http://www.stationcaster.com/player_ski ... 87&f=95941

Chris Grant on the draft.

NBA Draft 2011: Tristan Thompson signals more moves ahead for Cleveland Cavaliers: Terry Pluto's draft scribbles
Published: Thursday, June 23, 2011, 11:58 PM Updated: Friday, June 24, 2011, 5:34 AM
Terry Pluto, The Plain Dealer By Terry Pluto, The Plain Dealer
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INDEPENDENCE, Ohio -- Final scribbles after a long night at the Cavaliers' draft headquarters.

1. When it comes to power forwards, the Cavs have too many after making Tristan Thompson their No. 4 pick. It seems they will use at least one power forward in a trade. They already have Antawn Jamison, J.J. Hickson and Samardo Samuels at the position, and Thompson makes four. Starting center Anderson Varejao also can play that position.

2. Jamison is 35 and in the last year of his contract. He could be traded at some point this season. Hickson is in the last year of his contract. The Cavs must be thinking of moving him, perhaps setting up a big deal.

3. The Cavs still have a major lack of shooting guards and small forwards. Last year's starting shooting guard Anthony Parker is a free agent. Manny Harris is a longshot to make the team. They also have Alonzo Gee, Joey Graham and Christian Eyenga. That group needs help.

4. The Cavs are packed with point guards: Baron Davis, Daniel Gibson, Ramon Sessions and Kyrie Irving. All of this screams more moves on the way.

5. In terms of trade value, Sessions and Hickson would have the most because of their ages and talent. Sessions is 25, Hickson is 23. Sessions has two years left on his deal -- $4.3 million and $4.5 million. Gibson has one year guaranteed ($4.5 million) and a team option at $4.8 million. He's only 25, but has battled injuries the last few seasons.

6. Why did the Cavs take Thompson? They didn't want to wait as long as two years for Jonas Valanciunas to get free of his European contract. These situations can be very messy. That must have been the case here, because the Cavs really like the 7-foot Valanciunas.

7. My thought is the Cavs have their own Valanciunas, only he is more advanced. He's 7-foot Semih Erden, acquired from Boston. Erden will be 25 on July 28. He spent most of the season with Boston, and was hurt after coming to Cleveland. Erden averaged 4.0 points and shot 56 percent in 14.5 minutes a game this season. Here, he played only 64 minutes, shooting 4-of-14 with 13 points and 11 rebounds.

8. Thompson is much like Hickson when he came out of N.C. State after one year. He's a power forward whose assets are lively legs, long arms and rebounding. Hickson led the ACC in rebounding in his only season. Thompson averaged 7.8 rebounds, 4.2 on the offensive boards. He's 6-8 3/4, 230 pounds.

9. Here's a Thompson scouting report that Sports Illustrated's Seth Davis received from an NBA executive: "He's a good kid, No. 1. That can't be valued enough in this league. ... You talk about a motor! This kid goes after it. He rebounds the ball, has super long arms, blocks shots, a good defender. He's a terrible free-throw shooter and offensively, if he's not dunking it, he's in trouble. But you're not drafting him for his offense."
Cleveland Cavaliers pick Tristan Thompson in NBA draft
Enlarge Wire Services The Cleveland Cavaliers picked Tristan Thompson with the fourth pick of the NBA draft, held at the Prudential Center. MBA commissioner David Stern is on the left. (Tim Farrell/The Star-Ledger) Cleveland Cavaliers pick Tristan Thompson gallery (6 photos)

10. The good news is Thompson draws a lot of fouls, going to the line 7.2 times per game. The bad news is he shot 49 percent at the line. He did shoot 55 percent from the field, mostly near the basket. He has a 7-2 wingspan and the potential to be a good defensive player. The Cavs believe Thompson can (and must) improve at the foul line. He's only 20 and a relentless worker.

11. The Cavs compile a lot of complicated internal stats for rating prospects, much like what ESPN's John Hollinger uses. Hollinger rated Derrick Williams and Thompson as the two best big men in the draft: "Thompson and Williams had the highest ratings of any player in the Draft Rater this year, and while that doesn't come with the same assurances it does for Kyrie Irving, they both appear to be very solid prospects. Of the 13 players who rated at 15.5 or above in previous iterations, most were very successful as pros. The ones that weren't tended to fail due to injuries and lack of professionalism -- issues that shouldn't be factors for Thompson and Williams."

12. Hollinger rated Thompson the No. 3 player in the draft.

13. Clearly Byron Scott will be a good coach for Irving, but another factor is that Scott's motion offense will help the newcomer, too. It creates a lot of medium range jump shots. Irving shot 53 percent from the field, 46 percent on 3-pointers. It also features a lot of high pick-and-roll sets, an area where Irving excelled at Duke.

14. One of Irving's strengths is he draws fouls. He went to the line 6.5 times per game, and made 90 percent. That also means he's a guy who can handle the ball at the end of games because he can get fouled and make the shots, protecting leads.

15. The Cavs picked Justin Harper (No. 32) and traded him to Orlando for two future second-rounders. Yes, he's another power forward, but I kind of liked Harper. He is a long-distance shooter -- 45 percent on 3-pointers (77-of-172). He was a 58-percent shooter from 2-point range, and averaged 17.9 points and 6.9 rebounds.

16. The Cavs apparently didn't think anyone in the second round could help them now. They do like Milan Macvan, their other second-rounder. But the 6-9 power forward will remain in Europe for another year. He is 21, and has played in the top European leagues.

Sorry if that was already posted but I thought it was interesting.

Good interview with Grant, thanks rusty

Cavs could go to a Dean Smith 4 corner offense and still not have enough offensive firepower to win consistently.

http://www.stationcaster.com/player_ski ... 76&f=96941

Byron Scott on the draft.

Seth Davis of SI and CBS believes that Irving in his first eleven college games did everything better then Chris Paul did in his freshman year. Thinks he will be a fantastic pro. Says that Irving is just not smart but wise beyond his years.

Something has to give among Hickson, Samuels, Jamison.

As a 4th pick, TT has to get 20+ minutes .

Samuels is a bench player at best.

Yep.

My point is that TT should be in the regular rotation. Let him learn the game on the court.

Rusty2- Thanks for that Scott interview. His attitude concerning Irving is over the moon. The one thing Scott should know about is judging point guards.

POSTED: Saturday, Jun. 25, 2011
Cavaliers turning to free agency, assuming there will be

By JASON LLOYD - Akron Beacon Journal


Sitting in the front row at Cleveland Clinic Courts on Friday smiling and chatting prior to a press conference were Cavaliers owner Dan Gilbert and Rich Paul. Nearly one year to the day of "The Decision," Paul and the Cavaliers have been reunited.
Paul, of course, is close to LeBron James. He is also the first "R" in LRMR - James' marketing company. He is only loosely affiliated with it these days, however, since he is now working at Creative Arts Agency and breaking into the player-representation business.CAA has offices worldwide and is one of Hollywood's top talent agencies. It is also loaded with NBA megastars such as James, Carmelo Anthony and Dwyane Wade.


One of its newest clients is Cavaliers rookie forward Tristan Thompson, which is what brought Paul back to the Cavaliers. Thompson does not have any ties to LRMR, but he is represented completely by CAA.
Despite the falling out between James and the organization last summer, that never really trickled down to Paul. He has always maintained a good relationship with the Cavs, particularly General Manager Chris Grant.
"You have business and you have personal side," Paul said. "I never really got into the personal side of that (with James)."
The Cavs had been in contact with James' mother, Gloria, throughout the free-agent process last summer. Even on the morning of "The Decision," the Cavs had still been chatting with Gloria. But by early afternoon, she had stopped taking their calls. That's when it started to become clear what was happening.
As the television program was about to begin, Paul picked up the phone and called Grant to tell him what was happening.
"Nobody told me to do it," Paul said. "I just felt like it was the right thing to do."
Both Cavs rookies Thompson and Kyrie Irving have a good relationship with James. Both have referred to him over the past couple of months as a "big brother," although Irving has denied that he was ever close to signing with LRMR to handle his marketing. His agent, Jeff Wechsler, handles all facets of his career.
Since the Cavs have maintained a good working relationship with Paul, no one expects any past problems to creep into the relationship with Thompson.
As for the destroyed relationship between James and Gilbert, Paul simply hopes one day it can be fixed.
"Hopefully LeBron and Dan can see eye-to-eye with each other as two men," Paul said, "and try to move forward."
Wing contest
Since they didn't address it in the draft, the Cavaliers will turn to free agency to fill their needs at shooting guard and small forward. Of course, free agency won't begin until after a new collective bargaining agreement is signed. That doesn't seem to be happening anytime soon.
Unrestricted free agents include Tayshaun Prince, Tracy McGrady, DeShawn Stevenson, Caron Butler, Peja Stojakovic, Al Thornton, Shane Battier, Michael Redd, Jason Richardson, Jason Kapono and Andrei Kirilenko.
The Cavs think the available free agents are better stop-gap measures than anything they could've picked in this year's draft. Next year's draft, headlined by North Carolina's Harrison Barnes, is much deeper on the wings.
Labor talk
Irving, Thompson and the rest of this rookie class could end up waiting awhile before making their debut. Now that the draft has come and gone, labor negotiations will take center stage in the NBA. When they end is anybody's guess.
Executives around the league are bracing for a grueling battle. I haven't spoken to anyone who believes the season will begin before the end of the calendar year - if at all.
In preparation for the lockout, Cavs forward Samardo Samuels is leaving Cleveland for Los Angeles on July 1, since he won't be allowed into the Cavs' facility during a lockout. Samuels has been here most of the offseason working out at the facility.
The players union proposed a five-year deal last week in which the players would receive $500 million less in salary - or $100 million a year. Commissioner David Stern responded by calling the concession "modest."
It's clear at this point the owners are determined to cripple the players union, which is responding by bringing more and more players to negotiations. Players who never before paid much attention to union issues, such as Paul Pierce, Kevin Garnett, Jason Terry and Andre Iguodala are now getting more active.
What does it all mean?
The owners and players, coming off one of their highest-rated seasons ever, are about to cripple their own sport - again.
Whoops
The Minnesota Timberwolves can't seem to make it through a draft without making headlines. They did so again Thursday by drafting what seems to be an ineligible player.
The Timberwolves took Tanguy Ngombo from the Republic of Congo with the 57th pick Thursday night. DraftExpress.com reported that FIBA has documents showing Ngombo is 26 years old, not 21. If true, Ngombo would be too old to be drafted and would be considered a free agent.
Name game
The NFL has Chad Ochocinco. The NBA could soon have Metta World Peace.
Los Angeles Lakers forward Ron Artest has filed a petition in an L.A. court to officially change his name to Metta World Peace. The court will consider the petition on Aug. 26.
Artest, of course, was the central figure in the brawl at the Palace of Auburn Hills a few years back. He also thanked his therapist after winning a championship and applied for a job at Circuit City during his rookie season with the Chicago Bulls - so he could take advantage of the employee discounts.
Last word
"If he had called from his actual, real number, I probably wouldn't have picked up." - Pacers guard George Hill, who was traded on draft night from the San Antonio Spurs to Indiana. Spurs coach Gregg Popovich called Hill to break the news to him from a number Hill didn't recognize.


Read more: http://www.bellinghamherald.com/2011/06 ... z1Qc2vvEDn

Gilbert will never forgive James.

I wouldn't if I were Dan. That bridge has been burned beyond repair. It won't be fixed with Cleveland either.

The media in this country does not understand that LeBron went out of his way to screw Dan Gilbert and the Cavaliers.

Rather then accept the fact that he could not handle the pressure it was important to LeBron to blame the organization for not providing him with better players. It was if LeBron was blaming the organization for putting him in a position to fail.

This goes back all the way back to the first time that LeBron took heat for passing the ball to an lesser player instead of taking the shot himself in an important game.