MVN - Most Valuable Network

“Next Year” Has Finally Arrived: One-on-One with “Waiting For Next Year’s” RockKing

There’s a stigma with the city of Cleveland and its sports teams. A defeatist attitude. A self-loathing attitude. A “why me?” and “will this ever stop?” attitude.

Whether it spills over to the local media or stems from the media itself is like the chicken/egg theory. But with a few exceptions, you have to agree on one thing: The sports media in Cleveland sucks. All the way from sports radio to the newspapers to the tube. Just flat…out…sucks.

That’s the one positive of not living in Cleveland anymore. Columnists like the Cleveland Plain Dealer’s Bill Livingston and Bud Shaw will leave you feeling 30 years older and infinite years dumber - and that’s before you start hating yourself for being a Clevelander as a result of reading their columns. When I left Cleveland, Kenny Rhoda was the most popular local sports radio personality - at least in terms of ratings. And he’s a Steelers fan. When it comes to him, we’ll just leave it at that.

For a city that is used to never being the best at anything, there’s always next year.

Fortunately, Cleveland no longer has to wait for a champion amongst sports media. And that’s because “Waiting For Next Year” decided to ring in 2008 by launching a Cleveland sports blog that has every perspective covered with a fresh new angle that, unlike the rest of the Cleveland media, actually enters the 21st century. Here at Cavalier Attitude, we’re restricted to the Cavs (unless I decide to go off on a random tangent every now and then, and it sounds like I’m about to if I don’t watch myself).

At WFNY, you get a daily fix of whichever C-Town team you want to rock. Browns training camp? Cavs free agency? Indians’ annual rebuilding project? No matter. It’s all right there - with open-minded writers who know what they’re talking about and appreciate the viewpoints of all fans.

Sound too good to be true? I had to find out for myself after having a chance to catch up with one of the blog’s writers, RockKing, who definitely swung back with brass knuckles against the LeBron-leaving-Cleveland media circus that is quickly spiraling out of control. It served notice that “Waiting For Next Year” has arrived. If you didn’t notice WFNY’s work before, then you certainly notice it now. And if you’re still not paying attention, then the joke’s on you.

The following is a one-on-one interview with RockKing about the state of the Cavaliers organization, including the current makeup of the team and the issues that the team will need to address moving forward (You can catch mine with RockKing over at WFNY, as well).

Buckle up.

Amar Panchmatia: A lot of fans were inexplicably down with the selection of N.C. State’s J.J. Hickson, and I think that it’s because they just don’t know enough about the guy. He’s one of the most decorated freshman to ever play in the ACC, and if you’re any follower of basketball, you know what the ACC stands for as far as hoop legacy. Was this the best pick for the Cavs at no. 19? Why or why not?

RockKing: The backlash against Hickson is best explained by 2 factors. One, fans just didn’t see him play and he isn’t a “sexy” name like Chris Douglas-Roberts or Mario Chalmers. Two, fans seemed to have an unrealistic expectation of the 19 pick. Lets face it, the #19 pick in the NBA draft is practically useless as far making an immediate impact. How many guys picked 19 or lower are major factors in the NBA? There’s not a lot. With the #19 pick you’re just looking for a guy that you think can help the team in a supporting role for years to come.

Now, was this the “best” pick for the Cavs? I would argue it wasn’t. I’m on record as liking Courtney Lee, mainly because I think he would have been able to support the team sooner than Hickson can. But there’s no denying, in my mind, that Hickson had the highest “upside” of all the guys who were left when the Cavs picked this year, and so I can’t fault Danny for picking a guy with that much potential and for making a pick that addresses a position that is about to be a major problem for this team in 2 or 3 years.

AP: Will Hickson contribute right away?

RK: I suppose it depends on your definition of contribute. Did Dwayne Jones contribute to the team last year? Because that’s the role I see Hickson filling right now. Who knows, maybe he’ll surprise us and turn it on in the 2nd half of the season like you sometimes see happen with young players, but I think the Cavaliers’ approach with Hickson is going to be to take it slow. Which will be much to the chagrin of a lot of Cavs fans, unfortunately.

AP: It seems like the draft takes a back seat to trades and free agency as far as avenues through which the Cavs can get better. We’ve heard a plethora of names out there available through trade, and it seems like fans have used up every ounce of energy trying to put together any possible trade package to get any one of a number of guys. Is there a real possibility of one of these guys ending up in a Cavaliers uniform? Is it going to happen this summer, or at the trading deadline, and what are the Cavs going to have to give up realistically?

RK: The only trade I thought might happen this offseason was Michael Redd. It was the only one that really made sense when you consider what the Cavs have to offer. Sure, the Cavs have a lot of expiring contracts, but those aren’t that valuable from a trading standpoint until you get closer to the midway point of the season. But you keep hearing fans talk about Baron Davis or Elton Brand, and that’s just not gonna happen. The Warriors and Clippers aren’t in rebuilding mode. They’re trying to win now and both teams think they can. They’re not going to trade a franchise player before the season even starts just for some extra cap space in the NEXT offseason. That’s ridiculous. If they trade Baron or Elton, they want young talent back who can contribute. The only player of real value the Cavs have to trade is Daniel Gibson, and even then, I don’t know what the market is for a guy who really is just a glorified spot-up 3 point shooter. Until Gibson shows us he can develop his game off the ball and create his own shot on a consistent basis, he’s not going to have as much trade value as we Cavs fans think he has. And if he does develop those skills, then why would the Cavs want to trade him anyway? So I just don’t see those deals happening.

Now, I thought Michael Redd was different. I think you could have said it would make sense for the Bucks to unload Redd for expiring contracts to build the team around Mo Williams and Yi Jianlian. But that all changed on draft day when the Bucks stole Richard Jefferson from the Nets. Now, with a starting lineup of Williams, Redd, Jefferson, Villanueva, and Bogut, and with Joe Alexander coming off the bench, the Bucks think they’re a playoff team now. This is Michael Redd’s team again, and I don’t see why the Bucks would consider trading Redd at all. That Nets trade really stung us Cavs fans on 2 fronts: it allowed the Nets to free up cap space for 2010, which thus made all the media start pretending like it’s a done deal for LeBron to wind up there, and it put an end to the dream of Michael Redd coming over to play for the Cavs. Draft Night was unfortunately a brutal time for many Cavs fans, and we’re seeing the anger and backlash from that fallout now.

AP: Do you think that it’s a foregone conclusion that Anderson Varejao isn’t going to remain a Cavalier past 2009? It seems like his name is attached to every single trade rumor involving the Cavs.

RK: Done deal. No way will Dan Fegan allow AV to re-sign with Cleveland. The holdout was ugly for both sides and both sides lost face in the way it ended. There’s bad blood that hasn’t fully healed and probably never will. I suppose if the Cavs won a Championship and AV saw major minutes and was a big part of it and he realized he wanted to stay with these teammates, he could tell Fegan that he didn’t care and that he wanted to stay in Cleveland, but lets face it, professional athletes don’t think that way. He made it clear when he held out that he only cares about getting as much money as possible, and that’s not going to come from the Cleveland Cavaliers next summer. This is the last season we will see the Wild Thing in a Cavs uniform, and it really is a tragic tale of a massive fall from the good graces of Cavs fans. Remember all the Cavs fans wearing wigs and all the fun times we had rooting for AV? That really came to a screeching halt really quickly.

AP: Sasha Pavlovic’s holdout last summer was beyond ridiculous considering who he is and what he’s done in the league. That being said, he showed flashes of being what the Cavs want him to be during the ‘06-07 season. Was there anything besides the holdout that you think contributed to his decline in ‘07-08? Is there a chance that we could see that “old” Sasha again, whether it be in a Cavs uni or elsewhere?

RK: Well, that ‘06-07 season was the only reason Sasha held out and the only reason the Cavs eventually came to terms with him. If the Cavs knew what they were going to get once Sasha showed up, I surely think they would have thought twice about the deal they gave him. Now, that being said, I do think the holdout hurt Sasha’s season. He seemed 2 months behind all year long, and I just don’t think he ever caught up. Injuries, reduced playing time, and perhaps some latent residual hard feelings from the organization over the holdout all probably played a part in Sasha’s lackluster year. For a guy who once infamously claimed that his “offense is his defense”, his offensive game is shockingly limited and inconsistent. I wish Sasha would realize that his best asset is actually his defense. When he’s focused and determined to play defense, Sasha is actually one of our better perimeter defenders. He has good size and athleticism to keep up with smaller players and get physical with bigger ones. It’s just a shame that his focus and determination and energy is so inconsistent. I don’t think Sasha will ever be the player the Jazz thought he was going to be when they picked him the, ironically enough, 19th pick in the 2003 draft.

AP: Both Daniel Gibson and Delonte West are restricted free agents this summer. What do you think their value is in terms of dollars based on what they mean to the Cavs and what a player of their skill set demands on the open market?

RK: Predicting the NBA Market is a fool’s errand. When guys like Rashard Lewis and Andrei Kirilenko can get the kind of deals they got, you just never know what’s going to happen. Just making a guess off the top of my head, I would think Gibson could command something like $5-5.5 million/year based on the $4.5 million deals DJ and Sasha have. West is harder to predict. Delonte has more skills to offer than Daniel does, but the common perception is that Gibson is the better player. So I don’t know. West may just play for his qualifying offer of $2.7 million and let himself become unrestricted next year. I do know, though, that the Cavaliers will do everything they can to bring both guys back.

AP: Any chance we see Gibson and West team up like Varejao and Pavlovic did last summer and force an extended holdout?

RK: Never say never, but I don’t see West holding out. Delonte has been vocal about his desire to be here long term, and after playing for 3 teams in 3 years, I think he’s ready for a permanent home. I think he’s the most likely one to get a deal done quickly, whether that be a long term deal or just accepting the qualifying offer.

Gibson, on the other hand, could be a little bit trickier. We’ll have to see what the MLE is set at (to my knowledge that number hasn’t been released yet), but assuming it’s right around $5.5 million, I would think that would be right around the range Gibson could get. But if he wants $6 million, I think we could have some problems, because the Cavs aren’t likely to want to pay him quite that much right now. It’s just tough. How much value do you place on a sharp-shooter who doesn’t do anything else particularly well? And not to knock Daniel, because I love having him on the team and I don’t want to see him go elsewhere, but I just don’t know how you set the value for a player like Daniel. Who’s his best comparable player? Jason Kapono? Damon Jones? I don’t really know the answer to that, unfortunately.

I guess that was one long “maybe” answer, so, in order to give you something better than that, I’ll just say that right now, gun to my head, I’m predicting neither guy holds out. Restricted Free Agents don’t hold out, and I don’t think Dan Fegan was successful in tearing down that trend, because at the end of the day, all he did was cause a lot of hard feelings and his client didn’t end up getting a significantly better deal than what the team was offering anyway. My guess is both guys at least play for their qualifying offers, but hopefully at least one of the two can be signed to a long term deal.

AP: Mike Brown and Danny Ferry are at no loss for critics with in the Wine and Gold Nation. Do you think that either one, if not both, has done a good job three years into their tenure?

RK: Wow. This one is brutal. Great question.

I’ll start with Mike Brown. I don’t think Mike has done a particularly great job. He’s had the best player in the game for 3 seasons now, and this team just never seems to get any better. You have to give Brown all the credit in the world for the defense this team played in 2006-07, but the defense in his first year was just ok and his defense this season was mediocre. Under Mike Brown, the Cavs defense has ranked

14th, 4th, and 12th respectively in his 3 season, while their offense has ranked 9th, 18th, and 19th. That’s not good coaching, in my opinion. I think the winning nature of this team has a LOT more to do LeBron James than Mike Brown. I once wrote a piece talking about this issue. How do you gauge how well Mike Brown has done? I compared his results to Paul Silas’, and with the exception of wins-losses (which, I know, is all that really matters in the end), this team hasn’t really improved in any particular aspect.

Danny Ferry is a little bit tougher. This is going to shock a lot of people, but I think Ferry has been decent. Not good, but nowhere near as bad as people think. Ferry wasn’t around for the Boozer debacle, and Ferry didn’t trade a first round pick for Jiri Welsh. The Flip Murray trade made the Cavs a tougher playoff team in 2006. I questioned the Donyell Marshall signing, but I was pleased with the re-signing of Z and I was ok with the signings of DJ and Little Larry Hughes. I always tell people, if we would have received the Larry Hughes who put up 22 points, 6 boards and 5 assists and had a 21.6 PER, the Cavaliers would have won a Championship by now. I have no doubt in my mind about this. Danny Ferry thought the Cavs were getting an elite player, and it’s easy to understand why. Can I blame Ferry for Hughes being a complete failure in Cleveland? I can’t. People will blame Ferry for not making any moves the past couple seasons, and I understand why people have felt that way, but really, Ferry’s hands were tied. He tried. He was close to getting Bibby. He placed a call to try to get Garnett. He tried to get Kidd. Teams didn’t want to trade with Cleveland, though, because Cleveland had no assets to offer other than LeBron. Cleveland didn’t have an Al Jefferson to offer. They didn’t have a Devin Harris to part with. Now, some of that is Ferry’s fault, but some of it is just a result of these guys coming to Cleveland and not performing. We’re seeing the same thing now with Wally Szczerbiak. Teams probably would have been a lot more comfortable taking on Wally’s contract for a whole season had he not been so terribly awful for Cleveland. So once again, Ferry’s options are somewhat limited. None of us thought Ferry would ever be able to move Larry Hughes’ contract, but you know what? He found a way to do it, and he even did it by trading within the division, none the less, and he made the Cavs a better team overall in the process. So again, up against some tough odds, I think Danny Ferry has done some pretty good things. He’s not going to win executive of the year anytime soon, but he’s also nowhere near as bad as Cavs fans want to believe. I’ll be curious to see what this team looks like with a whole offseason and training camp to gel, and a whole season to battle together and build chemistry.

AP: Two of the past three seasons have ended with a loss in Game 7 of the second round. If you could have made a realistic addition to the team minutes before tip-off that could have ensured a Cavaliers victory, what would it have been?

RK: I think those two Game 7s were drastically different. The Cavs really had no chance in 2006. The Pistons just took care of business. But this year, the Cavs had a real chance, and I still feel like it was a game they should have won. I compare Game 7 this year to Game 6 in 2006. In both of those games, the Cavs seemed to be on the short end of every key hustle play in the final minutes of those games. So if I could add anything to those teams, it would have been mental toughness, focus, and hustle. I really feel, especially this season, that was what made the difference. Boston just seemed to want it more when it mattered than the Cavs did.

AP: We’ve all heard the rumors countless times now, and although I used to want to fight anyone who suggested it a few years ago, I’ve grown immune to it. You know what I’m talking about: The “LeBron is leaving Cleveland” rumors. Are those rumors real, or just an attempt by the national media to make white noise? What will it take to keep LeBron in Cleveland, and what will it take to make sure that he retires a Cavalier?

RK: There’s absolutely nothing behind any of the rumors. LeBron doesn’t know where he’s going to be 3 years from now any more than any of us do. Not a single person in the media who has reported on this issue has ever sat down with LeBron and spoken candidly to him about it. Everyone is just guessing. The fact is, the Cavaliers were on national TV as much as anyone else. They had more nationally televised games than the Knicks or the Nets. LeBron’s jersey was only outsold by KG, who switched teams, and Kobe, who won the MVP award this year. LeBron made more money in salary and advertising than any other player in the NBA. LeBron doesn’t need New York NEAR as much as New York needs LeBron, and that’s why the media is pushing so hard for LeBron to go there. Furthermore, the Cavs have been in the playoffs 3 straight years. Not the Nets. Certainly not the Knicks. Barring some huge unforeseen event, the Cavs will be in the playoffs each of the next 2 years as well. The Cavs have been to the NBA Finals with LeBron. The Cavs pushed the Celtics harder than anyone else this year. You mean to tell me that LeBron going to New Jersey or New York is going to bring him closer to his goal of winning a Championship than he is in Cleveland? Boy, I just don’t see that. Plus, the Nets and Knicks can free as much cap space as they want. Thanks to Bird Rights, though, the Cavaliers will be able to offer LeBron more money than any other team. Period. So don’t anyone be fooled by the media’s underhanded attempts to pull off this charade that LeBron to New York/New Jersey is inevitable. It’s FAR from it.

Now, that being said, it also doesn’t mean LeBron is a sure shot to stay in Cleveland. The Cavaliers need to be smart and get LeBron just one more marquee player. If they can give LeBron that, I see no reason why he would leave Cleveland. It’s his hometown, the Cavs can offer him the most money, he’s already making more money than anyone else, in this global economy location is more irrelevant than ever, and the Cavaliers would give him the best chance to win a Championship. I just don’t see why he would leave a team he’s built for 7 years to go to a team and start all over with the rebuilding process. The only way he does that is if the Cavaliers make it an easy decision for him by failing to find that one missing piece.

ESPN.com’s Chris Sheridan got his rocks off to LeBron saying that he liked Brooklyn, but where were Sheridan and the other clowns in the circus when LeBron said the following:

“I’m dedicated to bringing a championship to this city. I’m bringing a parade to this city. I love this city. I love Northeast Ohio. … Right now I can’t see myself going anywhere else.”

Nope. Nowhere. But keep putting stock in the national media and what they say, though, for those of you who still do. It’s a great way to kill time and get dumber. Some people like that.

“Waiting For Next Year” is updated every day, and the blog features other insightful writers besides RockKing to keep you up to speed on your favorite team. Be sure to visit them a lot more often than you listen to Jim Rome or Dan Patrick - or (gulp) read Dan Shanoff’s daily steaming pile of dog shit.

That’s assuming you follow those stooges at all. Here’s hoping that you don’t.

This entry was posted on Wednesday, July 2nd, 2008 at 9:59 am and is filed under Andrew Bogut, Mo Williams, Devin Harris, Charlie Villanueva, Wally Szczerbiak, Danny Ferry, Delonte West, Rashard Lewis, Michael Redd, Donyell Marshall, Dan Fegan, Jason Kapono, Courtney Lee, Jay-Z, Jiri Welsch, Jim Rome, Joe Alexander, Paul Silas, Chris Douglas-Roberts, Dwayne Jones, JJ Hickson, Mario Chalmers, Flip Murray, Anderson Varejao, Kevin Garnett, Elton Brand, Mike Brown, Daniel Gibson, LeBron James, Los Angeles Clippers, Cleveland Cavaliers, Detroit Pistons, Milwaukee Bucks, Golden State Warriors, Larry Hughes, Sasha Pavlovic, Richard Jefferson, Dan Patrick, Mike Bibby, Carlos Boozer, Baron Davis, Andrei Kirilenko, Jason Kidd, Yi Jianlian, Al Jefferson, Boston Celtics. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.