A Rather Cavalier Attitude

If I were to ask you,

"What are the premiere destinations for NBA free agents?"

How would you respond? 

If all things were equal and you had to choose a place that a marquee free agent would like to spend a few years of his life, I guarantee that Cleveland would not be one of the cities mentioned. If you had to pick a team that a young star would like to play for, the Cavaliers most certainly would not be one of the organizations likely to roll off your tongue. Teams like the Knicks or Nets in the basketball Mecca of New York City would be more likely responses. Perhaps the Lakers or Clippers in La-La land (where they don't have an NFL team and NBA players are treated like rock stars!) might be in the discussion as well.

But all things are not equal these days. Franchises like the Lakers, Clippers, Knicks, and Nets in glamourous cities like Los Angeles and New York simply do not have the disposable cash to pay a marquee free agent like Andrew Bynum. 

The Cavaliers did.

This has been a productive offseason for a team coming off another disappointing 24-win season following Lebron's unceremonious departure. Now that I think about it, Lebron's departure was quite ceremonious. There was a prime time TV special to announce it and a big welcome party with fireworks, smoke machines, a marching band, dancers, and the whole nine. But that's another story...

The Cavaliers now have a center who can dominate the East as long as his knees remain unswollen. Teaming him up with Anderson Varejao (who was averaging over 14 and 14 last season) makes him even more scary. Add Tristan Thompson and Tyler Zeller into the fold and you have a very deep front court. Having this depth will actually help Anthony Bennet in the long run. This year's number 1 overall pick will have veterans to mentor him, young guys to compete with in practice, and will not be forced into the starting lineup and the unrealistic expectations that go along with it prematurely.

The Cavaliers already have a good back court. It could become a great one. Kyrie Irving is a star who has emerged as one of the best point guards in the East. There is no disputing that. There is also no disputing that he has not yet reached his full potential. After a stellar rookie campaign, Irving became the scorer and playmaker that the Cavs were hoping he could be, averaging over 22 points and dishing almost 6 assists per game last season. The reigning 3-Pt Shootout champ will undoubtedly make teams pay early and often when they double team Andrew Bynum. 

Dion Waiters was certainly one of the bright spots for the Cavs last season. Waiters is a natural shooting guard who can create his own shot. The former Syracuse sixth man also showed the potential to be effective in pick and rolls. Waiter's ability to catch and shoot the ball efficiently should complement Irving's playmaking abilities nicely. His 33 point game versus the Kings showed just how dangerous he can be when teams turn their focus on Irving. One would expect both Irving and Waiters' offensive efficiency to improve as the two get more comfortable playing together, which is a scary thought for a tandem already scoring almost 40 points per game.

Landing Sergey Kasarev with the 19th pick could prove to be the steal of the Draft. The Cavs have little depth at the small forward position and shoot the 3 very poorly.  This kid fills both of those needs. The 6'7" Kasarev is adept at playing both the shooting guard and small forward positions and shot a blistering 49% from downtown in the Eurocup tournament last year. The 19 year old lefty appears to be one of the most NBA ready European players available and could contribute immediately.

Bynum wasn't the only player the Cavs added via free agency. Earl Clark was the most promising young player that the Lakers had last year. The Cavaliers were able to lure him away with a $9 million contract that the Lakers had no way of matching. Los Angeles being a farm team for Cleveland. Who'da thunk it?! Jarret Jack was one of Golden State's most valuable players, particularly in the postseason. The Warriors were forced to release him to make room for Andre Iguodola which meant that the Cavs were able to swoop in and sign the Sixth Man of the Year candidate. 

Cavs' GM Chris Grant has taken his share of criticism over the past few years. Many disagreed with him drafting Tristan Thompson and Dion Waiters. Both appear to be panning out. Some criticized his lack of moves in free agency last year. You could just as easily argue that he was biding his time to sign impact players this year. Whether it is by luck or design, (or some combination of both) it appears that he has put together a very competitive squad that is poised to make the Playoffs. Seeing Irving and Bynum as All-Stars next year wouldn't surprise anybody. If Varejao has the type of season he had last year, him making it on the 2nd team isn't a stretch either. The Cavaliers making the Playoffs with 3 All-Stars on the roster. Who'da thunk it?! 

Chioke and I Talk About the Lakers

Showtime they are not

After yet another road loss, a reporter asked Kobe if the offense was under construction.  He quipped that,

"We're still working on the blueprints, actually."

Although he was smiling, I'm not convinced that the man was joking.

The Los Angeles Lakers' offense is seriously struggling.  In other news, Greece's economy isn't doing so well.

Is this all that surprising?  Let's not forget that the team has undergone major changes since last season.  Lakers fans need to come to grips with the fact that Adam Morrison has left for Turkey and he ain't coming back.  Also, the Phil Jackson regime is gone and they took the triangle offense (and Phil's orthopedic throne) with them.  They had a 10 point quarter versus the Magic last week and have scored under 100 points in 17 of their last 19 games.  In Portland, the Lakers somehow managed to miss every 3 pointer they attempted, including a woeful 0-5 performance by Steve Blake.  Chris Paul is not walking through that door, folks (at least not in a purple and gold uniform) and right now the Lakers seem lost out there.

In the 3 consecutive years where the Lakers made it to the NBA Finals, they had good balance offensively.  It was a simple time.  They ran the triangle offense using Kobe and Pau as their primary scorers and playmakers.  They were the Jordan and Pippen of that team and were used in a very similar manner.  Phil rarely took both of them out of the game at the same time.  Roles for everybody else on the team were clearly defined and role players did their part.  D Fish was there to handle the ball, pass to Kobe or Gasol, and knock down the open shot.  His role was simple but not easy.  Ron Artest was there to defend the other team's best perimeter scorer.  On offense, Phil kept him on a sort leash.  He was asked to knock down the open shot and occasionally attack the basket in a clear mismatch situation.  Defining Andrew Bynum's role is a bit more difficult.  He anchored the defense, clogged the paint, and collected lots of rebounds.  It seems as though he was being groomed to be a primary scorer but chronic knee injuries put the kibosh on that.

The Lakers also relied heavily on their bench for scoring.  Reigning 6th Man of the Year Lamar Odom was the King of the "Killer B's".  Perhaps "Queen B" would be more of an apt analogy but that just sounds weird.  Odom was the second unit's primary scorer, playmaker, and ball handler.  Shannon Brown was there for alley-oops, put back dunks, and 3-pointers.  Sasha Vujacic spaced the floor with his outside shooting.  Those 3 players have since left town and while Goldie Loc (Andrew Goudelock) had a nice game the other night, I hardly think that this second unit as it's currently constructed is scaring anybody.  Goudelock, Troy Murphy, Devin Ebanks, Jason Kapono, and Darius Morris are all averaging about 3 points or less per game.  Al Harrington single handedly gives Denver as much scoring as all of them put together.

What is the "blueprint" for the Lakers' offense?  Among the fraternity of NBA coaches, Mike Brown is a well respected figure.  As a head coach, he does certain things quite well.  Being creative with his offense is not one of them.  The way he utilized (or did not utilize) Mo Williams, Antawn Jamison, JJ Hickson, Delonte West, and Shaquille O'Neal in Cleveland seemed strange at times.  Some of his decisions regarding substitutions and playing time were downright puzzling.  He inherited a Lakers team that has been pretty efficient since Pau Gasol came to town.  They currently rank 18th in offensive efficiency.

Let's start with the obvious.  This Lakers' offense is still built around 2 players.  Are they holding up their end of the bargain?  Kobe is still the primary scorer and playmaker on this team.  Nowadays the league's leading scorer is doing way more scoring than making plays for others.  One could argue that this is in part due to the poor outside shooting from his teammates.  Matt Barnes, Derek Fisher, Steve Blake, and Troy Murphy haven't found their shooting touch and no one is ever going to mistake Metta World Peace for Steve Kerr.  One could just as easily argue that Kobe has been taking too many bad shots and not looking to pass the ball enough.  This season Kobe is shooting more jump shots than ever and generating less assists per game.  Pau Gasol has not looked like himself either.  He is not establishing himself in the low post as much and, as a result, he is not scoring very efficiently.  Lately he has been settling for outside jump shots.  The biggest downside to this is that we have seen much less of that great passing from the low post that he was known for.  Without Kobe and Gasol consistently setting up their teammates, this offense looks very mediocre.

One bright spot has been that with limited touches Andrew Bynum has shown flashes of dominance.  Limited being the operative word.  Is it finally time to give Bynum the oppportunity to be a primary scorer?  The Lakers took Bynum in the first round and (until recently) resisted every offer to trade him.  He is the only Laker aside from Kobe and Bynum that is able to create offense without having to be left open.  Could his low post scoring be the answer to the Lakers' offensive woes?  Could getting him the ball more help guys like Fisher, Barnes, World Peace, and McRoberts find their mojo?  The only way to find out would be to give him the ball a lot more than they have been.  Phil Jackson seemed to want Bynum to eventually become the focal point of the offense but it never actually happened.  The offense has always run through Kobe and Gasol.  Trying to change that now would be perceived as either foolish or incredibly bold.

What should Mike Brown do?  He is their head coach and the buck stops with him.  Brown knew when he took this job that anything less than a Finals appearance would be viewed as a failure.  At 12-9, the Lakers are the 8th seed in the Western Conference and would be out of Playoff contention with another loss or a Spurs win.  Mike Brown is a defensive minded coach and fixing this offense will be a difficult task for anybody.  Will he have the chutzpah to tell Kobe to stop shooting so much?  Can he tell Pau that he will be benched if he keeps settling for jump shots?  Will he be willing to take a player out of the game that's not hitting open shots, even if that means replacing them with a worse defender?  Much has been made of the lack of practice time due to the lockout.  This is especially challenging for teams attempting to learn new systems with new coaches.  I imagine that this is a factor but I have doubts that this offense is going to fix itself without being shaken up either through personnel changes or scheme adjustments.  Make no mistake.  There is plenty of basketball left to be played, plenty of time to make trades, and plenty of opportunities for Mike Brown to prove his doubters wrong.  Let us see what "blueprint" Mike Brown is constructing.