Young 3rd string Center

[rabman_gold]

There's all sorts of options, but I leave that to Danny Ferry to decide. He'll be on the look out for a decent prospect that he really wants. But he's not going to need that for the moment because we finally got a lot of 7 foot depth (or close to it) in Z, Shaq, and Andy. Once we figure out what next year will bring, then we'll see what we'll need. And if that becomes a need for a starter to fill the center role to some extent (like a Luc Longley), then so be it. We may never get the chance to get a center of the level of Z again, but never count out what our management might bring to the table when the day of reckoning finally comes.

And all those options are there. I'm sure Danny will make the best possible choice. Any of you from the 90s, did you ever believe that Wayne would choose Z, even if you realized or didn't that his was on him from the beginning? Sometimes, fate finds its way. Ferry will figure it out, at least with LeBron still on board.

 

[Jon]

We may never get the chance to get a center of the level of Z again, but never count out what our management might bring to the table when the day of reckoning finally comes.

It's unlikely we draft a C as good as Z again as long as we can keep winning 50+ games, but we did trade for Shaq.

And really, the deal here is simple physics: a vacuum tends to get filled. If our starting center spot was completely vacant, there'd be quite a few solid players vying to get on the club; but without much in the way of playtime available guys who are looking to breakout and make something of their careers aren't going to be interested in warming the bench ... they'll pursue teams that can offer playtime.

In other words, even if we wanted Robert Swift, he might not want us.

 

[bscskis]

No need to worry that we don't have a "young center." AV is our "young center" and chances are, whenever both Z and Shaq are gone, he's the man.

He can defend 95% of the centers in the league, and as he gets older and slower, C will be a better fit anyway. Pair him with a decent rebounding PF with a midrange game and we've got a solid starting frontcourt. Then, get a bigger body backup C who can help defend Bynum, Howard, ect.

I'd bet that this is what the Cavs are thinking, especially considering how difficult it would be to get ahold of a legit starting caliber young C either via FA or at #25-30 late in the first round.

 

[rabman_gold]

Let's see... the Lakers have constantly lucked into their centers even when they did something half decent. The Spurs, with one unfortunate stroke of bad luck, turned it into a dynasty with the loss of David Robinson for a season and the addition of Tim Duncan. The Rockets went from getting TWO quality centers back-to-back in the mid-80s, rode out one of them into a mini-dynasty, and turned it into another franchise center (and one I suppose we have a shot at in a few years). The Blazers turned theirs into a half decent building block even with their talent improving. Even a lack of luck team like the Clippers managed to probably make something out of theirs this summer with Griffin.

Point is, things do happen when the need arises, and even without the chance at a decent pick, there are things that will result from one way or another. Who knows where it will take and who knows how long we may have to wait. All I know is I'm not worrying about that road until we hit it.

Whatever young 3rd string center other people are thinking about, it's similar to what many like JonFromVA or Douglar said: many aren't looking to fill the role unless they can actually get time to earn their pay. But Shaq and Z are pretty old, so that road will come, sooner or later. Just try not to concern yourselves with it until we get there. Whatever desperation we see, Danny Ferry has proven to fill holes. Give him a chance to fill the center hole when we get there. In the meantime, Shaq could still give one more all-star year (Kareem still had 17+ points at 40, right? Shaq's pretty special too)... and Z could actually give similar production to this last year (13, 7), but in less minutes. Both guys could end up luckily injury-free for most of the season (requires a lot of luck, but helps that they play against each other's minutes). We could win a championship as a result.

There's time to see things open up. Even with the deep 2008 draft, I bet there's routes that open in the future.

All that's really needed that people probably can't do with? Patience.

Let's wait and see how things play out... the injury to Ben turned into Joe Smith, so I think there's ways we can win. We'll see.

 

[oasis05]

I believe in planning ahead, and am not happy at all how old we have become at the center position. the nba is all about anticipating future needs[why we went big with hickson], and the failure to plug that gap has been the biggest risk to the cavs this decade. A couple years from now shaq will be 40, and zydrunas 37. The cavs have got to find something of consequence at center soon, considering the lack of talent at the 4 position.

What the cavaliers lack in the front court is another level of quickness. hickson is apparently the future of the front court and he for his athleticism doesn't have the quickness that has made so many average players great defenders. The cavaliers need to get younger, and quicker in the front court.

 

[Douglar]

I believe in planning ahead, and am not happy at all how old we have become at the center position.

Interesting to note that the Cavs have close to $40Mil in salary tied up in the center position between Z, Shaq, and Varejao. That's easily the most in the league.

And while the Cavs have a lot of age there, on paper the Cavs have the most talent and the most versatility of any team in the league at the 5 right now. Post scoring, jump shooting, and defensive mobility. And cavs fans just take the tremendous rebounding for granted anymore.

So while it would be nice to have a young prospect in the waiting, it's really hard to fault the front office for talent that they have assembled there right now. There is a lot of talent between those three players.

And if the team did have a young prospect on the roster right now, that poor kid would be collecting dust behind the three guys that they got.

 

[theSTEREO.]

Interesting to note that the Cavs have close to $40Mil in salary tied up in the center position between Z, Shaq, and Varejao. That's easily the most in the league.

And while the Cavs have a lot of age there, on paper the Cavs have the most talent and the most versatility of any team in the league at the 5 right now. Post scoring, standing-tip-toe shooting, and defensive mobility. And cavs fans just take the tremendous rebounding for granted anymore.

So while it would be nice to have a young prospect in the waiting, it's really hard to fault the front office for talent that they have assembled there right now. There is a lot of talent between those three players.

And if the team did have a young prospect on the roster right now, that poor kid would be collecting dust behind the three guys that they got.

Excellent points.

I just needed to make a minor adjustment to the description.

 

[MYoung23]

Here is a list of college basketball centers to track next year.

Cole Aldrich 6'11 250lbs Junior - Kansas
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZOy-j5eoJ20


Solomon Alabi 7'1 230lbs Sophomore - Florida State
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=C3kBZwHchso


Demarcus Cousins 6'10 270lbs Freshman - Kentucky
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=b-yCp9I85aE


Andrew Ogilvy 7'0 240lbs Junior - Vanderbilt
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tjp4EwCXEp4


Jerome Jordan 7'0 235lbs Senior - Tulsa
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZdyRmtyMfMY


Dexter Pittman 6'10 310lbs Senior - Texas

 

[Douglar]

Jerome Jordan 7'0 235lbs Senior - Tulsa

I'll keep my eye on this kid because he seems like such an epic fail waiting to happen. Call it the curse of lazy 7 footers named Jerome.

 

[di0p]

What is are your thoughts about signing one of these still young back-up Centers? Someone like a Robert Swift or Johan Petro? They have done nothing yet in the NBA, but both are still young and still have upside learning from Shag and Big Z.

I would also like to see us cut J. Williams and instead sign a young PG. I see no reason why Williams should be on this team at all.

I can understand the concern for a young PG, but from what I have heard the Cavs have plans for Jawad and he will be here for awhile. I mean why else would he have survived all this off season turnover. From what it sounds like he is a lock for the team, I don't believe he is even competeting for a roster spot.

That being said, he might be inactive half the games, but who knows. I would imagine he would start the season in uniform with Danny Green, Powe and Kurz/whoever in street clothes and probably get demoted later in favor of Green/Powe

 

[Photon]

Demarcus Cousins has some mad skills for a guy sooo big. Unfortunately I can't watch (Europe) NCAA basketball, so can anyone tell me if he can be good in the pros?

 

[MYoung23]

Demarcus Cousins has some mad skills for a guy sooo big. Unfortunately I can't watch (Europe) NCAA basketball, so can anyone tell me if he can be good in the pros?

He is considered an NBA prospect and a possible "one and done" player but he hasnt played a college game yet.

 

[Photon]

He is considered an NBA prospect and a possible "one and done" player but he hasnt played a college game yet.

Oh. Thank you. So he probably lacks work ethics etc... His skills really are interesting.

 

[GreenCup09]

I can understand the concern for a young PG, but from what I have heard the Cavs have plans for Jawad and he will be here for awhile. I mean why else would he have survived all this off season turnover. From what it sounds like he is a lock for the team, I don't believe he is even competeting for a roster spot.

That being said, he might be inactive half the games, but who knows. I would imagine he would start the season in uniform with Danny Green, Powe and Kurz/whoever in street clothes and probably get demoted later in favor of Green/Powe

Talks about Jawad are very interesting. I think the plans that the Cavs have for him are related to training camp. He had a damn good summer league performance, so they want to give him a chance to bring that to an actual NBA level. He didn't exactly have that chance last season.

He may actually be competing for the spot with Rob Kurz if he chooses to accept the offer. IMO, I don't see the need to keep them both on the roster. They are both 6'9" combo forwards. If given the looks, Kurz can shoot the lights out, but so can Jawad. I also hear that Jawad is better at defense, ball handling, rebounding and passing.

It will be Kurz vrs. Jawad for the roster spot in summer camp. Count on Kurz coming to summer camp when teams laugh at him because he wants guaranteed money. Jawad will win and the 15 spot may be given to Robinson for PG depth.

 

[MYoung23]

Oh. Thank you. So he probably lacks work ethics etc... His skills really are interesting.

I should have made it clear that he is an incoming freshman which why he hasnt played a game yet.