http://basketball.realgm.com/wiretap/233667/Cavaliers-Interested-In-Love-Noah-Aldridge-Horford Apparently the Cavs, the owners of the number 1 pick in the draft, are interested in putting together a deal for a star. There are no officially floated rumors, but this touches on two topics we've discussed lately. Namely, what is the relative trade value of Joakim Noah and whether you draft for need at the top of the draft. On the topic of Noah's trade value, Transplant, I think we've disagreed about whether Noah has superstar value, even though I think all of us here would characterize him as being a very good but not elite player. I suggested Noah may have outsized value to certain franchises this off season because he could be the cornerstone of a marketing campaign. Cleveland was in the back of my mind when I made those comments, and you know what, I may have actually been right. Cleveland has had a strange relationship with Noah ever since he bashed the city: [video=youtube;bObGK0DxqdI]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bObGK0DxqdI[/video] I think we assume incorrectly that other cities view Noah like Chicago viewed Bill Laimbeer back in the day: loved him if he played for you; hated him if he was an opponent. The things is, Noah is seven times more clever and funny than Laimbeer ever was. We're also living in a different era where I think fans are a little less parochial and are more likely to get a kick out of villains. Which brings us back to Cleveland. I usually prefer watching the opposing announcers feed on League Pass broadcasts because I'm curious about their take on things. And Cleveland's broadcasters, Fred McLeod and Austin Carr, always sound obsessed with Noah. Every interview b-roll cutaway features Noah. They spend a ton of game time discussing his contributions . . . way more than Stacey King and Neil Funk do for example. Joakim Noah raised his profile in the city when he made those comments, and they seem to love him for it. So yeah, I wasn't completely surprised when I see that Noah's name is floated in rumors with Cleveland, when their only real tradeable asset that the Bulls would be interested in is the number 1 pick. . . . and to the answer the follow up . . . unless Melo agrees to sign with the Bulls, I'd make that trade in a heartbeat. When you have a chance at a potential HOFer like Embiid I think you jump at it and you don't look back. The NBA is a superstars league and there is a big gap between being the best center in the league and a player that can compel your franchise to win a championship.
Brian Scalabrine wears a shirt with his name on the back so that people will know who he is? That's too perfect.
I suppose if you want to try to lure Lebron James back to Cleveland, it's a better sell to provide him with an NBA-proven stud big than a rookie who may never become an NBA stud big, and even if he does become one, doesn't figure to be that until James is well north of 30. And to SST, enjoy the gloat...you've earned it.
I look at Cleveland as being in a relatively similar situation as the Bulls were in when they traded Brad Miller and Ron Artist for Jalen Rose. You have a team that had some former glory that's now less than the sum of its parts. Your young players have attitudes and are openly talking about bolting. Fan interest is down. I think they're desperate to be mediocre and that they'd prefer that to taking a chance on another young player. Oh, and their drafting is atrocious.
Man, Transplant, i don't see it taking that long for Embiid to figure things out. It certainly didn't take Anthony Davis that long. I look at Embiid and I see the most skilled big man, the most well-rounded big man in any league. I can't remember ever seeing a more skilled center prospect than him. Shaq was more dominant but his game was always limited. Yao was an amazing prospect but he couldn't move like Embiid. Embiid does everything.
Maybe you're right, but I've never seen him use all his marvelous skills to consistently dominate basketball games. We can excuse him because he was hurt, but being hurt all the time is a problem too. You see him as "can't miss." I can see the potential, but he hasn't actually done much of anything.
That's fair. DraftExpress is a pretty great site and they project him at 3. There have to be people out there who think this back thing is going to impact his career.
