I don't know what's worse.....Bynum's wardrobe, or the faces of the new Celtics. Some of the introductory press conferences this off-season have been just plain pathetic. I'm so grateful for what we have.
That doesn't make them bad (one of the worst you've seen). It just means they're doing what their owner has directed them to do. To judge them you have to look at the directive from the top and how they are performing relative to that directive. I certainly wouldn't rank them at the bottom of the league... or the top. I think the Bynum signing is a VERY low risk move considering the potential upside. Bennett is somewhat of a headscratcher. I know they shopped the pick... apparently there wasn't great return being offered. You would think they might have been able to move back a little and still draft him, but I guess everyone else was confident about the player they want falling to them regardless of who the Cavs took at the top. Personally I would have just taken Oladipo. He seems to have as much upside and is a better fit positionally. But the draft is a crapshoot and for all I know Bennett will be great. I just don't see how Bennett excels as a PF being as undersized as he is. Otto Porter is taller and has a longer wingspan. Not that he can't be a solid contributor, but at the #1 pick?
That's why you listen to what the superstar wants. They do have you by the balls even as a owner/gm. You'll end up like this. His face and dose Braidz.
They didn't just waste this pick though, Tristan thompson and that other guard they got have gotten outplayed by guys picked like 10 spots lower than them. Even if you couldn't move the pick for something better, why would you get an undersized PF when much better prospects with higher ceiling like Alex Len or Noel were available? IMHO they're even worse than Kahn, Kahn at least picks guys in the more or less range of where guys were supposed to go (Derrick Williams at 2, Rubio top 5, Wes Johnson top 10 etc), the Cavs FO have been reaching ever since they got Kyrie Irving, it's pretty clear the FO wants results immediately at all cost, even if they get NBA-ready players with crap ceilings over guys with superstar potential. TT over Valanciunas, Biyombo, Vessly, hell even Markief Morris seemed better. They were the only guy who was high on Waiters, you know the dude didn't even work out and his agent sent out these grainy highlight reels for "scouting"? And they passed on Barnes, and a lot more proven SGs like Ross and Lamb because Waiters looked more NBA ready on those highlight tapes. In fact, they have only two good drafts since I started following the NBA: Lebron James, and Kyrie Irving aka most obvious picks ever. I dunno if LBJ ever comes back, but Irving might now be looking around him at the mess his team is in and is wondering if he can go away to another team as well. Why would you take Tristan Thompson so high and then draft his replacement 2 years later? Makes no ******* sense.
Do you realize how difficult it is for small market, cold weather teams like Cleveland to attract ANY free agents other than scraps? If healthy, Bynum is a difference maker at the hardest position to find one in the NBA, and they are paying him peanuts on essentially a one year deal to find out. If it fails, they have young bigs to pick up the slack in Tyler Zeller, Tristan Thompson, as well as Varejao. I can't fault them for making this kind of gamble.
Thompson is the best player of that bunch by far. Maybe Valanciunas ends up better, but the others are trash. They made the right pick out of that list, period.
Past Waiters, only Harrison Barnes woulda been an "obvious" pick. Terrence Ross really isnt any better than Waiters. Damian Lillard woulda been Kahn like stacking of point guards. Jeremy Lamb hasnt done anything in the pros. There isnt any players after whoda had much worth to draft at #4. Unless its reaching down shocking again for Evan Fournier and that type (and yeah andre drummond woulda been a good pickup)
bynum vows to return to all star form.. http://hangtime.blogs.nba.com/2013/...turn-to-form-with-cavs/?cid=nba_12_facebook_L http://www.nba.com/cavaliers/video/2013/07/19/130719bynumpart1mov-2544777
Tristan Thompson wasnt a bad pick. He's a double-double threat and a solid defender. Better pick than Vesely, Derrick Williams, Biyombo, Jimmer, Knight and Kemba. Say what you will about Waiters but he averaged 15 PPG in only his rookie season. Drummond looks like he's going be be a beast but he somehow fell to 9. Wasnt regarded as a sure thing. Time will tell about Bennett. Kyrie/Jack Waiters Clark/Bennett Bennett/Thompson Bynum/Varejao That's a playoff team to me.
