#19 - Hickson

[Benedict_Boozer]

but please, don't let the facts get in the way of your unhinged ferry hatred. cuz i know it's soooo much better to have a cool GM like pritchard in portland who makes all those cool trades. sure, his team DID NOT MAKE THE PLAYOFFS this year or last and yeah, the cavs were in the finals last year and were clearly one of the the 3 best teams in this year's playoffs but who cares about that winning stuff, right? i'd much rather have the cool GM who trades a lot! yeah!

You can thank Lebron for getting this team deep in the playoffs. The roster around him would be lucky to win 20 games if he missed a season. Go back and watch the games he sat out this year and how pathetic our team looked, watch how pathetic our team looks when he comes out of games.

When Lebron looks at his peers on team USA he sees:

Kobe - Odom/Gasol/Bynum
Melo - AI/JR Smith/Camby
Kidd - Dirk/J. Howard/Terry
Dwight Howard - R. Lewis/Turkoglu

Even Wade now has Beasley/Marion.

Give Lebron that level of support and this team would roll in championships. We can't afford to screw up draft picks because of how little young talent is on this team.

This Hickson pick better pan out...

[rjgraca]

Hicks was an O.K. Pick by the CAVs.

Chad Ford of ESPN graded the CAVs with an A- stating he was the best big left with the most upside and
MSNBC sports even gave the CAVs a B for drafting Hicks. From what I have read, New Jersey had Hicks targeted for their 21st pick in the first round.

I think the big disappointment of this draft deals mainly with the filler 2nd round picks the CAVs picked up verses some of the higher profile guys like CDR that fell into the top half of the second round.

[Benedict_Boozer]

But isn't it a little early to declare that the Cavs are "standing pat"? It's not even July yet.

Alot of the guys on the block have been dealt already now.

Jefferson - Bucks
JO - Tor
Mike Miller - Minnesota
Redd - Bucks getting Jefferson shows they are trying to win now, why deal him now

Who else is even left? The Clippers with Brand/Mags and the Knicks I guess.

Unless we wait till the trading deadline

[Hydroponic3385]

But isn't it a little early to declare that the Cavs are "standing pat"? It's not even July yet.

Alot of the guys on the block have been dealt already now.

Jefferson - Bucks
JO - Tor
Mike Miller - Minnesota
Redd - Bucks getting Jefferson shows they are trying to win now, why deal him now

Who else is even left? The Clippers with Brand/Mags and the Knicks I guess.

Unless we wait till the trading deadline

Who's to say we know everyone who is on the block? Who's to say we won't sign someone significant (people completely writing off the Cavs doing so doesn't make sense to me. yes, the contract would be doubled cuz of the luxury tax, but I can't see Gilbert caring all that much. lose 10-20 million now, or 100+ million when lebron leaves?). Like I said, it's not even July, there's no reason to think nothing will get done. And the fact is, our biggest move (at least trade) is most likely to occur during the season. That's just the way it goes with expirings. Crying that we won't make any moves and it's only June makes little sense to me. And the one thing I'm upset about....I am quite perplexed about the Cavs passing up an Arthur or CDR, but obviously plenty of other teams did as well.

[Benedict_Boozer]

^Personally I think there are huge risks to hanging our hats on something at the trade deadline as well. One of our larger trade chips could get a serious injury, the better options could be moved in the offseason, etc. I could easily see a scenario where we are forced to take a less than optimal deal because the reality is that if we don't, our expirings become a waste.

There will also be mounting pressure on Ferry if he doesn't make a significant move this offseason and the Cavs don't start off well, particularly given that other teams in the East are making moves to get better. Lebron made it clear that he expects changes to be made to improve the team going into next year in his last press conference..doing nothing could frustrate him.

On top of that not having your whole team ready to roll at training camp hurts your chemistry, ability of the players to get comfortable with nuances of the system, etc.

Lots of time left as has been said, Hickson might work out, etc. But this is a VERY important offseason, we can't afford to mess this one up..

[Hydroponic3385]

I agree. We should (and probably will) make a significant move this offseason. But 1) I still feel the most value we can get with our expirings is during the season (doesn't have to be right at the deadline, just into the season) and 2) Again, it's only July. Plenty of time left in the offseason. Heck, the offseason just began.

[TheOUTLAW]

Our biggest trade chips are expirings. Their value is similar whether they are injured or no (Varejao notwithstanding).

Okay the shock of our draft has worn off. Hickson really is not that bad a pick provided he progresses. The idea is that he isn't ready and probably won't be for a few years. Provided people have been wrong about his work ethic it's not a bad pick. He's already got the body he just has to work on the refinements of the game.

[Icness]

What exactly do you complainers want at #19? Shannon Brown part 2? A lot of you (you know who you are) danced a merry jig when the Cavs drafted him in that range a couple years ago. Still want to call him, and I quote a frequent poster here, "The best possible pick the Cavs could have made."?

Let the kid play. From what little I've seen he's got very nice hands and knows how to finish around the basket, and he can play a little defense. It's not like there's a great deal of minutes to be had anyways, unless both Varejao and Joe Smith aren't back. If he can play 10-12 minutes a game and put up 4.5 points and 2 rebounds average in that time he's a success. If he figures it out quickly and has some skills, then it's easier to trade Varejao or even Z.

I've said this ad nauseum: when you are a team that makes it past the 1st round, you are not drafting for immediate need, you are drafting for what you think you're going to need 2-3 years from now. That's what Detroit does, that's what San Antonio does, that's what the Pacers and Rockets did back when they were good. The Cavs have won 6 playoff rounds in 3 years--that's not exactly an endorsement of "major need" or "panic state" in the draft. You take a guy you hope can help a little now and a lot more in a few years. I think Hickson can do that, so do a lot of people who follow the NBA Draft the way I do the NFL. Just from that experience I can tell you that most teams' fans in similar situations to the Cavs (think Broncos, Seahawks, Packers) almost universally hate their picks on draft day and then wind up flip-flopping about midseason.

[Gordon Bombay]

ice, i dont think most people are mad about the hickson pick (some might, but thats natural), i just think most people would have preferred to jump in the second round to try and make a run at cdr or chalmers

[OSTMD]

Hickson is exactly what this team needs. We are badly needing low post scoring and thats what Hickson can bring. Ive seen most of his games, I think he will be a Boozer type player, just give him a year of grooming. If he would have stayed at NC St, he probably would have been a top 10 pick if not a top 5.

We definitely did not need a player like Koufos, he would rather shoot outside than bang inside. To me we made the right pick!

[billfromBoston]

....just wanted to check in and see the board's opinion on the pick...i must say that i'm a bit disapointed...Hickson came out a year or two early, but he has lottery level talent as a two-way forward...its going to take him 3 full seasons to really get going, but I wouldn't be surprised if he flashes some things this season and is getting steady, if limited, minutes next year...

Just because there are better names on the board, does not make it a bad pick...I love the pickup...you can get wings every year late in the draft...you don't pass on the talented big man who fffed up and came out too early...