LeBron To Ariza: I’m Staying In Cleveland
July 7, 2009Aaron Laffey to be Activated
July 7, 2009For those of you who pine for the days of former University of Akron and Browns “great” QB Charlie Frye strictly because of his name (does this mean I broke the moratorium?), Cavaliers GM Danny Ferry is working on something that may satisfy your free agent appetite.
After literally spending a night in Los Angeles (still for reasons unknown, speculation centers around a meeting with Trevor Ariza) Ferry entertained former Trail Blazers and Knicks Power Forward Channing Frye at the Cleveland Clinic Courts facilities in Independence yesterday. While the PD’s Brian Windhorst’s catch phrase of “stretch power forward” may apply to Rashard Lewis or even Ariza, it does not apply to one Channing Frye.
I watched him a ton when he starred at the University of Arizona earlier in the decade and I loved his game. He has a real nice 15-foot jumper, a la Drew Gooden, and is a good pick-and-pop type player. Athletically, at 6’11 he doesn’t hold a candle to other stretch PF’s the Cavs have supposedly looked at like Ariza (I know he is more of a SF) and Shawn Marion (now rumored to be headed to Dallas in a sign and trade). That is probably the reason Frye is looking at more of the bi-annual exception type money than the mid-level exception. At that cost, Frye would be a nice addition. I guess the best comparison I can make for Cavs fans is to think of Frye as a younger version of the Joe Smith you have seen over the last two years.
One thing you worry about when just looking at pure numbers, is his drop-off in productivity. As a rookie in New York four years ago, Frye was an all-Rookie selection, averaging 12.3 ppg to go along with 5.8 rpg in 65 games. Over the next three years, one with New York and two with Portland, his scoring and rebounding averages went down, along with his minutes. Last season with the Blazers, he was lost in the shuffle for minutes behind the less than stellar duo of Travis Outlaw and Nicholas Batum and was down for a good chunk of the season with an ankle injury that required surgery.
With all of that said, there are several teams that are hot for him, including Denver, San Antonio, Orlando, and his college home-state Phoenix Suns, who are rumored to be the leader for his services. Also in something completely different than what we have seen with free agents over the last week, the player actually has a legitimate, non-fake twittered, comment on his visit:
“I do think I’m a good fit. I think having a big that can create space for LeBron, Shaq and Mo can’t hurt,” Frye said via e-mail. “I feel like all the teams have a great opportunity for me to play and for me to contribute, especially [in Cleveland] — to be a part of history.”
With the now rumored “Lebron told Ariza he is staying” buzz floating around, it is unknown how this would affect the pursuit of Frye. But if the Cavaliers ended up with Frye as their free agent PF, more work would certainly have to be done with this roster, but up front and in the backcourt.
17 Comments
With a player like Frye, it’s all about the contract. How much money and how many years he gets determines whether he’s a good signing or not. I would be sorely disappointed if the Cavaliers overpaid in either salary or years for Frye, but at the right price, he’s a decent low risk medium reward kind of signing.
Plus, he can join Braylon in the McDonald’s commercials.
Synergy!
If the Cavs sign Frye for the biannual, and somehow manage to get AV for 6-7 a year that would be a pretty good front court. I keep hitting refresh and hoping to hear a rumor about the Cavs going for Josh Childress now that Bibby officially resigned.
@ Rock – completely agreed. Personally though, I’d rather have McDyess – more physical, better defender, more consistent career. McDyess if obviously quite a bit older than Frye, but I think he would be an excellent fit.
Unmentioned in TD’s post regarding Windy’s latest article – apparently the Cavs have started up talks with none other than… Wally Sczerbiak. Wally certainly played a valuable role at times during the regular season last year, but I’m about done with him, his slow feet are brutal to watch on the defensive end even though he still does have some offensive skills. I’d much rather lure Kleiza here (assuming Denver wouldn’t match because of his restricted status) than resign Wally.
I’d like to see the Cavs sign Wally to a big one-year contract, and then this time actually use the contract to trade as expiring money.
I wouldnt mind Frye at the Bi-annual…but I still wouldnt mind Marion as well at the MLE…that would be a pretty solid free agent duo…with shaq in the middle…you give yourself a pretty solid lineup of shaq/Z, AV/Frye, LBJ/Marion, West/Gibson, and Mo/West…obviously thats just a thought, but one that looks like a pretty darn good rotation…and if you can work JJ, DJ, and Green into it…I like it…
Everytime I see C. Frye I can’t help but to think of Charlie Frye … that can’t be a good thing
Adding Frye, Childress and Shaq…
a healthy Hickson, and a developing Jackson
plus keeping Joe Smith, Andy and Wally would be a nice offseason for a 66-win team.
How could Toronto sign and trade Marion? They renounced his rights when they signed Turkeyglue, didn’t they? Unless I’m mistaken that means they no longer have his Bird rights, so they can’t do a sign and trade with him…
I dont want Wally back…unless he gets some ridiculously quick feet somehow…
I don’t watch much west coast ball so I have no idea what his game is like. How does he stack up vs McDyess. If AMC is accurate I’d also much rather have MD. Maybe he wants more than 1 year because of his age?
toronto did not renounce Marion yet…not until wednesday when they are allowed to sign Turk.
so, if they trade for Stackhouse (only $2mil guaranteed) and shed $2mil in another trade….they still have cleared the same cap space and likely get an extra draft pick for their troubles.
“While the PD’s Brian Windhorst’s catch phrase of “stretch power forward” may apply to Frye in regards to his size, Rashard Lewis or even Ariza, it does not apply to one Channing Frye.”
Ummm…what is supposed to say??
How excited do you think the NBA is right now? When was the last time we talked this much about basketball in July?
[…] Frye, PF Portland- TD did a good job talking about Frye earlier today. I’ll simply throw my 2 cents in and say that signing Frye to the full MLE […]
Frye is vastly underrated, he wasn’t stuck behind Outlaw and Batum, they primarily play the 3, Frye was stuck behind Aldridge, Pryzbilla, and Oden, also was hurt for awhile. I would much rather have Frye than Mcdyess, Frye will play so much better if he gets consistent minutes, and McDyess is a short term fix. No way Frye signs for bi-annual though. he won’t sign for the entire MLE, but he will make at least 3 mil a year
As much as I wanted Cleveland to land Trevor Ariza, so he could be the salt to LeBron’s pepper, the Robin to LeBron’s Batman, the Pippen to LeBron’s _______ ______, you fill in the blank. Back to reality, the Cavs have a gapping whole at the four if Andy V decides to skip town, Channing Frye could be the bridge in the gap. The guy can flat out play, a few years ago he looked very promising and was the only “un-touchable” player on the Knicks. Given the chance to start on a good team would work wonders for his confidence. After getting limited playing time behind Aldridge, you can’t base your judgement on his stats alone. I absolutely believe Frye is a “stretch power forward”, he can definitely stretch the defense, because he’s a very capable shooting big. As long as he’s not strapped down to the bench, I think he’ll be successful where ever he lands.