Cavs rumored to be interested in Al...

[azwfan]

Cleveland Trades:
-Anderson Varejao
-19th pick
-Sasha Pavlovic

Golden State Trades:
-Al Harrington
-14th pick

This is exactly the kind of trade the Warriors should do... adding guys who can play at an NBA level, instead of actually getting rid of players like many people have recommended.

Warriors were rumored to have liked Sasha last summer (Sasha for Pietrus), adding him now helps in that Pietrus and/or Barnes are likely gone, and sure - AV duplicates some weaknesses of our front court already, but having another big on the bench and in the rotation would help a lot.

He would have to stop flopping, though.

Then at #19, Warriors could select Jason Thompson.

Addressing a potential exodus at the 3 (especially if you count AL as a 3), and adding two more big men into the rotation - brilliant!

Im curious as to why people are saying that the W's would take Jason Thompson? I think i've read this 2 or 3 times with regard to getting the 19th pick from CLE. Is there a rumor that the W's like him?

[yehyeh82]

If the Warriors make this trade, they could be targeting Ajinca. He just seems like a Nellie player, ie he's a big that can shoot. He reminds me of a taller version of Outlaw from Portland.

[yehyeh82]

Varejao plays defense and rebounds. Harrington can hit the 3. I am sorry but for playoff basketball I would rather have the younger guy that plays D and rebounds than the older guy that hoists 3 and struggles on D.

Cleveland Trades:
-Anderson Varejao
-19th pick
-Sasha Pavlovic

Golden State Trades:
-Al Harrington
-14th pick

Btw, Al also plays D, and he hits more then just 3's. What Al doesnt do is rebound and thats a known flaw.

Not to mention that Al seems like a 100 times better compliment to Ben Wallace than AV is. Talk about duplicating roles, geez. Might as well put someone who can shoot next to the black abyss that is Ben Wallace.

And I agree, Al's man D in the post is vastly underrated. His rebounding and help D stink. This isn't so obvious when you have Ben Wallace down there. Plus their contracts expire at the same time, potentially creating some cap room, I'm too lazy to look it up. Al seems like A good fit for that team.

And I'm still trying to figure out these "plenty of bigs" that Cleveland has that can shoot, especially like Al. Not too many bigs in the league that can shoot over 40% from 3 pt land. Maybe someone can help me out and remind me of someone I'm forgetting about.

[FNQ]

Im curious as to why people are saying that the W's would take Jason Thompson? I think i've read this 2 or 3 times with regard to getting the 19th pick from CLE. Is there a rumor that the W's like him?

No.. people love to fall in love w/the player they haven't seen. Happens in every draft to certain people... last year, Fazekas. 2 years prior, Cedric Simmons.

While I believe that PF/C success at a low level college is much more 'real' than a PG/SG/SF having success, the red flags on this kid are numerous - lack of awareness, lack of strength, doesnt like contact, poor defender. My big question is, since the guy had this great length and size and athleticism, why was he playing at Rider?

On the flipside, he crushed fellow draft prospect/bust JJ Hickson. Thompson is an ideal pick for a late playoff team that might be rebuilding, or a playoff team that needs another rotational big man. Still a big risk since Thompson is used to being hands down the most athletic player on the court.... and in the NBA, he'll be right in the middle of the pack. Regardless, taking him is telling the fans that we're not far away, and to be honest, I'm sick of the posturing.

[Warriors Analyst]

I'm not digging the Jason Thompson idea if we get Varajeo. There are many more players at 19 that are more sure shots and don't have as many turns offs as Thompson.

We could grab Ibaka, Ajinca, Speights, even CDR. If we want Thompson trade up in the early second. But don't waste our first on him.

[darobster17]

According to hoopshype/draft rumors/SI.com-Ian Thomsen reports that the W's have reinvited Jason Thompson to a second workout...Here's an actual quote from the article:

"I'm not so surprised,'' a Western Conference GM said. "He's pretty versatile, and he can shoot it a little bit, so I can see why Nellie [coach Don Nelson] likes him.''

"I've heard from another team in the top 15 that they're looking at Thompson too,'' a team president said.

Said another GM: "Golden State is all over the map. "They have that big trade exception [of $9.9 million from last year's trade of Jason Richardson to Charlotte;

Personally I think this could be a smokescreen to their actual pick just to throw some teams off in my opinion.

[cdubbz]

Varejao plays defense and rebounds. Harrington can hit the 3. I am sorry but for playoff basketball I would rather have the younger guy that plays D and rebounds than the older guy that hoists 3 and struggles on D.

Cleveland Trades:
-Anderson Varejao
-19th pick
-Sasha Pavlovic

Golden State Trades:
-Al Harrington
-14th pick

That is a horrible trade imo. Both players we get are way overrated. Sasha is said to be a 3-point shooter, but he stinks at shooting them...sasha vujacic is a better 3point shooter. sasha doesnt seem to do much well. Sideshow is hustle which is good, but he looks like a clown and i dont want a clown.

[old rem]

All of the circumstancial evidence points to a Harrington & 14 for Varajeo, filler, and 19 with the Warriors drafting Jason Thompson.

that's what I see as viable..with a sticking point being "filler" . A guy like Sasha P isn't big to either team. A guy like D Jones is a too pricey-but expiring deadweight (usually) . GSW might fillow up trading Sasha or trading Belli with Sasha filling the hole. Thompson + A Varajo gives 2 bigs who are rather young + mobile. AV has more NBA credentials on D,Thompson has a well rounded offense

[old rem]

Essentially,both AH and AV are high $ and incomplete PF's. They are rather opposite poles with Al a sharpshooter from 3 and Anderson having a range about = to his wingspan. AV however DOES play like his size..though not with much finnesse. The "sense" of the deal is mostly that each is actually TOO the type his team features and each team needs more of the opposite.

I'd caution against over-rating or underrating either. I think basically a deal makes sense...but I do NOT concede that AV>>>AH. Even factoring in a bit of salary gap,value is pretty close.

Someone above says Al "hoists" 3's....when he is actually a good % guy and not a "volume" chucker-especially for us. Al is also pretty good on D,has the beef to hold ground plus very good hands. Al can steal and start a break..AV can't but AV can block a shot-Al seldom does. Al has quicker feet but less hops. My complaint with Al is too few RBD's and he's not a defend the rim guy. Otherwise...he's got much nicer skills,but what Al does NOT do is the GSW weak area-so getting some improvement is good. The Cavs need usable mobility and an efficient shooter more than a size/bulk guy.

[Mylie10]

Forget Side show Bob. He duplicates Beans and he'll hurt one of our players.

I love that Nellie's messing with heads already.

Hopefully dumb trades don't just happen for trades sake.

The TE is highly unlikely, unless some high picking team wants to unload a high salary for their draft pick. But then the targetted player would have to be deemed real special. Then an Al trade would almost certainly happen to somehow offset the salary hit.

Al is a decent fit from a Cavs perspective though.