2021-22 regular season thread

[jbk1234]

Painful, but not surprising. The Cavs assembled a transition team that over-achieved and was unable to continue overachieving.

It’s time to move Love as an expiring salary. Lauri will fill the stretch big role adequately.

He can be paired with Okoro, the player drafted, and 2025 & 2027 picks in whatever combinations.

Need a two-way wing, backup PG, and a veteran big in the Kendrick Perkins vein; and need to swing for the fence on the first one.


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I would hope that the LeVert trade has taught the F.O. a lesson on moving expiring contracts just for the sake of moving them. Also, Love and Rondo were two of our best players against the Nets.

That isn’t what is being suggested.


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I figured, but it's not entirely a theoretical exercise. If the wing isn't better than LeVert, than you're just burning through assets while not getting what you actually need. If the wing is considerably better than LeVert, then he's probably going to have to demand to come here for that type of return.

[JonFromVA]

The pick does give us something tangible to send to LA if LeBron wants to come home (again), and they actually have a decent track record with their picks.

[cavs4872]

Painful, but not surprising. The Cavs assembled a transition team that over-achieved and was unable to continue overachieving.

It’s time to move Love as an expiring salary. Lauri will fill the stretch big role adequately.

He can be paired with Okoro, the player drafted, and 2025 & 2027 picks in whatever combinations.

Need a two-way wing, backup PG, and a veteran big in the Kendrick Perkins vein; and need to swing for the fence on the first one.


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I'm not really convinced this season is something to write off so easily. The Cavs had a really weird illogical situation that worked, and then when you try to normalize it (such as bringing in LeVert), it doesn't work. Markkanen played best as a SF with Mobley and Allen, not as a PF. It kind of reminds me of when Ty Lue was obsessed with playing Jae Crowder at PF until he finally realized it wasn't working.

I mean, we obviously couldn't continue overachieving cause of injuries... I'm still convinced that a healthy opening day roster for this team could contend for a title. The end of this all is just really hard for me to accept cause we were obviously done unfairly - undermanned we go into Brooklyn and lose to KD and Kyrie, and then Trae comes and goes nuclear and then that's the end of the season... like bruh.

I just wanted one damn series of this team with Allen in the lineup to see what this team is truly made of, and we didn't get to see it, and we deserved to -- that's why this all is so hard for me to swallow.

Allen played one-handed last night. He only had three rebounds. I'm actually a bit relieved we didn't win because he would've continued to play hurt against Bam, and I'm inclined to believe the Cavs would've let him, and that would've been stupid.

That's true... technically Allen shouldn't have played vs ATL (though the situation called for it; he made the right decision and I'm glad he did though). I don't really care about this team in the playoffs without him cause they're not going anywhere.

So he gets the offseason to rehab and then hopefully we have an injury-free next season... sigh. Part of me wonders if Allen would've potentially taken Game 1 off. We would've gotten our ass handed to us then. Maybe the play-in was indeed a blessing and we're not ready yet.

[jbk1234]

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[ijspeelman]

Thoughts on the season:

1) I do not want Garland to become a heliocentric point guard. I think the Cavs will get a lot of mileage from finding ways to play Garland both on and off ball. I would hope that Garland is watching a lot Curry film this off-season.

2) I am lower on Sexton and higher on LeVert than most. Sexton as a starter is the opposite of the player we need in the starting lineup (unless he can shoot twice as many 3's at similar volume and expand his playmaking diet, but those are big if's). Sexton off the bench in a high efficiency Jordan Clarkson-esque role could be legitimately great, but I still worry about the low volume three's. The idea of LeVert is a great complimentary piece to Garland, spot-up shooters, and lob threats. The actual LeVert we got this season is not. If the coaching can hone in his skills and remove the waste from his game (pull-up threes/long two's + iffy shot selection up close) then I think he could be a great secondary playmaker in this offense. As others have said, he has a great lay-down game with his PNR partners and is good at finding the extra pass. His turn-around jump shot within 15ft is reliable enough to be a safety valve and his catch-and-shoot three's are surprisingly high efficiency.

3) Our guys need to learn to trust each other on defense. There is so much over-helping each game that leads to open three point shots. I think this is a combo of coaching and personnel since the game-plan seems to be to shrink the paint at all times, but without better communication these leaves good three point shooters wide open when the other teams' primary scorer is rolling.

4) I decided to watch a few games over this season and just watch Isaac Okoro and I was surprised to be reaffirmed about my idea about him on offense. The gameplan on almost all plays excluding out-of-timeout plays is for him to stand in the corner at all times. Okoro honestly had a pretty breakout second half of the season for three point efficiency, but for him to be a starter on this team we need him to double or even triple volume. This will not happen if he does not move on offense.

5) Point 4 brings up the wider point I've been preaching all year and the point that I think can elevate our team to the greatest heights. Movement, movement, movement. Our offense is stagnant and predictable. Watch any playoff team the next few days and watch how much movement each set has off-ball and then find a way to watch some Cavs b-ball from this season. The difference is wild.

6) Team needs: Backup PG (Sorry Rondo... without movement, his type of playmaking is near worthless), Starting/Backup Wing (this is more dependent on Okoro and Markkanen, and where they stand next season. I actually really enjoyed Lauri this season, but in this team I'd rather him take over for Love then play him as our starting SF. I am down for Okoro to start again next season if he can bump his volume to 5-6 three's/gm rather than his 2/gm and shoot 35-36%), Backup center (I think I'd be down to keep Brown for next season, but in a perfect world we'd have someone like a younger Ed Davis who can guard 3-5, is a competent rim runner and rebounder).

Final thoughts: Great season that crumbled down due to injury. We have a large window (4-8 years) to become better and start competing in the playoffs. We leave the season with a few questions.

Is JB the coach for the future? For me, its still up in the air. He seems to be a great player's coach and did get the guys all trying on defense. I think his offense is sorely needing an upgrade. I will be more ready to judge him at the end of next season.

Who starts at the wing spots next season beside Garland, Mobley, and Allen? In a vacuum, the easy answer is two shooters, one who can defend well and one who can be a secondary playmaker. Currently, we have below average shooters (volume or efficiency) who in theory provide their respective roles.

Do we trade K Love/Sexton/Cedi/FRP? Glad I am not the GM for this question.

[toooskies]

Just figured out why Collin Sexton switched to Klutch. The Caris LeVert writing was on the wall and Sexton and LeVert shared an agent with CAA, Austin Brown. It's likely that there was some kind of falling out once Sexton realized he was sharing an agent with his primary teammate competitor and switched to Garland's agent, who clearly isn't competition anymore now that they have distinct roles.

So it may not have been so much a move to extract as much money as possible, but rather just eliminating his conflict of interest with his agent.

[JonFromVA]

Just figured out why Collin Sexton switched to Klutch. The Caris LeVert writing was on the wall and Sexton and LeVert shared an agent with CAA, Austin Brown. It's likely that there was some kind of falling out once Sexton realized he was sharing an agent with his primary teammate competitor and switched to Garland's agent, who clearly isn't competition anymore now that they have distinct roles.

So it may not have been so much a move to extract as much money as possible, but rather just eliminating his conflict of interest with his agent.

Oh, I suspect there's more to it, after all if Collin was simply concerned with a conflict of interest (that had the potential to benefit him), he could have just switched to a different agent inside CAA.

I suspect there was a misjudgement by Brown that upset Collin that became clear when the Cavs traded for LeVert. The Cavs may very well had cost Collin $5M to $10M/yr in free agency by signing Caris, and perhaps he felt he needed to re-gain some of the leverage he lost. Maybe he even expected Brown to somehow prevent the deal?

With Darius ascending to franchise player, signing with Klutch is potentially a means to leverage their friendship and we know RP isn't afraid to ignore market value and leverage relationships between his clients.

Plus there was that strange depressed sounding Instagram post shortly after the trade.

[jbk1234]

Just figured out why Collin Sexton switched to Klutch. The Caris LeVert writing was on the wall and Sexton and LeVert shared an agent with CAA, Austin Brown. It's likely that there was some kind of falling out once Sexton realized he was sharing an agent with his primary teammate competitor and switched to Garland's agent, who clearly isn't competition anymore now that they have distinct roles.

So it may not have been so much a move to extract as much money as possible, but rather just eliminating his conflict of interest with his agent.

Oh, I suspect there's more to it, after all if Collin was simply concerned with a conflict of interest (that had the potential to benefit him), he could have just switched to a different agent inside CAA.

I suspect there was a misjudgement by Brown that upset Collin that became clear when the Cavs traded for LeVert. The Cavs may very well had cost Collin $5M to $10M/yr in free agency by signing Caris, and perhaps he felt he needed to re-gain some of the leverage he lost. Maybe he even expected Brown to somehow prevent the deal?

With Darius ascending to franchise player, signing with Klutch is potentially a means to leverage their friendship and we know RP isn't afraid to ignore market value and leverage relationships between his clients.

Plus there was that strange depressed sounding Instagram post shortly after the trade.

This is why the Cavs need to offer Garland a max extension this summer and just be done with it. Let Klutch go to Darius and tell him they don't want him to sign it because of Sexton's contract - while they're getting sued by Noel. I would not play that game again.

[JonFromVA]

Just figured out why Collin Sexton switched to Klutch. The Caris LeVert writing was on the wall and Sexton and LeVert shared an agent with CAA, Austin Brown. It's likely that there was some kind of falling out once Sexton realized he was sharing an agent with his primary teammate competitor and switched to Garland's agent, who clearly isn't competition anymore now that they have distinct roles.

So it may not have been so much a move to extract as much money as possible, but rather just eliminating his conflict of interest with his agent.

Oh, I suspect there's more to it, after all if Collin was simply concerned with a conflict of interest (that had the potential to benefit him), he could have just switched to a different agent inside CAA.

I suspect there was a misjudgement by Brown that upset Collin that became clear when the Cavs traded for LeVert. The Cavs may very well had cost Collin $5M to $10M/yr in free agency by signing Caris, and perhaps he felt he needed to re-gain some of the leverage he lost. Maybe he even expected Brown to somehow prevent the deal?

With Darius ascending to franchise player, signing with Klutch is potentially a means to leverage their friendship and we know RP isn't afraid to ignore market value and leverage relationships between his clients.

Plus there was that strange depressed sounding Instagram post shortly after the trade.

This is why the Cavs need to offer Garland a max extension this summer and just be done with it. Let Klutch go to Darius and tell him they don't want him to sign it because of Sexton's contract - while they're getting sued by Noel. I would not play that game again.

Oh, it's not like Rich asked LeBron to hold up his contract extension to make sure JR and TT got paid ... as the franchise player he just made it known he needed them back.

But whether Garland actually takes a 5 year deal will be interesting ...

[JonFromVA]

It's a shame we couldn't be healthy and hot at the end of the season with a number of teams looking a lot weaker than expected and/or dealing with their own injuries, there was a window to have some fun.

[jbk1234]

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[JonFromVA]

Kevin still has his limitations and nobody is going to forget it, but he gave us more than we could have dreamed, so kudos to him.

Most of all, he was mature, was the veteran leader for this group we always hoped he could be, and most importantly the team was better when he was on the floor than off.

[JonFromVA]

The Cavs have reportedly added Luke Walton to the coaching staff.

Hopefully he can help us develop an offense.

[jbk1234]

The Cavs have reportedly added Luke Walton to the coaching staff.

Hopefully he can help us develop an offense.

I really liked him as a player here (even if I disliked the fact he messed up the tank running that second unit). If we get the right type of backup PG, then we can can unlock some things in both units.

[babyjax13]

What do people make of the Conley for LeVert rumors? I find them a bit odd because how to fill in a trade is really unclear. Seems like Conley might know he's gone and just wants to be as close to home as possible and so his agent is working the phones to get him back to Ohio?

Salary-wise Levert + Lauri for Conley + Royce works, but I think value is owed to CLE and I frankly don't want to give it because I don't like either player that much

Levert + Cedi for Conley works, but we don't really have value to add in return

Love for Conley + filler works, and maybe? we'd be interested

Conley did help Mitchell develop a lot so if that is a Cleveland-based leak then it might mean they are hoping Mike can do the same for Garland and Sexton.

[jbk1234]

What do people make of the Conley for LeVert rumors? I find them a bit odd because how to fill in a trade is really unclear. Seems like Conley might know he's gone and just wants to be as close to home as possible and so his agent is working the phones to get him back to Ohio?

Salary-wise Levert + Lauri for Conley + Royce works, but I think value is owed to CLE and I frankly don't want to give it because I don't like either player that much

Levert + Cedi for Conley works, but we don't really have value to add in return

Love for Conley + filler works, and maybe? we'd be interested

Conley did help Mitchell develop a lot so if that is a Cleveland-based leak then it might mean they are hoping Mike can do the same for Garland and Sexton.

Fair warning, that rumor was started by Fedor on a spit balling podcast where he base laid out like 20 different moves the Cavs could make. I, personally, hope that Altman wouldn't tie up next year's cap space for Conley. But if it were to happen, it would happen after the draft and once free agency started to wind down.

If we sign Sexton to a deal north of $16M per, then it's hard to see LeVert remaining in the team's long term plans and next year's cap space would be of less value. Conversely, if a guy like Daniels falls to the Cavs at No. 14, and/or Rubio re-signs, then we're not trading for Conley. He's basically option C as backup PG making $20M per. At the very least, I'd hope the Cavs get some type of draft capital out of that swap or balance the added salary by including an O'Neal/Cedi swap.

By all accounts the Cavs as an organization are very pleased with Lauri so I'm not seeing that part at all. There are fans that are meh, but the team is happy with the acquisition, how he performed, and Love is likely gone next summer.

[babyjax13]

What do people make of the Conley for LeVert rumors? I find them a bit odd because how to fill in a trade is really unclear. Seems like Conley might know he's gone and just wants to be as close to home as possible and so his agent is working the phones to get him back to Ohio?

Salary-wise Levert + Lauri for Conley + Royce works, but I think value is owed to CLE and I frankly don't want to give it because I don't like either player that much

Levert + Cedi for Conley works, but we don't really have value to add in return

Love for Conley + filler works, and maybe? we'd be interested

Conley did help Mitchell develop a lot so if that is a Cleveland-based leak then it might mean they are hoping Mike can do the same for Garland and Sexton.

Fair warning, that rumor was started by Fedor on a spit balling podcast where he base laid out like 20 different moves the Cavs could make. I, personally, hope that Altman wouldn't tie up next year's cap space for Conley. But if it were to happen, it would happen after the draft and once free agency started to wind down.

If we sign Sexton to a deal north of $16M per, then it's hard to see LeVert remaining in the team's long term plans and next year's cap space would be of less value. Conversely, if a guy like Daniels falls to the Cavs at No. 14, and/or Rubio re-signs, then we're not trading for Conley. He's basically option C as backup PG making $20M per. At the very least, I'd hope the Cavs get some type of draft capital out of that swap or balance the added salary by including an O'Neal/Cedi swap.

By all accounts the Cavs as an organization are very pleased with Lauri so I'm not seeing that part at all. There are fans that are meh, but the team is happy with the acquisition, how he performed, and Love is likely gone next summer.

Good to know, thank you!

I'd be willing to do Conley + Royce for LeVert + whatever but we don't have any draft capital we would or should part with unless there is a meaningful upgrade. Overall it just did not make much sense as a rumor to me, and the context of it being pure speculation makes more sense.