<div class="quote_poster">Quote:</div><div class="quote_post">The Drew Gooden contract stalemate with the Cavaliers now seems to have frustrated both sides, the Akron Beacon-Journal is reporting. Following initial contract talks earlier this month that showed a wide gap, Gooden's agents decided to pursue sign-and-trade options for the restricted free agent forward. Nothing has gotten done, and now it's the Cavaliers who might be getting antsy. According to two league executives, the Cavs are hoping to schedule a meeting with free agent forward Reggie Evans next week and might also look to pursue another free agent big man, Lorenzen Wright. It seems the team is looking to investigate other options in case the talks with Gooden don't work out, and it might also be trying to put pressure on him to accept the current deal on the table. The Cavs still have their $5.2 million midlevel exception, as well as the biannual exception to work with. They own the rights to Gooden, so they can match any offers and also can sign him without using the exceptions. And re-signing Gooden still appears to be the Cavs' top priority. Evans, however, is a player Cavs General Manager Danny Ferry has kept an eye on since last summer</div> Source
Losing Gooden would be a huge blow to the Cavs championship hopes this year. I don't see anyone in the league, not even LeBron carrying that team to the finals.
<div class="quote_poster">Quoting bryce40ww:</div><div class="quote_post">Losing Gooden would be a huge blow to the Cavs championship hopes this year. I don't see anyone in the league, not even LeBron carrying that team to the finals.</div> What? I think the addition of Evans and the loss of Gooden would help more than hurt.
I would still pick Gooden over Evans, but Gooden fitted into the Cavs system perfectly. No way would be a huge blow if Drew left, as long as we get something that can fill in his spot in return.
I'm not too worried about losing Gooden, because we have Anderson Varejao to replace him. Don't you guys remember how strong he was coming on towards the end of the season, averaging a solid 8 ppg and 9 rpg in just 25 mpg? On the other hand, Drew Gooden was a real underachiever last season and his play started to become really inconsistent at about the All-Star break, especially on the offensive end of the floor. As for Reggie Evans, while I don't think he's the greatest fit for the Cavaliers in particular, he'd be a hell of an addition to pretty much any team in this league. He gets overlooked because of all the crazy stunts he's pulled in his time, because he doesn't get many minutes, and because he's more or less a nonfactor on offense, but when all is said and done, he's one of the top three rebounders in the league right now, no questions asked.
<div class="quote_poster">Quoting durvasa:</div><div class="quote_post">Voodo Child, did you move to Cleveland recently? I thought you were a Grizzlies fan.</div> He is a fan of Shannon Brown so, he likes the Cavs now too.
<div class="quote_poster">Quoting durvasa:</div><div class="quote_post">Voodo Child, did you move to Cleveland recently? I thought you were a Grizzlies fan.</div> He's head of the Shannon Brown fan club, so he's a Cavs fan now.
<div class="quote_poster">Quote:</div><div class="quote_post">He is a fan of Shannon Brown so, he likes the Cavs now too.</div> <div class="quote_poster">Quoting Bobcats:</div><div class="quote_post">He's head of the Shannon Brown fan club, so he's a Cavs fan now.</div> Yeah, that's the reason. I'll still quietly root for the Grizzlies, because I'm from Memphis, but their management has just made too many horrible decisions for me to continue to support them. I know I sound like a fairweather fan, but I've been planning on rooting for the team that drafts Brown ever since he entered MSU, and now that the Grizzlies have just happened to make some disagreeable moves, I figured now would be a good time to try and switch my loyalties. Hey, at least I'm not a LeBron bandwagoner...
<div class="quote_poster">Quoting Voodoo Child:</div><div class="quote_post">Yeah, that's the reason. I'll still quietly root for the Grizzlies, because I'm from Memphis, but their management has just made too many horrible decisions for me to continue to support them. I know I sound like a fairweather fan, but I've been planning on rooting for the team that drafts Brown ever since he entered MSU, and now that the Grizzlies have just happened to make some disagreeable moves, I figured now would be a good time to try and switch my loyalties. Hey, at least I'm not a LeBron bandwagoner... </div> Do you know Shannon Brown personally? How did you become such a big fan of his from the beginning of his college career?
<div class="quote_poster">Quoting durvasa:</div><div class="quote_post">Do you know Shannon Brown personally? How did you become such a big fan of his from the beginning of his college career?</div> I've met him a few times, but I'm not a personal friend or anything. I'm just a real big fan of his game. I've known about him since he was pretty young because my AAU team (YOMCA) played his (Illinois Warriors) the year before I joined them, and I went to the game to get a feel for the coaching staff and team, because they'd been showing interest in me for a while. Then Brown went on to Michigan State, my favorite college because I'm the son of a Michigan State graduate and was born in Detroit, Michigan. His choice of college immediately made me a loyal fan of his, but what really made me a Shannon Brown fanatic was just his style of play. If you haven't seen him play yet, you'll see what I mean when you do. He's strong, quick, athletic, and most importantly, explosive. You were guaranteed to see a highlight reel play or two from him every game in his time at Michigan State, but he never lost his focus and never forgot to do the little things and stay fundamentally strong.
If we get Reggie Evans, we would gain rebounding ability but lose on the offensive side. However, if Larry Hughes fires on all cylinders and Shannon Brown proves his potential, this won't be much of a problem. I would prefer a slightly better rounded Forward, especially one who could block slightly better than either Evans or Gooden but, as this is a relatively weak Free Agency year, that may not be possible. Another possibility is Keith Van Horn, but I can't really see him fitting into the Cavs lineup very well.
<div class="quote_poster">Quoting chingy0007:</div><div class="quote_post">If we get Reggie Evans, we would gain rebounding ability but lose on the offensive side. However, if Larry Hughes fires on all cylinders and Shannon Brown proves his potential, this won't be much of a problem. I would prefer a slightly better rounded Forward, especially one who could block slightly better than either Evans or Gooden but, as this is a relatively weak Free Agency year, that may not be possible. Another possibility is Keith Van Horn, but I can't really see him fitting into the Cavs lineup very well.</div> It would be nice to have some shotblocking from our power forward spot, but like you said, that may not be possible. The only decent shotblocker that I can think of in the field right now is Alonzo Mourning, and he's an unrealistic target. If we can't sign that shotblocker though, we've always got Big Z in the post. As for Evans' offense, he's not a reliable option, but at the same time, he's not a liability, because he knows his role with the team and won't try to force shots. It's not like we're loosing a go-to-guy on offense with Gooden anyway. He really has no midrange jumper and lacks great upper body strength to bang with the bigger forwards in the paint.
Exactly. Here's a full list of the Free Agent PFs (including those already signed as I can't be bothered to go through them all, lol. List compiled from probasketball.about.com) Ben Wallace Al Harrington Chris Wilcox (Restricted) Nene (Restricted) Drew Gooden (Restricted) Vladimir Radmanovic Reggie Evans Keith Van Horn Alonzo Mourning Darius Songaila (Player option) Jackie Butler (Restricted) Alan Henderson Jackson Vroman (Restricted) Clifford Robinson (Team option) Stanislav Medvedenko Lawrence Roberts (Team option) Samaki Walker Sean Marks Aaron Williams Brandon Bass (Team option) Bo Outlaw Josh Powell (Team option) Jared Reiner Lonny Baxter What the Cavs really need is a player who can do the dirty work in the paint and score solidly, but not prolifically. Basically, a guy who can play defence well and has some skills on offence. As I said, I'd like a shot-blocker, but that doesn't look too likely with this bunch of players. In addition, the player really should be low-key, therefore not requiring a large contract or too much of the ball. From this, obviously Ben Wallace is the best, but signed with the Bulls and would have demanded way too much money. Chris Wilcox could be good, but is expected to sign a one year deal with Seattle. If we could somehow work a sign and trade involving Drew and Wilcox (with other guys) that would be a good move. However, as a player to simply sign from this list, I only really see Alonzo Mourning and Reggie Evans as potential candidates. At the age of 36, Mourning is too old for the way the Cavs are growing, with youth being quintessential. However, Evans is 26 and steadily improving so, from these Free Agents, I would have to say that Evans is our only realistic, long-term option.
<div class="quote_poster">Quote:</div><div class="quote_post">What the Cavs really need is a player who can do the dirty work in the paint and score solidly, but not prolifically. Basically, a guy who can play defence well and has some skills on offence. As I said, I'd like a shot-blocker, but that doesn't look too likely with this bunch of players. In addition, the player really should be low-key, therefore not requiring a large contract or too much of the ball. </div> Exactly, and that's more or less Evans to a tee. He's got weaknesses in his game, but if he didn't he'd be a $15 million a year type player and not a player we could pick up for a cap exception. I wouldn't mind Van Horn, but nothing that I've read indicates that he has any interest in the Cavs. How about Mario Austin, the 36th pick in the 2003 draft? The only reason he's not already in the league is because of a really complicated contract dispute with the Bulls and then the fact that his lung collapsed when he was playing in Russia, but he's now fully rehabilitated and probably ready to get back to the NBA. This past season he was named the ULEB Cup MVP, averaging 16.7 ppg and 5.2 rpg (great numbers for the league) on the season for Hapoel Migdal Jerusalem.
I'd rather see a more proven player at the NBA level. Plenty of players have come from Europe and not done anything in the NBA. I'm not against signing him, but then I would like to sign Evans or another proven player. I think we have our BAE this off-season, so perhaps we could sign Austin to the BAE and Evans to the MLE?
