15 Man Roster

[swerb]

No brainers ...

Guards

1. Mo Williams
2. Ramon Sessions
3. Boobie Gibson

Wings

4. Anthony Parker
5. Jawad Williams
6. Jamario Moon
7. Christian Eyenga

Bigs

8. Anderson Varejao
9. Antawn Jamison
10. JJ Hickson
11. Ryan Hollins
12. Leon Powe

Leaves three spots ...

13. Joey Graham?
14. Loren Woods or Samardo Samuels
15. Manny Harris or Danny Green

Cedric Jackson, Tasmin Mitchell

Would love to see the Cavs be able to deal Parker to open up another spot for one of the yoots.

[SDM]

Harris is a keeper. Green, not so much.

[StewieG]

Graham, Samuels, Harris for the last 3. Goodbye Green, Woods, Jackson, Mitchell. Eyenga spends the entire year in NBDL.

[papacass]

Graham, Samuels, Harris for the last 3.

I tend to agree. Graham is still in the mix to start at SF, and unlike anyone else on the bubble, he has some real NBA experience.

Samuels has a developing low-post game, and that fact alone seems to make him a Byron Scott favorite.

Harris is coming on strong. Classic hustle/work guy that makes coaches drool. With his defensive performance in the fourth quarter vs. Dallas, he might have gained a definitive toehold on the last roster spot, ahead of Green.

Green is a decent player, but he's just not much of an NBA athlete. That means he needs to shoot well to be valuable, and he hasn't done that.

[Orenthal]

Samuels also has a partially guaranteed deal; he will be on the final. I think Harris beats out Green for that last spot. Graham also is guaranteed money, 2nd year team option. Green is 100% non-guaranteed.

[papacass]

One of the other quandries is what to do about Mo and Sessions. Mo has been hurt since camp, meaning Sessions is getting the lion's share of minutes at PG.

Mo and Sessions are redundant players. Undersized, quick, penetrating combo guards with mid-range jumpers and questionable defensive prowess. You can't really play Mo and Sessions in the same starting backcourt because Mo would essentially be the SG, and he's only 6'-1".

Only one can start, and that should be Sessions, who figures to be a key part of the rebuild. That means Mo comes off the bench, and it's not really a good allocation of resources to have basically another Sessions, making over $8 million a year, in a bench role.

Best case scenario would be if they could flip Mo into a position of need, like SG, SF or C. And Twan, too. Between Mo and Twan, the Cavs could have upwards of $20 million in salary committed to bench roles this season.

[Orenthal]

Sessions IMO is better suited to run the point. He is the better pat getting into the paint and finishing. He is also the better passer of the two. However, I have to see if Mo can revert to the player he was in Milwaukee. He was much more of a complete player there, then the spot-up/occasional ISO player he became with the Cavaliers.

As it stands at this point I think the Cavaliers are actually going about the building of the team in the right way. In standing pat, they are adding no marginal piece that would hinder future flexibility. The have some tradable assets, although with the crazy summer the Trade Exception has slightly lower value. There are just more of the exceptions being held by more teams.

See what you have with this team after 20 games. I am sure if at any point before and after that if someone wants Mo or 'Twan they would be dealt. If for some miracle they actually are a decent team, they can look to add.

[swerb]

Cavs waive CJax and Tasmin Mitchell. Down to 17 players.

[papacass]

If TMLP wants to rebuild this team in the mold of the '02-'08 Pistons, he'd better send Chris Grant into the field with marching orders to find guys who can (and will) D.

Byron Scott's Princeton approach to offense is all fine and dandy. At least the days of LeIso are, by necessity, a thing of the past. But this team is not wired for defense right now. They could be the Mavs in three years, or they could be the Knicks.

Just like in the NFL, defense separates the wheat from the chaff, the Mavs/Suns from the Celtics/Lakers. And defense is sure as heck the only way a team devoid of superstar talent can compete for a title.

[Orenthal]

If we needed further indication Green will be gone. DNP in tonight's game; Harris got the token minute.