Daniels interested in Cavs

[Glen Infante]

Free-agent point guard Antonio Daniels attended the Las Vegas Summer League on Wednesday. Daniels said he was in town talking with different executives and coaches about joining their team. Daniels, who played with Seattle last year, said the Cavs are one of the many teams he is interested in playing for.

"I'm trying to make my decision by the end of this week or the beginning of next week," Daniels said. "I'm interested in Cleveland because I'm from Columbus. Playing close to home would be a great opportunity. Plus LeBron [James] is there and Larry Hughes is there now and Z [Zydrunas Ilgauskas] is still there. That would be a very competitive team in the East."

The Plain Dealer

 

[Slim Sheedy]

I'd be happy with either Sarunas or Daniels.. so i think it comes down to who ever signs/agrees first.. Sarunas better decide quick or we might not wait around too long..

 

[Wine and Gold]

If we package Luke Jackson or Sasha and Drew Gooden in a trade for an eventual big guy, we could concievably go fo both SJ and AD. Then use SJ as more of a sg than point, or vice versa. One thing we have is players with lots of versatility that can play numerous positions ....in AD,LH,LJ ...you guys that can effectively play 2,3,4 positions very well ...which leads to alot of nice options for the coaches to utilize.

 

[KI4MVP]

We don't want to trade Luke - he's our ace in the hole this year - nobody knows how good he really is because of his back injury last year. He is tearing up the summer league. We only have had 3 guys I considered off limits when free agency started - LeBron, AV and Luke. Check out what a portland writer said about his play last night.

http://www.oregonlive.com/weblogs/blazersblog/

Luke Jackson just made Eri Ebe look silly on his way to the rim...I'd like to see Outlaw stick Jackson.

Jackson just shook Webster out of his shoes...Martell had to pick himself up. Hard to tell at this point if Jackson is that good or Martell is that bad...but Jackson is seriously toying with the rookie.

 

[LyXo]

I'd be satisfied with Daniels. But I think Sarunas would be a much better player. I don't think his defense will be bad. Mike Brown employs a system. In Europe, they are more keen to playing zone defense, systems of help defense, etc. and he should fit perfectly. If the Lituanian team had a point guard defensive deficiency, it would have shown a lot more.

Daniels would probably come more expensive than Sarunas, just because of his market value. It will hurt us if we have to throw 5-6 mil/year at him, we need a big man.

 

[Coyote]

My concern with AD is that we'd be paying a lot for an essentially above-average player whose price has been driven up by the market. Don't get me wrong, I like AD's game, but I see him as a slightly younger Eric Snow. Is he worth the money? Well, we had to overpay a bit for Hughes and Z because that's what the market dictated. But when we have the option of getting Sarunas - who is admittedly a bit of a risk, but seems capable of a LOT - for less money, I'd go after him first, then AD.

Wine and Gold, I like your idea but I'm hesitant about the 'versatility' issue when it comes to bench players. I tend to think that a guy who sees less minutes needs to know exactly what is expected of him. I wouldn't mind seeing us package Sasha and Drew for a new PF, but I don't think we'd do well with Sarunas bouncing from PG to SG. Plus, he wants to start.

 

[ColumbusCavsFan5]

Shit, I'd love to have Daniels. He's a proven NBA player, I'm not saying that Sarunas won't turn out to be good, but I think getting Daniels is less risky. He went to school at Desales which is a Columbus school and even though I really hate that high school ... it'd still be cool to have him on the Cavs being that he is a hometown guy, for me at least. Think about that line up... Daniels, Hughes, Lebron, Gooden (or whoever we may end up getting), Z. Man I'm excited just thinking about that.

 

[PIP]

look... it just wouldn't work.. AD is a slasher, we have those.. we need a shooter- thus SJ is our man for the job..

i love antonio daniels, ever since the days of the high socks and rockin the vancouver grizzlies jersey.

but, the fact remains the same-- "SHOOOOOTER"

 

[Glen Infante]

If we package Luke Jackson or Sasha and Drew Gooden in a trade for an eventual big guy, we could concievably go fo both SJ and AD.

I'm not sure it would be wise to get 3 point guards that are pretty much 30 years old. They would all be fighting for some playing time at the point, because that is the possition where all 3 of them are most effective.

AD would be a nice addition if SJ doesn't make his decision soon. AD is pretty much a version of Eric with a jump shot. He is smart on defense and that is something Mike Brown would love.

 

[cdt]

We do need a shooter, I'd take Sarunas over Antonio Daniels, but if Sarunas screws around any longer we are going to loser out on the rest of the players we need. It should be cut and dry cavs or indy we offer more to him so I don't see the holdup, however if we went over teh 28 mill I'd try to get out of Snow or Newble's contracts I like them both but at 5 million or so and Snows deal reaching 7 mill for a few years, no thanks, then we could sign a big or daniels or a shooter like marshall.

 

[King]

Saras would be a better fit than AD. We need a shooter. AD is a decent shooter but not that great. Id hate to have our only shooters be Luke and Sasha next season. Saras is probably cheaper too.

 

[cdt]

AD has visited a few teams, and also he has caught interest from like 15 teams he said I wouldnt mind playing for Portland or La or like half of the league, we wont sign him.

 

[NarlCavs]

Players can't be signed until July 22 so there's plenty of time to get Sarunas or for him to decide to sign here. There's also theh possibility that an agreement is pretty much done but is on hold while the Cavs try to make other moves while they have the cap space.

With Hughes now the SG, a good perimeter shooter who can consistently knock down open jumpers and deep jumpers is more the need at PG. That's why Sarunas is now the better fit than Daniels. I like Daniels and would take him if other options don't pan out. The problem is Daniels will cost a lot more than Sarunas, especially with so many teams interested. He also doesn't really solve the perimeter shooting problems in the backcourt.

 

[Kypus]

Shit, I'd love to have Daniels. He's a proven NBA player, I'm not saying that Sarunas won't turn out to be good, but I think getting Daniels is less risky.

Yeah. I'd like Daniels too but come playoff time I think he becomes redundant if we have a 3 man AD/Hughes/Snow guard rotation for the playoffs. People keep saying it over and over, it is all about the fit. We never did sign the big FA 3-point shooter that we wanted, and Sarunas 3 point shooting would round us out nicely. We already would have the 3rd stopper guard off the bench (Eric Snow > Lindsay Hunter).

At this point Sarunas/Hughes/Snow rotation is where we want to be for the playoffs. And if Gilchrist makes the team, it makes AD even more redundant (aside from the obvious playoff experience).

 

[Karma]

Daniels is playing agent. Of course he is going to say he is interested in playing in Cleveland or Atlanta or LA or Afganistan or etc. He is improving his worth by showing he is open to all offers which boosts his $'s. It has been said many times, Cavs sign Redd, chase Daniels. Cavs sign Hughes, chase Sarunas. Its all about finding the best fit for this ball club. Daniels is not quite that, so it would be a waste to spend such dollars when there are better fitting alternatives.