Quick preview here, as I've only got time to get through one team right now. I'll post a few more later, but you can check out this until then.
Cleveland Cavaliers
Roster for 07-08
PG - Daniel Gibson, Eric Snow SG - Larry Hughes, Damon Jones, Shannon Brown, Ira Newble, David Wesley SF - Lebron James, Donyell Marshall PF - Drew Gooden C - Zydrunas Ilgauskas
Picks
None Zilch Nada
Well, the good news for the Cavs is that they're coming off their first finals appearance, and they've got the best young player in the game. The bad news is...well, everything else. The team is filled with bad contracts, and the two best values on their team (Sasha Pavlovic and Anderson Varejao) just expired. The Cavs desperately need to drop some of their inflated contracts, but they don't really have the assets to do so. The rapidly deteriorating Ilgauskas makes $10 million a year for the next 3 years. The ridiculously injurt-prone and ineffective Larry Hughes makes almost as much as Lebron over those same 3 years. Eric Snow and Damon Jones will make almost $11 million a year combined each of the next 2 years. Donyell Marshall will make $12 million in 2 years. To top it all off, the Cavs have no draft picks. There might not be a team in the league that has as many bad contracts as the Cavs. So what are they to do this offseason? Lebron desperately needs a point guard who can shoot, but Cleveland doesn't have the money to sign Chauncey Billups or the assets to trade for Mike Bibby. They need to resign Anderson Varejao, and they probably don't have the space to keep both he and Pavlovic (depending on how much each asks for). As much as Cavs fans might hate this, the proper answer might be to wait for next year. In the 08 offseason, they would have 3 expiring contracts to trade (Marshall, Jones, and Snow), and they could package them to someone rebuilding to get something back (Gilbert Arenas in a sign™ anyone?). The likelihood of moving Big Z or Hughes is low, though they might find takers for Hughes (his value is really low right now though), so they're stuck with those contracts.
What Should They Do: Resign Varejao as long as the price is right, and let Pavlovic go unless he's real cheap. Wait till next year when you actually have some assets to make a move. If you can find someone who will take either Z or Hughes for a reasonable value (maybe as being a facilitator in a big superstar trade), go for it.
What They Will Do: They'll probably overpay to keep both Varejao and Pavlovic and handicap their contract situation even more. The rumor is that they want to try and trade into the first round, though what exactly they plan to trade is beyond me. If they can find someone stupid enough to give them a draft pick for what is on their roster, so much the better for them.
Another great piece. You're far and away my favorite blogger on this site.
I agree, the Cavs have their hands tied. Thank god they're in the East, else these guys would have serious problems. Gotta figure they'll work something out, Lebron DID sign a shorter deal than anticipated.
I think Cleveland will make a play for Zach Randolph, but I'm not sure who Portland would take in return. Randolph would be a better player to play alongside Lebron than Drew Gooden.
lakersfan - Thanks, I'm flattered. LA will be coming up in the next few days. I'm running through in alphabetical order, so it'll be either Saturday or Sunday, depending on how many I can plow through. I'm kind of dreading LA though, it's a mess over there.
PF - I don't think Cleveland has the assets to get Randolph. They really don't have much of anything to offer other teams, and the best they can do this offseason is try to be a trade facilitator for one of the superstars and drop some bad contracts in a 3-way deal.
-I agree with Lakers fan, what's with that I'll never be a sports writer BS, you better than some of the guys on Foxsports man.
-I think the Cavs need to try and cash in on their finals apperance and get some veteran to sign on for minimal money. They might not be able to offer someone like Grant Hill the big bucks for next season, but they are a "contending" team (in the east anyway) and they could take care of him later, when they get all their bad contracts sorted.
kz - thanks for the support. I wish I could write about sports for a living, but a lot of good writers never get the chance to do that.
I don't know if the Cavs have the kind of pull to bring in someone like Hill. If I were Hill, I'd alreay be booking my plane ticket to San Antonio, cause that would be a nuts addition to the championship favorite. If Grant wants a ring, that's the place to go.
