The draft is a day away and this team has no idea what they're doing because... Cleveland.
2014 Mock Draft
They have multiple trade offers already on the board, including one that they offered themselves and have been eagerly pushing the Timberwolves to accept. Here are some scenarios...
1. Trade the pick, SG Dion Waiters, and C Anderson Varejao to Minnesota for PF Kevin Love. Minnesota would take SG Andrew Wiggins. Kevin Love has already stated that he wouldn't re-sign with Cleveland BUT Love would be the move that makes Lebron nod his head and shake hands with team owner Dan Gilbert.
2. Trade the pick to Utah for #5 overall and PF Derrick Favors. Utah would then select SF Jabari Parker, forcing Milwaukee to take SG Andrew Wiggins. Philly would take PG Dante Exum. Orlando would stick with Aaron Gordon and Cleveland would panic and take Julius Randle. Confused yet? Good.
3.
4. IF they take SG Andrew Wiggins, they have a chance at landing a Carmelo Anthony as Wiggins isn't ready just yet and Melo could probably wait a year or two to become a serious contender. Parker would still go #2 to Milwaukee and the Sixers would sigh deeply and take Exum even though they already have Michael Carter-Williams. Carter-Williams would then be on the trading block.
5. IF they take SF Jabari Parker, a more finished product, Lebron would face a difficult decision between Miami and Cleveland that would take a couple of weeks for him to figure out. No, there wouldn't be another ESPN special in this scenario. Milwaukee would be pissed off and all of their fans would feel sad as they usually do around draft-day as the team would take a less-guaranteed-to-like-it-in-Milwaukee Andrew Wiggins.
6. IF they take C Joel Embiid, they'd lose all-star PG Kyrie Irving and Cleveland things up by not landing any free agents.
7. Finally, if they take PG Dante' Exum, I would be happy since I'm probably one of three people on planet Earth who has this happening.
There are countless other scenarios that could happen and are probably on the Cavaliers draft tables right now but these are the seven most-feasible.
Carmelo Anthony
There is a 0.00001% chance Carmelo Anthony returns to a Knicks team that is trying to free up cap-space for him (or other mysterious Zen-master reasons) as we speak.
Carmelo is planning on visiting the Chicago Bulls, Dallas Mavericks, and Houston Rockets once free agency begins. NOT Miami and NOT Cleveland. Clearly, all of these teams would love a Carmelo Anthony addition... or would they?
1. Houston adds Carmelo Anthony - This makes the Rockets one of the all-time worst defensive teams. James Harden, Jeremy Lin, and Dwight Howard had enough problems last year. If Daryl Morey lets this happen, the Rockets deserve whatever non-championship result happens to them.
2. Most likely result & what I believe happens: Chicago signs Carmelo Anthony - This would take a ton of pressure off of Derrick Rose and his legs.
3. Melo to Mavericks? - It would make sense in him fitting in the line-up but what would happen to Shawn "The Matrix" Marion? Would he just move to the bench or would he draw interest from other teams like Brooklyn (who has no cap space but might quietly lose Paul Pierce)
Lebron-a-thon 2
I think I've covered this pretty well already but just in case you've forgotten...
It's Cleveland if they get Kevin Love or Carmelo Anthony.
It's a tough-decision if Cleveland gets Jabari Parker.
It's Miami if Cleveland doesn't end up with any of those three players.
There are no other options that he'd consider. It's Miami or Cleveland.
Kevin Love
Boston? no. Cleveland? he doesn't want to go there. Miami? no. Lakers? no. Suns or Clippers? That'd be cool but no. Chicago? They'll probably take Melo instead. So, what exactly is left for Kevin Love if Cleveland can't land him? There's always returning to Minnesota and waiting for the Trade Deadline next year.
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| So anti-climatic! |
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| +NBA on ESPN |
Pat Riley wants a lineup of:
PG - Shabazz Napier (They don't have the trade assets to do this)
SG - Dwyane Wade (He needs to be a 6th man)
SF - Lebron James
PF - Chris Bosh
C - Kendrick Perkins (HOW IS THIS MAN GOING TO STILL BE A STARTER IN THE NBA NEXT YEAR!?)
That's all according to ESPN's Chris Broussard.
Why are you doing this to me, Dante'!?
FoxSports Adrian Wojnorowski reports that Dante' Exum didn't get on the plane that Cleveland sent for him to come work-out for them and possibly become the #1 overall pick. This has some weird parallels to the series finale of Friends except I'm more sad than I was then.
#StaySwag
Nick "Swaggy P" Young has opted out of his contract with the L.A. Lakers. I don't think L.A. will be able to attract any free agents in 2014 with Kobe's and especially Steve Nash's contracts and injury-risk lurking around for another year. Without attracting any other new "stars", the Lakers will have to settle for a new Swaggy P contract where he should thrive as a sixth man.
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| Congratulations, Lakers. |
The maniac who tried blowing in Lebron's ear and threatened Dwyane Wade with injury only to get injured himself is out on the market this off-season as well and it will be very intriguing to see which team takes a chance on the NBA's biggest head-case. Stephenson's original team, Indiana, has a very important decision. Do they keep him on the team and hope for a better result than last postseason or do they let him walk and basically walk away from the short-lived Hibbert-George-Stephenson era.
The Quietest Free Agents
No one is talking about Paul Pierce or Greg Monroe. There's no reason for Pierce to return to Brooklyn other than the unknown commodity that is Brook Lopez's future (he could be healthy and greatly improve the team or it could just be more of the same with Lopez being a huge financial road-block for Mikhail Prokhorov). So, if 36 year-old Paul Pierce is a free-agent, what teams come knocking and how much does he get paid? Is Boston a possibility again? SO MANY QUESTIONS!!! Greg Monroe is one of the most intriguing free agents as he could play out the rest of Andrew Bynum's career if Bynum could have stayed healthy. Detroit is a disaster and Monroe will leave at the first chance he gets but sadly for him, he is only a restricted free-agent. Still, I see someone offering a lot more money for Monroe than the Pistons are willing to pay to miss the playoffs again potentially.
What Are The Final Results?
Sidenote: Sorry about the twisted format here. Something happened with the spacing and it's irreversible.
Italics = Not on roster as of 6/26/14
Atlanta - tons of cap room and not a whole lot of possibilities except for the inkling of hope they have in
acquiring Lebron James.
2014-15 Starting Line-up: PG Jeff Teague, SG Rodney Stuckey, SF Luol Deng, PF Paul Millsap, C Al
Horford
Boston - If they pick Embiid like I think will happen, Rondo is gone to some other far-away land
(Sacramento) in a mega-trade. This team is going to be in tank-mode AGAIN. Note: Jeremy Lin will also end up on this team.
2014-15 Starting Line-up: PG Isaiah Thomas, SG Avery Bradley, SF Paul Pierce, PF Jeff Green, C Joel
Embiid (once healthy)
Brooklyn - No cap-space but Brook Lopez is returning. Should the fans be excited? No. Paul Pierce is
going, going, gone.
2014-15 Starting Line-up: PG Deron Williams (they're not finding a trade-suitor for this guy), SG Joe
Johnson, SF Andrei Kirilenko, PF Kevin Garnett, C Brook Lopez
Charlotte - This team is on a major up-swing and Michael Jordan might not even find a way to screw this
up!
2014-15 Starting Line-up: PG Kemba Walker, SG Gerald Henderson, SF Doug McDermott, PF Josh
McRoberts, C Al Jefferson
Chicago - All Tom Thibodeau rumors will be long-gone once this off-season is over.
2014-15 Starting Line-up: PG Derrick Rose, SG Jimmy Butler, SF Carmelo Anthony, PF Carlos Boozer,
C Joakim Noah
Cleveland - I blame Mike Brown for this somehow.
2014-15 Starting Line-up: PG Kyrie Irving, SG Dion Waiters, SF Marvin Williams (this is not an ideal
scenario but, that's what happens when you take Dante' Exum #1 overall in my completely hypothetical
world I've created), PF Tristan Thompson, C Anderson Varejao
Dallas - Hopes for Melo, Kyle Lowry, or Dwyane Wade will be dashed early.
14-15 Line-up: PG Ramon Sessions, SG Monta Ellis, SF Alan Anderson, PF Dirk Nowitzki, C Tyson
Chandler
Denver - Another team with open cap space and not a whole lot to do with it just yet.
14-15 Line-up: PG Ty Lawson, SG Arron Afflalo, SF Wilson Chandler, PF Kenneth Faried, C JaVale McGee
Detroit - This team needs to panic & will.
14-15 Line-up: PG Brandon Jennings, SG Kentavius Caldwell-Pope, SF Derrick Williams, PF Jason Thompson, C Andre Drummond
Golden State - The Kevin Love rumors is all this team has. Otherwise, the roster won't change.
14-15 Line-up: PG Stephen Curry, SG Klay Thompson, SF Andre Iguodala, PF David Lee, C Andrew Bogut
Houston - A whole lot of noise will result in one BIG addition IF they're smart.
14-15 Line-up: PG Patrick Beverley, SG James Harden, SF Chandler Parsons, PF Greg Monroe, C Dwight Howard
Indiana - It will be a huge mistake when this team lets go of both Lance Stephenson and Evan Turner.
14-15 Line-up: PG George Hill, SG Willie Green, SF Paul George, PF David West, C Roy Hibbert
L.A. Clippers - This team has one big move in them and has always lacked at Shooting Guard.
14-15 Line-up: PG Chris Paul, SG Lance Stephenson, SF Matt Barnes, PF Blake Griffin, C DeAndre Jordan.
L.A. Lakers - Kobe returns, looks around, shakes head in disapproval.
14-15 Line-up: PG Patty Mills, SG Kobe Bryant, SF Nick Young, PF Julius Randle, C Spencer Hawes
Memphis - The Grizzlies are on a downward spiral but will maintain Zach Randolph.
14-15 Line-up: PG Mike Conley, SG Tony Allen, SF Tayshaun Prince, PF Zach Randolph, C Marc Gasol
Miami - Everybody takes less money, blahblahblah you get the picture.
14-15 Line-up: PG Norris Cole, SG Dwyane Wade, SF Lebron James, PF Channing Frye, C Chris Bosh
Milwaukee - How long before Jabari Parker can start recruiting veterans to join him?
14-15 Line-up: PG Brandon Knight, SG Giannis Antetokounmpo, SF Jabari Parker, PF John Henson, C Larry Sanders
Minnesota - This whole Kevin Love thing is not going to end well.
14-15 Line-up: PG Ricky Rubio, SG Kevin Martin, SF Chase Budinger, PF Kevin Love, C Nikola Pekovic
New Orleans - Omer Asik is on board! Too bad their cap space went overboard.
14-15 Line-up: PG Jrue Holiday, SG Anthony Morrow, SF Tyreke Evans, PF Anthony Davis, C Omer Asik
New York - The Phil Jackson effect... kind of works.
14-15 Line-up: PG Kyle Lowry, SG Iman Shumpert, SF Shawn Marion, PF Andrea Bargnani, C Sam Dalembert
Oklahoma City - If they add any pieces anywhere, those would have to be on the bench. -cough, cough- Evan Turner
14-15 Line-up: PG Russell Westbrook, SG Thabo Sefolosha, SF Kevin Durant, PF Serge Ibaka, C Steven Adams
Orlando - With the awful Arron Afflalo for Evan Fournier and 2nd rounder trade out of the way, Orlando has a pretty bleak off-season post-draft.
14-15 Line-up: PG Shabazz Napier, SG Victor Oladipo, SF Tobias Harris, PF Aaron Gordon, C Nikola Vucevic
Philadelphia - Michael Carter-Williams won't care for these trade rumors but hopefully, Philly manages to keep him.
14-15 Line-up: PG Michael Carter-Williams, SG Andrew Wiggins, SF Thaddeus Young, PF Noah Vonleh, C Nerlens Noel
Phoenix - A team with incredible potential adds a star to lead this team to a playoff run.
14-15 Line-up: PG Goran Dragic, SG Eric Bledsoe, SF Gerald Green, PF Pau Gasol, C Miles Plumlee
Portland - They don't need to do a whole lot other than stay healthy. (which is difficult enough for this team)
14-15 Line-up: PG Damian Lillard, SG Wesley Matthews, SF Nicolas Batum, PF LaMarcus Aldridge, C Robin Lopez
Sacramento - The Kings' new ownership goes buck-wild this off-season with some huge trades.
14-15 Line-up: PG Rajon Rondo, SG Ben McLemore, SF Rudy Gay, PF Josh Smith, C DeMarcus Cousins
San Antonio - San Antonio scoffs at the idea of making moves in the off-season.
14-15 Line-up: PG Tony Parker, SG Marco Belinelli, SF Kawhi Leonard, PF Tim Duncan, C Tiago Splitter
Toronto - If they don't move quickly enough, Kyle Lowry will probably leave town and Toronto will be one all-star short of a second round cameo again.
14-15 Line-up: PG Greivis Vasquez, SG Terrence Ross, SF DeMar DeRozan, PF Amir Johnson, C Jonas Valanciunas
Utah - They'll probably be able to stash Chris Kaman on their bench so, that's a thing.
14-15 Line-up: PG Trey Burke, SG Marcus Smart, SF Gordon Hayward, PF Derrick Favors, C Enes Kanter
Washington - They need (and I mean NEED) to re-sign Ariza and Gortat.
14-15 Line-up: PG John Wall, SG Bradley Beal, SF Trevor Ariza, PF Nene', C Marcin Gortat
So, there's my inexact science as to what this off-season might shape up to be. Best of luck to your teams and may someone please talk about something other than Lebron and Carmelo once this is all over.
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