FanPost

Centered on Interior Defense

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While all the hype is being centered on Lebron signing, potential Kevin Love trades, and Dion tweets, David Griffin continues to focus on making this off season historic. I have complete faith in him now, and in my opinion, he has vaulted to one of the best GMs in the league after a mere month. After recently signing Mike Miller and James Jones (and maybe Ray Allen) for perimeter shooting, he is probably at work finding the last piece of the puzzle that will cement the Cavs as an NBA finals contender. And that annoying piece of puzzle is defensive minded big man; something the Cavs have been trying to fill since an over-the-hill Ben Wallace left the team.

After sending Zeller to the Celtics, all remnants of interior defense for them is gone. It seems as though many people are worrying there are very limited options for the Cavs to choose from in this area. However, there are still some valuable bigs to choose from in free agency (both unsigned and undrafted) as well as some interesting trades they can look into using Dion, Tristan and/or draft picks (I think Wiggins and Bennett are off-limits). I’m not sure what they’re expecting Brendan Heywood to contribute, but he can’t be relied upon to back up an injury prone wild thing. (For Player Analysis click the players name when hyperlink is available.)

Free Agency:

Ideally, this is where the Cavs should want to get an interior presence. But they just signed Mike Miller using their room exception so they can only offer the minimum….so…..

Ekpe Udoh

One of the 500 shot blockers the Bucks had last season, Milwaukee let the 27 year old become unrestricted this summer. His defense is solid, rebounding numbers are okay and he’s still relatively young and athletic. Many Cavs fans seem to think he would be a good pickup, but I don’t like the fact that he recently had surgery on his knee. Bigs with knee problems aren't very trustworthy in my opinion. HOWEVER, I read this slightly outdated article which kind of change my perspective. And this was before he was buried in the shot blocking frontcourt of the Bucks. If he really is a high IQ big that helps effect the box score in sneaky ways, coach Blatt might already be pushing Griff to go get him. I haven’t seen much tape on him though, so to me, it still seems like he’s just a normal role player with a recent knee surgery. It might be worth investing in him though, he hasn't really had a chance behind the other 499 shot blockers the Bucks have. I mean he was drafted between DeMarcus Cousins and Greg Monroe, that counts for something, right? Anyways….

Ed Davis (Nevermind, the Lakers swooped in like vultures while I was writing this)

Man, it would be nice to snag this kid. He hasn’t really demonstrated himself to be a proven commodity in the league yet, but at 25, he has shown what he’s good at and he still has room to improve. While it’s a small sample, he’s a great shot blocker, he kept opponents to 40.1 FG% at the rim last year (mind you, this is better than Ibaka, Hibbert, and Drummond), and he’s a above average finisher at the rim. Well, that seems to be exactly what the Cavs need. However, he tends to lose focus and make mistakes quite often but improves with more playing time. Most likely, the Cavs would give him plenty of minutes if he continues to do what he does well. Under Blatt, I assume his focus would improve over time. Given the opportunity, Ed could be a great contributor moving into his prime. He’s an RFA so anything that the Cavs offer could be matched by the Grizzels, and the Cavs don’t really have any cap space. Maybe Tristan and a couple of first rounders would entice them to sign-and-trade? I don’t know, but I would like Griffin to try to get him somehow.

Elton Brand

Barring retirement, Brand would be a reasonable option for the Cavs at a veteran’s minimum. He’s regressed the past two years and certainly isn’t the defensive presence he was with the Clips when he averaged over 2.0 blocks per game. He’s undersized for a center which isn’t what the cavs really need, but a smart veteran playing about 15-20 minutes a game could postpone the Cavs finding a long term option until next year.

Jermaine O’Neal

Another old big the Cavs could add to their roster is the other O’Neal. He’s had a brief resurgence in his career after his stint with the Warriors. Obviously he’s in the twilight of his years and is looking to retire, but the opportunity of playing with a title contender could change his mind. Again, this would be a smart signing at a veteran minimum for a short term option that could provide valuable minutes off the bench. However, he would be in his 19th season in the NBA, and an injury prone big backing up another injury prone big isn’t ideal….

Greg Stiemsma

This Wisconsin native was waived by the Pelicans late in the season and realistically could be had for veteran’s minimum. He’s only been playing 3 years and coming off a recent injury. So why would the Cavs sign him? He blocks the crap out of the ball, 2.7 blocks per 36 minutes to be exact. If he checks out health-wise, he could be a sneaky good pickup for Griff.

Trade:

For this section, I’m only introducing possible targets the Cavs could trade for based on availability and fit. Actual trade scenarios will not be proposed but feel free to suggest any in the comments.

Nerlens Noel

I have no clue if Phily even wants to trade him. But the Cavs definitely have assets that appeal to the Sixers. One is Dion who has all but said "trade me to Phily". He’s from there, and he wants to be the best player on a team after standing in Kyrie’s shadow for a few years. And I have no doubt he would be on a team full of D-League players. Additionally, the Cavs have a ton of first rounders and Phily wants all the draft picks in the world, so there’s that. Question is, is Noel worth it? We’ve seen him impress with his defense in the few summer league games he’s played in, and he was on-par with Anthony Davis’ shot blocking coming out of college. But dang, he looks fragile, and his injury history looms in the background. I personally wouldn’t make this trade, but if Dion is going to bolt to the Sixers anyway, the Cavs may want to get something in return while they can.

Roy Hibbert

The 7’2" big man is an option the Cavs could pursue, but there are several reasons I wouldn’t like it. Why? Well, for being a Defensive Player of the Year candidate, he’s screwed if he has to defend a shooter. This was on full display during his epic playoff meltdown during the Hawks series. Also, the Cavs would have to somehow accompany his expensive contract which would limit them in making any additional moves. And to make the trade in the first place, the Cavs would have to give up several young players on cheap contracts to even make room for him. Additionally, there’s also the question of whether you get the Defensive Player of the Year candidate, or the historically bad, overpaid center. If you’re getting the legit Hibbert, there’s some reasoning for pulling the trigger on a trade. However, similar to a K-Love trade, it will handicap them and take away some young guys that can learn and grow with the best player in the world.

Ian Mahinmi

Oh yeah, that guy who played behind Hibbert. Is he any good? Well, his offense stinks and he fouls a little too much. But when I have watched him play, it's hard to see Ian do anything wrong. He knows his strengths and his weakness and plays appropriately which is exactly what you want in a role player. He's overshadowed by the giant starting ahead of him but still very valuable by keeping up the rim protection when Hibbert sat. It's too bad that the poisonous big man Bymun started stealing his minutes near the end of the season. The issue with this is that there's no indication the pacers want to move Mahinmi, especially if they trade Hibbert. And he's getting paid $4 mil a year to be a reserve, not the cheapest but not the most expensive either.

Larry Sanders

When you’re talking about shot-blocking, Sanders name always pops up. However, when you’re talking about boneheadedness (if that’s even a word), Sanders is up there with Metta World Peace and Bynum. He was coming off a season where he was being considered for DPOY and was one of the most promising bigs in the NBA. Then he struggled to start the season, then he injured himself in a nightclub brawl, then he was cited for animal cruelty, then he started causing issues with teammates, then he got injured again, then he was suspended for drug use, then he started promoting the use of marijuana...what a difference a season makes. So, I really don't know what to make of him now, but I do know he's still one of the best defensive bigs in the nba and still offers tons of upside at 25 years of age. Maybe it was just an anomaly of a season, or maybe he really is a bundle of mess. Regardless is he worth the risk for the Cavs to take a shot at him? The Bucks should be more willing to move him with the emergence of John Henson, but I don't think it would be smart. Could Lebron have a positive influence on the kid? Maybe he just needs a change of scenery? Maybe it's worth overlooking his issues and focusing on his defensive capabilities?

Undrafted:

These are all young unproven guys who weren’t drafted for one reason or another. It's probably smart not to rely on any of these guys as a backup center, but it would be a good investment to get one for depth if injuries occur. I didn’t include the giant Sim Bhullar because when I watch him play, it looks like he’s going to keel over from exhaustion….yeah he probably won’t play at all under Coach Blatt....

Patric Young

This guy is the exception; there shouldn’t be any reason why this guy wasn’t drafted. When I watched him at Florida, I thought for sure someone would at least snag him in the second round and get a steal. Why would you draft a bunch of foreign dudes (who’ll probably never come oversees) over Patric Young? Perhaps it's because the NBA seems to value stretch fours that can open up the paint. Forget it, this dude is a beast:

Remember how crazy everyone was about Thomas Robinson when he was drafted? He may not have the offense T-Rob has, but he's already ready to bang with the bigs at the next level. He's not that great at rebounding, but the Cavs have that area covered. Young is a great PnR defender and he is brutal on the interior. He's not really a rim protector, but he would be a great high energy forward to add to the frontcourt depth in case injury arises.

Khem Birch

Tony's former teammate from UNLV, Birch was the Mountain West Conference's DPOY his senior year while averaging a double-double and he led the conference in blocks two years straight. He's got great measureables, works hard, and is ridiculously athletic. He seems to have shot-blocking instinct which could be valuable at the next level.

Artem Klimenko

Harry Potter liked him. (He liked Young too). He gets my stamp of approval. (And I can't really find anything on this guy besides his measurables....)

Alex Kirk

Captain Kirk is currently on the Cavs Summer League team. Just from watching him, it's pretty obvious that he needs to work on his conditioning. He also struggles a little with fouling, but honestly those two issues are common in rookie bigs. He doesn't always give consistent effort, but a couple of months under Blatt would probably fix that. He could be an option, but he won't be reliable in the NBA until he works on his fundamentals which could be a few years.

Any thoughts? Any options that I missed? Please feel free to comment below. And remember, we have LeBron James.

This is a Fan-Created Comment on FearTheSword.com. The opinion here is not necessarily shared by the editorial staff at FearTheSword