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February 6, 2015With the wine and gold on a roll, winners of 12 straight, it may seem like a peculiar time to nitpick the team. But, it’s easier to look upon the horizon with calm waters, and right now I want to look at the Cleveland Cavaliers’ options with that open roster spot ahead of the trade deadline and some veteran buyouts. With weak points at both backup point as well as the fourth big slot, many have debated which should be the priority. For at least one Friday, I want to entertain the idea of selecting point guard. Not just any point guard, however. I’m talking about former Cavalier All-Star point guard Mo Williams. I’m making the case for entertaining a second go-around with Mo Gotti. Humor me for a few paragraphs.
First, let’s check in on Mo. In the reserve point guard role for the Timberwolves this season (though he has started 18 games due to the injury of Ricky Rubio), Mo is averaging 12.5 points, 6.5 assists, and 2.3 turnovers in just over 28 minutes per night. He has a shooting line of 40.3/34.6/85.2, and he’s now 32 years old playing on a one-year deal with Minnesota for $3.75 million. He also dropped 52 points in a game this season against the Pacers.
It’s well documented that Coach Blatt has a soft spot for Matthew Dellavedova, but his inconsistent offensive threat hurts the Cavaliers when their second unit is out there. Of course, LeBron and Kyrie shouldn’t be sitting at the same time, but when they do, it’s often ugly offense. Mo can be that corner three knockdown shooter. This year, he has taken only about seven percent of his threes from the corner, compared to 39% and 29% of his attempts in his two full seasons in Cleveland. He’s 50% on those looks this year and was 45% and 48% from the corners in Cleveland.
Think back to 2009 and 2010. Think back to the player and fan favorite Mo Williams was. Sure, that Mo is not the player that the Cavaliers would be getting nor is it exactly the player that they need. Mo’s been taking over 11 shots per game on that putrid Minnesota team, so he can be counted on to keep putting shots up if he catches fire, but he would definitely not be getting that type of workload as the ninth man in the rotation.
But, what about his defense? Rajon Rondo is still in the league after all, isn’t he? It’s a fair criticism of Mo’s game, but exactly how many backup points do you know of that are good defensively?1 It’s a DRASTIC difference asking Williams to check an All-Star point in the playoffs versus having him go against other second units. The Cavaliers still get bogged down and panicky in the moments where two of their three stars sit down. Mo could help stabilize that situation and give Kyrie and LeBron in particular some extra rest.
Why choose the point guard spot over center? Because it’s seems like David Blatt would rather play Shawn Marion or LeBron James at the four spot and go small. He’s so locked in on big minutes for his three bigs in Kevin Love, Timofey Mozgov, and Tristan Thompson that I can’t see another acquisition cracking the rotation nightly as any fourth big minutes are gobbled up by Marion or James. Would that change with a little more capable big man? Perhaps, the Cavaliers move the Haywood deal and then use that vacated roster spot to sign a bought-out big a little later? Kevin Garnett (as much as I dislike him) has been a name uttered. There are others who would fit the bill as well with the amount of minutes and regularity being asked for currently. Tristan Thompson’s minutes have gone down noticeably since the Mozgov acquisition, so I’m not looking to acquire somebody as a fourth big that would limit them any more. I am, however, looking for someone to keep Dellavedova out of the regular rotation. If the Cavs need a defensive stopper on a point guard, then so be it and Delly can be the sub at that moment instead.
The asking price has to be right, of course. The Wolves are reportedly asking for a pick, but nobody will likely give them more than a second for a two month plus rental. The Haywood contract is not as much of a flexible asset as it once was for the Cavs with the restricted free agents they likely will sign and their current cap figure. Maybe passing that Haywood deal along with a second rounder would do it. The Wolves have multiple young point guards that need to play anyway in Rubio and Zach LaVine.
When things got ugly last time at the end in 2010 in Game 6, it was Mo Williams who put up a brilliant effort in defeat against the Celtics. Mo embraced Cleveland more than any city he’s played in during his career. Wouldn’t Mo relish the opportunity for one last go around in a veteran role with a chance to make a big impact off the bench?
I’m not saying I expect this to happen, but if the Cavs truly are searching for a backup point guard and the Wolves are offering up Mo Williams, maybe we get a chance for a reunion for a fan favorite in a less-scrutinized role.
- Save for, of course, Matthew Dellavedova. [↩]
16 Comments
You clickbaiting us, Kirk? Ok, I’ll bite:
– Has Mo grown a pair in the last 4 years? Absent that medical miracle, do you trust him to hold the second unit together with his offense when games count? Frankly, I’d worry that returning to the scene of his crimes might make it even worse this time. We know what’s in his heart when the klieg lights are shining in his eyes. The anonymity of Minnesota and Milwaukee are a better fit for him.
– Defensively: look away. And he’s 4 years older than the matador we knew and loved. If any candidate is capable of making the opponent’s back-up PG get off, it’s Mo.
Sorry, not feeling it. And you know we’d hate ourselves later.
I’m still waiting for the return of Boobie Gibson
The nostalgia of the Dogfather and his 3-point theme music aren’t enough to make me want to shelter this mutt again. Kirk, you mentioned that he’s shooting 50% from the corner three, but you neglected to mention he’s only taking about 1 out of every 14 three point shots from that spot… so he’s about 6/12 on the season from the corner. I’m not sure that stat will continue to project, especially since he’s shot 36% from that spot the past two seasons. I also wonder whether he is still in good standing with LeBron after their heated breakup in 2010. Is it going to be too awkward to have the old girlfriend back in town?
Stop playin’.
For what it matters, I think Kirk has it a bit wrong. Think of it not as less Delly, but more as never seeing Mike Miller see the NBA court again unless we are up by 30 points and we feel bad for him. I think that is more how it would play out (not that I think we’d trade for him).
That’s fair, I would MUCH rather see Mo out there than Mike Miller at this point. Mo is a slightly below average NBA player at this point in his career. Mike Miller looks to be one of the worst at this point. With that said, the last point is my biggest concern. I really like the team chemistry the Cavs have right now and I’d hate to potentially ruin that.
I still wear my yellow very faded Boobie jersey sometimes lol
Those cool designs shaved in his head would for sure lift up the Cavs bench crew.
Only if he can be Panthro to Lebron’s Lion-O. *smirk*
poor guy, had to figure out what stupid spoof article all that came from, LLOL
I often have things a bit wrong, MG. 🙂
That’s a good point, another shooter in the hangar. He’s the 9th/10th guy as I envision it with Mike Miller joining James Jones on the bench pep squad permanently.
I admittedly forgot to look at just how many threes he had shot this year, Pat, which is why I included the 7% of attempts number to caution a bit.
Your assessment of the last two seasons’ numbers are fair. I just wonder how much his shooting has been affected by his increased role in Minnesota. He’s got to be taking a lot of bailout and end of clock shots in that offense with those players. In four teams since leaving the Cavs, he’s played 25 minutes or more per night. I’m asking for half of that on average probably.
I’m always prepared to hate myself, Harv. No clickbait. I really do have a soft spot for Mo and do think he could help in a small 9th-10th man role for the cost of maybe just a 2nd round pick.
You want Fog Raw back? not feelin you, homey. I’ll take Amare Stoudemire or Garnett on a buyout first.
http://6.kicksonfire.net/wp-content/uploads/2013/03/Hyperize-5.png
And an actual shooter instead of whatever Mike Miller is now 🙂
No, no, no, and no. Ray Allen. Nuff said. Make it happen, LeBaron.
I like fograw, but I’m not entirely sure whether he’s the right player for this team.
Here are some thoughts.
–They both are among the worst on their respective teams in Defensive Rating. Nevertheless, you can make an argument that Delly is the more valuable defensive player at this stage in his career because he steps on the floor with the mindset of a defensive player rather than a scorer and knows what his team needs.
— Delly is shooting better from the 3 point line than Mo, although with far fewer attempts. He’s shooting over 40%, which is a really impressive number. Mo is shooting just over 34%. But you still have to respect his shot or he can hurt you.
–One thing that Mo would bring which Delly struggles with is shot creation. You won’t see Delly scoring 51 points in a game anytime soon. Delly has been terrible inside the 3 point line, and Mo is the more efficient/creative finisher by a large margin. Also, Delly’s impressive 3 point percentage may be a little skewed because Mo is asked to create more, and most of Delly’s 3 pointers are assisted kickouts from other Cavs players. Over 90% of his 3 pointers are assisted, whereas only 50% of Mo’s are assisted. But I think this is what the Cavs need out of Delly. Kyrie, Lebron, JR, and Love can create their own shots whenever they need to. Delly is more of a spacer who is expected to hit open shots when other’s are doubled. He runs the offense for the first parts of sets, but usually settles at the top of the three point line for kickouts by the end. If we really need someone else to create their own shots, I’m sure Kyrie, Lebron, JR and Kevin Love will volunteer.
In conclusion, I don’t think that at this stage in his career Mo would be an upgrade over Delly, except possibly as a compliment to Shump and JR in the team’s rap game, assuming Delly isn’t second cousins with Iggy Azalea or something. If we are worried about Delly’s defense, Shump can take some of his minutes. That being said, I don’t think he’s been a weak link on this team so far this year. If he could develop any sort of offensive game within the three point line, I think he could be a pretty good player in this league.
Well well, you got your wish after all.