Cavs willing to trade 1st pick

[slamtheking]

they'd be foolish not to at least listen to offers.  They could use an established player more than that pick and not just because there's no superstars in this draft or that the best players are still crapshoots.

I think they'll take the pick but if I was them, I'd be actively shopping it for an all-star player or for a solid starter and another pick a little further down in the draft to add to the talent pool.

[Moranis]

Cousins

for

#1 + Give back Sacramento pick

[StartOrien]

I wrote about this in the other thread, and it's not completely my idea:

Isn't Noel the perfect fit? Both in that he seems to be a great compliment to Irving, and in that he won't return at least til midseason. With a loaded 2014 don't the Cavs ultimately want to continue to stink?

I know the argument is that it'll anger Irving, but you enter next season with him, a now healthy Noel, Thompson (though I don't really like Thompson, especially next to Noel), Waiters, a lottery pick in a loaded draft, and about 30 million dollars to spend in a loaded free agent market that includes Lebron? You're telling me he's going to walk away from that scenario b/c the teams not a winner?

[StartOrien]

Cousins

for

#1 + Give back Sacramento pick

I love DMC but I don't think he's a great fit next to Irving. To me, to best utilize DMC you need to initiate the offense through him.

[Moranis]

Cousins

for

#1 + Give back Sacramento pick

I love DMC but I don't think he's a great fit next to Irving. To me, to best utilize DMC you need to initiate the offense through him.

Cousins would be fine with a player like Irving, but yeah they would both need to adapt, but I just think that is the type of trade that may make sense for both teams.  Not perfect value for Cousins the player, but he is a head case who may leave and you get not only Noel, but your own pick back (and Sacto is going to be bad) so it is at least solid value for him.  Cleveland gets a premier big, which when paired with Thompson, Zeller, and Varejao (if they keep him) would give them one of the better front courts in all of basketball next year and certainly set them up well going forward.  It also doesn't affect their cap situation that much. 

[Lucky17]

Id be intrigued with this deal if I was cleveland.

Bill Simmons‏@BillSimmons3m
Last fake trade: hey Rip City, would you flip LaMarcus Aldridge to Cleveland for Tristan Thompson + 1st overall pick? Hmmmmmm.

I would immediately accept that deal if I was Cleveland.

Of course.

If I'm Portland, I say no.

[Who]

I think they'll take the pick but if I was them, I'd be actively shopping it for an all-star player or for a solid starter and another pick a little further down in the draft to add to the talent pool.

Yeah, it sounded like they were pretty high on adding Otto Porter. Could easily see them trading down a few spots to pickup him and gain another asset in the process. Maybe another draft pick or a solid young rotation player.

Kind of like the Bulls did with Ty Thomas and Khryapa. Not that that worked out well for Chicago. Losing LaMarcus Aldridge for that package. Man, I would've loved to have seen that Bulls team with Aldridge and if they had of kept Tyson Chandler to play alongside him. That would have been a really strong squad. Luol Deng, Ben Gordon, Kirk Hinrich, Andres Nocioni. Fun squad.

[Lucky17]

Cleveland should definitely field offers on the pick. Perhaps even pull the trigger on a trade.

But Noel seems like good fit there. And there should be no rush to the rebuilding process, despite whatever Kyrie Irving might think. He's under contract next season, and with a team option the year after that, and won't be a restricted free agent until the start of the 2015-16 season. Whatever angst he's feeling right now will be a distant memory if the Cavs are in a position to contend by then.

[aporel#18]

Id be intrigued with this deal if I was cleveland.

Bill Simmons‏@BillSimmons3m
Last fake trade: hey Rip City, would you flip LaMarcus Aldridge to Cleveland for Tristan Thompson + 1st overall pick? Hmmmmmm.

I would immediately accept that deal if I was Cleveland.

Of course.

If I'm Portland, I say no.

Yeah, Aldridge is too good and the #10 pick is a good asset. Varejao + their #19 pick could bring back a good player, no need to trade their top pick, but is smart to take a look at what would be available.

Cleveland blew it last year selecting Waiters over Drummond, so the best they can do is pick Noel and keep losing, get another top pick in 2014 and try to showcase some of the youngins in the process. They should've traded Varejao last year or two years ago, that guy can't stay healthy and his trade value isn't that high.

And I don't care about what the Cavs fans think, Green is way better than Varejao, and next year the gap will be bigger. Varejao would've been great alongside KG, but I wouldn't like him as a long term solution.

[Who]

Cleveland should definitely field offers on the pick. Perhaps even pull the trigger on a trade.

But Noel seems like good fit there. And there should be no rush to the rebuilding process, despite whatever Kyrie Irving might think. He's under contract next season, and with a team option the year after that, and won't be a restricted free agent until the start of the 2015-16 season. Whatever angst he's feeling right now will be a distant memory if the Cavs are in a position to contend by then.

I really hate teams that over-react to a star player's concerns. Weak management.

I hope Cleveland doesn't make this mistake like so many others have.

[hpantazo]

Cleveland should definitely field offers on the pick. Perhaps even pull the trigger on a trade.

But Noel seems like good fit there. And there should be no rush to the rebuilding process, despite whatever Kyrie Irving might think. He's under contract next season, and with a team option the year after that, and won't be a restricted free agent until the start of the 2015-16 season. Whatever angst he's feeling right now will be a distant memory if the Cavs are in a position to contend by then.

I really hate teams that over-react to a star player's concerns. Weak management.

I hope Cleveland doesn't make this mistake like so many others have.

well, the cavs failed to put a good enough supporting cast around lebron to win it all, so they may be more prone to impatience this time around.

I think Noel is the perfect fit for them. The Cavs however might feel that drafting another player who is a bit of a project, and on top of that won't be able to play at least until midseason, might be too much for Kyrie to handle.

The right move is to draft Noel and hope Varejao holds the fort unti midseason, then trade Varejao at the deadline.

[StartOrien]

I love LMA, but is he that much better than Paul Milisap (a player they could just outright sign) to the point that they're willing to trade 2 significant chips to get him? I say no.

EDIT: thought signing milisap would probably not help my 'lose to get back in the lottery' idea

[Moranis]

I love LMA, but is he that much better than Paul Milisap (a player they could just outright sign) to the point that they're willing to trade 2 significant chips to get him? I say no.

EDIT: thought signing milisap would probably not help my 'lose to get back in the lottery' idea

I actually think Al Jefferson is a better fit for the Cavs.  If they signed him and then moved Varejao for a wing (say Jeff Green), I think they would be set up pretty darn well moving forward

PG - Irving, Livingston?, Gibson?
SG - Waiters, Miles
SF - Green, Gee
PF - Thompson, Noel, Speights
C - Jefferson, Zeller

Pretty solid young team and well positioned to become elite in a couple of years.

[StartOrien]

Don't agree with Jefferson. He showed to be a pretty poor fit with Deron Williams, I don't see why he'd be exponentially better with Kyrie Irving.

I'd much rather have a good pick & roll/pop guy for Irving to work with. Especially if paired with Noel

[StartOrien]

Slightly off topic -

But a guy I absolutely love for their team is Andre Iguodala.