Here's a good read I swiped from the Browns board, DawgTalk (hehe):
Cavaliers Reportedly Interested In Acquiring Udonis Haslem
Filed under: Rumor Mill— Amar Panchmatia @ 3:08 am
One of the few good moves made by outgoing general manager Jim Paxson was the one he made last year in replacing his own blunder in allowing Carlos Boozer to escape. Paxson traded backup center Tony Battie, acquired in the Ricky Davis trade of December ‘03, along with two second-round draft picks to Orlando for freshly-drafted Anderson Varejao, Drew Gooden, and center Steven Hunter. Of course, Paxson couldn’t come out of his own good move 100 percent successful, as he waived Hunter shortly afterward. Hunter was a key reserve on a Phoenix team that won 62 games, so as lopsided as the deal was, Paxson was unable to save himself from his own ineptitude once again.
Regardless of that, Gooden went on to put up a career year with 14.4 points and 9.2 rebounds on 49.2 percent shooting. Gooden was also 80+ percent from the free throw line, but he developed the reputation of being soft, inconsistent, and immature. He was a score-first power forward when he arrived in Cleveland, and outgoing head coach Paul Silas asked him to focus more on defense and crashing the boards, and the scoring would come later. Gooden transformed himself into a phenomenal player, putting together a near All-Star season and showing that, after being traded twice in his young career and playing for his third team in as many years, he may have found a permanent home in Cleveland. Varejao, however, was his challenger for that power forward spot. A fan-favorite, the wild-haired Brazilian did all the things that the Cavs wanted from the 4-spot, which didn’t include scoring.
Gooden’s blunt basketball acumen and low hoops IQ (based on watching him play 82 games last year) may have helped him wear out his welcome in Cleveland. Those 14.4 points and 9.2 boards may be misleading, as many of them came in garbage time or at times when the game was already won or lost. He showed flashes of brilliance near the end of the season, but the fact of the matter is that he is not the rebound-first, defensive-minded, blue collar power forward that the Cavs want to put next to center Zydrunas Ilgauskas. And yes, the team is trying hard to bring back the 7′3″, All-Star center as a top priority.
Udonis Haslem, however, is that kind of power forward the Cavs have been yearning for since losing Boozer. Haslem is a hard worker, much like Boozer, partly because both of them were slighted on draft day. While Boozer, a star at Duke University, fell to 35th overall in the 2002 selection, Haslem never heard his name called at all in that very same draft and ended up playing for Chalon Sur-Saone in France in 2002-03. As a 22-year old coming off of a superstar career at the University of Florida, he put in the hard work to get him an NBA contract with his hometown Miami Heat. With Miami’s frontcourt set with Brian Grant, Lamar Odom, and Caron Butler, Haslem saw minutes as a reserve. And his play turned heads, enough to garner more minutes. He finished his rookie year with 7.3 points and 6.3 boards on 45.9 percent shooting in 23.9 minutes a game. Many thought his 6′8″, 230-pound frame would be too undersized to play effectively at power forward, but Haslem showed he can bang bodies with the best of them. It wasn’t truer than it was the following year in ‘04-’05, when the Heat traded their whole frontcourt for Shaquille O’Neal and made Haslem the starter at power forward. In the final year of his contract, the forward put up 10.9 points and 9.1 rebounds on an astounding 54 percent shooting. His field goal percentage ranked fourth in the league while his rebounds were at 14th. He had made his mark in the league, just as Boozer had done a year ago. And, like Boozer was, Haslem is a restricted free agent on a team that is capped out with nothing more than the mid-level exception to offer him, with a team loaded with cap space is knocking on his door.
The Miami Herald reported on Saturday that the Cavs are interested in Haslem. The Heat, fresh off of an Eastern Conference-best 59-23 finish and a game away from their first NBA Finals berth, can only offer Haslem a 5-year, $33 million deal at the mid-level exception since they do not have his full “Bird Rights” (Haslem has only played two season for Miami). The Cavs can sign him to an offer sheet for much more than that and put Miami in a serious bind, much like they themselves were with Boozer last year. The Heat would either have to forfeit their entire mid-level exception and cap flexibility to keep Haslem or bulldoze their roster to make the needed room. Either way, the likelihood of that happening wouldn’t be as high as a Miami fan would like to believe.
Putting Haslem, a good rebounder who isn’t looking to score points in bunches, next to Ilgauskas up front would be perfect for the Cavaliers. LeBron James would be option #1, newly acquired shooting guard Larry Hughes would be option #2, and “Z” would be option #3. Haslem wouldn’t need to score more than 10 points a game. If he focuses on getting 11-12 rebounds per game and playing good defense with new head coach Mike Brown’s system, then he will have earned the hefty paycheck that may be coming his way from Dan Gilbert’s endless checkbook.
Also, the Cavs would likely move Gooden and his $4.1 million salary after acquiring Haslem and keeping Ilgauskas, probably for a first-round pick in next year’s draft. With the additional cap space, the Cavs may sign Heat point guard Damon Jones, an unrestricted free agent. Jones canned 225 three-pointers last year, a career-high and third best in the league. While many want to attribute his success to playing with Shaq and Dwyane Wade, don’t believe for a minute that playing with LeBron, Z, and Hughes would hurt that one bit. And, by the way, Haslem would be his power forward again. Jones, a 29-year old point guard who just turned down a $2.5 million player option to test the market, hit 98 treys a year before in Milwaukee. He would fill two needs for the Cavs: a starting point guard with veteran experience and a solid perimeter scorer. Although Jones is coming off of a career year, it would be wise to take a gamble on him with a big pay day. Personally, I think it would work. He seems to have his head on straight, unlike Jeff McInnis, and his journeyman status has made him a better player. Don’t count on him tanking it in Cleveland, or else LeBron will remind him of this.
Speaking of LeBron, my main man Brian Windhorst at the Akron Beacon Journal had a nice tidbit in Sunday’s paper. Brian’s a big-time Cavs insider, so I think he knows what he’s talking about. Check it out:
“Many fans were frustrated last week that Redd returned to the last-place Milwaukee Bucks despite having the chance to come back home to Ohio and play with LeBron James. Well, the $20-some million difference between the offers was understandably the difference-maker. Keep those special rules to protect the incumbent team in mind in two years, when James is a free agent and the Cavaliers will be able to offer significantly more money to keep him. Contrary to numerous media reports, James’ Nike contract does not have a kicker in it to increase his compensation if he plays in New York, Los Angeles or Chicago. Some of his other endorsement deals do, but they represent much, much less than he can get by re-signing for a max contract in Cleveland. Not to mention he’s restricted, and the Cavaliers can match any offer.”
Sorry, Isiah. You too, Jay-Z. And Dr. Buss.
Larry Hughes may be the first step in a great direction, as well.
