Tag Archives: Kyrie Irving

RISKY BUSINESS – CAVS GM DEALS KYRIE TO CELTICS

by Kenny Roda

Was new Cavaliers General Manager Koby Altman channeling his inner Joel Goodson from the hit movie “Risky Business”? More on that later. Let’s get right to the surprising trade of Kyrie Irving to the Cavs biggest threat in the East, the Boston Celtics.

Koby Altman photo courtesy of fearthesword.com

This is a very risky trade for the Cavs considering that they gave up a four-time all-star in Kyrie Irving who they controlled for two more years even if he was unhappy, for Isaiah Thomas, an undersized, currently injured point guard, who’s terrible on defense and in the final year of his contract. And oh yeah, they made this deal with their Eastern Conference rival, the Boston Celtics!

Yes the Cavs got a decent role player, who’s calling card is defense, in Jae Crowder, plus an unproven rookie center, in Ante Zizic. But I’m not sure how much they will really help the Cavaliers this season, which possibly could be the final season for LeBron James in Cleveland.

If the Cavaliers are in a must win now mode, I feel, especially with the uncertainty of the hip injury Isaiah Thomas is dealing with, that this trade does not help them for this year, with the exception of owner Dan Gilbert reportedly saving $29 million in the luxury tax.

However, if Isaiah Thomas and his seriously injured hip, that forced him to miss games 3, 4 and 5 of the Eastern Conference Finals against the Cavs, is able to get back to being 100% healthy, and Derrick Rose does the same, the Cavaliers will continue to be the best the Eastern Conference has to offer. But as they are constructed right now, I don’t think that the Cavaliers will be good enough to defeat the defending champion Golden State Warriors in the NBA Finals.

Maybe the most exciting thing about this trade is the draft pick the Cavs got from the Celtics. It is actually the Brooklyn Nets draft pick, and Brooklyn could be the worst team in the NBA the season. That would mean the Cavaliers could end up with the most ping pong balls in the hopper (#APPBITH) with a chance to get the number one overall pick in the 2018 NBA Draft. Or the Cavaliers could take this Nets draft pick and potentially flip it for a big-time player which could mean a whole another story.

I was hoping that somehow someway new GM Koby Altman would find a way to trade for Eric Bledsoe, Josh Jackson and a draft pick from the Suns, or if Phoenix continued to be steadfast on not giving up Jackson, I might’ve taken TJ Warren and Jared Dudley and a draft pick along with Bledsoe. But the Suns wouldn’t budge, so Altman took, I guess, the next best deal.

Could he have done worse? Sure! Could he, or maybe David Griffin, if he were still the Cavaliers GM have done more? I think so! Now I’ve been wrong before on trades, but I’ve also been right.

But Altman is the man in charge and it looks like he took the mental approach of  Joel Goodson, Tom Cruise’s character in the movie “Risky Business” and went with, “Sometimes you gotta say, what the f***, make your move”! And boy did he ever!

Is this the end of the “Soap Opera” that is the 2017-18 Cleveland Cavaliers? I highly doubt it. I’m sure there’s plenty more drama to come.

Stay tuned!

 

CAVS OFFICIAL PRESS RELEASE ON THE KYRIE IRVING TRADE

CAVALIERS ACQUIRE NBA ALL-STAR GUARD ISAIAH THOMAS, JAE CROWDER, ANTE ZIZIC AS WELL AS THE 2018 BROOKLYN NETS UNPROTECTED 1ST ROUND DRAFT PICK

CLEVELAND, OH – The Cleveland Cavaliers have acquired guard Isaiah Thomas, forward Jae Crowder, center Ante Zizic and the Brooklyn Nets’ 2018 unprotected first round pick from the Boston Celtics in exchange for guard Kyrie Irving, Cavaliers General Manager Koby Altman announced today from Cleveland Clinic Courts.

“This trade needed to include both players and assets that we felt strongly could help us continue to compete for championships and we believe it does,” said Altman. “We look forward to Isaiah, Jae and Ante joining us and also felt that the unprotected first round pick in the deal was very important for us and our future as well.”

“On behalf of the entire franchise, I want to thank Kyrie Irving for the six impressive years he spent in Cleveland wearing the Cavaliers uniform,” said Cavaliers Chairman Dan Gilbert. “From the moment we won the 2011 NBA lottery that put us in position to draft Kyrie to the ‘The Shot’ that sealed our first NBA championship and all of the electrifying play that made him a joy to watch, ‘excitement’ was always in the air when it came to Kyrie Irving. We wish him and his family well as he moves on to the next phase of his NBA career.”

Thomas (5-9, 185) appeared in 76 games (all starts) for the Celtics in 2016-17, averaging a career-high 28.9 points, 2.7 rebounds and 5.9 assists in 33.8 minutes. He finished as the third-leading scorer in the NBA and had the second highest scoring average in Celtics history, trailing only Larry Bird’s 1987-88 mark of 29.9 points. Thomas also set career highs in field goal percentage (.463), three-point percentage (.379) and free throw percentage (.909, 2nd in NBA) this past season, while setting the team record with 245 three-pointers. An NBA All-Star in each of the last two seasons, Thomas was an All-NBA Second Team selection in 2016-17. He scored at least 20 points or more on 71 occasions, which includes a stretch of 43 consecutive contests hitting that mark (11/19/16-2/26/17), the longest in Celtics history. The six-year NBA veteran out of the University of Washington was originally drafted by Sacramento as the 60th overall pick in the 2011 NBA Draft and has gone on to hold career averages of 19.1 points, 2.6 rebounds and 5.2 assists over 441 games (309 starts) with the Kings, Phoenix and Boston.

Crowder (6-6, 235) played in 72 games (all starts) for Boston this past season and averaged 13.9 points on a career-high .463 shooting from the field, including a career-best .398 from three-point range, 5.8 rebounds, 2.2 assists and 1.0 steal in 32.4 minutes. He also went .811 from the charity stripe, while scoring in double figures on 54 occasions and posting seven double-doubles. The five-year forward from Marquette was the 34th overall pick in the 2012 NBA Draft by Cleveland before being traded on draft night to the Mavericks. In 383 career games (186 starts) with the Mavericks and Celtics, Crowder has averaged 8.9 points and 3.8 rebounds in 23.2 minutes.

Zizic (7-0, 250), who was selected 23rd overall by the Celtics in the 2016 NBA draft, competed internationally with Darussafaka Dogus Istanbul in Turkey and KK Cibona Zagreb in Croatia last season. He took park in five different competitions in 2016-17, which include the Euroleague, Basketball Champions League, Adriatic League, the Turkish BSL and the Croatian A-1 league and played a total of 65 games. In 21 contests for Darussafaka Dogus in the Turkish BSL, Zizic averaged 8.9 points on .688 shooting from the field and 4.3 rebounds in 17.8 minutes per game. Zizic also played in 20 games for Darussafaka Dogus in the Euroleague, helping them reach the quarterfinals after averaging 9.0 points on .649 shooting from the field and 6.7 rebounds in 21.9 minutes. He had his highest scoring average in the Adriatic League for KK Cibona where he averaged 20.0 points, 9.2 rebounds and 1.23 blocks in 29.8 minutes per game. Zizic was named as the 2015-16 Adriatic League Top Prospect which is given to the league’s best young player, aged 22 or under. Previous winners of this award include current NBA players Nikola Jokic and Dario Saric.

Irving (6-3, 193) played in 72 games (all starts) for the Cavaliers in 2016-17, averaging a career-high 25.2 points (11th in NBA) on .472 shooting, including .401 from beyond the arc, 3.2 rebounds and 5.8 assists in 35.1 minutes. He also shot .905 from the free throw line (3rd in NBA). Irving has spent his entire six-year professional career with Cleveland, appearing in 381 games (all starts) with averages of 21.6 points, 3.4 rebounds, 5.6 assists and 1.32 steals in 34.2 minutes.

CAVS RELEASE 2017-18 FULL SCHEDULE

Whether Kyrie Irving is there to play with LeBron James or not, the Cleveland Cavaliers know who, when and where they will be playing their 82 regular season game for the upcoming 2017-18.

Cavaliers 2017-18 Printable Schedule

 

 

KYRIE IRVING ON CAVS 109-108 GAME 1 WIN vs PACERS

Kyrie Irving scored 23 points, handed out 6 assists and came up with some defensive plays down the stretch of the Cavaliers Game 1 victory over Indians in their first test of the 2017 NBA Playoffs. here’s what Kyrie had to say postgame – 

VIDEO PODCAST – INSTANT ANALYSIS GAME 7 NBA FINALS and CAVS WINNING THE NBA CHAMPIONSHIP

It took the Cavs organization 46 years to do it and the city of Cleveland 52 years to accomplish it again, but Cleveland your Cavs for the first time ever, and for C’Town you have a World Champions once again!

The Cavaliers defeated the Warriors 93-89 in Game 7 of the NBA Finals to win the NBA Championship.

Check out my “Instant Analysis” in the video podcast below-

Watch it here –

LeBron Holding Both NBA Championship and MVP Trophies

KENNY’S KEYS and PREDICTION FOR A CAVS GAME 7 WIN

KENNY’S KEY TO A CAVS CHAMPIONSHIP WIN IN GAME 7

SURVIVE THE WAVE – The wave of emotion and energy the Warriors will get from, and play with, because of their home crowd in the 1st quarter is going to be HUGE. The Cavs must be able to handle it, not be overwhelmed by it and keep the game close early on. Once they do that, it becomes just another basketball game on the road. Then you settle in and do what you’ve done that last 2 games!

THE “J’ WILL SHOW THE WAY – If LeBron’s jumper is falling, the Warriors are in big trouble! If LBJ is hitting that “J” from mid-range and a few from 3-point country, Golden State cannot guard him. That in turn will open up drives to the basket for “The King”, as well as set up his teammates for plenty of open shots. To say that LeBron James jumper is the key to the Cavaliers winning the NBA Championship may sound crazy, but it just may come down to that, because the Warriors are going to give him that shot early on to see if he can make it. If he shows he can, goodnight Golden State and hello World Championship! If not, the Warriors defense will settle in and may be tough to score on.

PHYSICAL and MENTAL TOUGHNESS –  These 2 things have really played a major part in each team winning their 3 games in this series. Whichever teams comes out and throws the first punch, plays aggressive for 48 minutes at both ends of the floor and can handle the pressure, the ups and downs, the bad calls and bad officiating better mentally, will have a decided edge in this winner take all Game 7!

VALUE THE BASKETBALL – Don’t turn it over. It’s real simple. If you at least get a shot at the hoop on offense good things can happen. If you turn it over, you miss a chance at scoring, and you give Golden State a chance to get easy baskets at the other end. The team that takes better care of the ball will be in great shape to win this game.

THE BIG 2 and WHO? – You know what you’re going to get from LeBron. Unless his foot injury is more serious than they’re letting on, we pretty much have a good idea of what to expect from Kyrie. But who will be that 3rd scorer the Cavs need to win a Title? Will Kevin Love break out of his series long slump and put points on the board and grab some rebounds? Will JR Smith provide that scoring punch from long distance? Will Tristan Thompson step up big again like he did in the Game 6 win with another double/double? One of those guys or someone else we’re not expecting has to help out James and Irving in the scoring department to help Cleveland bring home its first ever Larry O’Brien trophy and NBA Championship.

DEFENSE – We all know defense wins championships. Tonight will be no different. Whichever team can communicate on “D”, be more physical on “D” and play it for all 24 seconds of the shot clock and for all 48 minutes of the game, will win!

There are other keys I could talk about, like “Ball Movement” on offense for the Cavs, but you already know how important that is from my previous posts or podcasts. But the ones I have mentioned above to me are the most important tonight. If the Cavs can do most, if not all of the keys listed, then they will win an NBA Title and bring the city of Cleveland something they’ve been waiting for since 1964…A World Championship!

If that happens then it will give new meaning to the phrase “O.I.C.” – Only In Cleveland! Because “Only In Cleveland” will a team have done something no other NBA team has been able to do in the history of the game, come back from a 3-1 deficit in the NBA Finals and win the NBA Championship! 

MY PREDICTION – Get you champagne ready, prepare for a parade in downtown Cleveland, as I like MVP LeBron James and the Cavs to defeat Steph Curry and the Warriors 104-97 in Game 7 and complete the greatest comeback in NBA history!

LeBRON JAMES – JR SMITH – KYRIE IRVING POSTGAME PRESS CONFERENCE GAME 3 NBA FIANLS – CAVS 120 WARRIORS 90

No Kevin Love no problem for the Cavs as the “Big 3” of LeBron, Kyrie and JR combined for 82 points in the Cavaliers 120-90 win over the Warriors in Game 3 of the NBA Finals. Golden State still leads the series 2 games to 1, with Game 4 taking place Friday night June 10th at Quicken Loans Arena.

But lets hear what this trio had to say about their 30 point win in Game 3.

LeBron - JR - Kyrie at the Podium - Game 3 NBA Finals 2016

Listen here –

LeBRON JAMES and KYIE IRVING PRESS CONF. FOLLOWING CAVS 116-78 WIN OVER THE RAPTORS IN GAME 5 of ECF

Hear what “The King and Kyrie had to say about beating the Raptors by 38 points in Game 5 of the Eastern Conference Finals 116-78 at The Q.

All In 2 16 Shirts

CAVS BIG 3 POSTGAME PRESS CONFERENCE – GAME 2 ECF – CAVS 108 RAPTORS 89

Cavs Big 3 at Podium ECF Game 2

LeBron James, Kyrie Irving and Kevin Love discuss their 19 point win over the Raptors in Game 2 of the Eastern Conference Finals, their (2-0) series lead and heading to Toronto for Game 3 Saturday night.

Listen Here-

LEBRON JAMES and KYRIE IRVING POSTGAME PRESS CONFERENCE – GAME #1 EASTERN CONFERENCE FINALS

The Cavaliers blew out the Toronto Raptors 115-84 in Game #1 as LeBron James and Kyrie Irving combined to shoot 22 of 30 from the field for 51 points in the victory. Both were all smiles after the 31 point win….

LeBron & Kyrie Postgame Raptors Game 1

Listen Here –