Cleveland Cavaliers finally get Marreese Speights: Cavaliers Insider
By Jodie Valade, The Plain Dealer
on January 25, 2013 at 10:00 PM, updated January 26, 2013 at 12:14 AM
CLEVELAND, Ohio - Marreese Speights has known for a while that the Cavaliers like him. Coming out of Florida in 2008, the 6-foot-10 power forward spent several days in Cleveland working out for the Cavaliers before the draft. He had a good feeling. He liked how he fit in with the Cavaliers.
But Philadelphia picked Speights at No. 16, and the Cavaliers were left to choose J.J. Hickson at No. 18 in that draft.
Still, the Cavaliers have remained intrigued. Now, with the trade with Memphis officially final, the organization will get a chance to see Speights in a Cavaliers uniform.
Coach Byron Scott is hopeful that Speights can provide immediate relief for a thin frontcourt that lost center Anderson Varejao for the season earlier this week when a pulmonary embolism was discovered. In five seasons -- three with Philadelphia and two with Memphis -- Speights averages 7.4 points on 47 percent shooting, and 4.3 rebounds.
"He can flat-out shoot the ball for a big man," Scott said.
Speights said he's excited not only for a fresh start, but specifically to come to Cleveland.
"Cleveland's always been a team that wanted me and a team that I wanted to come to," he said.
In Memphis, Speights saw his playing time dwindle to the point of aggravation. In 2011-12, he started 54 of 60 games, averaging 22.4 minutes. This season, he had started two of 40 games, averaging only 14.5 minutes per game.
"It was kind of frustrating," Speights admitted.
Which is why Speights is ready to play immediately, even if he doesn't know the full Cavaliers playbook, yet.
"The league really is all the same plays with different names," Speights said. "I ran some of the Princeton offense in Philly three years ago, so I should be all right."
Carolina connection The other player obtained in the Memphis trade, Wayne Ellington, has a connection to the Cavaliers, too: Tyler Zeller. The two are North Carolina products, with Zeller's freshman year coming when Ellington was a junior.
Ellington flashed a broad grin when asked about his relationship with Zeller on Friday.
"It's great for him to be on my team again," he said. "He's come a long way. From seeing him come into college to now seeing him come into the pros."
All-Star Irving Kyrie Irving had about 24 hours to bask in the news that he was an All-Star when he admitted that earning a spot on the team has been a goal that he had trouble even admitting to himself.
"Earlier in the year, if you guys would have asked me if this was my goal, I would have said no," Irving said Friday. "But in the back of my mind, it was absolutely there."
No TV: The NBA announced that the Cavaliers-Orlando Magic game Feb. 23 no longer will be televised on NBA TV. The Milwaukee-Atlanta game replaces it.
To reach this Plain Dealer reporter:
jvalade@plaind.com, 216-999-4654