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| Which of these guys would you root for? |
May 17 – The feel-good story of the NBA Draft Lottery: the Cavs, with the pick they received from the Clippers in trading away Mo Williams, earn the right to choose first in the NBA Draft. Owner Dan Gilbert has his son represent him on stage, an ambassador for the National Children’s Tumor Foundation and a victim of neurofibromatosis, a nerve disorder that causes tumors to grow inside the body. When queried by ESPN’s Heather Cox, “Your dad called you his own personal hero. How does that make you feel?" The bespectacled Nick responds:
“Well, I mean, what’s not to like? [Laughter] I’m the oldest of five. I have a good life. I’m going through this disease, but I’m going through it well, I’m getting better. Research is (helping) with all the money people are donating. Yeah, everything’s going good.”
Several minutes later, the Gilbert family is embracing on stage in celebration of the conquering of the NBA draft lottery, literally and figuratively, having persevered despite a 2.8% of winning.
And in all honesty, was there even a chance that the Cavs weren’t going to get the top pick? The T’wolves were doomed as soon as the camera panned over President of Basketball Operations David “KHHHAAAAN” Kahn’s face. It's safe to say that Minnesota will never find success with that man at the helm (I hope I won't be eating my words 10 months from now while reading the headline, "Rubio and his Wolf Pack Score First Round Upset Against the Top-Seeded Thunder").
June 12 - Much to the unbounded joy of Cavs fans, Lebron melts down for the second consecutive playoffs, with the Miami Heat losing the NBA Finals to the Dallas Mavericks in six games.
After the win, Gilbert posted a tweet that congratulated the Mavs and said, "Old lesson for all:There are NO SHORTCUTS. NONE."
After the win, Gilbert posted a tweet that congratulated the Mavs and said, "Old lesson for all:There are NO SHORTCUTS. NONE."
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| Cavs putting their faith in two very unproven prospects |
June 23 - In the draft, the Cavs select Duke guard Kyrie Irving with the first pick and Texas power forward Tristan Thompson.
Irving, despite having only played 11 games an injury-riddled freshman season, was projected to be a top pick all along, based on his great potential at the point. The Cavs satisfy their needs at point guard (Baron Davis is not starter-worthy), which has officially become square one for teams in the "rebuilding" process.
Thompson, picked higher than initially projected, is expected to add some size to Cleveland's depleted front court. He's certainly a project; a player with an NBA body and great potential, but very raw.
June 30 - The Cavs trade power forward/center (but in reality, power forward) J.J. Hickson to the Sacramento Kings for small forward Omri Casspi.
Hickson, one of the worst shooting big men in the league, grew into his own by the end of the season, seeing extended playing time with the injury to starting center Anderson Varejao. He's a good rebounder and solid back-to-the-basket scorer, but his shooting percentage, turnovers, and maturity need to improve before he can positively contribute to a team. The Cavs frontcourt is too crowded anyways, with Varejao, Thompson, and Samardo Samuels (at least) vying for minutes.
Casspi is an average shooter, defender, and rebounder who, going into his third year in the league, can certainly improve in all of those categories. He has size, athleticism, and if not already, has potential to play multiple roles (and perhaps positions). He fills an immediate need at small forward, a position "stopgapped" last season by the likes of Joey Graham and Jamario Moon, two players worth of a roster spot on a D-league team.
July 7 - The Cavs announce that they'll own and operate their own D-League team (a perfect place for Graham and Moon).
Great move by the struggling franchise, perhaps influenced by the recent sellout record of the Dayton Dragons, a wildly-successful minor league niche team that was recently profiled in the New York Times. They join the likes of the Lakers, Warriors, Spurs, and Thunder as NBA teams with D-League teams of their own, all of which have passionate, devoted fans.
So, having reached its nadir in 2010-2011, Cleveland looks toward next season (if it happens) with plenty of optimism. Weirder things have happened in the Midwest, a place where tortured fanbases never cease to shell out cash to go see their floundering teams.
Hate the column? Love the column? Send us an email at jabronifreesports@gmail.com.
Dean Karoliszyn is the Coeditor-in-Chief and cofounder of Jabroni Free Sports.
4 comments:
Comment, Shmomment!
Comment, shlomment!
Thanks for the wonderful comments!
Ok dan gilbert made me hate the cav's basically for his attitude the whole season. Blaming Lebron for not winning when he was (as shown in 2010) the only thing keeping this team afloat. Also how he holds grudges, you can no longer buy a fathead of lebron on fathead.com (owned by gilbert) but you can buy a nick gilbert one... that's smart business, it's not like lebron had the highest jersey sales this year....oh wait he did. Also how he crowed that the cavs would win a championship before lebron and the heatles would, was he huffing the varnish at the Q? The heat almost won a championship in their first year as a team, even though they spent all of the year with no talented center, PG, or bench.
I do a agree on the premise that the Cabs will be better this year, but mostly because their absurd injury rate last year and not the quality of their new players.
Lastly, JJ Hickson was moved for Casspi? Reading this article was the first i had heard of this. This is the same JJ Hickson they wouldnt trade to the Suns for amare stoudemire. If you saw a single Knicks game this year you saw what a help stoudemire would have been, and how he abused kevin garnett when healthy.
well ive ranted enough. i hate dan gilbert.
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