Troy Murphy = Perfect fit

[Rimage]

He's better defensively than people think.

Also, he's an absolutely elite NBA rebounder.

Big price-tag, but still...would be a great fit.

Agree with everything here.

It's true, his defense isn't stellar, but he isn't a swinging door. He puts the effort in, he has just been on bad teams his whole career that don't really emphasize D. I think Murphy easily fits into the Mo Williams, Damon Jones, Wally Szczerbiak mold of guys that can be okay on D in this system. He is practically 7 feet tall, so give him to Mike Brown and they guy will be in a position to change shots. Oh, and he isn't that slow either...faster than Z and Shaq.

He is a great rebounder. He fights and mixes it up to get secure the board. He works well with all our bigs. Him and Andy would secure a lot of possession and obviously next to Shaq he spreads the floor.

Big price-tag, but that is on Dan Gilbert, if he is still willing to spend, then what do I care. Not like we are going have any kind of cap room next of season. What little we'll have I would gladly use to get a player like Murphy on the squad.

This kind of thing will only come up at the trade deadline anyway, as the Pacers are still trying to make the playoffs. They have a shot, but if it goes south for them, Murphy will like be on the block. Then you can always hope for the ever-so-cheap trade a player (Z), he gets bought out, you sign him back for the vet minimum.

Thinking about it purely for this year, I would question trading Z for Murphy without having a guarantee that Z would be bought out. That would get rid of a guy that is currently playing really well and is familiar with the system and team, for a guy that we have no idea how he will blend in. It's why Ferry gets paid I suppose.

 

[The Oi]

I'd take Murphy in a heartbeat. He can do pretty much everything out on the floor. He's still not a starter than can put up 18-20 PPG and the Cavs still need that IMO.

 

[MYoung23]

Alot of guys put up numbers on bad teams.

 

[Rimage]

Alot of guys put up numbers on bad teams.

Troy Murphy is a worker though. Plus, he wouldn't put up the numbers he is putting up now on the Cavs. I like him because of his skill set. He can hit threes at good clip and battles on the glass. How could we not use that?

 

[Rimage]

Here are somethings you have to consider with getting Murphy. When Powe comes back...who is going to get minutes? Shaq, Z (buyout assumed), Powe, AV and Murphy? Somebody isn't playing. You also have to take this into account. Murphy has never played a single minute in the playoffs. He has zero experience. Might mean nothing, might mean a lot.

 

[DeepInTheQ!]

NOOO! please don't, Murphy's on my fantasy team

 

[Jon]

First tier: Superstars - Players like Kevin Garnett, Tim Duncan, Dirk Nowitzki etc

Second tier: All Stars - David West, Carlos Boozer, Pau Gasol, etc..

Third tier: Solid Starters - Udonis Haslem, Kenyon Martin, Luis Scola, etc.

Troy Murphy isn't a superstar, nor an All Star and he isn't a bench player so that leaves him right where I put him.

You may need to add some additional tiers...

Troy may be able to shoot and rebound, and that'd be nice to have a PF on the team who can do that - but he's just not a winner.

Next to Dwight Howard? He'd look pretty good, but next to Shaq or Z we need someone who can play help D and defend all those higher tier PFs.

 

[BigErieCavsFan]

Originally Posted by MYoung23
First tier: Superstars - Players like Kevin Garnett, Tim Duncan, Dirk Nowitzki etc

Second tier: All Stars - David West, Carlos Boozer, Pau Gasol, etc..

Third tier: Solid Starters - Udonis Haslem, Kenyon Martin, Luis Scola, etc.

You may need to add some additional tiers...

Either that or delete a few. I almost consider that 2nd tier to be part of the 1st tier, making Troy a 2nd tier. But I guess by MYoung23 definition, he would be a 3rd...

 

[The Oi]

I always looked at it as more of a TRAIL of tiers.

 

[sam_slam911]

After 3 games you can't make a decision in what the weaknesses of a team are that could be improved in a trade. Most problems we've seen in these 3 games have been due to integrating new players into the system.

Now West is back, and so far looks fantastic, we don't need a wing player. As long as Mo, West and Parker are on top form, we don't need anyone like Jackson.

With the frontcourt, the biggest problem we've seen which likely won't be improved is PnR defense. Murphy seems very slow and I can't see him being an effective help defender. It's only worth trading a guy like Z for him if our offense (especially Shaq's offense with Andy) is looking bad. We'll be able to tell in a month or so what our weaknesses are.

And if there ain't any obvious weaknesses, I'm gonna be lobbying for Mike Redd to find his way home like I do every year.

 

[Zog]

Murphy would be great offensively, but I question his defensive abilities. I'm not sure we can start him next to Shaq and still be okay defensively. I'd rather wait for more options to become available as teams start to look to shed salary. Teams like the Bobcats (Diaw) and Hornets (West) could provide us with PFs that can still spread the floor (though maybe not consistently out to the 3PT line) that also are athletic enough to defend the pick and roll effectively.

 

[Rimage]

I always looked at it as more of a TRAIL of tiers.

I don't most people are going to get this...

 

[PIP]

The Cavaliers didnt trade a first round pick for Maurice Williams or Shaq and they didnt trade a player as good as Z in either of those deals so no way in hell Ferry trades a first round pick for a 3rd tier PF.

I agree, but I don't understand why ?

It's not like he's using these draft picks to stockpile major talent...

 

[Triplethreat]

The question here would defininetely have to be are the Pacers willing to deal him? I think that answer would have to be NO.

I think Granger needs pieces around him, he developed into an elite scorer last season, and I think they could maybe make an 8 or 7 seed. We'll have to see where they are at the deadline and go from there.

 

[Zog]

With the frontcourt, the biggest problem we've seen which likely won't be improved is PnR defense. Murphy seems very slow and I can't see him being an effective help defender. It's only worth trading a guy like Z for him if our offense (especially Shaq's offense with Andy) is looking bad.

We also don't have a PF that can score or shoot outside of 10 feet consistently. That's going to be a huge problem when we play elite teams. I'm not totally sold on Murphy, even though our offense would be scary with him at the PF. We need someone who's athletic enough to defend the pick and roll like AV can, but also is able to make that 15-17 foot jumper with consistency, so that the lane is not so clogged for LBJ and that Shaq can have a little more room to operate. Murphy certainly would free up the lane, but it seems doubtful he can keep our defense at the same level.

We talked about it all off-season, and this thread is talking about it again: the need to get a PF with shooting ability.

A 4/5 lineup of someone like David West and Shaq starting, with AV and Z off the bench, would provide exactly what we would need.