. Grant Hill
Again, a much better player than Ariza (I keep coming back to him because he was my documented first choice in free agency) at the present time. He is injury prone and old as hell, but if you can't get Ariza long-term, you might as well go for Grant Hill for one year if he is interested in being the back up small forward on a Championship Team. He may be 36, but he did take a few years off and he certainly doesn't play like he's 36.
3. Marvin Williams
Anthony Parker would actually be in between these two. We're honestly already to the point where I really am not excited about these people at all. However, Marvin Williams is very talented and somewhat admirably toughed out an injury to his shooting wrist in the playoff series against the Cavs. Glenn likes this guy.
4. Brandon Bass
A cheap and athletic Power Forward. He's fine...I'm about to die of yawning. There's also Matt Barnes, but I don't even feel like wasting a number on him.
So that's what we have on our hands. A super mediocre free agent pool and the least attractive city amongst the contenders. But here's the bright side:
I have almost never heard of Ferry going after a guy I didn't like. There were rumors of Cleveland wanting Rasheed Wallace, J.R. Smith, and Shawn Marion...all unfounded. You know why? Because those guys are assholes. When we traded for Mo Williams, who really knew anything about that guy? Well, he worked out perfectly so I have no other choice but to trust Ferry in whatever small or large moves he makes for the rest of the off season. Let's hope it's well founded.
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