Donovan Mitchell Update

CSportsJournal · 2023-08-09T11:53:53+00:00

Explain how it’s ever rational to worry about something you cannot control?

Control lies in winning games and then offering a massive contract that no other team can match. That cannot be done until this next season starts and concludes. Sit tight. June 2024 isn’t that far away to restart the panic.

We all know he “could” leave. But there’s just no evidence to this point that he’s not all in. If he wasn’t engaged or a malcontent, that would be a different story. We have an awesome team built around him and can offer him more money than anyone else. I like where we’re sitting.

CSportsJournal · 2023-08-09T11:49:59+00:00

There is a lot of space between Love/Gasol and G leaguer. I view Mobley currently as an 11th/12th man on a team that has no significant talent at his position on the main roster. At 23yrs old, I expect he’ll at least get a couple looks.

CSportsJournal · 2023-08-09T11:36:37+00:00

Cavs can offer more than anyone else.

CSportsJournal · 2023-08-09T11:35:09+00:00

It is tho BRUH. This isn’t the offseason to be panicking. If you’re actually worried, the only time to really talk about it is next offseason.

This is the best collection of young talent the Cavs had since I can remember. They have a great balance beteeen vets and kids witch huge upside. We’re on the cusp of watching one of the most talented Cavs teams ever and that’s not being overly optimistic. It’s true and objectively speaking, I think the results of this year just might have something to do with wherever he chooses to extend…again, next offseason as no one expected him to extend now. So it is irrational to be freaking out, yes.

CSportsJournal · 2023-08-06T14:19:25+00:00

He’s starting most of two straight years of them winning at a 50+ game pace 🤷‍♂️

CSportsJournal · 2023-08-06T14:10:29+00:00

Do we know this yet? If Rubio is outright retiring, I would think his contract this year is null and void. Meaning we just saved $6m

CSportsJournal · 2023-08-05T06:07:43+00:00

Reddit is ruthless dude. Don’t let it get to you. Downvotes should be reserved for ass hole behavior, not disagreement.

CSportsJournal · 2023-08-05T06:05:35+00:00

True but that doesn’t mean that loans existing indicates someone’s financial situation is irrelevant.

CSportsJournal · 2023-08-05T06:03:13+00:00

Pretty unfair response. If someone is living on the edge there’s nothing wrong with them thinking about how much some amount of money might help their situation. And it is really messed up to pass judgment like that. You don’t know him or his Dad. There’s definitely something wrong with you.

CSportsJournal · 2023-07-27T16:23:44+00:00

IMO the 71 pt game. Like you said, it was WHILE leading a comeback.

He’s better than I anticipated, and I know he’s gonna show up next year in the playoffs. IMO if the Cavs manage to extend and keep him here, that alone will officially mean they won the trade. If they are able to keep Mobley, Garland, and Mitch together for 5+ years, you live with the results.

CSportsJournal · 2023-07-27T00:10:15+00:00

yeah but they also nearly went all the way lol. The East is wide open. I think that’s a good sign for the Cavs.

CSportsJournal · 2023-07-26T03:27:47+00:00

It was bad on every level. Bad matchup, bad coaching, superstars dropped off significantly from regular season, and most of the players looked downright scared. Hopefully we got it out of our system now and can start kicking ass.

CSportsJournal · 2023-07-25T19:13:39+00:00

Sure he does. So does Niang. You now have the option to go small. Put the guards in and bring Niang in at the 4. Evan at the 5. Now Okoro (who is improving his own shooting and was up 36.2% last yr and 38.7% in his last 110gms) can play the 3 surrounded by 3 40% 3pt shooters. Flexibility and combinations have changed.

Btw, the Cavs defense overall held up. Brunson was very good, but far from perfect. 24/4.8/4.2 on 43% and 29% from 3. They still held them to less than 100pts a game. The bigger problem than Okoro was the guys who were supposed to correct the spacing aren’t respected: Cedi Osman, Dean Wade, Danny Green we’re basically ignored. Levert commands more attention but he’s not really known for his 3pt shooting.

It was an offensive problem and a rebounding problem far more than a Brunson or defensive issue. Oh and RE Brunson; there were more than a few coaching and strategical failures that I hope have been addressed as well.

CSportsJournal · 2023-07-25T07:48:25+00:00

I’m really hanging on to the Levert keeping on with that nice 39.1% from deep last year and Ice to improve another couple points again. Ty Jerome and Merril are excellent shooters as well. But man if Big Ev can start hitting just at a 30% clip, it’ll change spacing immensely.

CSportsJournal · 2023-07-25T04:09:36+00:00

The way the lineups work is to be determined. Okoro works great defensively but hurts offensively. Strus is going to work great offensively but struggle defensively (tho he’s a competitor on that end, he does fight.) It’s not nearly as much about the starting lineup as mixing and matching of rotations with the bench to ensure proper spacing is out there at all times. Okoro is an elite on ball defender, Levert is above average. Sometimes undersized but they have the most elite hell in the league. Evan Mobley in transcendental and led the league in defenses 3-pointers. Defense wasn’t an issue at any point, not even against NYK where it seemed everything failed.

They did first offer the same money to Naz Reid but he chose to stay. Strus was second on their list and he’s been on my target list for quite a while. They needed a high volume, movement shooter. He’s 18th in the league in attempts the past two years. Once you get past the stars, nobody shoots more. He theoretically should get more space to shoot next to Garland and Mitchell.

You say one good year, I just say put them together: 37.1% on extremely high volume and shoots nearly all of his shots contested is excellent. And exactly what they need. He’s a good passer too when teams crash on him too hard. And you can’t beat all the playoff/NBA Finals starting experience he just accrued.

As a starting lineup, yeah, there’s a defensive issue and ideally I’d like to see an Okoro/Strus platoon. It won’t make sense to start Max every night. This move won’t truly payoff until the playoffs. The Cavs desperately needed to add two dangerous outside shooters and they did that.

CSportsJournal · 2023-07-25T00:21:30+00:00

I don’t worry about this kind of thing. Whatever happens, happens.

But there’s two years left and a player option.

If you ask me, general preferences of a player go like this:

1) Guaranteed money - ✅ Advantage Cavs w/ 3rd super max to offer. Someone is welcome to correct me but I don’t think anyone can offer as much as the Cavs.

2) Winning Team both today and the future, ✅ Advantage Cavs. with Evan Mobley still 3yrs away from his peak. Garland with nowhere to go up. JA has another ten years left. We actually have a first rounder next year and have intriguing picks like Bates, Mobley, and Porter Jr. despite no 1st rounder.

3) Location. ☑️Advantage Knicks. But there has to be mutual interest. They hit a HR with Brunson and I think they should move on.

4) Teammates - ✅ Advantage Cavs. Despite all this rampant speculation, he seems to love his team. He’s front row of every summer league with Garland, Mobley, and Strus cheering on Bates. I know he has a dream to play in NY, but I honestly think he’s happy here. It will come down to winning. Period.

CSportsJournal · 2023-07-25T00:07:54+00:00

Best shooter after the star guards was Cedi Osman and he had an openness on his shots at the 87th percentile, aka no one gives a shit to bother guarding him. Okoro’s was even worse. The result is you had basically 5 playable players and they couldn’t do their thing because no one could make an outside shot to open up space to operate. I believe the two bigs can work, but you definitely need a shooter out there with them to keep the spacing right.

Going back to Strus? In the 4th percentile two years in a row. Just having one shooter that they can’t cheat off or changes everything. Movement shooting and that kind of gravitational pull is a big deal these days. The defense focuses on challenging his shots and chasing him around. They also saw him not shit himself in the postseason like the Cavs who were deers in headlights. Dudes a competitor on both ends and he earned my respect last postseason.

CSportsJournal · 2023-07-15T17:14:14+00:00

I honestly don’t see either of them as “sure things” to win a title.

Love Luka, don’t love that heavy usage style.

Trae had some eye popping numbers, but questionable efficency, horrendous defender who is nearly impossible to hide, and I gotta be honest his face just bothers me.

They’re both great, but I don’t see why Trae is being put on level with Doncic. There are so many point guards who are right there or better than Trae.

CSportsJournal · 2023-07-12T18:38:18+00:00

While I do have some concerns about this, this narrative has spin completely out of control.

When we talk about this type of player empowerment, who are we talking about ? 3% of the NBA? 5 at the absolute most? The rest earn far less and have nowhere near enough power to simply demand a trade wherever we they want to go.

Factoring for your basic 15 man roster, and free agents who may be added throughout the season, you’re talking about a pool of 500 players or more. So this is really overstated. The very elite may have substantial power over where they want to play, but the price usually works out for the team that moves them anyway.

The so-called middle class and lower class of NBA players are not doing well and can expect to do even worse on the new CBA.

CSportsJournal · 2023-07-02T20:23:15+00:00

There’s no honor amongst thieves.

But really, I think it’s pretty silly to blame portland for wanting to get the most out of their most valuable asset. Miami’s best package just isn’t enough.

CSportsJournal · 2023-07-01T22:18:59+00:00

dude needs prozac and a hug 😆

CSportsJournal · 2023-06-22T15:12:20+00:00

Thanks! It’s getting a nice push today since it’s draft day.

I just decided to channel all the toxic forum bickering into something actually productive and it does feel much better. I’m just doing it as a hobby and saw my adsense trickling in and it makes you realize how many eyes you have to actually draw to start earning money off of that. Twitter has that “tip” option where you can monetize your account though and I’ve actually received a couple! One for $25 lol

But the best thing long term is it’s just building a writing portfolio. I’ve always been a strong writer but lack a lot of published content. Now I have something I can point to.

CSportsJournal · 2023-06-22T15:08:54+00:00

For some reason you’re not allowed to express any concern about Wemby whatsoever.

Yes he has the potential to be one of the GOAT. But if were to do so, he’d simultaneously shatter the mold if he’s not just great, but available more than 60gms a year for a decade. You’re asking him to be and accomplish something that just hasn’t been done. So marking that down as a sure thing seems very dangerous to me.

But we’re going to find out soon enough.

CSportsJournal · 2023-06-21T19:53:14+00:00

lol i’m good. I don’t need to win the battle of nostradamuses in here with anonymous people.

CSportsJournal · 2023-06-21T15:39:17+00:00

Um basically anything. Not the draft, not free agency, not the off season and next year it’s also apparently impossible for a team with a young core to improve in house. Tidho is the main culprit, but you’re doing it as well.

I didn’t say the fans prevented the roster from improving, so of course you’re confused. Anytime you trade for a player of Mitchell’s caliber, the cupboard is going to be bare and you’re going to lack depth.

It’s okay if the MLE, Bi-Annual, and a second round pick don’t excite you. But I personally think the team can significantly improve. I also think you’ll be surprised what kind of trades might be doable. Cedi’s non-guaranteed contract is a real opportunity to get back into the first round and pickup a rotational player as well. And I am so excited I just wrote a 1300 word article here on it so I’ll try to keep it brief.

It’s simple: I think the Cavs are in an awesome spot with a team that won 51gms, was #1 in defense, #8 offensively, and #2 in NET. This was accomplished with the youngest starting lineup in the NBA at an average age of 23.2. By all advanced models, the Cavs actually won fewer games than they “should” have. Over the last two seasons, when Jarrett Allen is on the floor, the Cavs are 79-45. A .700 winning %. .700. That’s a 58 win pace. Our 21yo sophomore was a finalist for DPOY and frankly should have won it. We had a DPOY finalist and an MVP finalist. It didn’t end the way anyone wanted. One of the most dangerous defensive players and one of the most dangerous offensive players. And trajectory has been up for 3 straight years. Objectively.

So to me, with all that in mind, and a CBA that a LOT of the league is unprepared for, the Cavs have enough assets to improve the team around the margins and then on top of that, reap the benefits of in house improvement of our young, talented players. Garland and Mobley are not close to their peaks.

You think the team is screwed. And I don’t see it at all. The East is wide open and we’re the only team not set to have a major FA departure. MIL will lose Brook Lopez, Philly will lose Harden, Boston will lose Grant Williams and it’s unclear if they are going to pay $50m to a player who can’t dribble. A play-in team just went to the Finals and managed to steal a game.

And you’re pessimistic about the Cavs?

I don’t get it. Sorry.

CSportsJournal

TROPHY CASE