NBA News: Cavs on Oden’s short list
July 2, 2013Children’s Palace, Analytics of the NBA and MLB, Jimmy Haslam, Kyrie Irving and Mad Men – WFNY Podcast – 2013-07-03
July 3, 2013“While We’re Waiting” serves as the early morning gathering of WFNY-esque information for your viewing pleasure. Have something you think we should see? Send it to our tips email at tips@waitingfornextyear.com.
“It is entirely the case that Corey Kluber has conceded 10 runs and recorded a 7.84 ERA over his two most recent starts. It’s also entirely the case that Kluber has recorded an 8:2 strikeout-to-walk ratio and slightly above-average 47.5% ground-ball rate and decidedly above-average 2.91 xFIP over those same 10.1 innings (and 51 batters faced). It’s finally the case that runs allowed are conspicuously fascist.” [Cistulli/FanGraphs]
—-
“In a vacuum, signing Clark would seem like a roster-filling move with the potential for some upside. But based on Brown’s familiarity with Clark, from their time together in LA, he makes this possibility a bit more intriguing. If Brown likes the fit for Clark on this team at a nominal price, then I’m going to trust his judgment on that. If it came down to one guy or the other, though, I’d prefer the Cavs address the need at point guard by inking Collison.” [Bowers/Stepien Rules]
—-
Oof. “That’s right. With their current salary situation, the Nets will spend over $81 million on the luxury tax alone. To compare, the Miami Heat paid $80,736,455 in salaries for their championship team this past season, and they had the third-largest salary figure in the league.
If you add up the projected salary for a 15-man roster, the tax level, the amount the Nets still pay Travis Outlaw ($4 million), Prokhorov will end up shelling out a grand total of $186,118,490 on the Brooklyn Nets roster in 2013-14.” [Kharpertian/The Brooklyn Game]
—-
Comparing undefeated OSU seasons to the current group– “Zach Boren was also a huge piece to the undefeated run, his switch from fullback to linebacker shoring up a defense that was decidedly mediocre before the move. His emergence allowed Ryan Shazier to excel at playing his own position instead of doing just so-so at essentially trying to play two linebacker positions through the first half of the season. Last year’s crop also featured experienced depth up front with Nathan Williams and Garrett Goebel while the defensive backfield included seasoned veterans in Orhian Johnson and Travis Howard.
Similar to ’02, the seniors weren’t overly responsible for the offense’s production as only two guys were regulars. Jake Stoneburner could make a case he was underutilized in Columbus as he totaled 16 grabs for 269 yards and four scores in his final season. Reid Fragel proved to be one of the great stories of the ’12 season as he successfully made the difficult transition from tight end to right tackle in one offseason.” [Lauderback/Eleven Warriors]
—-
Trading for Gasol? “Offensively, Gasol would bring the Cavaliers a great, reliable pick-and-pop big man. Gasol has shot 43.3% from 16-23 feet over the course of the last three seasons while attempting slightly more than three per game. Kyrie Irving has not had a legitimate partner to pick-and-roll for an extended period of time within his two NBA seasons, so Gasol would be a welcome breath of fresh air. Gasol also features one of the most refined post-games in the NBA, able to score from a variety of positions in the post.
Of course, it’s also worth mentioning that Gasol is turning 33 in four days. It’s entirely possible that his skills and athleticism may have eroded to the point where he would become a total diminishing return due to injury and miles. However, that’s part of the reason that he’s possibly available, along with the possibility of Dwight Howard returning.” [Vecenie/Fear the Sword]
9 Comments
Pau Gasol – no thanks, at this age. Doesn’t strike me as the they’ll-have-to-tear-this-uni-off-me kind of sage veteran. He’s an educated Euro who’s probably looking to make his last basketball money on a contender and then get on with his life. I worry what effort he’d give here as part of a rebuild, and how long his nagging injuries would nag.
When healthy last year, Varejao was just as effective as a pick and role partner for Kyrie, and I’ll take his defense and rebounding over Gasol’s refined post game. Plus he’s like three years younger.
Number of games the younger Varajao has been healthy enough to play the last three years: 31, 25, 25. I agree that Gasol is not a great fit, but counting on Andy is not good planning.
Can’t argue with that, but given the last couple of seasons and Gasol’s age I’m not sure he’s a much better plan, regardless of fit.
I’m all in for acquiring Gasol. He was a bad fit with Duh-wight last year. Big guys age better than guards/wings (i.e. Duncan v. Ginobli), so I think Pau’s got at least enough in the tank for one last big “contract year”. If not, for a majority of the year we’ll be stuck watching 30 minutes (if he can stay out of foul trouble that long) of Tyler Zeller at C.
3 consecutive seasons is too big a sample to pass off as misfortune. In the lane guys get tomahawked -and banged, elbowed in the ribs, pushed into the stanchion, stepped on – all the time. I love Andy, but he’s now at the age where he’s getting as good or better than he’s giving.
It’s not that big guys age better than wings…it’s that guys who rely on technique instead of raw athleticism age better. That’s why a guy like Reggie Miller could hang on for years and years. His game was predicated on smart off-ball movement and a sweet shooting stroke. Ray Allen is pretty much the same. Dwyane Wade (on the other hand) is a guy who needs to completely readjust how he plays. Duncan was always a fundamentals guy.
With all of that out of th way, Gasol is a guy who relies on smart play as opposed to athletic play. And he might not have been a bad fit next to Dwight if he played in a different style of offense.
With a payroll like that, I wonder if Mikhail Prokhorov is a fan of American football…
He might be an excellent choice to be the owner of a baseball franchise.