The Cavaliers Offseason, from a Raptor Perspective

First off, from a Raptor (and rest of the league) perspective, as long as the Cavs feature King James, they are a contending team. 

At the moment, no one else has a player that can put up 30 points and be a triple double threat every single night, that young man is unique. 

But the Cavs quest for an NBA championship continues, an apparently arduous task for the team with arguably the league’s best player, towards a solution which may or may not be yet at hand. 

Last years’ big signing, Mo Williams did add scoring at the point guard position, and Mo was given all-star honours. 

Did anyone notice Mo’s numbers looked an awful lot like his numbers in Milwaukee and he actually ended up with 2 fewer assists per game?  And no one thought of Mo as an all-star when he was in Milwaukee. 

After an unexpected exit from the playoffs, it became apparent more help was needed. Duh!

A quartet of new faces have now arrived.  The larger than life Shaq.  A playoff hero from 2 seasons ago, Leon Powe.  And 2 former starting Raptors, who used to guard opposing wings in Toronto for the past couple of seasons, Jamario Moon and Anthony Parker.

Shaq is no mystery to anyone.  A 7’ (cough)325lb (cough) center who dominated the NBA for many seasons.  Now a 37 year old center who has seen his stats slide from 27ppg, 11rpg, and 2.5 bpg about 6 or 7 years ago to 13.5, 9, and 1.4 only 2 seasons ago. 

Shaq regained some signs of his past life last year playing with (arguably) the very best passing PG in the league to about 18, 8.4, and 1.4. 

How much Shaq has left in that massive frame of his is anyone’s guess and it’s probably not wise to bet against him, especially at the start of the season. 

But this is one Huge (both size and dollars) gamble on the Cavs part, but it’s one that could easily pay off in that elusive championship – if only Shaq can make it through one more season.

Leon Powe?  All that can be said is I really hope that young man fully recovers and gets his chance to continue living his dream.  It must be nice to have an owner who sees a million dollars as play money.

When it was reported that the Cavs were pursuing Anthony Parker, my response was “I hope they give the guy the full MLE!” 

Anthony Parker is polite, well spoken, and gives the impression of – This is a guy I’d like to have as a neighbour.   

Always even toned, always does his job to the best of his ability, always talked about as an excellent teammate.  A great interview.  The Cavs couldn’t have got a nicer guy.

Anthony Parker, at 6’6”, 215lbs, has good size for a SG.  But he is also 34 years old and his point production dropped from 12.5ppg to 10.7ppg last year. And it often looked like he had lost a step defensively. 

Parker’s a dependable, reliable, won’t cause any problems, veteran player.  Will a younger Delonte West, with better stats, appreciate the value in giving up any of his minutes to the bigger veteran.

When Jamario Moon arrived in Toronto 2 seasons ago, he looked like the answer to the devastating loss of Jorge Garbajosa. 

With jump out of the gym athleticism, Jamario got off to an absolutely amazing start.  In his rookie year, Moon averaged 8.5ppg, 6.2rpg, 1 steal, and 1.4 blocks in 28 minutes, but he did look like a rookie.

Future expectations were high, Moon enjoyed a lot of fan support. But something happened to Moon during that first successful season.

As the season progressed, he stopped driving to the hole and going inside. He fell in love with his outside jump shot. 

Maybe it’s because Moon was only a rookie in name.  At 29 years old, Moon should be a veteran but he had bounced around for years with various non-NBA teams waiting for his shot. 

Maybe he overachieved in that first NBA season, but because of his age, further development should have been considered less likely. 

Last season in Toronto, Moon’s stats actually dropped to 7.3ppg, 4.6rpg, 1.1 steals, and 0.8 blocks.  After the trade to Miami, they dropped even further. 

Maybe Moon can regain his initial NBA form.  Maybe Moon thrives backing up King James.  But if his efforts slide further, he may find himself back out of the league.

From a Raptor viewpoint, the Cavs took the big gamble on the $20,000,000 center that could possibly be the dominating inside presence that leads the team to new heights. 

But last year the Raptors brought in the other $20,000,000 O’Neal to try the same thing and the experiment fell flat on its face (or should it be fell flat on its knees).   

In this O’Neal’s case, will it be flat on his back? Still, it’s worth the gamble, the payoff is huge if it works!

And the 2 former Raptors, they are still loved in Toronto.  

Not sure if they improve the Cavs, but hopefully their new fans get to love them too.

{Side note: With lots of relatives in the Cleveland area, I enjoy following the resurrected Cavs. 

The high point was watching the Cavs from the Mercedes box seats defeating the Pistons in game 6 of the Eastern Conference finals. 

King James willing his team to victory while the Pistons, led by Rasheed Wallace’s on court meltdown, folded like a cheap suit. 

One could say I wasn’t unhappy when Sheed went to Boston.}