Cleveland signs Lauri in sign and trade with Bulls per Woj

[Celtics2021]

Lauri will fit very well in Cleveland next to Jarrett Allen. I expect Kevin Love will get moved soon.

If by moved you mean “bought out”, then sure.  But no one’s trading for Love.

I could see John Wall for Love deal...

I couldn’t.  Salaries don’t match well and it would be hard for Cleveland to make a deal and not wind up a tax team, not to mention Wall’s owed $47 million next year compared to Love’s $29 million.

[Birdman]

Love may be bought out but doubt it with a lot of money on the table

[celticsclay]

Three way deal, Larry Nance to Portland. Picks and JOnes to CLE.

Who is better Nancy or Lauri? Kept hearing how much the Cavs loved Nance then to see him traded out for a more expensive version of himself that has shown less at NBA level, it is a head scratcher.

[liam]

Lauri will fit very well in Cleveland next to Jarrett Allen. I expect Kevin Love will get moved soon.

If by moved you mean “bought out”, then sure.  But no one’s trading for Love.

I could see John Wall for Love deal...

I couldn’t.  Salaries don’t match well and it would be hard for Cleveland to make a deal and not wind up a tax team, not to mention Wall’s owed $47 million next year compared to Love’s $29 million.

A Wall for Love and Garland works.

[liam]

Three way deal, Larry Nance to Portland. Picks and JOnes to CLE.

Who is better Nancy or Lauri? Kept hearing how much the Cavs loved Nance then to see him traded out for a more expensive version of himself that has shown less at NBA level, it is a head scratcher.

I think it's a grass is greener thing and an age thing. But the Cavs moves are illogical.

[Celtics2021]

Lauri will fit very well in Cleveland next to Jarrett Allen. I expect Kevin Love will get moved soon.

If by moved you mean “bought out”, then sure.  But no one’s trading for Love.

I could see John Wall for Love deal...

I couldn’t.  Salaries don’t match well and it would be hard for Cleveland to make a deal and not wind up a tax team, not to mention Wall’s owed $47 million next year compared to Love’s $29 million.

A Wall for Love and Garland works.

Salarywise, but not in any semblance of common sense.

[Moranis]

Markkanen is better than Nance, by a pretty good margin.  He is younger and a better fit with Allen.  Easy trade for Cleveland to make.

[Jvalin]

Honest question: Is Markkanen a PF or a Center? I mean, he ain't long/strong enough to protect the rim. He ain't mobile enough to defend the perimeter either. Don't think he has a position on defense. He can defend nobody. I guess I'd use him at Center alongside a defensive-minded, undersized PF who can play bigger than his actual height (let's say Draymond Green/ Rodman). Good luck trying to find that type of player.

Don't get me wring, Markkanen is a legit NBA player. 7-footers who can stretch the floor don't exactly grow on trees. My point is, it's difficult to build a functional team with him. Don't see the appeal in pairing Markkanen with Jarrett Allen. Opposing teams will be constantly attacking Markkanen on the perimeter.

[Who]

Honest question: Is Markkanen a PF or a Center? I mean, he ain't long/strong enough to protect the rim. He ain't mobile enough to defend the perimeter either. Don't think he has a position on defense. He can defend nobody. I guess I'd use him at Center alongside a defensive-minded swing who can play bigger than his actual height (let's say Draymond Green). Good luck trying to find that type of player.

Don't get me wring, Markkanen is a legit NBA player. 7-footers who can stretch the floor don't exactly grow on trees. My point is, it's difficult to build a functional team with him. Don't see the appeal in pairing Markkanen with Jarrett Allen. Opposing teams will be constantly attacking Markkanen on the perimeter.

No, I believe you sacrifice the defense. You choose offense over defense.

I do not like pairing Markkanen with someone like Draymond because the opposing team can hide their slow footed big man on Draymond and have their quick footed forward (PF) defend Markkanen at the three point line.

So I believe in order to maximize Markkanen you have to pair him next to a PF who is smaller quicker and an offensive threat who is dangerous enough to force your opponent to keep its slow footed center on Markkanen.

I do believe Markkanen is a center but he is an offensive orientated center. He is not well rounded enough to give you a strong anchor in terms of defense & rebounding. You hope he can become adequate enough to get by in these areas rather than ever excel in them.

You choose Markkanen and prioritize offense over defense in large part because the rest of your team lacks offensive firepower. If your team has good offensive firepower, Markkanen will struggle to justify himself as a center. Most of those teams will be better of trading him for talent elsewhere on the team and replacing him with a low skilled defensive rim runner.

----------------------

For example, on seven seconds or less D'Antoni Phoenix Suns. You can pair Amare with Marion or Kurt Thomas.

If you choose Kurt Thomas who is a low level offensive threat, the opponent can choose their favoured defensive matchups. So they can hide their slow footed defensive center on Kurt Thomas who Thomas struggles to exploit.

If you choose Marion, D'Antoni forces the matchups he wants. He forces the defense to defend Amare with a slow plodding center who Amare can exploit ... or Marion completely exploits that plodding center

[Vermont Green]

For Cleveland, it is Nance and a 2nd for Markkanen

For Portland, it is a Protected 1st for Nance

For Chicago, it is Markkanen for a 1st (probably 20'ish) and a 2nd (37'ish?)

This seems decent all around to me.  I think Markkanen is a little better now and has more upside than Nance so giving up Nance and a 2nd seems to me to be fair value and a good move for a truly rebuilding team.  The contract for Markkanen is not that much really.  I expect he can play to this contract.

Portland gets a solid big who will contribute for a first round pick that probably wouldn't help much.

Chicago gets some picks for Markkanen, a player they had really already "broken up" with, exactly what they wanted.

[Who]

I don't see Markkanen as a good get for Cleveland. They have Jarrett Allen and Mobley. 3 centers. None of whom work well with the other. Like their backcourt of Garland, Sexton and Rubio. All in each other's way.

Dumb team building all round.

It's funny. Jarrett Allen is their least talented center but he is their best center right now. In the present moment, right here right now. Mobley has the highest upside as a two way threat. Markkanen the most offensive talent and second highest upside. And Jarrett Allen's $100million deal is going to clog up the machine and hurt their development. Waste of money. Waste of a lotto pick on Mobley. Waste of a pick, good role player (Nance) and money on Markkanen.

Way to go Cleveland. Classic Cavs team building.

[celticsclay]

Markkanen is better than Nance, by a pretty good margin.  He is younger and a better fit with Allen.  Easy trade for Cleveland to make.

Care to elaborate on why he is better by a wide margin? He doesn't have a clear NBA position, possibly unplayable in a playoff series because of his defense. Has had a lot of durability issues (his three full seasons not counting covid shortened season are 68, 50, 51). He is at best an average rebounder and not a particularly good passer. Also for being such a "shooter" his 3 point numbers his first 4 seasons in league have not been that much better than  what Nance has been doing the last 3 seasons (LM 36% for career, LN 35% last 3 seasons). When you say by a pretty wide margin would be interested in some stats cause that is certainly not the consensus around the NBA (and you yourself have admitted Nance was a pretty hot commodity at times. A report at the deadline, don't know if true, indicated the Cavs received multiple first round pick in an offer for him and declined. This seems like a much worse return.

[celticsclay]

I don't see Markkanen as a good get for Cleveland. They have Jarrett Allen and Mobley. 3 centers. None of whom work well with the other. Like their backcourt of Garland, Sexton and Rubio. All in each other's way.

Dumb team building all round.

It's funny. Jarrett Allen is their least talented center but he is their best center right now. In the present moment, right here right now. Mobley has the highest upside as a two way threat. Markkanen the most offensive talent and second highest upside. And Jarrett Allen's $100million deal is going to clog up the machine and hurt their development. Waste of money. Waste of a lotto pick on Mobley. Waste of a pick, good role player (Nance) and money on Markkanen.

Way to go Cleveland. Classic Cavs team building.

Yeah this is kind of why it just seems like an all around headscratcher. Although getting Allen for free was a good move by them. Not sure how moveable he is on that contract now though.

[Jvalin]

Honest question: Is Markkanen a PF or a Center? I mean, he ain't long/strong enough to protect the rim. He ain't mobile enough to defend the perimeter either. Don't think he has a position on defense. He can defend nobody. I guess I'd use him at Center alongside a defensive-minded swing who can play bigger than his actual height (let's say Draymond Green). Good luck trying to find that type of player.

Don't get me wring, Markkanen is a legit NBA player. 7-footers who can stretch the floor don't exactly grow on trees. My point is, it's difficult to build a functional team with him. Don't see the appeal in pairing Markkanen with Jarrett Allen. Opposing teams will be constantly attacking Markkanen on the perimeter.

No, I believe you sacrifice the defense. You choose offense over defense.

I do not like pairing Markkanen with someone like Draymond because the opposing team can hide their slow footed big man on Draymond and have their quick footed forward (PF) defend Markkanen at the three point line.

So I believe in order to maximize Markkanen you have to pair him next to a PF who is smaller quicker and an offensive threat who is dangerous enough to force your opponent to keep its slow footed center on Markkanen.

I do believe Markkanen is a center but he is an offensive orientated center. He is not well rounded enough to give you a strong anchor in terms of defense & rebounding. You hope he can become adequate enough to get by in these areas rather than ever excel in them.

You choose Markkanen and prioritize offense over defense in large part because the rest of your team lacks offensive firepower. If your team has good offensive firepower, Markkanen will struggle to justify himself as a center. Most of those teams will be better of trading him for talent elsewhere on the team and replacing him with a low skilled defensive rim runner.

----------------------

For example, on seven seconds or less D'Antoni Phoenix Suns. You can pair Amare with Marion or Kurt Thomas.

If you choose Kurt Thomas who is a low level offensive threat, the opponent can choose their favoured defensive matchups. So they can hide their slow footed defensive center on Kurt Thomas who Thomas struggles to exploit.

If you choose Marion, D'Antoni forces the matchups he wants. He forces the defense to defend Amare with a slow plodding center who Amare can exploit ... or Marion completely exploits that plodding center

Thing is, that's not a functional team anymore. Markkanen is a skilled big man, but he ain't a floor raiser. Why sacrifice your defense for him? I mean, what's the point in having a hopeless defensive team just for the ''privilege'' of playing Lauri Makkanen? It ain't worth it.

Out of curiosity, who would be your ideal fit at Center next to Draymond? Feel free to pick any player throughout the NBA history. Not just current players.

[RJ87]

I don't see Markkanen as a good get for Cleveland. They have Jarrett Allen and Mobley. 3 centers. None of whom work well with the other. Like their backcourt of Garland, Sexton and Rubio. All in each other's way.

Dumb team building all round.

It's funny. Jarrett Allen is their least talented center but he is their best center right now. In the present moment, right here right now. Mobley has the highest upside as a two way threat. Markkanen the most offensive talent and second highest upside. And Jarrett Allen's $100million deal is going to clog up the machine and hurt their development. Waste of money. Waste of a lotto pick on Mobley. Waste of a pick, good role player (Nance) and money on Markkanen.

Way to go Cleveland. Classic Cavs team building.

I agree. Love the longterm upside of a Mobley and Markkanen pairing. I actually think those two can play together really well, but there's a $100m man in the way. If they were trying to win, I could see the point in having Allen and bringing Mobley along slowly, but that's not the case.

On another note - if Love gets bought out, should we show interest?