gflem wrote:Exum is out of the NBA when his contract is up. Maybe a vet min contract at best. Cedi is a bench player on a decent team, Windler is unknown, and Okoro is a rookie who has promise. So, our SF situation isn't a position of depth at this point. Our guard situation is a mess defensively, and with KPJ who knows where that is headed.
Both our starting PF and C positions could or should be gone by the dl. There is a lot to be learned this season, and while I want to be positive I still have to be realistic. I don't think running posters off the Cavs board because they aren't positive in their assessment of the current roster is a good idea. I come to these boards to talk with Cavs fans as well as other teams fans and appreciate (usually) their viewpoints.
Last season I was very critical of the Bielein hiring and all the possible downfalls that came with his hiring, and said so. I was told that he was "more than qualified", which I never said he wasn't. It turned out that much of what I said could happen in the negative sense did. Not that I am any smarter than anyone who disagreed with me, but just because we don't agree with what someone posts doesn't mean that there isn't merit in how they see the team.
Again, I think with potential trades, having to give young players minutes they haven't necessarily earned, and possible front office pushing for development over wins due to a deep draft in 2021 I just don't see the optimism some have for this upcoming season. I hope I'm wrong, but I just don't see it.
In terms of fans of other teams showing up here just to tell Cavs fans, repeatedly, how much their players suck, I'm not going to allow that as long as I'm a moderator. That's not unique to this team's forum, it's a pretty consistent standard across team forums on Realgm because it doesn't lead to constructive discussion.
I think part of the reason for the optimism is how the Cavs performed after Beilein stepped down. It also looked like, just maybe, Sexton was starting to see the floor a little better. I've been pretty vocal about believing that starting Sexton and Garland in the same backcourt is a blatant act of self-sabotage.
In my mind, a lot is going to come down to how much leeway Bickerstaff actually has from the front office in terms of balancing lineups and who he starts. I think Garland and KPJ are a better backcourt combination than Sexton and KPJ. Players like Windler, Okoro, or Cedi, who don't need to handle the ball to be as effective, are probably better matches with Sexton. If the Sexton/Garland experiment lasts for another half season though, the chances of things working out aren't good.
In terms of trading Drummond or Love, the simple fact is we don't have any young guys behind them and they're not easy pieces to move due to their current salaries. There's also the reality that if the Cavs are ever going to invest a top 10 pick in a big, it's important that the young guards learn how to play with guys like Drummond and Love now. LBJ isn't walking through the door to take the ball out of Kyrie's hands because he's treating Love like a $30M decoy. The longer bad habits are allowed to go unchecked, the harder they are to break, and if that young player is convinced he's already arrived, it's nearly impossible.