Cup of Cavs: Trading a member of the core wasn’t the solution
Cavs news and links for Thursday, July 25.
We’re one step closer to the weekend. Here’s your Cleveland Cavaliers news and links for the day.
The first sip
Talent isn’t a problem for the Cavs. None of the core four are top-ten-level players but are good enough to be All-Stars in the right year. You can win a lot of games with four top 60 players. But the story isn’t that simple in Cleveland. That’s why there was speculation earlier in the summer that the Cavs could make a big move. Even though it appears they aren’t moving a core piece, it’s worth exploring why they arrived at that conclusion.
A player’s value is derived from what they can provide a team and not so much their talent in a vacuum. Darius Garland and Jarrett Allen are incredibly skilled, but neither are clean fits for every team. Not everyone is looking for a 6’1” point guard whose game is predicated on shiftiness and not athleticism. The same is true for a nearly seven-footer that only has the skill tree of a traditional center. Conversely, there isn’t a team that wouldn’t benefit from an Alex Caruso or Derrick White-type player no matter their roster construction. Skill is only part of the formula as to why those types of players are coveted.
This is the problem the Cavs have and will continue to find themselves in. Their talent doesn’t seamlessly fit everywhere. This makes it nearly impossible to find better-fitting pieces without undertaking a significant talent downgrade. A team like the San Antonio Spurs, where Garland would fit like a glove, doesn’t have the win-now pieces that make sense for a trade. A similar version of that is true for Allen and the oft-rumored New Orleans Pelicans. Only two out of 29 teams that could use either of their services and would be willing to pay the price isn’t the market you need if you’re going to solve the issues with a trade.
There’s reason to believe that Garland will bounce back from his recent off-year. Mobley will likely take another step forward while Mitchell and Allen should continue the pace they set last season. But even if that all happens, the team’s success and ceiling will only improve if the talent can become more than the sum of their parts.
Maybe a second-round team is this group’s ceiling. But in an era of parity, they have nearly as much talent as anyone. For that to show through, they need to make it work with the four they have. A magic trade likely isn’t feasible.
Random Cavalier of the Day - Darnell Valentine
Darnell Valentine, guard, played in the NBA for nine seasons. His final two were with the Cavs in 1988-89 and then in 1990-91. Valentine averaged 6.9 points and 3.7 assists in 142 games which included 64 starts.
The 1988-89 team was the first in franchise history to win 50 or more games. Their 57 wins have only been surpassed twice (2008-09 and 2009-10). Valentine wasn’t why they made the jump, but he was a useful reserve for one of the best regular-season Cavs teams.
Valentine is more remembered for his career with the Portland Trail Blazers who selected him in the first round in 1981. The Oregonian ranked him as the 33rd-best Trail Blazers in 2009. He spent 12 years working for the National Basketball Players Association when he retired from playing and then spent three years working with the Blazers.
Valentine scored 975 points for the Cavs which ranks him 112th all-time. This puts him just in front of Walt Frazier (964) and behind Tyler Zeller (1,009).
Cavs news and links
- Spurs tried to trade for Garland
- Cavs Summer League confidence meter
- Opinion: Cavs owner, new CFO are catalysts for Cleveland’s future
- Rock Entertainment Group and the Cavs appoint Allison Howard as Executive Vice President and Chief Commercial Officer
- Cavs included in copyright lawsuit