who they need to get this off season!!!

[drewd]

First Resign Sasha and Varejao!

then upgrade to these players and cut the right players

[psk678]

Yeah maybe we could get some more washed up ex-cavs. Maybe even Hot-Rod Williams is available....

Get real dude, if you resign Sasha, then whats the point of looking at Kapono? They're virtually the same player.

Mihm? I scoff at the mere notion.

If there is one guy we should go after, it is Rashard Lewis. He could be the missing link this team needs. He can score when LeBron is on the bench and would be a perfect #2 threat. If there is any way we can dump Larry Hughes , we should jump at it.

I do agree with cutting the fat with all of those bums you mentioned.

[Madre Hill, Superstar]

Its not the offseason yet.

[Mr. MacPhisto]

Mihm? I scoff at the mere notion.

I don't scoff at Mihm. He's a better player now and can provide some offense off the bench at center while allowing us to rest Z without having center become a blackhole on offense.

If there is one guy we should go after, it is Rashard Lewis. He could be the missing link this team needs. He can score when LeBron is on the bench and would be a perfect #2 threat. If there is any way we can dump Larry Hughes , we should jump at it.

Lewis should be a target and the only way to get that done would be a sign-and-trade with Hughes being involved. The good news is that Hughes would fit better in Seattle. Hughes is a driver who creates by moving towards the basket. He needs others around him to draw defenders while stretching the floor. Ray Allen fits this mold. They also have a decent enough PG in Ridnour and will have an inside presence in either Durant or Oden.

Hughes would give them something in return for Lewis and it'd likely be a larger deal. They might also want a guy like Varejao thrown into a trade and I'd be interested in doing a Snow-for-Watson swap as part of it. Snow's shorter contract may be appealing to Seattle. Ira Newble's expiring contract can also play a factor, though that could be used elsewhere.

[mswerb]

Why go after Boykins AND Bibby?

[pup]

You guys know we are about to play in the NBA Finals, right? Let's talk off season in a couple weeks. Once we have the trophy, our plans might be a little different.

[FUDU]

bump...accidentally of course.

[mswerb]

I STILL think Varejao is a turd. We need a point guard and another go to big man.

[jb]

Mihm? I scoff at the mere notion.

I don't scoff at Mihm. He's a better player now and can provide some offense off the bench at center while allowing us to rest Z without having center become a blackhole on offense.

If there is one guy we should go after, it is Rashard Lewis. He could be the missing link this team needs. He can score when LeBron is on the bench and would be a perfect #2 threat. If there is any way we can dump Larry Hughes , we should jump at it.

Lewis should be a target and the only way to get that done would be a sign-and-trade with Hughes being involved. The good news is that Hughes would fit better in Seattle. Hughes is a driver who creates by moving towards the basket. He needs others around him to draw defenders while stretching the floor. Ray Allen fits this mold. They also have a decent enough PG in Ridnour and will have an inside presence in either Durant or Oden.

Hughes would give them something in return for Lewis and it'd likely be a larger deal. They might also want a guy like Varejao thrown into a trade and I'd be interested in doing a Snow-for-Watson swap as part of it. Snow's shorter contract may be appealing to Seattle. Ira Newble's expiring contract can also play a factor, though that could be used elsewhere.

Mac - why not Chauncey? I don't think he is alegit 1st or 2nd team NBA player, but he IS a damn fine point guard who can score, too. Is it really so crazy that we couldn't structure a backloaded contract?

[Madre Hill, Superstar]

How about Hughes to Charlotte? They need a driver and defender to pair with Morrison, have cap space like whoa, and have a spare PG to deal: Either Knight or Felton. The only hangup is getting 45 to buy in on the deal, I'm not sure if/how he and Larry interacted in Washington but maybe Lebron could help work something out for his idol and his buddy.

[FUDU]

They need a driver and defender to pair with Morrison,

So why would they want Hughes then?

[leadpipe]

There have been many poor GM's in the history of the NBA, (unfortunately the Cavs have had some beauts) however, I'm not sure there is one dumb enough to take Hughes. Again, that contract is ridiculous. 13 million in 08/09 14 plus in 09/10. This is for a guy with a long injury history as well.

[Madre Hill, Superstar]

You're right, nobody in their right mind would take such a contract.

Sincerely,
Shawn Kemp, Raef LaFrentz, and half of the New York Knicks roster

[jfiling]

You're right, nobody in their right mind would take such a contract.

Sincerely,
Shawn Kemp, Raef LaFrentz, and half of the New York Knicks roster

Vin Baker sends his regards.

[StewieG]

I guarantee someone would be dumb enough to take Hughes and his contract. Ferry has to be smart enough to trade him now, and to find the team that's that dumb.

[leadpipe]

You're right, nobody in their right mind would take such a contract.

Sincerely,
Shawn Kemp, Raef LaFrentz, and half of the New York Knicks roster

Note that I said there are stupid GM's out there. Those are exceptions rather than rules. I'll be dancing the soft shoe and gladly admit I'm wrong if someone takes Hughes, but I don't see it.

Paxson patted himself on the back over getting rid of the Kemp contract...and left them where. He also liked to take credit for getting rid of Kevin Ollie's contract. Problem with the kudos there was A. He signed him in the first place and B. He relaced it with a much worse contract that has the Cavs paying Eric Snow a sick amount of money two years from now.

We went over this at the trade deadline and I suppose we'll go over it in the off season, but AT BEST they've left themselves in a very tough position to get better. Can it be done? I suppose, but it's going to be much more difficult than it should be.

[Madre Hill, Superstar]

We went over this at the trade deadline and I suppose we'll go over it in the off season, but AT BEST they've left themselves in a very tough position to get better. Can it be done? I suppose, but it's going to be much more difficult than it should be.

I really don't see it. The salary cap's working against us, but its not as if Ferry has no bullets left in his clip. To start, let me run down the key players on recent champs:

San Antonio: Duncan (draft), Parker (draft), Ghinobli (draft), Bowen (trashheap)
Miami: Wade (draft), Shaq (Kobe hissy-fit)
Detroit: Big Ben (trade), Billups (trashheap), Sheed (trade/trashheap), Prince (draft), Hamilton (trade?)
Lakers: Kobe (draft), Shaq (sign 'n trade)

Considering where Ferry's been schooled from I would imagine he knows you make your money on the draft. We've already scored Boobie and Brown, and if they both pan out they make Hughes superfluous. This is the last year we pay penance to Embry and Paxson's misuse of first-round picks, so we're good to go there. If he's looking to deal, maybe to get back into this year's draft, he's got Sasha, Gooden, and Newble's contract as chips.

Going forward with Lebron, Boobie, Brown, and Varejao as Z's heir apparent, I think the future's pretty good, and there's no reason not to think we can add more pieces to make it better.

[leadpipe]

Andy is not the heir apparent to Z. He's not strong enough to play 35 minutes, he's limited offensively and the refs are on the the flop-a-minute deal. Also, someone is going to overpay the guy this off-season. I'm not sure how high you match, because of the above reasons. Look, I'll agree with you that it's not impossible. I like Ferry's draft and I don't blame him for the limited free agents he signed. I just think without a pick in a very deep draft and a financial situation which is a mess at best he's really going to have to work some magic. He should just be able to do a nice job, the previous management is forcing him to be a genius.

Lastly, again, man, I hope I'm the wrong one in this debate.

[FUDU]

What about Lebron this off season, what does he need to do?

IMO his priority list needs to look like this.

Free throws. Before and after he works on improving everything else he needs to significantly improve at the line. He needs to be no less than a 79% FT shooter but in reality closer to a 83-84 % shooter.

Then he needs to work on his mid range game.

Get more comfortable in the post.

Improve from the 3 point arc.

...and IMO the last thing he should work on in his D. He needs to improve there but I feel he needs to become more proficient at all the other aspects of his offensive game first. I think he helps this team more by making more strides offensively than defensively.

[OSU Bucks Crazy]

yea that guy is right shop hughes around n see wut retard will pick up that money, then i'd go after gerald wallace or dare i even say..........billups?????

an old gaurd that plays D(E Snow) but can acctually shoot a bee bee into the ocean.

[leadpipe]

What about Lebron this off season, what does he need to do?

IMO his priority list needs to look like this.

Free throws. Before and after he works on improving everything else he needs to significantly improve at the line. He needs to be no less than a 79% FT shooter but in reality closer to a 83-84 % shooter.

Then he needs to work on his mid range game.

Get more comfortable in the post.

Improve from the 3 point arc.

...and IMO the last thing he should work on in his D. He needs to improve there but I feel he needs to become more proficient at all the other aspects of his offensive game first. I think he helps this team more by making more strides offensively than defensively.

I agree with this. I would also add that he needs to get with Brown and make sure he gets some work in the post. (How, with his passing skills this didn't become apparent to Brown during the course of the year I'll never know. The 22 year old that never really had to post at another level gets the pass here. A good coach gets this done) Also, if the point guard situation stays the same, they just have to find some way of getting the guy the ball. Handing it to him at the time line is making the guys life miserable, especially in the playoffs, where the better defensive teams can easily extend. I think James will keep working, but they gotta meet him half way.

[Hi Oktane]

Not sure I'm sold that Bibby is the answer, though he would certainly be an upgrade at the PG position.

That said, if this happens, chances of acquiring Bibby and unloading Snow's contract may be better given Larry Brown's well-known man-crush on E-Snow.

[Hi Oktane]

What would it take to land Jermaine O'neal this offseason?

[Hi Oktane]

What would it take to land Jermaine O'neal this offseason?

Indiana Pacers

Incoming Players
Kevin Ollie
Salary: $3,196,050 Years Remaining: 2
PTS: 3.8 REB: 1.4 AST: 2.5 PER: 8.44

Larry Hughes
Salary: $13,363,012 Years Remaining: 4
PTS: 14.9 REB: 3.8 AST: 3.7 PER: 12.17

Drew Gooden
Salary: $6,645,402 Years Remaining: 3
PTS: 11.1 REB: 8.5 AST: 1.1 PER: 16.59


Outgoing Players: Jermaine O'Neal, Marquis DanielsPhiladelphia 76ers

Philadelphia 76ers

Incoming Players
Eric Snow
Salary: $6,093,750 Years Remaining: 3
PTS: 4.2 REB: 2.3 AST: 4.0 PER: 8.67

Marquis Daniels
Salary: $5,883,600 Years Remaining: 3
PTS: 7.1 REB: 1.8 AST: 1.3 PER: 11.67

Daniel Gibson
Salary: $412,718 Years Remaining: 2
PTS: 4.6 REB: 1.5 AST: 1.2 PER: 9.39


Outgoing Players: Kevin Ollie, Andre MillerCleveland Cavaliers

Cleveland Cavaliers

Incoming Players
Jermaine O'Neal
Salary: $18,084,000 Years Remaining: 3
PTS: 19.4 REB: 9.6 AST: 2.4 PER: 18.86

Andre Miller
Salary: $8,966,666 Years Remaining: 3
PTS: 13.4 REB: 4.4 AST: 7.8 PER: 16.18


Outgoing Players: Eric Snow, Larry Hughes, Drew Gooden, Daniel Gibson

[pup]

Laura, Gooden, Andy

for

KG

We can throw in the Newble contract.

Don't we still have a trade exemption?

[Mr. MacPhisto]

Laura, Gooden, Andy

for

KG

We can throw in the Newble contract.

Don't we still have a trade exemption?

Yes, we still do have a trade exception. It may not do much good in any Garnett good, especially with Varejao likely being a BYC player when any trade goes down. The trade exceptions don't work with the 125%+100K rule for trades so the salaries have to match or we have to take back less than what we give. The exception is $2.1M, so it could be used to balance out Varejao's BYC status - maybe.

Newble and/or Wesley can be used to get back into the draft and grab a first rounder if Ferry chooses to do it, though we'll have to likely take a bad contract back for it to work.

Newble, Wesley, and the trade exception can net us a $7M salary from a team that wants to clear cap space after the upcoming season.

[pup]

Thanks Mac.

[Dozen]

Laura, Gooden, Andy

for

KG

We can throw in the Newble contract.

Don't we still have a trade exemption?

Cmon Pup, I would have a better chance at taking a Mcdonalds cheeseburger to Pickle bills and trading it for some crab legs.

[pup]

Cmon Pup, I would have a better chance at taking a Mcdonalds cheeseburger to Pickle bills and trading it for some crab legs.

That is not as far fetched as it may seem. They are moving him and you could do a lot worse than three guys that will start next year. Unless they get Amare from Phoenix, this would be one of the better offers they receive.

Like many have said, the Larry Hughes you saw is not what people would expect out of him in a different situation.

Verajo is a very good center in the up pace West.

Gooden gets you a double double in the West, nightly.

If we had a pick to offer them, this would have a better shot. Maybe we will have to throw Boobie in as well.

[Dozen]

Unless they get Amare from Phoenix, this would be one of the better offers they receive

Then he will stay with Minn. They aint giving him up for that even if its the best offer they get.

[Mr. MacPhisto]

Then he will stay with Minn. They aint giving him up for that even if its the best offer they get.

I don't know. Big superstars have been traded for less. It happens in the NBA because of the limitations on trades. If Garnett is going to be a malcontent then Minnesota might just prefer to be done with him.

I don't think Cleveland is the destination, though. Even though they're in the same division, I think Jermaine O'Neal is the more likely target and possibility.