So long, Kay Felder

[BimboColesHair]

Do you feel he is consistent enough to be in the rotation? It's hard for me to care about two good minutes when he was bad in the first half and bad when they lost that momentum.

Actually, forget that I asked any questions. I'm not here for a debate against the Devil's Advocate. I'm here to discuss reality.

You can certainly tell his mindset/goal for this season is to see if he can score in the NBA against NBA size...at least IMO.

He has like 3 or 4 spots he has found where he can get a clean look at any point he wants, and it seems he is working on shots from those spots and counters from those spots when they are defended.

I think that priority is hurting his tendency to pass or set up teammates, however. When he has the ball, he is either looking to get himself a shot, or just handing it right back to someone.

Considering this is a guy who passed a ton in college, I'm thinking that's by design. After hearing how we are doing little to no 5 on 5 in practice this year, it would make a bit of sense for him in his rare game situations to work on what he's been practicing on with the developmental coaches, and I'm guessing that's mostly been shooting midrange pull-ups off PnRs and shielding guys with his body to finish around the rim.

He's made steps in finding his spots and making shots from them at a better clip recently. But now he needs to make steps in using his ability to get to those spots to set teammates up better, and spotting up/playing off ball better. Those are the next things I hope we see improvement in...

Baby steps, but we are seeing small improvements here and there from him, which is encouraging.

 

[Cavatt]

Do you feel he is consistent enough to be in the rotation? It's hard for me to care about two good minutes when he was bad in the first half and bad when they lost that momentum.

Actually, forget that I asked any questions. I'm not here for a debate against the Devil's Advocate. I'm here to discuss reality.

I think Kay can contribute. Until the last couple of games I thought he was just too far off. I think he chucked a couple of shots early and got the team out of rhythm, but he ran the team offense better than LeBron at the end of the game. Obviously a bad game for LBJ as he was feeling sick.

The bulls d had really shut the team down, so while I dont see Kay getting big minutes, I think as a change of pace penetrating drive and kick player he can spell Kyrie and LeBron for short spells so they get their rest.

Maybe not, maybe the league learns what he can do, but some of the athletic and first step moves as well as finishing look promising.

 

[TitleTown]

I think Kay can contribute. Until the last couple of games I thought he was just too far off. I think he chucked a couple of shots early and got the team out of rhythm, but he ran the team offense better than LeBron at the end of the game. Obviously a bad game for LBJ as he was feeling sick.

The bulls d had really shut the team down, so while I dont see Kay getting big minutes, I think as a change of pace penetrating drive and kick player he can spell Kyrie and LeBron for short spells so they get their rest.

Maybe not, maybe the league learns what he can do, but some of the athletic and first step moves as well as finishing look promising.

I agree. I thought Kay's game against the Bulls was still a sound contribution. His only problem was not making shots (which, I think was nerves from the press talking about his two good previous games). He still took good shots, took care of the ball, and looked like he was VERY comfortable in the 3rd playmaker role.

 

[Jon]

Do you feel he is consistent enough to be in the rotation? It's hard for me to care about two good minutes when he was bad in the first half and bad when they lost that momentum.

Actually, forget that I asked any questions. I'm not here for a debate against the Devil's Advocate. I'm here to discuss reality.

Rookies aren't consistent, but how often have you seen a bench group with NONE of the big-3 bring the Cavs back in to a game? That's not debate. Just a question.

Reality is what's happening on the court. I've been watching the kid. It's not clear at all you have.

 

[Cavatt]

I agree. I thought Kay's game against the Bulls was still a sound contribution. His only problem was not making shots (which, I think was nerves from the press talking about his two good previous games). He still took good shots, took care of the ball, and looked like he was VERY comfortable in the 3rd playmaker role.

At the very least you have to allow a rookie to make up for his mistakes and I felt he did it in the 2nd half

 

[TitleTown]

At the very least you have to allow a rookie to make up for his mistakes and I felt he did it in the 2nd half

Exactly. And, he'll probably have another shitty game or two. And when he does, people will overreact and say: "see, he's shit, we need to cut him asap."

But failure means he's pushing himself and learning. I think, overall, we're going to seem him continuing to trend up. But there's certainly going to be more hiccups along the way. I like this kid a lot.

 

[Jon]

At the very least you have to allow a rookie to make up for his mistakes and I felt he did it in the 2nd half

Consider even with years in the league a young player like Dion Waiters would still disappear for multiple games before his weekly reminder that he could play the game. Kay got himself straightened out in a half!!!

Will he continue to be able to do that in other situations?

We'll have to see, but if he can, that's pretty special. A player who can eliminate mistakes quickly is a player who's going to become really good really fast.

 

[cavsfever]

My biggest concern is what happens when he gets targeted on defense. I have seen some instances of this but haven't really gotten a good sense of how bad it in terms of people actually scoring at will on him. He does put in the effort to stay in front of people, but they can shoot or pass right over him.

I think in terms of offense/playmaking our bench is so bad already that at least in the regular season he is already something of a plus there -- he's clearly got some things he can do when he's on, even if he has not developed all his tools.

 

[Randolphkeys]

Reality is what's happening on the court. I've been watching the kid. It's not clear at all you have.

They lost the game because the depth cannot cover for Kyrie to be out with Love. And then you made it about me.

Grow up.

 

[MirORich]

The continued search for another PG is not an indictment on Kay at all.

Kay is the draft and development guy you hope is ready for true playoff action by year two or three.

Yes, he can sometimes hang in the rotation NOW and do som me good things, but there is a huge difference between regular season and the playoffs. It's rare a true rookie makes a meaningful and consistent contribution in a deep playoff series won by the team playing him.

Maybe Kay COULD be that guy but you can't just blindly take that chance when it's Title or Bust season essentially for the Cavs

 

[MirORich]

They lost the game because the depth cannot cover for Kyrie to be out with Love. And then you made it about me.

Grow up.

Lot of people freaking out about depth bench and how Shumpert has played the past few weeks.

Are we going to judge those things on a 2-3 week stretch where we've often had JR, Love and/or Kyrie out? Along with a few LeBron rest games?

The bench depth is in the process of being improved, but that was always in the cards.

 

[TitleTown]

The continued search for another PG is not an indictment on Kay at all.

Kay is the draft and development guy you hope is ready for true playoff action by year two or three.

Yes, he can sometimes hang in the rotation NOW and do som me good things, but there is a huge difference between regular season and the playoffs. It's rare a true rookie makes a meaningful and consistent contribution in a deep playoff series won by the team playing him.

Maybe Kay COULD be that guy but you can't just blindly take that chance when it's Title or Bust season essentially for the Cavs

Exactly. If Cavs pick up a PG, I could see it being a one year rental--especially with our payroll situation. This will allow Kay to keep developing slowly, and then target next season for when he becomes a serious addition to our lineup.

 

[TitleTown]

Lot of people freaking out about depth bench and how Shumpert has played the past few weeks.

Are we going to judge those things on a 2-3 week stretch where we've often had JR, Love and/or Kyrie out? Along with a few LeBron rest games?

The bench depth is in the process of being improved, but that was always in the cards.

I just think Shumpert is regressing to the mean. If anything, people were overreacting to his good play to start the season. What we're seeing from him now is his usual half-injured mediocrity.

 

[Cavatt]

They lost the game because the depth cannot cover for Kyrie to be out with Love. And then you made it about me.

Grow up.

I'm curious because you are usually not so quick to write a player off. Is it just his size? I mean, even if you don't like him you should be able to recognize that he actually has vision and is a very crisp passer. That along with his first step makes me think he can do it.

This isn't Delly, but he is like him in the fact that he seems to have cool nerves and makes very few dumb rookie mistakes. Some of his traditional PG skill s are better than Delly's IMO. Not to diminish Delly because I think he is really good at assessing his teammates strengths and helping them succeed better than just lasting a pass. I think his IQ was 2nd only to LeBron on last year's team.

I'm really curious why you feel this way because it is still very very early and he hasn't gotten that much time. I would have guessed you would be encouraged.

 

[Randolphkeys]

I'm curious because you are usually not so quick to write a player off. Is it just his size? I mean, even if you don't like him you should be able to recognize that he actually has vision and is a very crisp passer. That along with his first step makes me think he can do it.

This isn't Delly, but he is like him in the fact that he seems to have cool nerves and makes very few dumb rookie mistakes. Some of his traditional PG skill s are better than Delly's IMO. Not to diminish Delly because I think he is really good at assessing his teammates strengths and helping them succeed better than just lasting a pass. I think his IQ was 2nd only to LeBron on last year's team.

I'm really curious why you feel this way because it is still very very early and he hasn't gotten that much time. I would have guessed you would be encouraged.

I'll be honest with myself about one preconception: This was a vanity pick by the owner. The part of me that doesn't like owners of a pro sports team having a lot of say in the 15 man roster tainted my view from the start.

Now onto what I saw in Summer League: I wanted to be proven wrong, and I still do. However, I see length on the defensive side that is a liability and will always be a liability. His athleticism is u doubtedly off the charts, but in a league where the three ball is becoming the first offensive option for elite teams, his defensive liability in closing out concerns me.

So I can look past both of those issues, most notably the defensive one, if he is an elite offensive option. Has he looked better during this stretch of Kyrie's "hamstring tightness"? A little. I agree he is learning to pick spots on the floor for his own offense, and he needs to do that more often. But, at this point, I don't see an elite offensive option. I wonder if he is deserving of that four year contract without showing elite potential on offense.