Cleveland Cavaliers

UNLV's Anthony Bennett following in the footsteps of Cleveland Cavaliers power forward Tristan Thompson

Questions abound regarding the No. 1 pick and the possibility of trades for the Cleveland Cavaliers heading into the NBA draft on June 27

Looking back at the regular season we only had 10 20 point per game scorers, the lowest in decades. Looking at the playoffs this year, team's that have relied on iso performances struggled this postseason. Namely Melo, Durant, CP3 and now potentially Lebron. If Lebron has to score 30+ ppg for the Heat to compete, then it's going to be a quick series. Even though LBJ shoots the ball better than the aforementioned, the loss last night has displayed a consistent pattern these playoffs concerning letting 1 player get their points, and to guard everyone else. The average NBA player's height is 6'7", so I can't help but think that the added length on the court has made the game smaller to a degree. Yet it also makes those guys that scored over 20+ ppg that much more impressive. How does this affect Kyrie Irving? A primarily iso player on a struggling team and one of those who scored over 20ppg. Is an iso offense effective in the modern NBA? Will Mike Brown run iso after iso with Kyrie much like LBJ? Thoughts? Looking back at the regular season we only had 10 20 point per game scorers, the lowest in decades. Looking at the playoffs this year, team's that have relied on iso performances struggled this postseason. Namely Melo, Durant, CP3 and now potentially Lebron. If Lebron has to score 30+ ppg for the Heat to compete, then it's going to be a quick series. Even though LBJ shoots the ball better than the aforementioned, the loss last night has displayed a consistent pattern these playoffs concerning letting 1 player get their points, and to guard everyone else. The average NBA player's height is 6'7", so I can't help but think that the added length on the court has made the game smaller to a degree. Yet it also makes those guys that scored over 20+ ppg that much more impressive. How does this affect Kyrie Irving? A primarily iso player on a struggling team and one of those who scored over 20ppg. Is an iso offense effective in the modern NBA? Will Mike Brown run iso after iso with Kyrie much like LBJ? Thoughts?

We already know that John Calipari wants the Cleveland Cavaliers to draft Nerlens Noel with the first overall pick in the 2013 NBA Draft. His primary motivation is probably because it helps his resume and his recruiting pitch, but he also seems to really admire Chris Grant and knows that if the Cavs take Noel, it's because they've done their homework and believe in him. Calipari did another interview in Cleveland recently, this time with Bull & Fox. In the interview (which you should listen to), Calipari commends the Cavs' scouting department and reiterates the fact that Chris Grant has been in Kentucky's practice facilities the most this season. That obviously indicates a good deal of interest on the Cavs' part. Perhaps the most intriguing part of the interview is when Calipari addresses Noel's weight. People have been quite concerned with the fact that the 7-footer weighed in at just 206 pounds at the NBA Draft Combine. Calipari scoffed at the idea that Noel is going to be too skinny, claiming that Noel weighed about 222 pounds during the season. The reason that Noel weighs 206 now is because the doctors advised that he cut down the weight for his ACL surgery rehab. Calipari seems to recognize that Noel will need to put on weight in the NBA, but is confident that he'll be up around 240 pounds soon enough. Add this to some info that Fear the Sword commenter, somedumbname found and I think any concerns about Nerlens Noel's weight should eased quite a bit. I just don’t get why people are worried about Noel’s weight if his playing weight was 215-220 as widely reported. All heights were sans shoes, so they are directly comparable: Nerlens Noel – 206 lbs, 6’10", 19 yo (215-220 playing weight before injury)Kevin Garnett – 217 lbs, 6’11", 19 yoLarry Sanders – 217 lbs, 6’10", 21 yoMarcus Camby – 223 lbs, 6’11", 22 yoJoakim Noah – 223 lbs, 6’10.5", 22 yoChris Bosh – 225 lbs, 6’10.5", 19 yoMarcin Gortat – 225 lbs, 6’11", 21 yoDikembe Mutombo – 228 lbs, 7’1.25", 24 yo…and the list goes on So you have a list of solid-to-great players, who no longer get bullied in the paint because gasp! people with nothing to do but lift weights put on weight. And MOST of which already had 2-3 more years of college weight training on them? Also, looked up the guy we should supposedly trade Noel for, pretty sure that Noel can gain 28 lbs in the next two years to catch up to him: LaMarcus Aldridge – 234, 6’10", turned 21 about a month after the draft. I know there are plenty of people who aren't convinced that Nerlens Noel is the right guy to be selected with the #1 pick. Hopefully Calipari's comments, along with the history of young big men, helps people realize that there are reasons to be hesitant about taking Noel, but his weight isn't one of them.

Alright so now with Nerlens in fold (yeah I'm already assuming it, get at me, bro), the Cavs now have one glaring hole in the roster: Small Forward. I'll break down what we've got and who's available. Current Roster Currently the only real SF on the roster is Alonzo Gee. While Gee is a good defender, he leaves a lot to be desired on the offensive end. His only real strength is dunking and he usually drops the ball or kicks it out of bounds before he even gets the opportunity to show off his one offensive skill. CJ Miles I think could also be effective backup SF. He has good size and personally, I'd prefer him as the backup SF over Gee. Free Agency The easiest group to name is the crop of free agents. I'll have two groups of guys here that I'll be looking at. The first is the expensive guys: Josh Smith, Andre Iguodala, Andrei Kirilenko Out of this group, I'd be fine with either Andre/i. Josh Smith would make us so dynamic defensively but I just can't justify giving him near max with his offensive game. Smith took 1182 shots last year. 522 (44%) were from three or 16-23 feet. Almost half his shots are long twos or threes. He shot 31.6% on these shots. If that isn't the model of offensive inefficiency I don't know what is. Now if you could convince him to lay off all these terrible shots, then sure sign me up but otherwise, no thanks. The Andre/i's provide similar skill sets, imo. Both are good defenders, not great shooters, but effective offensively. Both would probably require 3-4 year deals at 9-12 million a year with Iggy being slightly more expensive than Kirilenko. I think both would be excellent bridges until we find our young SF in the draft in upcoming years. The other group is the cheaper guys. Here you've got veterans Matt Barnes, DeMarre Carroll, Corey Brewer, Kyle Korver, and Dorrell Wright and young sleeper Al-Farouq Aminu. All the veteran guys would be upgrades and pretty good fits while not breaking the bank financially. Aminu is intriguing physically, but is still raw offensively. Ultimately, I think he's be worth the gamble. Trades There are a couple obvious trade candidates and others that I think are more of a long shot. The first guy I'll mention is Nic Batum. IMO, he'd be a great fit on this team and I'd love to have him. I don't really think he's available, but he could probably be had for a pretty decent price. I'd think an offer would have to start with Andy, Gee, and picks and even that probably isn't enough. Ultimately the price is probably too high, but its still worth exploring. Next are guys that are veterans on expiring deals. Danny Granger, Shawn Marion, Caron Butler, and to a lesser extent Luol Deng. The first three mentioned I think are very available. Deng would cost more as I don't really think the Bulls want to give him up. All would be good fits. My preference would be Deng, Granger, Marion, Butler. Draft This is the least intriguing option in my opinion. I want someone who's going to help win now and rookies aren't usually that guy. People like Reggie Bullock, but while he can shoot he probably won't be able to do much else right away. If you could trade up to get Otto Porter, then do it but I don't think that's possible. Shabazz Muhammad is another possibility if you want to trade up, but I am personally not a fan. If you are going to take a SF in the draft, I'd rather see a stash player combined with a trade/signing of a veteran. My personal favorite is Giannis Adetokunbo. Other possibilities are Sergey Karasev and Dario Saric. Possible second round guys include Glen Rice Jr, Tony Snell, and 3/4 tweener CJ Leslie. All would most likely have minimal impact with Leslie being the most intriguing. My Preference So to wrap this up I'll say what my preference would be. Included with all my options is drafting Adetokunbo. My first option would be trading for Batum. That's unlikely though, so I'd attempt to sign AK47 or Iggy. If you can't s

The Dallas Mavericks want Dwight Howard. This isn't a secret. They would also like to get Chris Paul, but that one seems a little bit less likely. When you look at their cap situation, they'll have to do some fancy maneuvering in order to create the salary cap space that they want to have. This has led to some rumors about the Mavericks possibly trading the 13th pick in the 2013 NBA Draft. Reports out of Dallas indicate that the Mavs want to get rid of the $1.6 cap hold that the 13th pick carries, according to ESPN.com. "Multiple sources have told ESPN.com's Chad Ford the Mavs are likely to shop the pick in hopes of creating the cap space necessary to make a run at Dwight Howard in free agency." Now, I have no idea what it would take to get the 13th pick in the draft. But Chris Grant has been known to want to stockpile draft picks and there have been some indications that he would like another lottery pick in this draft. I'm not exactly sure why he wants another first round pick, but it seems like he does. If the Mavs are serious about trading the 13th pick without taking on more salary, the Cavs could probably be a logical trade partner. The Cavaliers can offer the 31st and 33rd picks in the draft and since those are right at the beginning of the 2nd round, they carry no cap hold or guaranteed contract. That could be appealing for the Mavs trying to clear all the cap space that they can. Similarly, the Mavericks currently have Shawn Marion on the books for about $9.3 million next season. We know that Dallas thinks very highly of Marion, but if they want to get rid of his contract, that is something that the Cavaliers could handle as well. He'd fill a void at small forward and provide some much needed defense. Again, I have absolutely no idea if the Mavs actually want to trade Marion and suspect they might want a future first round pick in exchange for him if they do. Furthermore, since Marion is an expiring contract and still provides some worthwhile basketball contributions, there's likely to be several teams willing to take him off the Mavs' hands. So try not to go overboard with the Marion fantasies, but the 13th pick is certainly in play. If the two 2nd rounders aren't enough, would you trade the future Sacramento Kings' pick for the 13th pick in what is considered a fairly weak draft? I'm not so sure but every indication points to the Mavs moving this pick at some point before the June 27th draft.

Indiana's George Hill makes four free throws in the final 48 seconds, and the Pacers' defense forces LeBron James into two key turnovers in the final minute.

Tee Jay Void from NiceKicks.com posted a compelling arguement for why Kyrie Irving should be the next NBA superstar to receive his own signature shoe earlier this week. An excerpt from that article is below. Kyrie Irving is the leader of the new era of talent in the NBA. He already has commercial success, and is trending toward long term athletic success as well. Cleveland also has the number one pick in the 2013 lottery, which will undoubtedly bring more eyes to that Cavaliers squad throughout the months leading up to the season. Those eyes will gaze in Irving’s direction more often than not. With a large social media following, and one of Nike Basketball’s big three closer to the end of his career than the beginning, who better to pass the torch to than Kyrie Irving? One thing is for certain, Kyrie Irving is an amazing young player with a relateable personality to match. With a major endorsement deal with PepsiMax already earning him greater visibility, he is a proven commodity for any brand. As one commenter simply stated in our article detailing the Nike Hyperdunk 2012 “Kyrie Irving” PE, “I’d cop anything he wore.” Lot of good points. Personally, if Kyrie Irving endorsed refrigerators I'd consider buying one. His own shoe is a no-brainer. At media day this past season, Kyrie was wearing his personalized Nike Hyperfuses with KYRIE on the tongue. I asked him then how much say he had in the design, which featured the wine and gold colorway, and he told me he "had all of the say". Kyrie, at the time, went on to add that he was honored to see his name on a Nike shoe. He'd be even more honored with his own shoe, I imagine, which is a very real possibility at this point. Thanks to Peter over at NiceKicks.com for the heads up the great read. -- Full Article: NEXT IN LINE: WHY KYRIE IRVING DESERVES A SIGNATURE SNEAKER

Can the Cavs afford to kiss off another season after Defiant Dan Gilbert's promise that getting this season's No.1 pick was the "last lottery for a long time?" Selecting Nerlens Noel at No. 1 would amount to just that.

Who is the best player in the 2013 NBA draft? Chris Fedor reveals his Top 25.