Tag Archives: andrew bynum

A CASE FOR WHY THE CAVS SHOULD DRAFT JOEL EMBIID

As David Griffin and the Cavaliers continue their search for a head coach and who they’re going to select first overall in the June 26th NBA Draft should they keep the pick, let’s focus today on just the draft and one of the candidates who’s being discussed for that top pick – center Joel Embiid.

David Griffin 2014 NBA Draft Lottery Photo

In talking with numerous people throughout the Association, it’s apparent to me that if there were no injury concerns about Joel Embiid’s back he would be the clear-cut choice to go number #1 overall. But there are concerns, and thus the debate continues for the Cavs. After having your doctors look at Embiid, if you like what you see medically do you take him and don’t worry about it anymore? If there’s even a bit of a concern with Embiid physically, do you shift your focus to either Andrew Wiggins or Jabari Parker? Or do you go in a completely different direction and look to trade that first overall pick?

Joel Embiid photo - Courtesy of USA Today

photo courtesy of USA Today

Here’s my case for drafting Joel Embiid if, and that’s a big “IF”, he is cleared medically by the Cavs teams doctors:

He’s a legit center at 7’0 – 255 pounds with a 7’5 wingspan.

Cavs G.M. David Griffin talked about finding the right fit. Well Embiid fits! The Cavs are looking to get bigger, tougher, become a better shooting team and they want to spread the floor. Embiid does all of that for you right away. He has a nice soft touch for a big man who has only played the game for 4 years. He’s already a 68% free throw shooter.

He has the most upside or potential in this draft!

He will be a rim protector.  An eraser to make up for all of the other players defensive shortcomings like Larry Nance was for the Cavs in the late 80’s and early 90’s. He’s a shot blocker, a shot changer and he plays with a little nastiness in his game which the Cavs need in a big way.

He’s a very good athlete who runs the floor well and has outstanding footwork. He can drop step and spin move on you with ease already. Plus he’s got a face up and back to the basket game that’s only going to get better. Plus he’s a hard worker and wants to improve.

The comparisons I’ve read with Embiid are with Hakeem Olajuwon and Tim Duncan. To me, I see more of Olajuwon than Duncan because of his defense and footwork.

Let’s compare Embiid’s numbers his freshman year at Kansas with those of Olajuwon and Duncan in their freshman years. Remember Olajuwon ended up playing three years of college ball and Duncan four years. Embiid is heading to the NBA after just one year of NCAA action for the Kansas Jayhawks.

Embiid          – 11.2ppg – 8.1rpg -2.6blks – 62%FG – 68%FT – 20%(3FG)

Olajuwon     –  8.3ppg – 6.2rpg – 2.5blks – 61%FG – 56%FT – (No three point line)

Duncan         –  9.8ppg – 9.6rpg – 3.8blks – 54%FG – 74%FT – (1 for 1 in 3-pt shots)

 

Is Embiid the perfect player? No he is not. Nobody in this draft is. Embiid has to get stronger. He’s inexperienced as far as actual games played and he has the injury issues that need to be put under the microscope. His handle needs to get better as he turns it over in the post a bit, but that can change with more playing time. However he brings an emerging offensive game along with an above average defensive game to the table already and his potential is through the roof. He’s already a two-way player who’s only going to get better.

Check out a recent work out here courtesy of ESPN.com’s Chad Ford and Rodger Bohn –

@chadforinsider – Here’s a nice video compilation of Joel Embiid’s workout on Fri via @rodgerbohn. http://youtu.be/Gp7PX7hYUFQ 

 

Here’s one more thing to keep in mind about Embiid and big men. We hear how the NBA game is changing to more of wingman’s game and based on the last two NBA Championships won by LeBron James and the Heat you could make that argument. But consider these facts, of the last 15 NBA Championships that have been won, 11 featured impactful, if not dominate 7’0 foot centers as one of the core pieces of the team – (Shaq and Duncan 4 titles each, Pau Gasol/Andrew Bynum 2 titles and Kevin Garnett 1) – To me that sample size proves more than what’s happened in just the last two years.

So if Joel Embiid’s back is indeed 100% healthy and there are no red flags about his health, it’s going to be very hard for Cavaliers General Manager David Griffin to pass on such a talented 7-footer who is only going to get bigger, stronger and better.

ME, MYSELF AND I – LUOL DENG TRADE

With plenty of free time on my hands, I’ve been talking talking to myself more and more. Here’s the conversation I had with me, myself and I today about the Cavs acquiring Luol Deng from the Bulls for Andrew Bynum.  (Thanks Terry Pluto for the idea, I just tweaked it a little bit)

Me: So Cavs G.M. Chris Grant turned Andrew Bynum into Luol Deng, that’s a pretty sweet deal for the Cavs. Nice trade C.G.!

Myself: Yes indeed, you dump a bum with bad knees for a 2-time all-star, in the prime of his career, at your biggest position of need, and better your chances of making the playoffs this year. I’d say that’s a steal!

I: Big deal, the Eastern Conference sucks other than Miami and Indiana. Making the playoffs in the East is like being the slimmest fat kid at fat camp or Earl Clark saying I’m the leading scorer amongst Cavs small forwards, it doesn’t mean diddly squat!

Me: You’re wrong, it means a lot. You can’t teach playoff experience, you have to go through it and hopefully with Deng here, guys like Kyrie, Tristan and Dion will experience that.

Luol Deng

Myself: Plus if the Cavs make it to the playoffs and actually win a round that will send a message to the 2014 free agent class that they’re on the right track and it may result into a certain free agent wanting to return home if he sees progress in Cleveland.

I: Yeah, and if my aunt had balls, she’d be, well you know the rest. She doesn’t, and he’s not coming back because of Luol Deng or winning a first round playoff series in the putrid the East.

Me: Well if LeBron doesn’t come back, then the Cavs can just resign Deng and go after another free agent in the off season.

Myself: Plus even though they won’t be in the lottery, they’ll still have multiple draft picks to add talent.

I: But you won’t get one of the studs that will be available in this year’s draft. This is the year you WANT to be in the lottery. You WANT to have the 1st, 2nd or 3rd overall pick with such a deep draft class. Even Grant couldn’t mess up that pick. If they make the playoffs and get bounced in the first round, they’ll have screwed that up too! Right now they’re in good position for the lottery. APPBITH for one more year.

Me: You have to start winning sometime or else Kyrie is going to take his talents somewhere else.

Myself: This Deng trade shows Kyrie and all the other players how serious they are about winning, which will give the players a mental boost for the rest of the year, and who knows maybe they add another player before the February trading deadline for another shot in the arm.

I: That so called good feeling will last a week or two if they aren’t winning or if Luol and Kyrie both ignore Dion and don’t pass him the ball.

Me: I’m just happy that Chris Grant has followed through and traded in some of those chips he had on the table for a solid defensive small forward who can score. He’s a legitimate starter at that position.

Myself: Me too. This is the best player the Cavs have added outside of the draft since Lebron left and he’s an all-star the last 2 years.

I: That same all-star has an achillies injury, and it’s forced him to miss 9 games already this year. What’s to say it won’t flair up again?

Me: Yeah but if it doesn’t, we’re looking at 19 points and 7 rebounds a game and he’s an all-league defender.

Myself: Plus he’ll be a great veteran leader in a young clubhouse and a leader on the floor for Mike Brown.

I: The only reason he’s playing so hard is because it’s his contract year and he wants to get paid and he’ll take the best offer at the end of the year and more than likely someone else will offer more than the Cavs, so you basically got a 4 month rent-a-player.

Me: Yeah but if helps us make the playoffs, it will have been worth it.

Myself: Yeah, just win dammit!

I: You won’t be thinking that come draft lottery time when you could have had a shot at Jabari Parker or Julius Randle or Andrew Wiggins.

Me: I’m willing to take that chance if it means winning now.

Myself: Me too.

I: Not me.

RODA REPORT 1-2-14

Either Urban Meyer/Ohio State and David Shaw/Stanford didn’t respect Michigan State’s defense, both are too stubborn for their own good, or they just had a major brain cramp by calling the plays they called in late game situations against the Spartans defense in the Big Ten title game and the Rose Bowl.  Why play to the strength of Michigan State’s defense in those short yardage situations? Stupid coaching decision by two of the very best coaches in college football!

Speaking of stupid, you could argue the Browns front office is just that after firing head coach Rob Chudzinski after only one year on the job. From everything that was said all season long and even before that, in last year’s off season, the team was supposedly building for 2014 and trying to establish continuity and stability. Instead Chud gets canned after one season and Jimmy Haslam, Joe Banner and Mike Lombardi are back to drawing board of yet another coaching search.  In order to fire Chud, this next coach they hire better be the second coming of Bill Belichick and what scares me is that the guy they reportedly have the most interest in, Josh McDaniels, they feel is the second coming of Belichick. Only time will tell if getting rid of Chud was a good move or if indeed the “Three Stooges” are running the Browns!

I have a bad feeling that after winning 24 games in a row, Ohio State is on the verge of losing its second game in a row in the Orange Bowl versus Clemson. The Buckeyes defense, which gave up a combined 75 points and over 1,000 yards in its last two games to Michigan and Michigan State, will be without two of their best defenders against the Tigers in cornerback Bradly Roby and defensive end Noah Spence.  How is that defense supposed to stop Tajh Boyd and Sammy Watkins if they couldn’t shut down the less explosive Wolverines and Spartans with a healthier defense? Add to that Braxton Miller has been very pedestrian in throwing the football in his last four games and this has the makings of another BCS Bowl disappointment for OSU. I expect it to be a shoot-out and the team that has the ball last will probably win the game, so let’s hope it’s the Buckeyes have the pigskin last.

If Johnny Manziel and Blake Bortles join Teddy Bridgewater in this year’s NFL draft, it’ll be interesting to see who is ranked highest on the QB list by the media and more importantly by NFL teams.  I don’t see a slam dunk in any of those three like I did with Andrew Luck. Will Manziel’s backyard, crazy legs style fly in the NFL? While Bortles has the size, does he have the experience and the smarts? Bridgewater looks to be the most complete of the three, but the lack of competition he played against in college; does that move him down in the rankings? I want to see these guys at the combine, hear about their interviews and see them with Jon Gruden at his quarterback school before I give my final rankings, but for now I have it 1) Bridgewater 2) Bortles and 3) Manziel.

Here’s the dilemma the Cavs have right now after a (10-21) start. If they make a trade for a player like Pau Gasol will that really impact their chances of making the playoffs in the weak Eastern Conference this year and how much will that benefit them in the long run? On the flip side, if this season is headed in the wrong direction and it’s going to take another year for this team to be a legit playoff team, would it benefit them more if they ended up in the lottery one more time for what is considered to be one of the deepest NBA Drafts in recent history?   That’s the decision owner Dan Gilbert and G.M. Chris Grant have to make. The team has been healthy all season and with the off season moves of Bynum and jack they are still a lottery team as of today. Would adding Pau Gasol via a trade with the Lakers really make that much of a difference and gain them valuable playoff experience or would they be better suited to take their chances back in the lottery and maybe land so-called future stars like Jabari Parker, Andrew Wiggins, Julius Randle or others?

Mike Brown on Progress of Andrew Bynum before Hawks game

Here’s what Cavs head coach Mike Brown told me about Andrew Bynum’s progress at shoot around on December 26th before the Atlanta Hawks game.

Andrew Bynum post game interview vs Brooklyn Nets 10-30-13

Kenny Roda 1 on 1 with Andrew Bynum at Cavs Media Day 9-30-13