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OMFG.... OMFG.... OMFG

He's legitimately 7'0, people. I'm telling you. If the Cavs get:

Irving + Valanciunas + Irving

We will be well on our way to being a great team in the future. I'm firmly convinced the hype for Kanter is a smokescreen for Cleveland to get Jonas.

As long as his buyout isn't ridiculous I think he will be our pick. I didn't like him much a month ago but I'm starting to like the idea of taking him. He's somewhere between 3 and 6th on my board.

Its interesting you talk about the kanter hype being a smokescreen, because from what I have seen fans are the ones pushing kanter as the guy our FO likes, but I have seen reporters and sports sites suggesting we prefer Jonas to him.

Way to not post Ford's entire twitter post.

"Had a good talk with Jonas Valanciunas. Nice, humble kid. Huge hands. 7-4 wingspan. Measured 7 feet tall here. Not ready but major upside"

I am all for getting Irving plus a clone of Irving though. Totally worth a new thread by the way, kudos.

Not being ready isn't really a problem for me. Kanter and biyombo aren't ready either. The ready guys are irving, and williams for top prosepcts, and then guys like brooks and burks later on a bit.

I'm going to be really upset if the buyout is the reason the Cavs don't pick him.

I also don't really think it was meant to be a "smokescreen." Utah already has their defensive big in Favors, they need an offensive big to pair with him (Kanter). Doubt that the Cavs showing "interest" in Kanter really changed their minds at all.

Just a reminder: the problems with buyouts aren't that they cost teams money, but that players have to pay them themselves and are consequently less likely to come over until their contract is over. By NBA rules, teams can't pay more than a certain amount (maybe $500,000?) of a buyout, so the rest of a buyout is totally on the individual player to take care of.

In Valanciunas' case, that means he would have to pay $2.5 million out of his own pocket to break his contract. If he's drafted 4-6th overall, that's basically his whole salary for his first year, or nearly all of his first 2 years salary if you account for taxes. He might make that money up if he gets bigger contracts down the line...but he also might be better off finishing his current contract and getting drafted in a few years.

He is still better off coming out now, getting picked top 6, working on his game against the best competition, and banking big contracts in 4 years if he puts in the effort. Like you said, he can payoff his buyout after his first season in the NBA.

I think Kanter is and will be the better player but it doesn't mean this kid won't be a good player in the league either. If we did get him I wonder what would happen with Varejao as the two have a lot of similarities. I could see a V/V front court being a dream on the defensive end but offensively Irving would have turn into a 2001 Allen Iverson.

Baseline Runner wrote:I think Kanter is and will be the better player but it doesn't mean this kid won't be a good player in the league either. If we did get him I wonder what would happen with Varejao as the two have a lot of similarities. I could see a V/V front court being a dream on the defensive end but offensively Irving would have turn into a 2001 Allen Iverson.

I think we would have to get a pure scorer or another playmaker in the draft either in the draft (Brooks/Burks) or via free agency or trade (J.R. Smith/Mayo) if we thought about rolling out Varejao and Valanciunas.

We need to add a stud wing scorer eventually anyways. I think V will be a good scorer for his position. He plays the PnR exceptionally well, has a soft touch around the rim, and hits his freethrows. Those are skills that will translate to the next level.

Plus it will be fun to yell 'VEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE' everytime he scores. He seems very similar to what big Z could have been if not for the foot injuries.

potential gets coaches fired this is like yi2 hel suck...

kanter is way stronger, only an inch smaller, better moves, faster, tore up the summit, and coach cal said hes worthy of the number one pick.... y would you want this jonas guy besides him being 7 foot? he is the second coming of yi watch...

bgrep14 wrote:kanter is way stronger, only an inch smaller, better moves, faster, tore up the summit, and coach cal said hes worthy of the number one pick.... y would you want this jonas guy besides him being 7 foot? he is the second coming of yi watch...

second coming of yi?

how long have you been watching nba?

Steely Reserve wrote:OMFG.... OMFG.... OMFG

He's legitimately 7'0, people. I'm telling you. If the Cavs get:

Irving + Valanciunas + Irving

We will be well on our way to being a great team in the future. I'm firmly convinced the hype for Kanter is a smokescreen for Cleveland to get Jonas.

although i do agree val and irving could possibly develop into a great duo for the cavs and would basically be set for the 1 & 5, you need to pop a pill or something and chill.

nothings done until it's done and there's still a whole 9 days left.

That would be 2 mistakes in one draft, which will set your franchise back a few more years. I loved watching Irving play at duke, but to take him with the # 1 pick is just insane. The guy played in 10 games against less than stellar competition and did put up good numbers, but whos to say he wouldn't have struggled in the next 10 games? It happens every single year. He's not good enough to be a # 1 pick of a draft. If T Jones from ky would have stopped playing after his first 10 games, he would have been the #1 pick in the draft. You see what happened the rest of the season for him. Take Valanciunas over Kanter would be even more insane. Kanter will be the best player out of the entire draft in a few years. If i had the #1 pick, i would put my duke bias aside and take Kanter. Ask ky's center from last season who's the best front court player he went up against. It's not Cousins, Patterson, Orton or Jones. It's Kanter. You guys could be set up for a long time if you go with Kanter #1 and someone like Knight at #4. Regardless of what you hear, Irving and Knight are about the same in terms of skill level. Knight is just clutch. You would also get ky's insane fan base buying up all your cav's gear, which would make the cavs even more money. Go ahead and draft the big 190 big guy and watch what happens when he decides to come over. It wont be pretty.

"Maybe if I create a new username posing as a Duke fan, I can convince the Cleveland board to call Danny Ferry to not draft Kyrie Irving."

Nope. I'm a duke fan. Like i said, i'm happy Irving went #1, i just wouldn't have made the pick if i were the gm of your team. I haven't seen enough of the kid to say he's the best player available. Weak draft or not.