I haven't listened to the talking heads of ESPN about the Cavs (or well anybodies) free agents prospects but lets be clear about how the NBA works. Its not about playing with Lebron or living it up in the Big Apple yadda yadda yadda. It boils down to two things: money and championships. If you are almost a lock to go the championship (see Spurs, Pistons and thats it) you can sign players to a bit of a discount. If you can't see (see rest of the league) guess what money is the key. Gee did anyone really think a video montage and a Lebron James smile would be worth the 20 extra million dollars Michael Redd or Ray Allen got? The Cavs (or anybody for that matter) were not going to pry away those two away. Which is ok. Kevin Garnett deserves a max contract. I'm not as certain Michael Redd (who doesn't play defense) is the other cornerstone player worth 70 million dollars. Teams wanting to get the playoffs will have to be smart about who they sign. The catch though is if their home team makes any play for the free agent the price will be awfully high (see the price for Larry Hughes and possibly Kwame Brown).
**For the record there is no reason why I have a chimp playing golf in my blog today.
3 comments:
There is no doubt that it's always been about the benjamins for pro athletes. It's sad but true.
Personally, I don't believe that winning a title is even the most important thing to many of these guys. Sure, there are a select few who would rather go to San Antonio or Detroit for the chance at glory but a lot of them would be just as happy staying put, getting the extra money and never sniffing the playoffs.
It's too bad because I really would've loved to have seen LBJ start something great in Cleveland. It would've been great for the NBA and great for "Championship-Drought City USA."
it's all about the money, as has been reaffirmed time and time again. since the cavs can sign larry hughes to more money than even his own team, it looks like the cavs will have hughes next year. i'm with mike on redd- redd only shoots 3s and that's it. granted, hughes doesn't shoot 3s, but he can play the PG spot at times, and is a great defender averaging 3 steals per game.
Now the Cavs just need to get Z under contract, and hope that Luke Jackson gets healthy and can knock down some 3s. Of course, the Cavs still need to find a few more bodies to fill out the roster, and another PG won't hurt.
I agree with Gutsy. I like the Larry pick up. The Cavs needed perimeter defense as badly as they needed a 3 point shooter. Last year the Cavs guards were more like matadors and watched as the opposing teams slashed thru the lane. Hopefully Hughes can end that and add an additional offensive threat. Next up Z and then a PG. Then the playoffs
Post a Comment