Varejao Still on Vacation; Shannon Out in '08

What exactly is going on with the Cavs right now? First, they make no significant free agent signings and no trades. To be honest, I was busy watching the Tribe’s playoff run to monitor the NBA free agent market too closely, but I don’t think the Cavs necessarily failed in the acquisition department. Granted, I have no idea how close they came to getting Garnett (rumor alert), but who did people expect Ferry to go out and get? Mike Bibby? Wow, another aging, over the hill, guard. No, thanks. My beef is how the team’s two restricted free agents were handled.

Again, it’s tough to tell who’s been more unreasonable: Ferry or the players (or the agents). Fortunately Pavlovic is coming back, but not before missing two games. Pavlovic is said to have received a 3 year deal around $4 million per year.

Varejao still seems to think he’s worth a heck of a lot more than he really is. I’m not sure who’s done the bulk of the negotiating on behalf of Varejao to this point, but they should be fired. Varejao is pretty good at what he does, but there are very few teams where he would be starting. Whether Varejao is asking for too much or the Cavs are offering too little is difficult to decipher. Cleveland certainly wants to bring Varejao back, so it’s probably safe to say they’re offering him fair market value. The issue seems to be Varejao’s unrealistic expectation of what his market value really is.

Pavlovic played twice as many minutes per game than Varejao last season and seems to have a higher developmental ceiling. Varejao is valuable to the team from a depth perspective, given his versatility and rebounding ability, but he is not a critical piece of the puzzle for the long-term. Since Gooden and Ilgauskas are still with the team, it doesn’t seem like Varejao will see a significant increase in minutes either. So why is a role player rumored to be demanding a king’s ransom? Hopefully, details of these negotiations will be released soon after a deal is reached. The Plain Dealer reports that little progress has been made in negotiations.

The Cavs are looking pretty ragged already and the season’s just started. The roster has not been at full strength because of injuries and holdouts. Eric Snow has a left knee tear dating back to early October; he won’t be back for at least another week. Donyell Marshall will miss several games with a wrist injury. Forward Cedric Simmons has been battling an ankle injury, but may be called on to play now that Marshall is out. Varejao has apparently lost his mind. I suppose the good news is, the team can only get better from here on out.

It wouldn’t surprise me if the Cavs locker room is a little tense right now. My concern is a combination of discontent and injuries will put the Cavs in a funk, followed by a drop in the standings. Cleveland lost to Phoenix on Sunday and faces Golden State, Utah, the Clippers, Sacramento, and Denver on their six game road trip. You would hope the Cavs could handle the likes of Sacramento and LA, but there’s something about those West Coast swings that always seem give Cleveland trouble.

On Shannon Brown

I wasn’t too thrilled about this move. Cleveland has never had a real chance to evaluate Brown in the NBA, since a serious leg injury derailed his rookie season for 2006-2007. Now, with a grand total of 6 minutes playing time in his sophomore season, Cleveland has announced they won’t be exercising his third year option. The Cavs must have seen something good in Brown to draft him, so why the sudden turn around?

Brian Windhorst provided a scouting report of Brown on his blog:

Brown did not play well in summer league in my opinion, even though his scoring stats looked good. He scored a bunch of points in the preseason but did not handle the ball well, shoot the ball well or make good decisions.

Isn’t that like judging a baseball player on his Spring Training performance?

In addition to his poor showing in the preseason, Cleveland had until midnight, October 31 to make a decision on Brown’s third year option. I understand the timing of it, but I’m curious if the decision was discussed with Brown beforehand. I doubt carrying that kind of uncertainty into the season is going to do Brown’s game any favors. Cleveland may look to use Brown as trade bait, but wouldn’t he have been more attractive if he didn’t become an unrestricted free agent at season’s end?

This move would make some sense if Cleveland had a replacement lined up, but I haven’t heard any rumors on player movement. I suppose Cedric Simmons would qualify, but he hasn’t proven anything either and could easily be a non-factor. Not only did Cleveland waste a valuable draft pick, but they never gave him the proper time to mature. Brown may not be a perfect fit on the roster right now, but what makes Ferry so positive he won’t improve? Drafting a player is a long term investment, not a movie rental; you don’t get your money back if you make a poor choice. Plus, it’s not like the Cavs are in a position to be releasing players this season; not after failing to acquire any outside talent.

Even if Brown makes positive strides this season, he’ll likely feel snubbed by Ferry and walk. If Brown does leave, the Cavaliers will have made two draft picks in two years and retained only one in Daniel Gibson.

Don’t Look Now…

…but here come the Browns. No really, stop laughing. Your Cleveland Browns are 5-3 after beating Seattle 33-30 in overtime on Sunday. How about that? If Baltimore beats Pittsburgh on Monday, all three teams will sit with 5 wins going into Week 10. Even I’m a little excited about that, and I’m not even a big football fan. Actually, I’m more of a cautious (i.e. fair-weather) Browns’ fan, as it took a long time for me to come back to the team even after the despised Butch Davis skipped town.

The way the team has been drafting and acquiring players the last couple years piqued my interest though and I’m very pleased to see the team doing well again. The Browns are 2-1 in their division and 2-2 against teams with a winning record. Are the Browns truly contenders this season? I think so, but their next game against Pitt will go a long way in measuring their progress. Cleveland has built a three game win streak and a fourth may propel them into the playoff hunt. You never know…

Cleveland News and Notes

News Flash: Antwan Jamison is Pretty Good

The Cavaliers won a close one in D.C. to go up 3-0 in their first round playoff series. The last two games really shouldn't have been as close as they were, score-wise. Game 2 was decided by 7 points, while Game 3 ended with a 6 point lead. The third game was about as ugly as it could be without resulting in a loss. The Cavs blew a 17 point lead in the third quarter before finally getting back on track in the fourth.

A performance like this should make Cleveland fans nervous because this Wizards team is far from a playoff contender. Gilbert Arenas and Caron Butler (Washington's 1st and 3rd best players, respectively) have been sitting injured on the bench the whole series and this is the best effort the Cavs can put up? The only reassuring thought I can draw from the Cavs play as of late is that it is essentially a reflection of the regular season, where they tended to play down to the level of poor teams but doing just enough to win. On the flip side, the Cavs would elevate their game in the same way against the top teams.

Coach Brown needs to do a better job of keeping his team focused, especially with a big lead. It's difficult to pinpoint the source of the problem, but it's happened enough to provide some drama in the first round this year.

Cleveland is very fortunate Miami is on its way out of the playoffs, given the nightmares they've been causing Coach Brown the last few weeks. It's time for the Cavs to act like the 2nd seed and play a complete game; Detroit and Chicago will be far less forgiving.

Charlie Frye Unemployed

Just when I thought that I was out they pull me back in.

I’ve been trying my best to ignore the Browns this off-season, but what they did in the draft this year defied expectations.

I’m stoked that they drafted offensive tackle Joe Thomas with the third pick. The offensive line was one of the team’s worst elements last year, contributing to an inconsistent running game and a constantly scrambling and injured QB corps. Plugging Thomas in with free-agent acquisition Eric Steinbach will vastly improve the O-line. Center LeCharles Bentley is a long-shot to return healthy this year, but will be available for what could be a formidable offensive line in 2008. Thomas was far from the sexy pick, but was the best fit for Cleveland and will make an immediate impact.

I’m still on the fence about the Brady Quinn acquisition (it’s a pretty lonely fence too). With so many gaping holes on the depth chart, I figured quarterback was not going to be a concern going into this year’s draft; drafting yet another QB would be a luxury, not a necessity. Which is why I was somewhat surprised when Phil Savage, the GM, traded up to snag Quinn with the 22^nd pick.

Quinn essentially displaces Charlie Frye at QB next year, despite the bogus claims that there will be any competition between the two young players. Frye has a slight edge on Quinn in experience, but Romeo Crennel is very high on Quinn, since his ear has been tuned to good friend Charlie Weis this off-season.

I truly pity Frye, who was never given a chance to succeed in Cleveland with a leaky O-line, inexperienced receivers, a weak running game, and a coaching staff in a constant state of flux. Cleveland QBs were sacked 54 times in 2006, trailing only Detroit and Oakland. Despite this, Frye had the fifth highest pass completion percentage in the league at 64.3%. One of Frye’s greatest strengths was his ability to direct the offense and analyze plays; an ability he was never able to truly utilize due to the poor opportunities afforded him by the offensive line.

I’m obviously a big Frye supporter and the fact that analysts keep emphasizing Quinn’s Ohio roots and have christened him the face of the franchise already rubs salt in the wound. Many seem to have forgotten that Frye also hails from Ohio as a life-long Browns fan and played for Akron University. Frankly, I’m weary of Quinn’s ego and how he will react to his initial challenges and failures.

Quinn may be the superior quarterback, but my main concern is how he will handle the constant pressure he’ll face in the pocket. The line has been significantly upgraded to accommodate him, but I still wonder how Quinn’s development will differ in Cleveland as opposed to a more established team. Quinn will need a lot of help to succeed in his rookie year. Hopefully the coaching staff and fans are more patient with their latest quarterback.

Shut Up, Mel

I'm hesitant to watch Sportscenter these days. Anybody who tells you there isn't an East Coast media bias is either lying or roots for the Yanks or the Sox. I’m not saying that Alex Rodriguez doesn’t deserve the coverage or the praise at the moment because he certainly does. What he’s doing is historic and basically just freaking loco. I just don’t need to see it 24/7 while there are plenty of other fine games being played by actual baseball players (there is more than one you know). My point is, showing five yankee games in six days on national television is just disgusting. Oh well, there’s always hockey…oh wait, no there isn’t. Great.

The NHL playoffs are on and all ESPN wants to talk about is count how many times they’ll be wrong about the draft this year. And no Mel Kiper, I don't care if the Houston “didn’t draft Vince Young” Texans are on the clock. No one ever calls that junk correctly, why not just watch? I’ve seen almost as much football analysis published the week before the draft as there was for the freaking Super Bowl.

On a side note, Joe Thomas is officially one of my favorite players entering the league this year. Rather than sitting around waiting for his number to get called in New York he's going fishing with his dad instead; good for him. Since when does baseball take a back seat to a sport that doesn’t even start its season for another four months? More on that another time…

I’m always curious what goes on in the locker room after an epic loss like the one Cleveland suffered in New York (yeah, that one). Do the players just shuffle back to their lockers quietly? Does Blake lock himself in the video room with a pint of Ben & Jerry’s and his Bill Emanski videos? Does Slider throw a chair through the wall? Who knows, but I bet it’d be interesting to listen in.

I don’t know what’s gotten into the Indians lately though, but it looks like the offense is finally starting to shake off the rust. Cleveland (12-7) has won five in a row and six of their last seven after getting their ass kicked in the Bronx. They are currently 6-1 in series so far and currently sit atop the toughest division in baseball. Cleveland has averaged over 6 runs a game during that stretch, including their most impressive win this season against Johan Santana, at Minnesota. The defense is still a major concern, but the pitching has looked pretty sharp as of late. I think the fact that Joe Borowski shares the league lead in saves (8), with a 9.90 ERA pretty much sums up the season so far.

It’s been ugly, but the team is still finding ways to win. It's difficult to say what this precludes at this point; hard to imagine how good this team could be once the offense, defense, and pitching start running in sync.