Will James, O’Neal, Moon, Parker, and Varejao option help Cleveland win NBA Title in 2010?
July 21 09
Breaking NBA news mixed with analysis …
Our Quick Analysis:The Cleveland Cavaliers have confirmed their pursuit of restricted free agent forward Jamario Moon, who finished last season with Miami.
The Heat have seven days to match Cleveland’s contract offer to the 29 year old Moon. The Cavs announced the offer on Monday but did not release terms.(TSN.ca)
Their News:Clearly, Danny Ferry has no issue with risk or change.
As a young player, Ferry, years ahead of the Euro-explosion, signed in Italy instead of joining the lowly Los Angeles Clippers. This was, and still is, unheard of for a second overall pick.
As GM of the Cleveland Cavaliers he has spent this summer remodelling LeBron James‘ supporting cast after the club’s surprising loss to the Orlando Magic in the Eastern Conference Finals. It didn’t matter that his squad posted the league’s best regular season record.
Ferry’s off-season agenda was simple: get bigger down-low and on the wings. After all, Dwight Howard feasted on Zydrunas Ilgauskas and Anderson Varejao, while Rashard Lewis and Hedo Turkoglu calmly shot over Cleveland’s miniature perimeter players.
Enter Shaquille O’Neal, Jamario Moon, and Anthony Parker. Suddenly, the Cavaliers can go big and athletic against the rival Boston Celtics and pesky Magic. Is this enough? Will giving Coach Mike Brown the option to use James, O’Neal, Moon, Parker, and Vareajo put Cleveland back in the NBA Finals?
The super-size look could be deadly. Parker is listed as a two-three, but filled-in admirably at point guard for Jose Calderon in Toronto, while Moon’s length and athleticism is useful in disrupting passing lanes. Best of all, both have size and experience as lockdown defenders.
O’Neal has never been great in his own end. Opposing teams regularly throw pick-and-rolls at the big man, hoping he’ll go under the screen or not bother switching. And when his fitness is waning, the veteran gets beat on the boards. Still, O’Neal is a relatively active body, something that was missing against Howard last playoff.
Of course, there are still holdovers such as James and Varejao. This five will allow the Cavaliers to go big for portions of the game. And Ferry is hoping his changes will payoff with an NBA Title in 2009-10.
What impact will Cleveland’s new additions have next year? Get at us in the comment box below and come back to HoopsVibe The Blog for more NBA tidbits. Photo courtesy of Mike Madsen’s on-line portfolio.
43 Comments: Will James, O’Neal, Moon, Parker, and Varejao option help (...)
Posted by
on 07.27.2009
Wow there is a lot of ignorance spewed across this message board. It is ridiculous how people can’t seem to be objective. I am a cavs fan and I was born and raised in cleveland but you have to look at this objectively. Boston is better because of Sheed yes, but more importantly they have kevin garnett back. He is a dominating force on the court and the leader of that team. They went very far in the playoffs without him. They are a very resilient team. Magic are most certainly better. Hedo was a great player but he was not consistant. VC is a much more consistent offensive player. He may not be as good with the game on the line, but if you score more early you do not need to be clutch. Brandon ba-------is a a great acquisition. It really depends if Nelson can come back and play at his previous level. Alston was a key person in the Cavs defeat. Cavs are better with the moves they made this offseason. Though Shaq, parker and moon may not be big names anymore they fill key holes in the team. Whether it is enough to elevate the team to the finals still remains to be seen. Shaq has to decide if he really wants another championship, he better start training hard if he does so he can stay healthy. Cavs have a chance. But all the talk and picture taking before games in the world will not do anything. They need to perform when it counts most. Mo didn’t do that and neither did delonte.It is time for all those guys to win and stop talking about it. Spurs are going to challenge the lakers this year. Don’t count veteran players out. Lakers are better with artest and if they resign odom they will be tough. This year is going to have amazing basketball. I will love watching it even if the cavs don’t do all the way. That being said there are 2 true contenders in the west and 3 in the east. Any of them can win. And orlando, you guys won because we had no match for dwight yes, but also you shot an insane 3 percentage. and when the shots did not fall in the finals you guys lost in 5. The magic fans who posted on this need to learn how to speak english. .
Posted by soy on 07.27.2009
thats a goddam elite team .
Posted by Che Scelsa on 07.24.2009
Yo First thing I want to say is if you think Rasheed Wallace does anything but dramatically improves the Celtics alone. He’s a stable option in the post and he will be a 4th or 5th so all of the pressure will be off of him. He can play power forward or center and can be the primary post operator when KG is on the bench. He the single best player the Celtics could have signed this off season to fit their team. Cavs have gotton be but I don’t think their better than the Magic and the Celtics. Shaq can still play good basketball but like the Suns Cleveland liked to get out on the fast break. I think Shaq may slow their team down. On Top of that chemistry is always a big concern. Shaq and Lebron have the 2 biggest ego’s in the business it will be interesting to see how they mesh. Lebron’s teammates are going to have to get better and Lebron is going to have to figure out a way to get his teammates more involved. My prediction is the Cavs lose in the East Finals to the Celtics. Oh and by the way im a Lakers fan and I hate the Celtics with a passion but I also like to call it how I see it. .
Posted by tc on 07.23.2009
I think bron will leave after this season therefore the additions this off season kinda dont make sense ... we needed to get a big man in the middle not named shaq but amar! we also needed artest! bron choked in game 7 btw lol he knows it too. good luck cavs! .
Posted by DTW DOE the cavalier on 07.23.2009
The point of free agency is to get better ladies and gents. All teams have gotten better or worse depending on if they want to shoot for the stars in 2010. So it does result in the match ups. Dwight got many rebounds but he only dominated game six and his team really did the rest in which they lost some key players. I’m sure this will not happen again. As for boston they didn’t really get better with rasheed either. I can watch a game and tell you exactly when Sheed and Big game Paul Pierce is about to blow a play. if I know this then all teams know this. So it goes back to the match ups the Cavs have done the right thing even if will feel their were better players available for us. I’m not upset about the result last playoffs I’m more worried about what the west is doing. Don’t worry Cavs fans we will be right back on top doing crazy intros and partying on the bench as usual. we really have a nice team we got two good rookies if anybody paid attention so sit back and watch us win another 60 and raise a couple of Banners. .
Posted by
on 07.22.2009
nba fanatic your a freak dude. .
Posted by nba fanatik on 07.22.2009
50 mil for 6 years for Varejao WTF! .
Posted by nba fanatik on 07.22.2009
^ years for Varejao WTF! They couldve picked up odom! typical cavs b.S, O’Neal, Moon, Parker and they still cant defend the pick and roll or Taller perimeter players... Get out of here! .
Posted by
on 07.22.2009
Boston’s MVP’s- KGOrlando’s MVP’s- NONECleveland’s MVP’s- Lebron, ShaqI rest my case. Even if Shaq is 37, he’s still 7’2" 340...now tell me, can Dwight or Perkins stop that??? Its plain physics. A man that large requires a double team in the post, oh and by the way while Shaq is getting double teamed who is gonna double team that #23 guy? so basically it takes 4 players to guard 2 guys....so who guards the other 3? .
Posted by mocavs80 on 07.22.2009
you all are amazing! first off you orlando fana have gotten swollen heads,when if you push ur pride aside and look at things from a non-biased standpoint you will see while you mayhave gotten younger you still lost more talent than u gained. and in any world containing math that means you are not as good as last year. the cavs however are different! regardless of how over the hill you idiots think shaq is you have to look at what he`s replacing? Ben Wallace!!! shaq is bigger,faster,better at finishing at the rim, and defensive nightmare who`s shere size alone demands double teams. even on the decline with an i.v had at his side and the grim ripper shawdowing him he can still score more than Ben Wallace. Parker is a upgrade from wally as wallys defense was suspect and shot inconsistantly. with parker this improves our defense and adds more fire power. moon will add a lengthy perimeter defender that we needed badly last year. in the math world we refered to early that means we improved with every move. that means we are better and orlando worse than last year. basketball is about match ups and not so much about who wins 66 or doesn`t. my advice is to keep a balance viewpoint and remember cavs fans we have said for the past 3 years this is our year and still we have no banner hanging at the Q! Orlando is a very good team, and as is our cavs, but I advise all magic fans and cavs fans not to get to cocky and give credit is due. cavs are better now then in may and orlando is no better off if not a few steps behind where they were in may. younger YES! Better NO! younger is not always better! .
Posted by chelsea on 07.22.2009
im a HUGE fan and watch nearly every game including the orlando magic series. we lost that series becasue of our lack of size at the two guard position, lack of athletism at the center postion and bad defense of the pick and roll.if we solved those areas then it was clear that we win the series. orlando had no answers for lebron. our offense was never the problem. we lost to strenght on the inside and lethal shooting around the three point line.im very confident now when i say that we can not only beat orlando and boston in the conference finals.. (and even miami if they get odom and boozer) but we will win the championship.with shaq in the middle, he gives a big enough presence to strap down howard and avoid the double team.. people can make the argument that shaq may not be atheltic enough to guard howard but hes coming off a great season and if he stays in the shape he was in last year i have every reason to believe shaq can match up with howard.turkolu is gone which is a huge factor. people can play up the vince carter card all they want but he chokes in the playoffs. when the games on the line, he generally doens’t even want the ball in his hands he’s been on playoff teams before but was never able to carry them because he couldn’t handle the pressure. he’s not as tall as turkolu which is an even bigger plus.now the other problem was size at the two guard. with the addition of parker and moon we have versatility coming off the bench whereas last year we had pavolovic and szcberiak who werent equipt on the defensive end. delontes already a solid defender he just lacks in size against orlando. with a taller defender coming off the bench im confident that orlando cant be as much of a threat in that position or as shooters on the three point line.by adding more defenders and eliminating the double team at the post, our chances of defending the pick and roll better increase dramatically.the KING has only played better year after year, and after all the critcism he’s faced as of recently expect him to come back with a monster year to silence all the ’he got dunked on’ chants. MVP’s gonna represent his title.shaq said it best we were a damn good team last year and with these additions well be a championship team..just watch and see. .
Posted by Jacob (from Australia) on 07.22.2009
overpaid?all they did was trade ben wallace and pavlovic to the suns. they didnt sign him or anything, hes still on his expiring contract which gives them heapsss of cap space when he comes off the books next season.+ everyone says shaq is so "untradeable" but hasnt he been switching around a fair bit despite his huge contracts? .
Posted by gm 4 hire on 07.22.2009
Good off season for all the teams but bringing Shaq to there team doesnt gurantee anything! For one the Cavs overpaid for a player thats is gonna be untradeble when Labron leaves. Shaq was old when he won the championship with the heat thats why they stacked that team for one year like they did. Not saying he wont be a factor but he may even be a liability to any team especialy Boston and Orlando with there pick and roll offense. For a team who had the coach of the year award and the mvp the Cavs went right back to the 1-4 high offense that mike brown runs depending on James who is a great player to do everything from rebounding, scoring, playing D and then scoring all over again! Well see how it goes but come a healthy Celtic, Magic, Cavs, Spurs, Mavsand of course the Lakers it’s gonna be another good year for the NBA! .
Posted by TrueNbaFan23 on 07.22.2009
Ok for you magic fans who think you are so better than cleveland your so WRONG.Getting rid of a young prospect(lee),alston(who did way better than nelson),and turkaflu(your best clutch player)was a bad move.Oh no? for who VC(the guy is getting old) he’s limited, he’s not explosive or clutch as he used to be.ryan anderson now c’mon lets be serious how much difference will he make.Now the pick-up for b.ba-------and m.barnes good moves,so you basically gained 2 players who can actually contribute, and lost 3 essential players to your team.Big WOO magics lol,as for US we got bigger down low and off the perimeter to stop every possible advantage you had in the playoffs.Now danny ferry is really wack for letting matt barnes get away to the magics,with him we would have been the best team in the league.But it doesn’t matter because we have the best player in the world,I say we are still 1 versatile pf away from the gold ball.And as for the celtics lol we really have there number with lebron,and somebody better get there wheel chairs and iv ready because there getting old.Watch out LAKERS here we come... .
Posted by dominic on 07.22.2009
shaq and moon were nice additions ,but verajo is a cream puff. will this be enough to get them past the celtics or even orlando?? i dont think so. orlando lost alot when hedo t. left. boston will have the best defense in the league again with rasheed and daniels. kenndrick perkins owns shaq and d. howard on defense on any given day. .
Posted by MagicMan2525 on 07.22.2009
All trash talking aside, all 3 teams got better. We can debate who’s better until we are blue in the face. It will be fun to see who comes out on top. If Miami can get Odom & Boozer they may be in the mix as well. I am just proud to say that the Magic are in the conversation now, even though we don’t get the respect we deserve. All other questions will be answered starting in October. .
Posted by Smoothhoopinal on 07.22.2009
Well, I definately think Cleveland is in the hunt. It doesn’t take a rocket scientist to know that it didn’t take much to tilt the scales in Cleveland’s favor. We have more than enough help now. Sure, Orlando fans are talking trash, but they didn’t blow us out. Many of those games were very close. People only address Shaq’s ability to guard the pick and roll, but fail to mention what’s going to happen when the 7’2" 340 pound guy gets the ball in the paint. Try triple teaming Lebron now when he comes into the paint and I’ll guarantee an alley oop to either O’neal, Moon(Hopefully), or Parker. This Cleveland team is going to be more difficult to defend. .
Posted by ronh on 07.22.2009
This does not make the cavs the favorite to win the title. They are still the 3 best team in the east behind boston and orlando. .
Posted by MagicMan2525 on 07.22.2009
"up your butt with a rubber nutt" "he dont no notin bout bball orlando sucks balls" "Losing Turkaboner" You Cavs fans are wordsmiths with your g--balls and penis comebacks. Shaq should fit in perfectly. You guys are still bitter about the a-------whipping we gave you last season and that’s cool. I can admit that the Cavs are better with Shaq, but you are not better than the Magic. Z was burned by our pick & roll, so you got Shaq who can’t guard the pick & roll either. Ask the Suns what grandpa Shaq will do for your team. Sorry, when are the Cavs raising their Eastern Conference Championship banner??? Oh wait, that’s the Magic. Ha! .
Posted by ricky shade on 07.22.2009
As a Cavs fan, I’m real scared of Vince Carter and Gorfag. Eric Snow shut down V.C in the playoffs a couple years ago. Losing Turkaboner will kill you guys! Ha, can’t wait to see you lose .
No profanity or inaproppriate remarks. All i.p. addresses will be saved and abuse/hate posts will be reported to providers and authorities as part of the anti-spam act of 2003, thank you for posting comments on the articles only.
About Oly Sandor
Daily take on NBA
Oly Sandor is an NBA analyst and sports journalist based out of Vancouver, Canada.After years of the free-lance game, Oly Sandor is bringing his unique brand of NBA analysis exclusively to (...) More
