http://www.charlotte.com/mld/charlotte/spo.../8984412.htm?1c The Charlotte Bobcats will select Utah Jazz rookie Aleksandar Pavlovic in tonight's expansion draft and trade him on to the Cleveland Cavaliers, the Charlotte Observer has learned. In return, the Bobcats will receive a future first-round pick from the Cavaliers. It possibly could be a lottery-protected pick that the Toronto Raptors owe the Cavaliers. Pavlovic, a 6-foot-7 forward, was a somewhat surprising inclusion on the unprotected list, since the Jazz took him in the first round a year ago. Though he struggled defensively, he showed a fine shooting touch. That would be a big attraction to Cleveland; the Cavaliers best jump-shooter, Jason Kapono, might be coming to Charlotte tonight in the expansion draft. In Kapono's absence, the Cavaliers look like the worst jump-shooting team in the NBA.
Hmm never heard of him but if he can help us out thats good. Too bad we gotta lose Kapono tonite, really rather see Kevin Ollie go.
I don't know much about Sasha neither. Anybody that can shoot is a plus for our team. At least Kapono will be replaced with another shooter. Now all we have to do is get either Piakowski or Atkins for add to that shooting.
Yea we are really slacking at shooting.. James picked up his shooting a lot but we need the big 3 point threat like most teams have.
Here is a bio of Sasha from nbadraft.net <div class="quote_poster">Quote:</div><div class="quote_post"> Strengths: Extremely athletic swingman, with great size, long arms and great explosiveness. His size and athleticism make him a very interesting prospect. This is a guy who has everything to be a star in Europe and a ?player? in the NBA. He is playing his first season at a high level and has already earned an important role on a team with other young stars like Cabarkapa and Koljovic. He has great ball-handling ability for his size and he's a force offensively. He's unstoppable when he's on, because of his great arsenal of moves. He can penetrate with both hands, using his speed and crossover. And if you leave him space he can shoot in your face, off the dribble, with the pull-up jumper. He's pretty fearless about going inside, and has a great knack of finishing in traffic with acrobatic moves. He plays very aggressively and he wont hesitate to dunk on people. He can score a lot in spurts. His offensive game is complemented with nice passing skills, and court vision. He's basically a complete package on offense. The sky is the limit. Weaknesses: His biggest problem is that he needs to learn how to use his skills. He is too aggressive with the ball, he looks to go 1 on 1 every time he touches the ball. He forces some shots and, more important, he lets the defense concentrate on him every time he has the ball because they know he will go 1 on 1. Defense is still an area for him to develop. He can be a effective defender, with his athletic abilities, but right now perhaps he is too confident he can stop every one and block every shot. He needs to gain poise. Notes: Buducnost is a team in Europe with one of the better junior programs. Has emerged all of a sudden as a top NBA prospect. Where did he come from? It is extremely difficult to emerge in Yugoslavia. The talent is very thick, and in order to stand out a player must be very good, and it usually takes some time. -Cristian Biagini ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Strengths: Fundamentally sound player who is steadily becoming a complete player offensively ... Displays good athleticism in terms of leaping ability and running of the floor ... Excels on the break where he displays the decent athleticism to finish with flair ... Shows above average ball handling ability to take most defenders off the dribble ... Extremely creative in his scoring as he uses an assortment of moves when taking the ball to the basket ... Defensively Pavlovic shows great promise of being a capable help defender thanks to his long arms and quick hands ... Great passer who has the kind of court vision to be effective when the defense commits to him ... Shows great confidence in his abilityand wants the shot when the game is on the line ... Has three point range on his jumper ... Long arms and solid leaping ability enable him to be a decent rebounder ... An explosive scorer who can take over a game ...Understands how to create his own scoring opportunities ... Rarely seen in his age he is a capable mid-range shooter ... Weaknesses: Defensively he has a bad habit of playing over aggressively which can lead to him picking up quick fouls ... Has yet to develop into a consistent player ... Needs to become a more efficient shooter off the dribble ... Shot selection is in need of improvement as he can get caught up in the moment ... Ball protection is below average as he tends to be careless with the ball ... Court awareness isn't always there and his concentration level can vary from game to game ... Needs to use his feet on defense instead of swiping at the ball ... Poor decision making on the court makes for costly mental mistakes ... When driving to the basket he has problems finishing after contact ... Could stand to improve on getting teammates involved on offense ... Ball movement without the ball is decent but could get better ... Needs to become more efficient shooting off screens and picks ... Outside shooting from beyond the three point line remains streaky ...</div> Source
Aleksandar Pavlovic, or "Sasha" is meant to be a shoot the lights out knid of guy. But in Utah he never really showed it, and picks up fouls very quickly. However, he's got a lot of potential. He has had one season experience, and is from Serbia & Montenegro. Some people have compared him to Peja, but IMO he is not ever going to get close to Peja. Utah fans (me included), don't know why he was left unprotected with all of his potential. If he improves from his dissapointing rookie season, he could really help you guys out, or he could be a guy who is strictly a role player for scoring. His defense is very questionable right now. Jerry Sloan publically accused him of not putting in enough effort, in games and training during the 03-04 season.
^Yeah, the guy is going to be good in Cavs, hopefully. He can provide alot to the Cavs in the future and I think he fits under coach Silas. The future will tell!
Hopefully he'll play more games than Kapono, who I think was injured most of last season.(?) Sounds good, though
When I was looking over the people Charlotte drafted before I found out he was traded, he really stuck out to me. I didn't and still really don't know why he was left unprotected when he was drafted just last year. After doing some research I'm happy that the Cavs picked him up, especially after losing Kapono. It is a low-risk/high-benefit move IMO.
He rubbed Jerry Sloan the wrong way b/c he was very aggressive on the offensive end and foul prone on the defensive end. He is a very good prospect and Cleveland is lucky to have him. Do not be surprised if he ends up cracking the starting lineup not far into the season. With more experience he could have all-star potential.
