Tag Archives: New York Knicks

MY THOUGHTS ON THE CAVS TRADE OF DION WAITERS

Here’s my opening monologue from Tuesday, January 6th on 1480 WHBC as I address the 3 team trade that Cavs G.M. David Griffin  pulled off with the Knicks and the Thunder with Dion Waiters going to OKC and in return the Cavaliers get J.R. Smith, Iman Shumpert and a protected 1st round pick from the Thunder.

Listen here –

 

Dion Waiters Interview Photo

CAVS OFFICIAL PRESS RELEASE ON THE TRADE OF DION WAITERS

Dion Waiters  #9

CLEVELAND, OH – The Cleveland Cavaliers have acquired guards Iman Shumpert and J.R. Smith from the New York Knicks and a protected 2015 first round pick from the Oklahoma City Thunder. In exchange, the Cavs will send guard Dion Waiters to the Thunder, and Lou Amundson, Alex Kirk and its own 2019 second round pick to the Knicks. New York will also receive forward Lance Thomas from Oklahoma City.

“We wish Dion the best as he continues his career with the Thunder and thank him for his effort and work here with the Cavaliers. Dion is a talented player with potential ahead of him. Trades like this are always difficult to make because there are relationships and bonds built and that was the case with Dion,” said Cavaliers general manager David Griffin. “At the same time, we’re very excited to welcome Iman and J.R. to Cleveland. With their size and versatility, we think both Iman and J.R. can help our team on both ends of the court and we look forward to them joining us.”

Currently in his fourth NBA season, Shumpert has appeared in 202 games (162 starts) with the Knicks, averaging 7.9 points, 3.5 rebounds, 2.2 assists and 1.3 steals in 26.2 minutes per game. The 6-5 guard has ranked among the NBA’s Top 20 in steals-to-turnover ratio in two of his three pro seasons (15th with 0.91 in 2011-12; fifth with 1.16 in 2013-14). He holds a .348 career three-point percentage and was an All-Rookie First Team selection in 2012. This season, Shumpert is averaging 9.3 points, 3.4 rebounds, 3.3 assists and 1.3 steals in 26.0 minutes over 24 contests (all starts).

Smith, an 11-year veteran, has played in 716 career games (173 starts) with averages of 13.3 points, 3.2 rebounds and 2.2 assists in 26.1 minutes for New Orleans, Denver and New York. The 6-6 guard is also a career .370 shooter from the three-point line and .736 from the charity stripe. He has made at least 100 three-pointers in seven of the last eight seasons and was named the NBA’s Sixth Man of the Year following the 2012-13 season. This season, Smith is averaging 10.9 points, 2.4 rebounds and 3.4 assists in 25.8 minutes through 24 games (six starts) with New York.

Waiters was originally drafted by the Cavaliers with the fourth overall pick of the 2012 NBA Draft. In 164 games (75 starts) in three seasons with the Cavs, Waiters averaged 14.3 points on .420 shooting from the field, including .328 from beyond the arc, 2.4 rebounds, 2.8 assists and 1.0 steal in 28.1 minutes per game. He was named to the All-Rookie First Team in 2013. Through 33 games (three starts) this season, the 6-4 guard is averaging 10.5 points, 2.2 assists and 1.3 steals in 23.8 minutes per game.

Kirk, an undrafted rookie out of New Mexico, originally signed as a free agent by the Cavaliers on August 11 and played in five contests for Cleveland in 2014-15. Amundson, who was part of the 2014 Cavs training camp and preseason roster, appeared in 12 games for the Cavs this season.

CAVS 2014-15 REGULAR SEASON STARTS WITH HOME GAME AGAINST THE NEW YORK KNICKS OCTOBER 30TH

LeBron Chalk Toss1

Photo Courtesy David Richard

LeBron James return to Cleveland officially will get underway on Thursday, October 30th when the Cavs play host to Carmelo Anthony and the New York Knicks at 8pm at Quicken Loans Arena on TNT.

The NBA released its complete schedule today and the Cavaliers will also be featured as one of the Christmas Day games when they travel to “Sunshine State” to take on LeBron’s former team, the Miami Heat at 5pm on ABC.

Other games and dates of significance for the Cavs:

After opening at home against the Knicks on October 30th, the Cavs will travel to Chicago to take on Derrick Rose and the Bulls the next night, Halloween night, at 8pm.

Bulls at Cavs 8pm on TNT on Martin Luther King Day.

Both match ups with the NBA Champion Spurs will be nationally televised games. The Cavs will host the Spurs on November 19th on ESPN at 7pm. LeBron and the Cavaliers will travel to San Antonio on March 12th, on TNT at 8pm.

Kevin Durant and the Thunder make their only regular season appearance in C’Town on January 25th at 3:30, while Kobe Bryant and the Lakers play at The Q on February 8th at 3:30pm.

The Cavs will appear on National TV 29 times! 10 games on ESPN, 10 games on TNT, 5 games on ABC and 4 games NBA-TV.

To print out the Cavaliers 2014-15 schedule click the link below –

cavaliers-printable-schedule-1415

 

PREVIEWING THE NBA’S EASTERN CONFERENCE TOP TEN TEAMS

When LeBron James left Miami for Cleveland he weakened one franchise, strengthened another and changed the entire landscape of the Eastern Conference. Other teams made moves as well, some got stronger, some not so much.

Here are my rankings of the top 10 teams in the East with each squad’s projected starting lineup and first three players off the bench.  This off course is subject to change based on trades and other free agent signings in the future.

 

1  Chicago Bulls                  (48-34)                 HC- Tom Thibodeau

PG- Derrick Rose  SG- Jimmy Butler  SF- Mike Dunleavy  PF- Pau Gasol  C- Joakim Noah

Bench – Taj Gibson, Doug McDermott , Kirk Hinrich

 

2  Cleveland Cavaliers       (33-49)                 HC- David Blatt

PG- Kyrie  SG- Andrew Wiggins  SF- LeBron  PF- Tristan Thompson  C- Anderson Varjao

Bench- Dion Waiters, Anthony Bennett, Mike Miller

 

3  Indiana Pacers                (56-26)                HC- Frank Vogel

PG- George Hill  SG- C.J. Miles  SF- Paul George  PF- David West  C- Roy Hibbert

Bench- Luis Scola, C.J. Watson, Ian Mahinmi

 

4  Washington Wizards     (44-38)                HC- Randy Wittman

PG- John Wall  SG- Bradley Beal  SF- Paul Pierce  PF- Nene Hilario  C- Marcin Gortat

Bench- Martell Webster, Otto Porter Jr., Kris Humphries

 

5  Toronto Raptors            (48-34)                 HC- Dwane Casey

PG- K.Lowery  SG- Terrence Ross  SF- D. DeRozan  SF- Amir Johnson  C- J. Valanciunas

Bench- Greivis Vasquez, Pattrick Patterson, Louis Williams

 

6  Miami Heat                    (54-28)                  HC- Erik Spoelstra

PG- Mario Chalmers  SG- D-Wade  SF- Luol Deng  PF- Josh McRoberts  C- Chris Bosh

Bench- Chris Anderson Norris Cole, Shabazz Napier

 

7 Charlotte Hornets          (43-39)                 HC- Steve Clifford

PG-K.Walker  SG- L. Stephenson  SF- M. Kidd-Gilchrist  PF- Cody Zeller  C- Al Jefferson

Bench- Noah Vonleh, Gary Neal, Gerald Henderson

 

8 Atlanta Hawks                 (38-44)                HC- Mike Budenholzer

PG- Jeff Teague,  SG- Kyle Korver  SF- DeMarre Carroll  PF- Paul Millsap  C- Al Horford

Bench- Thabo Sefolosha, Dennis Schroeder, Pero Antic

 

9 Brooklyn Nets                 (44-38)                 HC- Lionel Hollins

PG- Deron Williams SG- Joe Johnson SF- A. Kirilenko PF- Kevin Garnett  C- Brook Lopez

Bench- Mason Plumlee, Jarrett Jack, Mirza Teletovic

 

10 New York Knicks           (37-45)                HC- Derrick Fisher

PG- Jose Calderon SG- I.Shumpert SF- Carmelo PF- A. Stoudemire  C-Samuel Dalembert

Bench- J.R. Smith, Andrea Bargnani, Tim Hardaway Jr.

Kenny Roda Talking Cavs Off Season with Baskin and Phelps on 92.3 The Fan

Decisions, Decisions, Decisions for the the Cavs!  http://cleveland.cbslocal.com/2014/04/09/roda-report-major-cavaliers-decisions-looming/