RealGM

it doesnt appear that the cavs will be addressing the power forward spot this offseason and they appear ready and hopeful for the internal development of hickson and jackson to round out the rest of the minutes at the 4 spot

so why not give the starting spot to jj once it is proven that he is healthy and begins his work in the offseason? he'd be much better alternative next to shaq than varejao would, can keep the defense ohonest with his mid-range game and his youthful mistakes would be less apparent next to lebron, shaq, mo and dwest...plus we'd be a much better team come playoff time if hickson were able to improve throughout the season - which should be expected given a long enough leash by mike brown

i know it probably wont come to fruition but i think its worth a shot

I saw that on RCF as a possibility. It's not a bad idea for early in the season to see how it goes.

bcortell wrote:I saw that on RCF as a possibility. It's not a bad idea for early in the season to see how it goes.

yea w&g's post got me thinking about...lets see what we got in the kid

and its not like he would get killed on nightly basis - id say theres only about 7 or so teams that we would need to worry about jj getting torched defensively, but even then, id like to see what jj can do against those guys to make him a stronger player

I'm down. Sink or swim time for JJ.

Problem is Mike Brown don't play unproven players as much. He is definitely not replacing Varejao as a starter, especially when we just gave Andy a huge extension. Better yet, I question the lack of intelligence on the court from JJ.. It's not going to happen, IMO.

I don't think that's a good idea.

Let's let him earn his minutes.

I do think he will play an important role and we need him to step up and be part of the rotation....especially when Z is on the floor. he was a first rounder last year, that shouldn't be too much to ask.

Benedict_Boozer wrote:I'm down. Sink or swim time for JJ.

this^

Frankie wrote:Problem is Mike Brown don't play unproven players as much. He is definitely not replacing Varejao as a starter, especially when we just gave Andy a huge extension. Better yet, I question the lack of intelligence on the court from JJ.. It's not going to happen, IMO.

Yea it would be to stupid to bring Varjeo off the bench that would be a horrible move. You wouldn't want to do that when you are already overpaying him. If you make his role less, the move even looks more foolish.

DeOgar wrote:

Frankie wrote:Problem is Mike Brown don't play unproven players as much. He is definitely not replacing Varejao as a starter, especially when we just gave Andy a huge extension. Better yet, I question the lack of intelligence on the court from JJ.. It's not going to happen, IMO.

Yea it would be to stupid to bring Varjeo off the bench that would be a horrible move. You wouldn't want to do that when you are already overpaying him. If you make his role less, the move even looks more foolish.

people need to realize that the varejao signing was for down the road....starting av isnt the best for this team right now

DeOgar wrote:Yea it would be to stupid to bring Varjeo off the bench that would be a horrible move. You wouldn't want to do that when you are already overpaying him. If you make his role less, the move even looks more foolish.

I don't mind having Varejao come off the bench as long as he is producing well enough to make it worth his pay. Like it has been said, it isn't how who starts, but who finishes. In this situation, I'm still expecting Andy to still be the starter. He was solid at the 4 when Wallace went down with an injury, and he played considerably well during the playoffs.

Bad idea, give yourself the best chance to win every game. home court will be huge.

Starting JJ seems unrealistic at this point. He's still recovering from his back problems so he probably hasn't had the time work hard on his game. Maybe by next seasonn JJ will become the starter.

But I could see JJ getting a lot more minutes off the bench this season now that Ben Wallace and Joe Smith are gone.

Actually, I think it will be a battle between JJ and D-Block to see which PF comes off the bench first for Varejao.

if anything i'd rather start darnell, he's shown he's a better player - at this point, than JJ is, plus, he's not coming off an injury


Mo / delonte
Parker / delonte /Boobie
LeBron / Moon / Parker
darnell / Andy / LeBron / Moon
Shaq / Z / Andy / darnell


looks reasonable..

Also, darnell has a good J, JJ doesnt.

guys starting JJ and playing him about 20 minutes would give the team more versatility and allow Varejoe and Z to play together with extra minutes going to d-block. In addition Lebron, moon and parker could form a very quick long team with jj and Varejoe.

Roger Murdock wrote:Bad idea, give yourself the best chance to win every game. home court will be huge

it sure was huge last year wasn't it <sarcasm>

its important but not an end all.. its more important to be playing the best ball possible at that time of the year.

I don't think JJ Hickson is the way to do that either though

lets hope Ferry mans up this year and makes a move at the deadline to improve the team..

DeOgar wrote: Yea it would be to stupid to bring Varjeo off the bench that would be a horrible move. You wouldn't want to do that when you are already overpaying him. If you make his role less, the move even looks more foolish.

While I understand what you are saying, the move was already made. AV got his money and the most important thing is winning even if it means paying a guy 7+ million to come off the bench. Although I am not sure I agree about starting JJ. He missed the entire offseason thus far, and probably hasn't improved much since last season. Let him earn the starting position if he is good enough.

I agree with the premise. Lets see what JJ has. It is only his second year. It took time for players such as Kendrick Perkins, Shannon Brown, and Chauncey Billups to get things together. With the need to rest Shaq this year, I oculd envision Hickson playing and learning a lot. On most nights, the Cavs should still be good enough to beat most teams.

Hickson won't be starting, at least not at first, but according to W&G(insider at RCF), Mike Brown is pretty determined to get JJ as many legitimate rotation minutes early in the season as possible.

InBoobieWeTrust wrote:Hickson won't be starting, at least not at first, but according to W&G(insider at RCF), Mike Brown is pretty determined to get JJ as many legitimate rotation minutes early in the season as possible.

Well thats good to know. I'd also like to see his minutes increase so he can finally start developing instead of rotting on the bench.

The lack of depth at PF should make JJ and D-Block to get more minutes. Which should help us in the long run because if they develop/improve we wont have to worry about the PF position anymore. And that goes double for JJ because he has a higher ceiling than D-Block.