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So long, David Griffin

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I thought Liggins looked good defensively. We will need more wing defenders in the playoffs. Hoping he sticks.
 
With the Cleveland Cavaliers relying so heavily on LeBron James, Kyrie Irving and Kevin Love, David Griffin says their roster building is more about finding the right fit than about high upside talent.

The Cavaliers have veteran role players like James Jones, Richard Jefferson, Mike Dunleavy, Dahntay Jones, Channing Frye and Chris Andersen playing key roles.

"We can really spend a lot more time on fit," said Griffin during Wednesday's preseason game. "We don't really need to be just looking for high variance upside guys. We need to find guys that fit the group. More than anything else, fitting as a human is really, really important for us. Absolutely, we're going to sacrifice a little bit for talent in the pursuit of a guy who hits open jump shots and is willing to do whatever it takes for the team.
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This is just my personal opinion but I disagree with the approach. I think for both rebuilding and contending teams, that young guys should be just about high ceilings and talent. Imagine finding a young wing who then turns into an All-Star 3 years from now.

Now if you're talking about bringing in vets, even the young ones, that should strictly be about fit.
 
mhi said:
This is just my personal opinion but I disagree with the approach. I think for both rebuilding and contending teams, that young guys should be just about high ceilings and talent. Imagine finding a young wing who then turns into an All-Star 3 years from now.

Now if you're talking about bringing in vets, even the young ones, that should strictly be about fit.
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You have to do both.

We have the fit and niche guys in their primes or older like JR, RJ, Dunleavy, Bird, etc.

You need those guys first so that you have a deep enough, smart enough rotation that is ready to play meaningful playoff minutes without consistency or guarantee.

But with the Stars and those guys in place, yes now we can hope that we strike gold on a guy like Felder, McCrae, Liggins, Osman if/when he comes over, and whoever they select in the 2017 draft.

You also hope that established young guys like TT and Shump scrape as high/close to their ceiling as possible, and end up being better players than we may have envisioned a year ago.
 
Cavatt said:
I thought Liggins looked good defensively. We will need more wing defenders in the playoffs. Hoping he sticks.
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I didnt like him at point and i dont see a role for him as a sg personally. We need a 3rd pg and we need a 5th big who can play center. We dont need a 5th player who can play sg.

Jr, Shump, Mcrae, Dunleavy, RJ all play sg and most can play sf, Liggins if he cant play pg really is a one positional no 3 and D player.

I know i am being hard on him, just rather develop McRae and Felder and find a young big to develop.

Also, need to see more of Douglas, absolutely need a 3rd pg, and Liggins and McRae are not going to cut it at pg.
 
MirORich said:
You have to do both.

We have the fit and niche guys in their primes or older like JR, RJ, Dunleavy, Bird, etc.

You need those guys first so that you have a deep enough, smart enough rotation that is ready to play meaningful playoff minutes without consistency or guarantee.

But with the Stars and those guys in place, yes now we can hope that we strike gold on a guy like Felder, McCrae, Liggins, Osman if/when he comes over, and whoever they select in the 2017 draft.

You also hope that established young guys like TT and Shump scrape as high/close to their ceiling as possible, and end up being better players than we may have envisioned a year ago.
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This is what the Spurs did so well so of course I agree. Now I am not saying the Cavs can do that but it is a very good blue print to making a dynasty. Heck Kyrie is like what 24 and Love 28? So yeah they got time to strike gold.
 
Chris Parker said:
No argument here, but you have to grant that it's a lot easier looking for the 10th or 11th guy on reigning two-time EC champ...
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Danny Green is a perfect illustration of that point. We got rid of him. The Spurs got rid of him...twice. But because they were who they were, and weren't desperate to fill holes, they could afford to give him a third shot after he got his head screwed on straight.

Building a successful core and sound bench is what allows you to take chances on some player. And @MirORich is right. You have to have some young role players to learn/preserve the culture in addition to being able to swing for the fences on some high risk/reward types.

Other than the gap at C, our first steps down that path appear to be successful.
 
I loved the pick of Osman in 2015. I thought that the other 2 second round picks should have been additional guys from the International pool. When you are a contending team, it is very difficult to add guys that will get minutes now and if they get a few minutes here and there for 2-3 years they may leave in free agency before you can do much with them. International picks don't have to be added, can get training elsewhere, and can be trade assets for years. And you don't bring them over until you are ready to find them a spot. Christmas and Pointer had to make the team or their value to Cleveland was essentially gone. San Antonio was a master at this.
 
MirORich said:
But with the Stars and those guys in place, yes now we can hope that we strike gold on a guy like Felder, McCrae, Liggins, Osman if/when he comes over, and whoever they select in the 2017 draft.
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But that's not what he's saying. What you're saying is the point am trying to make. Griffin, on the other hand, is saying that even those young guys are selected more so for their fit. And who we have bear that out.

For example, I don't see any of those guys as having a high ceiling. Liggins is who he is at this point and McCrae needs to add muscle and play defense (if we could merge these two lol). Felder, I guess, since he's a rookie still so he's got no where to go but up, but he doesn't have the upside of a core player either.
 
CalBuckeyeRob said:
I loved the pick of Osman in 2015. I thought that the other 2 second round picks should have been additional guys from the International pool. When you are a contending team, it is very difficult to add guys that will get minutes now and if they get a few minutes here and there for 2-3 years they may leave in free agency before you can do much with them. International picks don't have to be added, can get training elsewhere, and can be trade assets for years. And you don't bring them over until you are ready to find them a spot. Christmas and Pointer had to make the team or their value to Cleveland was essentially gone. San Antonio was a master at this.
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Well you could argue Pointer now is an International guy
 
This guy deserves way more appreciation.

Bold move in 2015 midseason bringing JR/Moz/Shump allowed Cavs to contend - and if it weren't for the injuries, even win it all.

Crazy bold move in january 2016 changing the coach, against all odds, was historically great, in hindsight - and it gets only better if you remember how questionable it was at that time. That's two jackpots right there: firing Blatt and hiring the right guy Lue.

Monster balls/instinct/decision making.
 
mhi said:
Felder, I guess, since he's a rookie still so he's got no where to go but up, but he doesn't have the upside of a core player either.
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Does Isaiah Thomas have the upside of a core player?
 
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