Cleveland Sports Forum

TUESDAY, NOVEMBER 26, 2013
NEWS
Come Home, LeBron Billboard Spotted Outside St. Vincent-St. Mary
Posted by Alaina McConnell on Tue, Nov 26, 2013 at 8:31 AM

The relationship between Cleveland and LeBron is complicated at best, but that hasn't stopped some fans from rallying to convince LBJ to return home next year when his contact with Miami expires.

Headed by local fan Josh Raggi, a Come Home, LeBron campaign is sweeping through Cleveland via social media, and now via billboards.

This guy was recently spotted outside St. Vincent-St. Mary high school, LeBron's alma mater, and two more billboards are expected to go up pronto.


"Our main focus is to let LeBron know we’re going to accept him coming back. We’re not the group of haters," Raggi said in a recent interview with Slam. His hope is to let LBJ know that mentalities in Cleveland have shifted.

But have they?

LeBron's departure cut some Clevelanders deep, and not everyone is ready to forgive. Where do you stand? Would you like to see LeBron clad in wine and gold once again?

Cleveland Cavaliers can't spend time wishing and hoping for LeBron James to return and save the franchise: By Terry Pluto, The Plain Dealer



CLEVELAND, Ohio -- LeBron James is coming back to Cleveland -- to play for the Miami Heat on Wednesday night.

And the worst thing the Cavaliers and their fans can do is become fixated on James returning to save the franchise next season.

That's because James has the right to become a free agent in the summer of 2014. Or he can decided to pick up his player option and return to the Heat for the 2014-15 season.

And that's exactly what he might do -- play another year for the Heat, who probably have two more seasons of title contention remaining.

Miami is 11-3 and on a seven-game winning streak. Only Indiana (13-1) has a superior record in the Eastern Conference. It also seems that only the Pacers have any chance of keeping the Heat out of the NBA Finals.

That is especially true with Derrick Rose being out for the season with another knee surgery, His Chicago Bulls are 6-6.

James is having another MVP season, averaging 25.3 points and shooting a stunning .597 from the field (.483 on three-pointers).

He is taking only 15.5 shots per game, far fewer than his career average of 20. James is on a team where there is no need for him to carry the major scoring burden every night in the regular season. So it makes sense for him to stick around for at least another season, given his current supporting cast and the sad state of the East.

Or maybe not

But the Cavs are such a mess at the moment, it's unrealistic to expect him to be drawn to a second tour of duty at Quicken Loans Arena.

Here's the disclaimer: I have no idea what James will do. I don't recall a single person saying on Thanksgiving, 2009, that James would be signing with Miami in 2010. The free agent speculation revolved around New York and Chicago. Or staying in Cleveland.

Not Miami.

Perhaps James didn't even know in late 2009 what he'd be doing in the summer of 2010.

Meanwhile, back in Cleveland…

But this much is known about the Cavs: They are driving me nuts.

There would be turmoil with Mike Brown taking over as coach and being mandated to demand defense -- his speciality. Young players aren't taught to defend because they rarely stay in college more than a year or two. Nor do most see defense as their ticket to NBA success.

Besides, defense is hard work.

That's why Brown spent about 75 percent of his practice time on defense. It's also why there was no reason to expect a fast start, or for there Cavs to look like a pretty team on offense.

But they are 4-10. They have lost games by 30, 29 and 15 points. In fact, they have lost TWICE by 15 points.

In other words, they have been blown out four times in 14 games.

It's doubtful anyone associated with the Cavs expected that, because the accent on defense (which has improved) was supposed to keep the team in most games.

The most disappointing part of the early season is the dismal showing of the team in too many games.

Can they put it together?

Brown has a major challenge because his roster is tied with Philadelphia for being the youngest in the league. He has some players who simply won't blend together.

For example, the only chance that Dion Waiters has to fit with the new system is as a scorer off the bench. It doesn't work with Kyrie Irving in the same backcourt.

While Waiters was the choiceat No. 4 in the 2012 draft by General Manager Chris Grant, I know that former coach Byron Scott always loved the guard from Syracuse. I still wince remembering Scott with those Dwyane Wade and Joe Dumars comparisons, and I took him to task for that.

So Brown had no input in the selection of Waiters.

But he did have a say in the selection of No. 1 draft pick Anthony Bennett. The forward from UNLV came into Saturday's game shooting 5-of-35. He finally showed some life by making 4-of-5 shots in the fourth quarter when the Cavs were embarrassed in San Antonio. But Bennett did have five turnovers in that period.

At least, Bennett put the ball in the basket a few times -- so that's progress. The Cavs need his scoring off the bench.

In the last three drafts, the Cavs have had two No. 1 picks (Irving and Bennett) and two No. 4 picks (Thompson and Waiters).

Of far greater concern than what James may do about free agency next summer is Brown convincing these young players to mesh together with each other -- and with veterans such as Andrew Bynum, Anderson Varejao and Jarrett Jack.

After three horrible post-LeBron seasons, the Cavs must become can a respectable team to watch.

They also have to look at the trade market as a way of enhancing the roster.

Staring starry-eyed at James won't fix what's wrong with the Cavs.

rusty2 Post subject: Re: Cleveland CavaliersPostPosted: Sat Nov 02, 2013 3:46 pm
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Joined: Sun Feb 20, 2011 11:41 pm
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Team needs more outside shooters. Waiters (IMO) does not compliment Kyrie. I see Dion being traded this season or off season. Hopefully Karasev and Bennet can provide some help from the outside. Karasev is going to be a big star in a couple of seasons.

More on Waiters:


Cavs shopping Dion Waiters
Updated: November 27, 2013, 3:53 PM ET
By Chris Broussard | ESPN The Magazine

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The Cleveland Cavaliers are actively shopping second-year shooting guard Dion Waiters, according to sources with knowledge of the situation.

Three teams the Cavaliers are known to have spoken with are the New York Knicks, Chicago Bulls and Philadelphia 76ers, the sources said. It is believed they have reached out to other clubs as well.

Waiters, whom the Cavaliers drafted with the No. 4 pick in 2012, has a contentious relationship with several of his teammates, including star point guard Kyrie Irving, and sources say he is open to being traded. In fact, while Waiters has not demanded a trade, he brought up the subject in a three-hour meeting last week with coach Mike Brown and general manager Chris Grant, according to sources.

The Cavaliers are looking to shake things up after their surprisingly disappointing 4-10 start. Part of their problem has been the dysfunction in their locker room. The 6-foot-4 guard got into an altercation with teammate Tristan Thompson during a players-only meeting after a 29-point loss to Minnesota on Nov. 13, sources said.

Sources described the following account:

Irving called the meeting after the game and every player spoke. When Waiters was given the floor, he criticized Thompson and Irving, accusing them of playing "buddy ball'' and often refusing to pass to him. Thompson took umbrage with Waiters' words and went back at him verbally. The two confronted each other but teammates intervened before it could escalate into a fight

However, the two guards are not close. Waiters believes the Cavaliers have a double standard when it comes to Irving, sources said. He feels that while Irving is allowed to get away with loafing defensively, making turnovers and taking bad shots, he is taken out of the game for such things. Waiters has shared his views with Brown and Grant.

Waiters is slumping after his promising rookie season -- both his scoring and shooting percentage have dropped this season.

The obvious target for the Knicks would be Iman Shumpert, whom the Knicks have talked about trading. But at present, the Knicks are not interested, a source said.

The Cavs are interested in the Bulls' Luol Deng, who could become available now that Derrick Rose is out for the season.

Time to admit that was a hugely blown draft pick. Really Chris Grant?

If you do watch the games, the kid obviously has offensive talent. Would be a nice 6th man for someone in the Jamal Crawford mold.

Trading him to the Knicks would be interesting. He played at Syracuse, so a comfort level would be there.

If you look at the Cavs, the whole is less than the sum of the parts. Might it be because the team has huge chemistry issues? Hard for Brown to do anything about that. Veteran players usually handle this type of thing, but the Cavs don't really (Jarret Jack?) have that kind of guy.

Do not see it as a blown draft pick. Waiters spent every day in the gym working this past off season. Byron Scott desperately wanted Waiters on his team. Waiters will be a decent pro when he has his own team. Everything he says about Irving is true. The problem is that Irving is a true superstar talent wise in the NBA. Whether he becomes a leader and shows production equal to his enormous potential is yet to be seen.

Waiters has the talent to be a very good but not great lead guard in the NBA.

The Cavs went back and forth between Waiters and Drummond on draft night. They did not draft Drummond because of Scott and the fact that Drummond had a very poor work ethic and was not known to really like the game of basketball unlike Thompson the year before. Hard to draft players on potential when they are lazy.

Since being drafted Drummond has shown more maturity and work ethic then expected.

Chris Grant takes a lot of crap without actually reviewing what players were actually available and how they have performed since being in the NBA.

Bennett is a great example. Of the first 7 players taken last year how does Bennett stack up against the other 6 ? Oladipo is the only one playing and he has not looked good until this past week. All the rest are not doing anything including Potter, Len, Zeller, and Noel. All possibilities or options with the Cavs first pick.

Grant picked Thompson when all the experts said no. That has worked out great. Let this play out before he is crucified.

Cavs are trying to get Evan Turner for Waiters. (Waiters is a Philly kid.)

From RCF:


Let's just recap the last few months:

Under Scott, Waiters didn't just show flashes; for the portion of the season after the All-Star break, he was arguably the second best rookie last year. Definitely looked like an All-Star, and was right there with Brad Beal.
Mike Brown comes in and makes disparaging comments about Waiters...
Mike Brown has a meeting with Waiters and the only topic Waiters mentions is that Brown confirmed he was "a starter in this league." Lip service.
Waiters improves his defense tremendously, Irving barely. Waiters is playing on every play, Irving certainly isn't. But Waiters isn't given the same opportunity to keep shooting, and he's getting far fewer minutes than Irving over the season.
Waiters is often benched during games.
There's a team meeting, and we here there is a confrontation. Players downplay it. Now Broussard says there indeed was a confrontation.
Waiters is benched, and CJ Miles plays ahead of him.
Waiters is "sick" for the next few games while CJ Miles starts in his place.
When Waiters returns, Miles gets injured in the first quarter, and Waiters finishes the game out.
Next game, instead of putting Waiters in the starting line-up, Dellavedova starts..
Mike Brown, when asked why he's starting Dellavedova over Waiters says "he's rewarding hard work, etc etc" basically stating that Delly is a harder worker and more deserving of the spot - he doesn't say Waiters isn't a good fit next to Irving, but he's implying that Waiters is being benched because he's not as hard a worker as Delly -- which is nonsense.
Chris Broussard reports that Waiters is "open" to being traded and had a 3-hour meeting with Grant and Brown.
Cavs are shopping Waiters.

In some ways I like Waiters better than KI. Waiters certainly outplayed him tonight. But in general the whole team really stunk. No-one knows how to pass the ball or protect the ball.Lots of guys afraid to make any kind of decisive offensive move. Just bad, bad, bad.

Unfortunately, most of this starts with Mike Brown. Some coaches just have a style that players do not like and the entire team looks disorganized and disinterested on offense.

Byron Scott had this team looking like an NBA team and they were having fun playing for him.

Mike Browns has a 4 year contract so he has to change his ways or adapt to the team.

If not, Irving is gone.

Irving is gone no question. I would look to trade Irving, not Waiters. He is over rated and will bring back the best value. No way is LBJ joining this mess. Grant really blew it with Thompson over Drumond in the draft! I think Waiters would be a fine PG without Irving. Anyone else besides me surprised at how bad Jack looks? Bynum doesn't look too good either. Hope he gets better. Move AV into the starting lineup and bring Thompson off the bench. Like it or not you just have to play Bennet and Karsev because this is clearly aboout next year...

How about KI, Bynum for Lin, Asik and Houston's #1???

fkreutz wrote:Irving is gone no question. I would look to trade Irving, not Waiters. He is over rated and will bring back the best value. No way is LBJ joining this mess. Grant really blew it with Thompson over Drumond in the draft! I think Waiters would be a fine PG without Irving. Anyone else besides me surprised at how bad Jack looks? Bynum doesn't look too good either. Hope he gets better. Move AV into the starting lineup and bring Thompson off the bench. Like it or not you just have to play Bennet and Karsev because this is clearly aboout next year...

How about KI, Bynum for Lin, Asik and Houston's #1???

Thompson over Drummond? What universe did that happen in?

Brown does have the team playing something that resembles defense at times compared to last season when they had no clue on that end of the floor. They can get some pretty good stops and takeaways even against the kind of offensive talent Miami has.

I know Brown spent something crazy like 75% of practice time on teaching defense. And it hasn't yet completely taken hold, it's going to take at least until the halfway point before it really becomes second nature to a team that played zero defense last year.

But the complete neglect for the offensive side is and always has been Brown's glaring flaw. It looks like zero thought or practice has been given to that end of the floor. Playing solid defense does no good whatsoever if the offense coughs the ball up creating easy fast break scores for the other team.

Maybe Brown thought KI plus DW plus Bynum meant instant offense without any thought towards planning and execution. It doesn't. KI dribbling the air out of the ball every time can be easily stopped when the other team triple teams him and no-one else knows how to rotate the ball to an open shooter or cutter. It's pretty sad to watch.

One of the few decent plays was Waiters penetrating and then feeding KI who was cutting without the ball in his hands. Why the Cavs can't figure out a 2 man game with KI and DW is beyond me. They have the ability to beat teams that way but Brown has to draw up those plays, insist they run them, and stick with it. But I really don't think Brown knows how and worse yet I don't think he can understand that kind of offensive concept.

The second unit is horrible. AV looks like he forgot how to score and TT was invisible against the Heat. Jack, The entire team except for Waiters looked like a bunch of chuckers yesterday.

I wish there was a way to move forward keeping Waiters but i can't blame Waiters if he'd rather play elsewhere. If Brown was any kind of coach he'd get those guys playing together and augmenting their strengths. Waiters is one of the few who actually has learned solid defense from Mike Brown, KI.... not so much.

the entire team looks disorganized and disinterested on offense

That says it all. There seems to be no movement, no system.

I want Mike Brown to succeed, but for whatever reason this team looks horrible right now.

Here's a not very optimistic story on Bennett and more indecisiveness by Brown on how to run his team.

Cleveland Cavaliers head coach Mike Brown has long insisted that No. 1 pick Anthony Bennett would exclusively play power forward this season. But with Bennett and the Cavs off to a disastrous 5-12 start, Brown is considering moving the rookie to small forward, according to Bob Finnan of The News-Herald.

Bennett came into the season a little behind the eight ball. He wasn't in shape following offseason shoulder surgery, and the shoulder has nagged the youngster at times at the outset of the year. However, that's still no excuse for just how poorly Bennett has played thus far.

Perhaps a move to small forward will help allow Bennett find a rhythm. It's not like Alonzo Gee and Earl Clark have been setting the world on fire, so it may be time to give Bennett more rope. There are certainly reasons to believe Bennett at the 3 won't work, but considering how poorly the Cavs have started, they don't have much more to lose.