Brian Windhorst mentioned in a recent article about the Cleveland Cavaliers that head coach Mike Brown has been working to revamp the offense.
Windhorst wrote:
The Cavs' coach said he felt like he was back in college over the summer. Determined to rework his oft-criticized offense, the defensive specialist immersed himself in learning more about offense. His professor was famous Italian coach Ettore Messina, who led CSKA Moscow to the Euroleague title in 2006 and a runner-up finish last season.
It included a trip to Italy and CSKA's training camp so Brown could observe the way Messina, who befriended Brown over the past several years, coaches offense. Brown said he read and re-read a translated version of Messina's book "Basket" like he was studying for a mid-term. Not all the concepts translate, of course, but Brown is hoping to teach the Cavs to move more like a European team.
CSKA has several players who can start the offense, which feeds off multiple drive-and-kicks in the same possession. Brown is making that a priority -- an effort to reduce all the standing around when LeBron James is just dribbling -- with plans to employ a different kind of stat to entice his players to continue moving. It's sometimes called a "hockey assist," when a drive or a pass leads indirectly to a basket. His assistant coaches will keep it and, just like with charges, there figures to be a monthly bonus to the player who piles up the most.
There certainly is no question that Cleveland needs to change the structure of their offensive sets. Last season, especially in the playoffs, often times everyone would just stand around and watch LeBron James work. Very little movement or post up game was utilized.
With players such as Daniel Gibson, Larry Hughes, Sasha Pavlovic, and James able to effectively get to the basket and Damon Jones and Donyell Marshall able to shoot the ball effectively from the perimter, this offensive concept seems to make sense. The one player who this concept does not apply to is Zydrunas Ilgauskas. With more than $30,000 remaining on a three year contract, it will certainly be interesting to see how Brown works Ilgauskas into the offense.
Showing posts with label Brian Windhorst. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Brian Windhorst. Show all posts
Monday, October 22, 2007
Wednesday, October 10, 2007
Cleveland's Restricted Free Agent Quandry
"Cavs at forefront of NBA restraint"
Brian Windhorst
Published on Tuesday, Oct 09, 2007
There are a lot of eyes on the Cavaliers' front office these days, and it's not fans wondering when Anderson Varejao and Sasha Pavlovic are going to get signed.
Right now, the Cavs are serving as a giant test case a precedent setter for the way business is going to be handled in the NBA, and other organizations are watching carefully. The stakes are high.
Let's see if we can make this simple without launching into a deep economic diatribe. The summers of 2004, 2005 and 2006 featured record spending in the NBA. Part of it was due to a new collective bargaining agreement in 2005 that bolstered the salary cap.
Lots of max contracts were given out, numerous teams had, and used, giant amounts of cap space; lots of teams used their entire mid-level exceptions to sign mid-level players to contracts worth more than $35 million; and lots of restricted free agents got huge deals without having to get legitimate offers elsewhere.
That was the flow, now is the ebb.
With the luxury tax now known before the season and after three years of big spending, there is a recession in the NBA.
Only one team this summer, the Toronto Raptors, used its full mid-level exception on one player. Only two free agents, Rashard Lewis and Darko Milicic, changed teams for more than the mid-level exception. There were no sign-and-trade deals of significance. The market is different, and the Cavs and everybody else know it.
So here come Varejao and Pavlovic, guys coming off career seasons and looking around at their peers who got paid the past three summers. That includes their teammates. Larry Hughes, Damon Jones and Donyell Marshall all got big contracts from the Cavs in 2005, when more than a half-dozen teams had a load of cap space.
Varejao and Pavlovic want their piece of the pie, and who could blame them? Except, the pie has changed.
Varejao and Pavlovic and their agents seem to be in denial about it. Which is why they are getting so radical by attempting unprecedented holdouts to apply pressure to the Cavs. It's their attempt to buck the market.
The Cavs, looking around the league and at their highest payroll ever this season, are standing firm and refusing to pay more than the market dictates. In 2005, it dictated that a guard with Jones' track record was worth four years and $16 million. He got it. It was a market-value deal at the time.
In 2007, not a single team can offer Varejao a deal starting at more than $5.3 million this season. So why would the Cavs pay him the $9 million he wants? Varejao's side is betting the Cavs will fold under the pressure of his absence. Most of the league is watching, but shares the Cavs' viewpoint.
Here's the other factor: As things stand today, next summer appears to be just as tight. There will be a couple more teams with salary-cap space than this summer, but the free-agent class is much deeper. Being a free agent again, as Varejao and Pavlovic could've been if they took one-year qualifying offers, might not be a smart move.
However, in 2009 and probably again in 2010, many of those contracts signed between 2004-06 will expire. It appears as if the league again will be awash in available cash. That's when you want to be a free agent. Not now.
This is what Varejao and Pavlovic should focus on: getting paid for a few years and taking another bite when the money is flowing again. The offers the Cavs put on the table would've given both players huge raises for the next few years. In Varejao's case, he easily can make five times more in the next two years than he did in his first three seasons combined.
Instead, they appear to be waiting to hit that home run. Here's the rub: Nobody in the league right now is pitching.
Brian Windhorst
Published on Tuesday, Oct 09, 2007
There are a lot of eyes on the Cavaliers' front office these days, and it's not fans wondering when Anderson Varejao and Sasha Pavlovic are going to get signed.
Right now, the Cavs are serving as a giant test case a precedent setter for the way business is going to be handled in the NBA, and other organizations are watching carefully. The stakes are high.
Let's see if we can make this simple without launching into a deep economic diatribe. The summers of 2004, 2005 and 2006 featured record spending in the NBA. Part of it was due to a new collective bargaining agreement in 2005 that bolstered the salary cap.
Lots of max contracts were given out, numerous teams had, and used, giant amounts of cap space; lots of teams used their entire mid-level exceptions to sign mid-level players to contracts worth more than $35 million; and lots of restricted free agents got huge deals without having to get legitimate offers elsewhere.
That was the flow, now is the ebb.
With the luxury tax now known before the season and after three years of big spending, there is a recession in the NBA.
Only one team this summer, the Toronto Raptors, used its full mid-level exception on one player. Only two free agents, Rashard Lewis and Darko Milicic, changed teams for more than the mid-level exception. There were no sign-and-trade deals of significance. The market is different, and the Cavs and everybody else know it.
So here come Varejao and Pavlovic, guys coming off career seasons and looking around at their peers who got paid the past three summers. That includes their teammates. Larry Hughes, Damon Jones and Donyell Marshall all got big contracts from the Cavs in 2005, when more than a half-dozen teams had a load of cap space.
Varejao and Pavlovic want their piece of the pie, and who could blame them? Except, the pie has changed.
Varejao and Pavlovic and their agents seem to be in denial about it. Which is why they are getting so radical by attempting unprecedented holdouts to apply pressure to the Cavs. It's their attempt to buck the market.
The Cavs, looking around the league and at their highest payroll ever this season, are standing firm and refusing to pay more than the market dictates. In 2005, it dictated that a guard with Jones' track record was worth four years and $16 million. He got it. It was a market-value deal at the time.
In 2007, not a single team can offer Varejao a deal starting at more than $5.3 million this season. So why would the Cavs pay him the $9 million he wants? Varejao's side is betting the Cavs will fold under the pressure of his absence. Most of the league is watching, but shares the Cavs' viewpoint.
Here's the other factor: As things stand today, next summer appears to be just as tight. There will be a couple more teams with salary-cap space than this summer, but the free-agent class is much deeper. Being a free agent again, as Varejao and Pavlovic could've been if they took one-year qualifying offers, might not be a smart move.
However, in 2009 and probably again in 2010, many of those contracts signed between 2004-06 will expire. It appears as if the league again will be awash in available cash. That's when you want to be a free agent. Not now.
This is what Varejao and Pavlovic should focus on: getting paid for a few years and taking another bite when the money is flowing again. The offers the Cavs put on the table would've given both players huge raises for the next few years. In Varejao's case, he easily can make five times more in the next two years than he did in his first three seasons combined.
Instead, they appear to be waiting to hit that home run. Here's the rub: Nobody in the league right now is pitching.
Tuesday, July 31, 2007
Explaining the Mid-Level Exception
Brian Windhorst of the Akron-Beacon Journal today summarized the rules around the NBA's "mid-level exception".
Below is his description of this salary cap exception:
The mid-level exception changes every year and can be used to sign one or more free agents. This year it is $5.3 million. All teams over the salary cap, or within $5.3 million of the cap, get the exception. The bi-annual exception must go to one player and can only be used every other year. This year it is worth $1.8 million and the Cavs can use it. These contracts can only be for two years. Trade exceptions are created when trades are unbalanced within the trade rules. Say a player making $10 million gets traded for a player making $7.5 million (which is legal) the team who got the $7.5 million player gets a $2.5 million trade exception. It can be used by itself in another trade. Sometimes teams can just trade salary-cap space for players, creating large exceptions. This is what the Charlotte Bobcats and Orlando Magic did this summer. When a player gets injured and is out for the year, teams can apply to the league for injured player exceptions, which can be used like trade exceptions but can be combined with players. The Milwaukee Bucks used an injured player exception (for Bobby Simmons) to get Earl Boykins last season.
This can be found by going to:
http://www.ohiomm.com/blogs/cavs/2007/07/30/the-as-to-the-qs-part-two/
Below is his description of this salary cap exception:
The mid-level exception changes every year and can be used to sign one or more free agents. This year it is $5.3 million. All teams over the salary cap, or within $5.3 million of the cap, get the exception. The bi-annual exception must go to one player and can only be used every other year. This year it is worth $1.8 million and the Cavs can use it. These contracts can only be for two years. Trade exceptions are created when trades are unbalanced within the trade rules. Say a player making $10 million gets traded for a player making $7.5 million (which is legal) the team who got the $7.5 million player gets a $2.5 million trade exception. It can be used by itself in another trade. Sometimes teams can just trade salary-cap space for players, creating large exceptions. This is what the Charlotte Bobcats and Orlando Magic did this summer. When a player gets injured and is out for the year, teams can apply to the league for injured player exceptions, which can be used like trade exceptions but can be combined with players. The Milwaukee Bucks used an injured player exception (for Bobby Simmons) to get Earl Boykins last season.
This can be found by going to:
http://www.ohiomm.com/blogs/cavs/2007/07/30/the-as-to-the-qs-part-two/
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)