Sherwin-Williams Paint Job: A Covering of Cleveland Sports. Browns’ changes, Manziel? The Indians’ Choo & Tears 4 Grant
Mandatory Credit: David Richard-USA TODAY Sports
Cleveland Cavs
I’m still not sure how I feel about Chris Grant’s firing. I think he did a lot of great things and has really turned this team around since the early post LBJ MIA Never Forgiven days. He was like a Basketball Jesus at times turning water (Mo Williams and Andrew Bynum) into wine (Kyrie Irving and Luol Deng). I also don’t think people give him enough credit for his drafts. At the time there was a serious question on whether to draft Kyrie Irving, the talented but often injured barely played in college ball point guard, or Derrick Williams, the explosive decorated small/power forward. Grant wisely picked Kyrie. Then came the 4th choice where he grabbed Tristan Thompson. A lot of people argue for Jonas Valanciunas, but at the time it was a risky pick. He was an overseas player and was staying at least another year, maybe more who knows. At this point though Tristan Thompson and Valanciunas are very similar in their development (Thompson might be slightly higher) so it could be argued either way. It’s not like he blew the pick though. You can say Klay Thompson or Kawhi Leonard are better choices but they weren’t really in the mix that high. Not a foolproof explanation it’s just something that happens often. A player slips for some reason and ends up being a better pro player than college player that scouts didn’t expect.
The following year Grant did almost everything he could to get Anthony Davis, one of three can’t miss players in this draft. Damian Lillard (at point guard where we already had Irving) and Andre Drummond (many scouts were concerned about work ethic and maturity among others which is why he slipped to 9) as the others. To me Dion Waiters is the #4 player so far from this draft, so the 2nd best player we had access to in this draft. The two most commonly discussed others are Bradley Beal, unavailable to us but to think how great he would have fit in next to Irving UGGHHH, and Harrison Barnes. I think Waiters is a better player both now and in the future than Barnes but it would be hard to argue against the better fit of Beal than Waiters. Think of them as young Ray Allen aka Jesus Shuttlesworth (Beal) and young Dwayne Wade (Waiters). They both could have great careers. The reason I’m so high on Waiters is that I think he has the explosive energy, great shot and work ethic to continue to grow into one of the better players not only on this team but in the league. I think he has truly special skills and can learn to dominate in a way similar to D-Wade (see this article for a little more in-depth look at Dion’s turnaround). So recapping we could have SF-Derrick Williams (pick after Williams), PF-Jan Vesely (two picks after Thompson) and C-Thomas Robinson (taken a pick after Waiters). It easily could be devastating had Grant missed on one or all the picks. So far we’re getting solid production from our players.
Which brings us to this year’s draft. Anthony Bennett has recently shown the skill-set that made him the #1 pick, signs of an explosive drive, an ability to smartly crash the boards and the ability be a big power-forward who can hit the 3 ball (very similar to constant trade target and Uncle Drew (Kyrie) buddy, Kevin Love). This would really help with spacing on the court and seemed like a smart idea with the pick. The other top players in this year’s draft are all guards like Michael Carter Williams, Trey Burke and Victor Oladipo. A lot of the problem with either guards are that they’re all very similar to what we already have. So it’s very possible that we look back with Bennett being the more dominant and best situational pick.
What really killed Grant was this offseason. Mike Brown has a great reputation at instilling a defensive mind into the team, something this young Cavaliers team desperately needed but he forgot he hasn’t been known for working well with all-stars. After LBJ MIA Never Forgiven left a lot came out about the preferred treatment LBJ MIA Never Forgiven got when it came to missed assignments among other things. Towards the end it was very clear they didn’t get along which led to Brown being fired before his announcement (of betrayal). Also he didn’t last very long with a team of all-stars when he coached for the Los Angeles Lakers. Combine that with the early reports of a toxic locker-room and you can start to wonder if maybe Mike Brown doesn’t have what it takes to coach and demand respect from all-stars.
Also adding to problems of this off-season is the slow development of Bennett (though it looks like, for now, it’s being turned around) and the signings of Jarrett Jack and Andrew Bynum. I liked both signings at the time but both look quite ugly in 20/20. I had no idea, and very few of us did either, that the locker-room was going to be so toxic so early on. If you had known that, there is no way you would have thrown Andrew “I Quit on Everything” Bynum to the mix. Grant fixed that though quickly, addressing a huge need for the Cavs and bringing a young all-star defensive veteran at the SF position (I think one of this best trades. Many people will point out that he was just offering up cap-relief but that again is the genius of Christ Grant. That cap-relief that Andrew Bynum was, would have never had been had it not been for the brilliant negotiations on Grant’s part.). So in the end this added up to be a giant plus! On the flipside, Jarret Jack was supposed to slide into the 2nd team as an all-around guard. The problem is Kyrie and Dion didn’t mesh well to begin the season sliding Waiters and Jack together causing ball-handling problems, the same applies when Jack and Irving are together on the floor. For the Jack signing to be what it was supposed to be Waiters and Irving would have had to be on the floor together with Jack being the primary ball handler on the 2nd team. (I’m 27 and typing the phrase “primary ball handler” still makes me laugh out loud)
The main issues this team seemed to be having at the beginning of the season seems to be the problems of Mike Brown. How the players are in the locker-room and how they’re responding to the training should be the main priority of the head coach. It’s why it was so odd to see this turn around after Grant is fired. When you hear the reports and interviews you can see the players finally taking responsibility for their poor play, especially Waiters. They feel bad they got fired the one person who believed in them enough to draft them. I think that really changed their attitudes and ethic in this 4 game win streak.