Open Thread: Raptors at Cavs
January 19, 2010Cavs 108 Raptors 100: James + Mo + Shaq= Win
January 20, 2010While 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.
Do the Hyperdunks come in Wine and Gold? “The latest rumor (from Bob Finnan of “The Morning Journal”) is that the Cavs have offered Zydrunas Ilgauskas to the New Orleans Hornets for their star power forward David West. There has been talk of the Cavs’ interest in West, but now they’ve apparently made an offer. Well, of course they have.
Finnan attributes this rumor to an unnamed “league source,” but for simplicity’s sake, I’m going to go ahead and verify this for you:
It’s true. 100%.
Ferry would give up Z in a heartbeat to land West, straight-up. Who wouldn’t make this trade? (With the obvious exception of every single Hornets fan.) [The Wine and Goldrush]
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“What the Browns are doing to Cribbs is not just personally disrespectful to the player in question, but offensive to other NFL players, infuriating to fans, and just plain strategically stupid. Perhaps the most damaging repercussion of this offer is that it sends a message that will discourage other players from wanting to sign with Cleveland in the future. Everyone in the world except for the Browns front office thinks the contract offer to Cribbs was insulting and absurd. No one would agree with that more vehemently than other NFL players. The not-so-veiled message that the rest of the league will derive from this situation is that the Browns not only won’t reward players who have earned it, but they’ll even renege after making a promise to do so.” [Cleveland Sports Girl]
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No one touches the Shaqtus.net “Shaq and a company that he has officially licensed his name and image to are involved in a lawsuit in Las Vegas with another company that has been using O’Neal’s “Shaqtus” nickname on apparel and a Website. Yes, the man of 1000 nicknames is at the center of a little trademark brouhaha all because someone is squatting on the www.shaqtus.net site… [Vincent Van Grzegorek/’64 and Counting]
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E-R-I-C, Eric! Eric! Eric! “We wonder if anyone’s asked Rex Ryan if he’s grateful for the work that Eric Mangini did in his three years as head coach of the New York Jets laying the foundation for much (most? almost all?) of the Jets’ run to the AFC Championship game. The answer would be interesting enough that we’re sure we’d have heard about it if someone had already asked him. We hope someone does, because we’d love to hear what he’d say in response.” [Cleveland Frowns]
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And finally, Rafy gets paid: “The off-season is a time to let bygones be bygones. A new year approaches and [Tim] Belcher and the Tribe have high hopes for [Rafael] Perez, who Tuesday avoided arbitration and signed a one-year deal worth $795,000 with a $25,000 All-Star Game bonus. A critic would say the Indians have become good at two things — avoiding arbitration and not winning a World Series. They haven’t gone to arbitration with a player since 1991. They haven’t won a World Series since 1948.” [Paul Hoynes/Plain Dealer]
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Also… OSU hoopster and Club Trillion blogger Mark Titus will be on ESPN2 today at 10AM EST. Just a heads up!
21 Comments
Would NO buy out Z?
Mark the shark!!!!!
If David West did come to the Cavs, Delonte could wear his shoes too! D West’s x 2
Also, for Frowns to infer that Mangini laid most or almost all of the ground work for Ryan’s Jets is idiotic. First off, their was a GM there, Eric didn’t ahve overlord powers like he did his first year here, and second, Mangini made sure to get a whole hell of a lot of “his guys” from the jets, which Ryan happily gave him. So, how about next time we trade with the Jets, we get some of Rex’s guys, instead of Erics, cause Rex’s made the playoffs.
Can everyone just chill out about the Cribbs contract? Does anyone really believe that the last offer was the final offer? Cribbs has NO leverage but I still think it will get done. If you want to blast the Browns, do it in July when a contract has not been re-done and Cribbs is holding out. But until then just relax everyone. No FA signings will be effected by the ins and outs of Cribbs contract. Not one.
Joe H-
Yeah, I would feel much more confident about NO buying out Z then I would the Wizards. They are desperately trying to get under the cap and keeping Z and getting rid of West wouldn’t make any sense financially or basketbally.
I don’t know, given that Mangini allowed the Jets to get Sanchez for nothing, he deserves at least some credit for this season’s success.
I agree with Mark. We all need to remember how unique the Cribbs situation is. How often does an undrafted rookie get a 6-year deal? How often does that undrafted player so clearly outplay his 6-year deal? I think Cribbs deserves more money, but he really has no leverage and the Browns might want to figure out a few of their other guys first before they open up the checkbook for Cribbs. I believe D’Qwell Jackson, Matt Roth and some others are real live free agents as opposed to Cribbs and his renegotiation.
I think Mangini does desrve some credit for the Jets success this year. Not all, just some. Except for Sanchez & Shonn Greene, that’s really Mangini’s Jets team, including Revis Island. (Except for a handful of players he brought here.)
Trade Z for West Yes Yes Yes. Buyout or no buyout. West is a definite upgrade. I would feel bad for Z if there was no buyout, but it’s all about winning that trophy in June.
@ Mark. I couldn’t agree more. Cribbs signed the contract he is playing under. Quit the crying, man up and play what you signed for. And for everyone to still be going on about this is ridiculous. The person that proposed the contract isn’t even with the team anymore.
I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again. The NBA is a business and if it is going to put your team in a better position to win the big one in June then pull the trigger. The hornets are still looking to help their cap and Z has the expiring contract they want. That’s half the reason they traded Tyson Chandler.
She lost me at – “There’s the parade of colossally incompetent head coaches which may or may not include the incumbent (jury’s still out, but it looks grim).”
Back to the kitchen and make me a sandwich please.
/only partially joking.
No.. Unless we get Z back.
Here’s a question for everyone to answer..
Is Mark Sanchez better than Brett Favre? If he isn’t how didn’t Favre get Mangini’s team ad far as Sanchez got Mangini’s team?
Let me be clear, I think Cribbs should get a new deal. Anytime you have a player so under paid and will continue to be under paid for the next 3 years of the deal, it is in the teams best interest to re-do the contract. It is good business. I just think all of this angst over the negotiations needs to stop. Let the process work itself out. There are plenty of FA on the Browns and elsewhere who the Browns need to work on. Everyone isnt freaking out about those yet. If Cribbs dosent report to training camp, well freak out then.
@MattyFos I’d go with their last two opponents both lied down for them and a bunch of other teams weren’t as good as they were last year. They lucked into a wild card spot with one more victory than last season and are now taking advantage of it. It’s not like they went 12-4 or anything.
BYE Z! See ya in 30 days. I hope this happens. It’ll be like getting an All-Star PG for Damon Jones, if that’s even possible…..
@MattyFos
Also, the Jets are in the playoffs because, much like the Browns, they decided to lean on their running game and tell Sanchez to hand it off unless the receiver is absolutely wide open.
Anyone willing to trade Z w/o a buyout in place loses any right to cry about a lack of loyalty if LeBron signs elsewhere in the offseason.
If we expect loyalty from our players, we need to be willing to show it.
Can we please remember that under the NBA rules there is no such thing as trading someone with a “buyout in place”. Can’t be pre-arranged. Cannot. There you go.
There’s also this: JaMarcus Russell, 2008-09: 198-for-368, 2,423 yards, 13 TDs. Mark Sanchez, 2009-10: 196-for-364, 2,444 yards, 12 TDs. The difference? Sanchez threw more picks.
@ Rick – no, we will not remember that. I would rather speak of a mythical world in which pre-arranged buyouts can be signed and binding, and then unicorns will deliver Z back to Cleveland.