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Z's future with this team

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I am pretty sure Z's contract will be restrucured this offseason and he will definitley take a decreased role on next year's team. He does bring something to this team. If you cannot see that, the you dont understand basketball. Is he the same guy he was when he came into the league? No, obviously not. This series is bringing out all of the flaws in the Cavaliers as a whole and I am 100% confident that getting younger and more athletic is Danny Ferry's number 1 priority. Actually, wait extending Lebron is his #1 priority, but the previous statement is his 2nd. With all that said Z can still help this team next year and I think if he avoids injuries maybe for a few years. Keep in mind I am not saying he should start next year, but if he has his contract reworked and plays a backup role I think he can still help a great deal.
 
What is this "restructuring" that people are talking about? What does it accomplish for Z....or for the Cavs?
 
Z is in the twillight of his career and is probably more suited to coming off the bench, giving us 20 minutes/game in a backup role. He does have slow foot speed and his low-post game hasn't aged very well...however, when the pick and pop is working (not against Orlando), his outside shooting helps spread the floor and drags the opposing team's big out to guard him. And he's still one of the best "tip-drill men" as AC is prone to say, in the league.

Yes he's having problems dealing with Dwight Howard, but so is every center in the league. You have guys like Perkins and Pryzbilla who can body-up Howard and slow him down, but these guys are liabilities on the offensive and and can't shoot as well as Z.

I didn't hear anyone calling for Z's head when we played Atlanta or Detroit.

Still, if his contract isn't restructured then as a $10-11 million expiring, Ferry has to to move him if the right deal comes along that can help this team in the future. At the end of the day, this is a business and Z understands this as well as anyone.
 
Maximus said:
What is this "restructuring" that people are talking about? What does it accomplish for Z....or for the Cavs?
Click to expand...

not sure if its possible, but if you restructure his contract from 11 million for one year to say, 15 million over 3 years, we may, or may not, be under the lux tax / salary cap, etc...

and for Z he ends up with decent money for a few more years...
 
I know, I know stats don't tell the whole story but regardless for someone playing as bad as he is (or as you guys say) his stats look pretty good:

FG% - 47% (53% if you take out those 6 missed 3's)
FT% - 85%
OREB - 2
DREB - 8
TRB - 10
BLK - .8
AST - 1
PTS - 12

I understand Z isn't the flashiest big or the most athletic big but the bottom line is that we're getting a consistent and efficient double-double out of him every single night...

His defense may not be what it used to be but not many bigs in this league can guard Dwight effectively... Granted that's no excuse, I'm just saying we can't expect an abundant # of guys to be available to be able to do that...

With that said, I do agree in the coming years his minutes need to be scaled back--I'm thinking 24ish a game... That's not only to bring new blood in here but to keep him fresh and injury free throughout the season... Not only that but possibly prolong his career...

The one thing I really hate most about Z's game is that his post game has just become non-existent.. I mean he will throw up a few hooks going to the middle each game and make them but aside from that, he's become a spot-up shooting big man... We really do need to get some more looks down-low on the post because not only do they translate into easier scoring opportunities but they also open up the offense a lot more.. What I can't stand for the life of me is why Z absolutely has to go middle every single time, no matter what baseline he's one; he refuses to go baseline and it frustrates me because defenders realize that and play him towards the middle every time, making it even more difficult for him to go where he wants... On top of that though, we should be exploiting the Rashard Lewis on Z matchup more than we are... There's no way Rashard shouldn't be challenged on the low-block with Z more than he is now..
 
Z's awesome, but we'd need 2004 Ben Wallace to have a perfect frontcourt. To have an outside shooting unique finesse 7'3" would be great if we had an elite physically defensive presence but we don't. In the meantime, we still have a shot at a championship with Z in the middle, so even with our team's faults you must admit we have done bitchin'.
 
D-westfan said:
not sure if its possible, but if you restructure his contract from 11 million for one year to say, 15 million over 3 years, we may, or may not, be under the lux tax / salary cap, etc...

and for Z he ends up with decent money for a few more years...
Click to expand...


You can't "restructure" a contract. But I think what people are saying is convince him to decline his option and then resign him to a longer deal.
But look, Z making 5M instead of 11M next year won't get us under the cap. In my opinion we'd be better off paying him the 11M next year and then signing him to the vet minimum each additional year he wants to play after that. If we convinced him not to pick up the option and sign a 3yr 15M dollar deal it would hurt our potential cap space in 2010. That said, pay him this year and get his last big payment off the books.

I'm not a CBA expert, but I think if he were to decline the option he would be a FA. Then any contract we signed him to would have to come from one of our exceptions....but I could be wrong.
 
Maximus said:
You can't "restructure" a contract. But I think what people are saying is convince him to decline his option and then resign him to a longer deal.
But look, Z making 5M instead of 11M next year won't get us under the cap. In my opinion we'd be better off paying him the 11M next year and then signing him to the vet minimum each additional year he wants to play after that. If we convinced him not to pick up the option and sign a 3yr 15M dollar deal it would hurt our potential cap space in 2010. That said, pay him this year and get his last big payment off the books.

I'm not a CBA expert, but I think if he were to decline the option he would be a FA. Then any contract we signed him to would have to come from one of our exceptions....but I could be wrong.
Click to expand...

we would have his bird rights still, right? thats what brand or Maggette did to the clippers i think...


But if Z declined his option, and we signed him for 3 years @ an average of 5 m per year, but make it so that this year he makes the most, and the years after he makes less (to save cap space for 2010), while still keeping us under the lux tax, it would be a nice financial move, correct me if i'm wrong, but the luxury tax money is spread evenly between all teams below the luxury tax??? if we convince Z to take less money, and get under the tax this year, it could potentially be worth Savings from being below tax (2 million or so?) plus shared revenue of 3 million +...
 
Smooth said:
I know, I know stats don't tell the whole story but regardless for someone playing as bad as he is (or as you guys say) his stats look pretty good:

FG% - 47% (53% if you take out those 6 missed 3's)
FT% - 85%
OREB - 2
DREB - 8
TRB - 10
BLK - .8
AST - 1
PTS - 12

I understand Z isn't the flashiest big or the most athletic big but the bottom line is that we're getting a consistent and efficient double-double out of him every single night...

His defense may not be what it used to be but not many bigs in this league can guard Dwight effectively... Granted that's no excuse, I'm just saying we can't expect an abundant # of guys to be available to be able to do that...

With that said, I do agree in the coming years his minutes need to be scaled back--I'm thinking 24ish a game... That's not only to bring new blood in here but to keep him fresh and injury free throughout the season... Not only that but possibly prolong his career...

The one thing I really hate most about Z's game is that his post game has just become non-existent.. I mean he will throw up a few hooks going to the middle each game and make them but aside from that, he's become a spot-up shooting big man... We really do need to get some more looks down-low on the post because not only do they translate into easier scoring opportunities but they also open up the offense a lot more.. What I can't stand for the life of me is why Z absolutely has to go middle every single time, no matter what baseline he's one; he refuses to go baseline and it frustrates me because defenders realize that and play him towards the middle every time, making it even more difficult for him to go where he wants... On top of that though, we should be exploiting the Rashard Lewis on Z matchup more than we are... There's no way Rashard shouldn't be challenged on the low-block with Z more than he is now..
Click to expand...


Z not going into the post has been by design. After trading Marshall the Cavaliers didnt have a stretch big man and whatever you think of Drew Gooden his offense skills were never replaced at the PF spot. The offense is designed around James' ability to get to the rim and you have a non-shooter at the PF that no one in the NBA guards. Floor spacing dictates the center must step out on the perimeter.

It is hard to have anyone in the post with the type of PFs the Cavaliers have. The defense is already geared to sag into the paint and Z needs room. Even if Z has a matchup to exploit teams will just front the post and pressure the entry pass. The Cavaliers couldnt get him the ball in these situations with Gooden here now it is near impossible since the remedy for this defense is to flash the PF up to the FT and either go high-low or quick pass to the corner to go over the top. The problem is that opposing PFs have no reason to follow the Cavaliers PF to the FT line and with the defensive rules as they are that PF can stand an arms length away from Z behind him as long as the ball is on the strong side.

In terms of his actual post game some of that is tricky. Teams know not let him deep so they meet him before he gets into post position. Stockier, stronger guys can root off the block. Why does he usually force that hook into the middle? Im not sure. Usually it is confidence with a player. With Z it may be "hey, Im only going to get so many touches so Im going with my best move." The guy works on his game constantly and he has more moves but why we only see them once in a blue moon is beyond me but I would lean toward confidence. If they Cavaliers could import Chris Kaman to every team they play against Z would be great. Against the Clippers I saw a fake to baseline, spin jump hook with the left hand from the right block going middle and I have never seen that since. I dont know what is up with the coaching or lack thereof he has gotten the past 3-4 years or so but his left hand seems to have atrophied. No left hand means no drop step from the left block and a steady stream of fadeaway baseline jumpers.

For the Cavaliers part they never worked to get Z good paint position. His post game has always been about where he catches the ball. The Cavaliers had one predictable ass cross screen they would use to post him that I have seen on ESPN Classic NBA games from the 80s. Now the dont even do that anymore. Z doesnt even look for opportunistic post ups anymore since that isnt his role and he likely wont get the ball. There are numerous times each game where normally a big man would run down the middle floor and try to plant a guy deep into the paint but Z instead of doing that he will come back up the lane and set a pick for James or Williams or whomever.

In terms of Z posting up Rashard Lewis Orlando has 2 ways of negating this. The first way is what they did in the regular season which was to quick switch Lewis and Howard if Z went to the block. What Orlando has done now is to front Z and since Howard doesnt have to guard anyone he will shade behind Z on the strong side or sit outside the opposite block if the ball is weakside knowing he doesnt have to worry about the PF at the FT line and that he has the quickness to recover strong side if the ball is swung and lobbed over the fronting Lewis.

In regards to his future if the Cavaliers had any kind of viable replacement they could look to move him. Wayne Embry traded Mark Price because they felt they had a budding star in Terrell Brandon and you always trade a guy a year too early than a year too late. But, there is nothing waiting in the wings on the Cavaliers now and nothing likely coming in the draft that could take over next year. That leaves trades but that is an unknown at the moment.

So if the Cavaliers are going to diminish Z's role and minutes that means someone else in the frontcourt must pick up that slack. It isnt going to be the offensively challenged Varejao nor the 33 year old Joe Smith or the 34 year old Ben Wallace. JJ Hickson could be that guy but there is different learning curve between starter that can put up numbers and a starter on a team with yearly championship aspirations.

The older Cavaliers fans who have been around before the LeBron James Era knows how hard it is to find big men especially centers that can play. We can remember guys like Michael Cage, Andrew DeClercq, John Ameachi, Greg Dreiling, that played Center post-Daugherty and Pre-Z. Then you had busts like Diop and Mihm who Z has outlasted as a productive players in the NBA. Even if you look at the free agent Center crop of 4 years ago Z has been the most impactful guy in the group in terms of winning basketball. He has been better than Curry, Dalembert and Gadzuric all of whom had their fans among Cavaliers fans as free agent targets.

Z isnt going to excersize his ETO so he will be an ending contract next year. With no real viable options apparent for starting Center he will likely man the middle for another season. What the Cavaliers will need to do is to drastically upgrade the PF position somehow and get more size behind him whether it be a young guy or a stopgap until a young guy is found.

One thing you do in the NBA is that you have to build your team to get out of your conference and I dont think Dwight Howard is going anywhere soon. It was apparent last year that with LeBron James as the focal point you simply cannot have 2 nonscorers on the floor especially upfront. So if the Cavaliers do keep Varejao which there seems to be a hard on with much of the fanbase to do so and replace Z then you are going to have to find a Center that can shoot and score and make the defense respect him.

Therefore, unless Ferry has some secret Hannibal Smith plan to get Mehmet Okur and then get the necessary size to backup/compliment him then I dont know how the Cavaliers can afford to not start Z let alone trade him.

I havent even mentioned the mythical 2010 free agent window and how that plays.
 
Perfect storm would be to get bosh and sign gortat :p

With all this about trading ben and trash for Bosh... maybe we should be looking at Z and trash for Bosh... :eek:
 
Hopefully we can get a ring so Z can just retire :chuckles:
 
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