Written by Demetri Inembolidis

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The Dan Patrick Show:

Byron Scott was a guest on the Dan Patrick Show on Thursday.  Among the topics discussed were the Cavs draft and the recent addition of Steve Nash to the Lakers.  Although the draft was a week ago, the Cavaliers coach was still beaming about the addition of Dion Waiters and Tyler Zeller.  Because this was a national forum, the topic of LeBron James came up.  Byron Scott was also "happy for LeBron" for silencing critics.  Byron Scott reiterated that he is "willing to go through the process" and expressed his desire to be patient with the Cavaliers rebuild and said that he feels the franchise is going in the right direction.  The episode can be found on iTunes and is a good listen for Cavs fans. 

Steve Nash:

The NBA is a tricky league.  The Cavs are far away from contending, yet the trade that the Lakers made for Steve Nash could affect the franchise.  Many Cavs fans were concerned with what kind of impact this trade would have on the Cavaliers' ability to swap picks with the Lakers.  The Cavs received the Miami Heat's first round pick in the LeBron James trade in 2010.  Part of the trade that sent Ramon Sessions and Christian Eyenga to the Lakers last March was that Cleveland could swap the Heat pick with the Lakers pick.  This was an aspect of that trade that was underrated because it was likely that the Lakers would be significantly worse than the Heat. 

Part of the compensation that the Lakers sent the Phoenix Suns for Steve Nash was next year's first round draft pick.  Luckily for Cavs fans, Cleveland will be able to keep the higher pick.  The Cavs are negatively impacted by the trade because Steve Nash will likely win the Lakers more games this season than they would have won without him.

There has been much confusion about this aspect of the Steve Nash trade and Mary Schmitt Boyer of the Plain Dealer did a nice job of summing it up in layman's terms.

Rookie Signings:

One of the benefits of the 1998 lockout was the rookie pay scale.  This addition to the CBA limited how much rookies can make.  This has drastically limited the amount of rookie holdouts in the NBA and has generally been considered a successful aspect to the NBA.  Cavaliers rookies Dion Waiters and Tyler Zeller both signed their rookie contracts without much fanfare on Thursday night.  This is an expected and exciting move for fans of the Cavs. 

Qualifying Offers:

John Telich of Fox 8 in Cleveland tweeted that Alonzo Gee was "underwhelmed" with the Cavs qualifying offer.  This should come as a surprise because his status as a restricted free agent makes this par for the course.  The Cavs are likely waiting for another team to make an offer to Gee so they can either match it or let him walk away in free agency.  As we remember from the summer of 2007, restricted free agency can turn out to be contentious.  Hopefully Gee and the Cavs can come to terms sooner than later.  Because of this, Alonzo Gee will not be participating in the Las Vegas Summer League.

Luke Harangody officially signed his qualifying offer sheet on Thursday.  The Cavaliers forward will remain with the team for at least another year.  The contract is for 1.1 million dollars.

Alexey Shved:

According to Jerry Zgoda, the Russian guard Alexey Shved will be visiting the United States next week.  Shved has offers from the Cavs, Grizzlies and Timberwolves.  It is expected that he will sign with one of those teams.  I do not know much about Shved, but the Cavs can use all of the help that they can get on the wing positions and there seems to be some hype.  Only time will tell if it is well-justified.