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Any chance Cavs try and go after Gasol?

That dude can still play. His biggest weakness this season has been crappy rebounding, but we have two of the best rebounders in the league, so that is sort of mitigated. He spreads the floor really well, can play both Power Forward and Center, and opponents are shooting 6.2% worse against him than they do normally.

I doubt Bulls trade him to us, but if they really are shopping him, I'd 100% give it a look.
I'm honestly sick of bringing of aged veterans to Cleveland. They always fall off a cliff as soon as they get here. Miller, Marion, Jefferson, Deng, Shaq...

Gasol turns 36 this summer, and I know he'll follow the same general trend the other guys did when they came here. We need to get some youth on this team that can grow with the team and be developed.
 
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Warriors have Bogut and Green, both top 15 in rim protection, two of the best rim protectors in the nba.
so even if they go small they have green down there, who's not only a good rim protector but also a great perimeter defender.

Spurs have Tim Duncan who's an unbelievable rim protector, especially in the playoffs. they also had Tiago Splitter back when they won the chip... Miami had Birdman who was just a phenomenal rim protector, and a great finisher at the basket.

You need great rim protection to win titles, that will never change, small ball or not. if you can't stop people at the rim you will not win. please show me one championship team in recent memory who didn't have a great rim protector.

Title teams - opponent fg % at the rim (0-3) ft during the reg. season according to bball reference.
08: Boston .604 % 16th in league
09: Lakers .597 % 13th in league
10: Lakers .599 % 11th in league
11: Mavs .664 % 24th in league
12: Heat .582 % 2nd in league
13: Heat .601 % 5th in league
14: Spurs .611 % 6th in league
15: Warriors .620 % 11th in league
16: Cavs .607 % Tied for 12th in the league

I don't think the Cavs are doing a bad job, they have had multiple injuries and are still 4th in the league in overall defense. Id argue if they pickup a guy like Tucker or Morris and experimented with lineups without Love they could move up in this category. Or even play Varejao more. I also think Mozgov is still a good rim protector he just has regressed so bad on offense its hard to keep him out there for a lot of minutes.

If we could get a guy like John Henson Id support that, but I don't know how many realistic options there are going to be unless the Cavs want to take a gamble on Tyson Chandler's contract
 
I'm honestly sick of bringing of aged veterans to Cleveland. They always fall off a cliff as soon as they get here. Miller, Marion, Jefferson, Shaq...

Gasol turns 36 this summer, and I know he'll follow the same general trend the other guys did when they came here. We need to get some youth on this team that can grow with the team and be developed.
Listen, I agree. But comparing Pau this season to Miller, Marion, Jefferson, Shaq, Big Ben, 'Twan, etc. is a little unjust. Pau is having one of his best defensive seasons of his career and can still space the floor.

Plus, he is a FA this offseason, so we won't be stuck with him as he declines. I'm not advocating trading the house for Pau, but if some combo of Timo/TT, crap draft picks, and Kaun/Cunningham -- or even TPE in three way trade (can we do that?) -- can miraculously land us Pau, I'd do that deal in a heartbeat.
 
Don't think I've seen it here, but perhaps GS was able to go small with such success because we didn't have Kevin Love to abuse them in the post. Our post offense was literally LeBron doing post ups and Mozgov in game 4 when the Warriors just let him do his thing to clamp down on everyone else. It's not like GS is giving Bogut DNPs these days...A big trade or even a small one worries me. We've had 2 single digit losses in tight games to the Spurs and Warriors, does that mean we need to panic and make a big move like 08 or 09?
 
Gasol is the 8th best rim protector in the NBA this year.

Gasol - Raw Point Saved/36 - 6.51
Duncan - Raw Point Saved/36 - 6.40

Gasol would be a huge upgrade from Mozgod, if you include his offensive game and championship experience, Gasol is also averaging 16/11/3 and 2 blocks as well, quite impressive for a guy "over his prime"...

Can't see this happening, makes no sense for the bulls, giving us one of the better centers in the league will basically kill any chance they have of beating us in the playoffs...
 
Gasol is the 8th best rim protector in the NBA this year.

Gasol - Raw Point Saved/36 - 6.51
Duncan - Raw Point Saved/36 - 6.40

Gasol would be a huge upgrade from Mozgod, if you include his offensive game and championship experience, Gasol is also averaging 16/11/3 and 2 blocks as well, quite impressive for a guy "over his prime"...

Can't see this happening, makes no sense for the bulls, giving us one of the better centers in the league will basically kill any chance they have of beating us in the playoffs...
This, 100% this.
 
People might as well get the Gasol pipe dream out of their head right now. There's simply no way a division rival (and who may be the top competitor in the conference by years end) would trade the Cavs a piece like Gasol.

Gasol is essentially the exact player the Cavs want/need to win a title this year:

- A big that can play PF or C - Check
- A big that can score in the post or step out with range - Check
- Rim Protector - Check
- Championship Experience - Check

Who could they even trade to entice the Bulls? Maybe if they're somehow getting a third team involved that would get them a younger big (maybe they'd roll the dice on 'Kieff?) then I could see it.

This actually works in Trade Machine:

Cavs Get:
Gasol

Bulls Get:
Morris
Moz

Suns Get:
Heinrich
Cunningham

If I'm the Cavs, I might actually roll the dice on something like this. Don't know if the Bulls would bite, though. Suns dump Morris and get two guys that are expiring contracts.
 
Especially with Joakim Noah out for basically the rest of the year...
 
Not sure who else we could get for Mozgov -- Koufos? Though I don't think Sacramento has any reason to trade him. I don't see the Bulls trading Gasol, and the problem with Gasol/Love is that they are both slow and can't play on the perimeter effectively -- even though they are both alright as defenders near the net.

Given Love's slow hips outside the paint, I think you need a center who can also guard the perimeter. That leaves you with people like:

Biyombo (but he's an offense killer)
Nerlens Noel (no reason for philly to trade him for anything we have)
Clint Capela (too young to be movable)
DeMarcus Cousins (again, we have nothing to trade)
Tyson Chandler (possible, but getting up there in age and on a huge contract)

I'm just messing around here - but what about Marvin Williams (not as a Mozgov replacement) but as another shooter at the 4? He might be getable (though we probably need to throw a first round pick to Charlotte). He's a good shooter at the 4, has pretty good rim protection stats.

I'm not sure if he's on the block - but he's a reasonable player to play a Markieff Morris like roll, and doesn't have attitude issues.
 
but if some combo of Timo/TT, crap draft picks, and Kaun/Cunningham -- or even TPE in three way trade (can we do that?) -- can miraculously land us Pau, I'd do that deal in a heartbeat.
Hopefully the FO doesn't think like you do. I've been as, perhaps more critical of TT than most around here but he demolished the Bulls on the glass in the semifinals. And Mozgov, while regressing offensively, is still a better rim protector when he has his act together. No way I part with either of those guys + the largest trade exception in the league for a half a year of soft ass, soon-to-be-ancient Gasol.
 
This thread pisses me off. You know what the Warriors and Spurs have in addition to unselfish team play? Continuity. You guys want to keep gutting this team until it has no identity...just a shapeshifting hodgepodge of players thrown into a mixing bowl until you think you've baked up some championship recipe.

Teams that win are teams that know one another and have forged an identity through constant play. You think jettisoning several core rotational guys and bringing in fresh new ones is going to magically win us a title? You're undermining how hard it is to integrate new pieces. That Blatt was able to do so last year was a miracle. We were two wins away from one with this very team minus it's second and third best players. I'd say we have everything we need...a couple guys just need to get their heads out of their asses.
 
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This thread pisses me off. You know what the Warriors and Spurs have in addition to unselfish team play? Continuity. You guys want to keep gutting this team until it has no identity...just a shapeshifting hodgepodge of players thrown into a mixing bowl until you think you've baked up some championship recipe.

Teams that win are teams that know one another and have forged an identity through constant play. You think jettisoning several core rotational guys and bringing in fresh new ones is going to magically win us a title? You're undermining how hard it is to integrate new pieces. That Blatt was able to do so last year was a miracle. We were two wins away from one with this very team minus it's second and third best players. I'd say we have everything we need...a couple guys just need to get their hands out of their asses.

I agree. The Cavs are 4th in total defense right now and haven't had the continuity the Spurs/Warriors have had since the season started.

I posted some stats on the last page that shows the Cavs interior defense is right on par with some of the other past championship teams that won. I don't think a major trade is the right way to go. I think you try to add maybe 1 piece and call it day.

Id argue right now that if Kyrie gets back to the level he did last season and Kevin Love starts knocking down some shots we are the best team in the league
 
Is white iverson a rim protector?
 
Title teams - opponent fg % at the rim (0-3) ft during the reg. season according to bball reference.
08: Boston .604 % 16th in league
09: Lakers .597 % 13th in league
10: Lakers .599 % 11th in league
11: Mavs .664 % 24th in league
12: Heat .582 % 2nd in league
13: Heat .601 % 5th in league
14: Spurs .611 % 6th in league
15: Warriors .620 % 11th in league
16: Cavs .607 % Tied for 12th in the league

I don't think the Cavs are doing a bad job, they have had multiple injuries and are still 4th in the league in overall defense. Id argue if they pickup a guy like Tucker or Morris and experimented with lineups without Love they could move up in this category. Or even play Varejao more. I also think Mozgov is still a good rim protector he just has regressed so bad on offense its hard to keep him out there for a lot of minutes.

If we could get a guy like John Henson Id support that, but I don't know how many realistic options there are going to be unless the Cavs want to take a gamble on Tyson Chandler's contract

Wonder how much that Warriors number is inflated because of David Lee lol.
 
I'd say we have everything we need...a couple guys just need to get their hands out of their asses.

but did anyone saw Mozgov being this bad? what if he doesn't get better? its almost half a season in already...
is sticking with him no matter what worth a title this year? because were sure as hell not winning a title with Tristan Thompson being our starting center, there's nothing wrong with making changes and adapting to unforeseen circumstances, like we did last year.

like you said, we brought 3 new guys midseason who were just a perfect fit, we made it to the finals despite injuries, when you have a leader like LeBron continuity is overrated.

You want to tell me that if you could replace Mozgov with Gasol right now you wouldn't do it because of continuity? bedsides how does the continuity that our players have with Mozgov help if he barley plays?
 
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