jbk1234 wrote:I really better not end up hearing that a team like Dallas offered that GS 2nd for TT and we passed. The idea that there's a first waiting out there for TT in a S&T scenario, on the contract he wants, is delusional. Also, if you ask me which of Drummond, TT or Henson (on a bargain contract) were the best options going forward at center, I think I'm taking the latter. Both TT and Drummond are vastly overrated on the defensive end.
Drummond at least is a legitimate offensive threat but I hope that Sexton and Garland have their medical insurance paid up because if they start freezing him out, there's going to be some furniture moving in the locker room. Drummond isn't exactly a Beilein center. Like does our F.O. think through these issues or are we just evaluating value in a vacuum?
The idea of leveraging Drummond and TT against each other this summer strikes me as LOL dumb. Pitting those two together in that situation seems like a recipe for great locker room chemistry for the rest of the year. The only leverage you should need is we think you're worth around the MLE, we think that's where the center market is going for non-superstar centers, and if we're wrong, let some poorly managed team prove us wrong.
I don't think Andre has any sort of a rep as a locker-room cancer, and worst case both he and TT just have to ride out the season, so should be no big whooop for them. The real question is does this move make Kevin any happier?
Also, if Drummond was one of our free-agent targets this Summer, this is a great way for both sides to evaluate each other.
One problem with Tristan is that he was both clogging up the middle AND not finishing well on those inside passes. Drummond will make a great target for everyone and that will encourage everyone to pass more. As for defense, he's clearly an upgrade as far as a physical presence in the paint. He will help our guards.
So while he's not an ideal Beilein big, he should at least give us a preview of what a bigger C who gives us a better inside presence will do for the team. Interesting info going in to this next draft.
And if it actually works out?
We can forgo worrying about drafting a big like Wiseman, for a more proven wing. I suppose we could draft him just for development purposes, but that would be a luxury. Drummond is basically one possible outcome of what you get when you draft a young/raw 7 footer with a lot of question marks and develop him for 5 or 6 years.
Tristan best attribute is his motor and ability to switch on D, and all of that seems compromised with him starting and playing through an 82 game grind against C's when he's really a PF. If he would accept that? Maybe he has a future with the team.
What's kind of cool is teams kept telling the Cavs that they didn't want to give up anything for TT or Kevin, and instead of caving, the Cavs instead figured ... hmm ... where can we get a new big man for nothing? And they found one.
Andre's biggest problem since College has been focus & motivation. When he feels like it, he's an All-Star caliber player. When he plays with the right lineups he's been very effective. But he's a good kid, and I think he'll get along well enough with other players and fans.
He's about the right age to mature in to a professional and stop "drifting".
We shall see ...