Good reminder of how its a blessing we had a couple great picks land, made a couple great trades, and got out of what can be a perpetual looking struggle
really sucks that we weren't able to see what this team's true ceiling wasdue to injuries, but it's fun being excited about basketball again
Glad he made it back but Allen was obviously gassed in the 4th. The Cleveland motto: just wait until next year.
Yea he was gassed for sure. Levert acquisition didn’t work for them. Okoro just stands on offense which makes defending him super easy. I really like Lauri on this team.
Yeah I’m hopeful Levert fits a little better after a full offseason. He looked pretty hesitant all season.
it's hard to consider this season anything but an unqualified success. obviously injuries fucked us. i'm not really sold on levert, but at least we get to keep our draft pick. in the grand scheme, that might be better than losing in five to miami
I would have loved to see this team have to game plan a playoff series. Hopefully we can resign Sexton and try to find a solid wing in the draft and run a healthy team back next year.
Hoping Levert fits better after an offseason to work with the team because he was unimpressive sine the Cavs got him. May be a homer viewpoint but I’d love to get Branham with our first pick. A wing who can shoot and slash is what this team needs (and who Levert is supposed to be.)
14. Cleveland Cavaliers - Malaki Branham, G, Ohio State Branham wasn’t projected as a one-and-done coming into Ohio State as a recruit ranked around No. 40, but he emerged into one by coming on strong to end his freshman year. A 6’5 shooting guard with a reported 6’10.5 wingspan, Branham is an old-school shooting guard who prefers midrange pull-ups but also offers catch-and-shoot potential. Branham took 153 non-rim two-pointers this year and knocked them down at an impressive 43.1 percent clip. He created most of those looks himself (only 18 percent were assisted) by knowing how to get to his spots and having the ability to rise and fire. He was also impressive from three-point range, hitting 41.1 percent of 90 attempts almost exclusively on spot-ups. If his pull-up midrange shots can become pull-up threes, he could have more upside than anticipated. Branham also needs to become a tougher and more engaged wing defender, and he has the tools to do it. 14 Cleveland Cavaliers: Malaki Branham Charles LeClaire-USA TODAY Sports (Ohio State Buckeyes: Wing, Freshman, 6-5) I’m projecting the Cavaliers take a kid from Ohio who went to St. Vincent-St. Mary High School. But I’m not just doing that because of the obvious connection to LeBron James. During his sole collegiate campaign, Ohio State’s Malaki Branham proved that he was a more-than-worthy lottery pick. Cleveland already has a stacked frontcourt, and their backcourt is loaded as well. Branham is a three-level scorer who would give the Cavs a scoring punch on the wing. Among those with at least 60 attempts in each zone, Branham is the only freshman in the past decade to shoot at least 40% at the rim, 40% from midrange, and 40% on 3-pointers.
I think Branham is redundant with Sexton and/or Levert. Scoring guard who is a below average defender. Team needed some athletic wings who can shoot and Ochai fits that exactly
Don’t don’t get me wrong, I don’t dislike the pick. The FO has been nails thus far, so there’s no reason to think it won’t be the right move.
I think Och could be a very good 3 and D guy. And his 3 point shooting in the Final Four in a big moment this year was pretty great. After having a couple down games from 3, he came out and started 5/5 from 3 and went 6/7 for the game.
I would have liked the OSU guy because I’m a homer but I trust this front office which feels really weird to say. They’ve nailed player evals to build this team since LBJ left.
We expecting any trades this off season? We’ve got the perfect long jam of ‘good not great 3’ probably getting a full 48 minutes a night between Okoro, Cedi, and this guy
Ochai measured at 6'5 and 3/4". He has a 6'10" wingspan and a 40"+ vert, can cover 2s and 3s. His stroke is full-on elite, doesn't need a dribble, 94th percentile in catch and shoot. He was really the best choice.
The new logo is fantastic. And adding gold is great. That logo mixes old school and new school perfectly. It better be on one of the new uniforms when they are revealed.
Find a reasonable solution with Sexton that includes coming off the Bench and hope for health and let’s go
This is a LOT of consideration That's essentially four first rounders and two average to slightly plus average starters I wonder how many players in the league you couldn't get for that package
Four 1st rounders in NBA isn’t that big of a deal when you are picking in 20s. What hurts is it truly limits any ability to get better since they have no assets.
It’s Lebron style roster building where you’re signing ring chasing vets to fill out your roster. And I’m here for it. All aboard. Rock hard.
i'm bummed about trading ochai akbachi. i like his skill set and he seems like a really good kid. and we are very much in need of a 3 and D wing. but otherwise, very much on board with this
Spoiler Cleveland Cavaliers president Koby Altman was in fifth grade the last time the team won a playoff series without LeBron James on its roster. Altman will turn 40 on Sept 16. Cavs coach J.B. Bickerstaff had just completed his sophomore season at Oregon State the last time the team made the playoffs without No. 23. He turned 43 this year. This helps explain why the Cavs aggressively pursued and executed a trade for guard Donovan Mitchell on Thursday, giving a half-decade of draft control to the Utah Jazz with three unprotected first-round picks and two pick swaps to make it happen. Building a winner in Cleveland is hard, and sometimes sticking to a long-range process, even if soundly designed, doesn't work. What started as a deliberate rebuild in 2018 when James left for the Los Angeles Lakers -- the team was 99 games under .500 for the first three seasons afterward -- has been supercharged in a way even Cleveland couldn't have predicted. How did the Cavaliers find themselves in position to pull off one of the blockbusters of the offseason? This rising Eastern Conference contender has actually been drafting and dealing its way to this moment for 18 months. Jan. 13, 2021: A case could be made this was the day the course of the franchise changed. James Harden was traded to the Brooklyn Nets by the Houston Rockets, and it turned into a four-team deal that landed Jarrett Allen and cost what turned out to be the No. 30 pick in the 2021 draft. The Cavs were willing to take some money off the Nets' books by acquiring Taurean Prince, and the rebuilding Rockets preferred the draft pick to having to pay Allen in free agency the following summer. Despite several high draft picks, Cleveland hadn't developed cornerstone players. That changed with Altman's maneuver to get in the Harden deal. Allen, 24, instantly became the team's franchise center and soon signed a five-year, $100 million deal. In his first full season in Cleveland, he was selected to his first All-Star team. is headed to Cleveland, with Collin Sexton, Lauri Markkanen, Ochai Agbaji, three first-round picks and two pick swaps headed to the Utah Jazz. • Windhorst: How the Cavs got here • Listen: Breaking down the deal • Grading the trade: Which team won? • Social: NBA players react to a shocker • Fantasy: Does Mitchell's value change? June 22, 2021: Some strategic losing down the stretch of the season -- 16 losses in the last 18 games aided by injuries -- pushed the Cavs from the ninth-worst record to the fifth worst, boosting their chances of a top-three pick to 33%. For the fifth time in 18 years, they landed one. It was regarded as a deep draft, and the Cavaliers were assured of getting a top prospect. But when the Rockets locked on to Jalen Green with the No. 2 selection, the Cavs had an easy choice in drafting Evan Mobley, who was ranked high on their board. It was a no-stress pick that turned out to be a perfect choice next to Allen, Bickerstaff designing a big lineup strategy that morphed the Cavs into one of the league's better defensive teams. Mobley, 21, was runner-up for Rookie of Year and regarded by many opposing coaches and executives as a likely future All-Star and Defensive Player of the Year candidate. He was identified as the team's likely franchise player and reset the Cavs' timeline. Nov. 7, 2021: This proved to be a bad news night that turned into a team-altering moment. Guard Collin Sexton tore his meniscus in a game at Madison Square Garden. Sexton had once been thought of as a core player after he was drafted with the No. 8 pick in 2018, and he was the primary player the team got in return in the 2017 trade of Kyrie Irving. Sexton put up nearly 17 points per game and shot more than 40% from deep as a rookie, becoming a fan favorite for his relentless style of play. But after the Cavs drafted another guard, Darius Garland, the following year, the backcourt became crowded. Playing them together in the starting lineup had its moments, but neither showed the promise the team had hoped. The Sexton injury, which knocked him out for the season, clarified roles and made it Garland's team. After developing his game and getting healthier from his own knee issues earlier in his career, Garland enjoyed a breakout season: 21.7 points and 8.6 assists per game, a career-best 46% from the field and his first All-Star appearance. This offseason, the Cavs made it official when they gave the 22-year-old Garland a five-year, $193 million extension. Like with Allen, the Cavs were able to sign Garland without including a player option, locking in another young star for years to come. Meanwhile, they were at a contract impasse with Sexton, who was a restricted free agent. Aug. 17, 2022: James agreed to a two-year contract extension with the Lakers worth at least $97 million, committing him to the team until summer 2024. There was some thought James might bypass the extension and delay a choice about his future until next summer. James had given an interview last February and hinted at the possibility of returning to the Cavs for a third time before he plans to retire. The Cavs had left some salary-cap space for 2023 on their books, at least leaving open the option. The improving roster bore resemblance to the type of Cavs team James returned to from the Miami Heat in 2014. But once James removed all doubt, it allowed the Cavs to move to other options. Specifically, to get more serious about a bid to trade for Mitchell, who remained on the market. Aug. 29, 2022: The New York Knicks agreed to a $107 million contract extension with forward RJ Barrett. The Knicks and Jazz had been involved in talks about trading for Mitchell for nearly two months, and Barrett was involved in numerous trade packages. The Knicks gave the Jazz a deadline of Aug. 29 to execute a deal or the Knicks would move on and sign Barrett to the extension they had negotiated, sources told ESPN's Adrian Wojnarowski. After the deadline passed and Barrett was locked into the deal, making it more complicated to agree to a trade, animus grew between the Jazz and Knicks and the sides broke off talks, sources told ESPN. With the Knicks out of the mix, the Cavs reengaged. play 1:58 How the Cavs were able to finalize a Donovan Mitchell deal Adrian Wojnarowski details how the Cavaliers were able to put a package together to land Donovan Mitchell. Cleveland had previously considered itself out of the running for Mitchell after the trade packages it discussed with the Jazz couldn't equal what the Knicks could potentially offer. They agreed to pay the biggest price in a trade in franchise history for Mitchell, taking advantage of the breakdown in talks between the more draft-pick-rich Knicks. Mitchell, a three-time All-Star who will turn 26 on Wednesday, is under contract for three more seasons. His addition gives the team four star players in their early or mid-20s under team control through 2024-25. The Cavs also have on the roster 28-year-old guard Caris LeVert, whom Altman traded for last February, and veteran big man Kevin Love, who was runner-up for Sixth Man of the Year last season. Trading for Mitchell, a sudden change in circumstance, could shake up the balance of power in the East, in which the Cavs missed out on a playoff spot last season despite winning 44 games, the most since James' last season with the team. And Thursday's transaction will put the Cavs in a contender status that no one could have predicted just a few months ago.
i'm really excited about this team and think predictions that have us in the play-in range are selling the overall talent of roster short. they would have won 50 last year without allen's injury and mobley's projected improvement should be worth at least a couple extra wins on its own.
Gayyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyy