Cavaliers ‘Guarded’ About Future
Rumors, speculation, talk, more rumors, more talk…uhm, you get the idea. We heard alo of this and that in the weeks leading up to the NBA draft. With 3 picks, there were alot of ways the Cavaliers could have gone. In the end, it was the most logical that ended up going down, and by addressing their biggest need with both of their first two picks, things continue to better and better for the Wine and Gold.
With the 25th pick, the Cavs were surprised and delighted to see Shannon Brown of Michigan St. fall into their laps. I won’t go into stats and all that jazz. You can get that at dozen of websites. What I will say is this. Being an Ohio St. fan and watching 90% of their games the last few years, including two matchups a year with Michigan St., the Cavs got a baller. Brown is a ‘junk-yard dog’ on the defensive end and has something the Cavs have needed in the backcourt for a while — size. At 6-4, 205 Brown has the size and length to give other teams problems on the perimeter. He also has some serious hops, finishing 2nd to LeBron in a dunk contest when both were Seniors in high school. That is another important intangible that wasn’t really talked about before the draft. Being that this was LeBron’s 3rd year in the league he had played and was familier with many of the college players coming out. He had played with Shannon Brown and they showed great chemistry on the floor together. I think the Cavs got the steal of the draft with Brown, who should be able to come in and contribute right away.
In the 2nd round the Cavs got fortunite again by having Texas PG Daniel Gibson fall in their laps. There was talk last week that the Cavs had given a promise to Gibson at the #25 spot, and even as late as yesterday ESPN’s Chad Ford had Gibson as a possibilty for the Cavs at 25. Not so fast my friend. After grabbing Brown the Cavs tried all they could to trade up to get Gibson only to see him fall all the way to 42. Like Brown, Gibson will need to improve his decision making at the NBA level, but let’s face it, if that is the worst things people can say about either of these guys the Cavs should be in great shape. With LeBron and Larry Hughes the Cavs already have two guys that can handle the ball and make decisions,at least the next couple of years. All we need from Gibson is the spark off the bench. The ability to creat and get to the rim. And most importantly, defend on the perimeter. It wasn’t Z or Drew that had the defensive breakdowns last year, it was the perimeter guys. Damon Jones, Sasha Pavlovic, even Eric Snow at times were more like conquistadors than on the ball defenders forcing Drew and Z into bad situations that usually ledd to dunk and/or fouls. Having athleticism up top should make Z and Drew/Anderson Verajao that much better.
Oh, the Cavs did have a third pick and chose the latest ‘Nigerian Nightmare’ Ejike Ugboaja. At 6-9, 225 he has size and is a freak athletically. That is where it ends, though and Uggy is a project for sure. He will spend the next couple of years overseas for more seasoning. I thought there were a couple of different ways Danny Ferry could have gone here, but I will reserve judgement and trust the Cavs brass, for now at least.
On the local front, the surprise of the night has to be the fact that West Virgina G and Olmsted Falls native Mike Gansey went undrafted. Hopefully the Cavs have already called Gansey’s agent and got him on the summer league team. ESPN’s Jay Bilas had Gansey at #20 overall in his rankings. Either he knows something that 30 NBA teams do not, or someone is going to get a real bargains as an undrafted FA. Gansey has alot of fire and intensity and showed a knack for hitting the big shot, and I think his game will translate well to the next level….
Guru Grade for the Cavs — A-
