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Cleveland At 19: The CDRgument

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Waiting For Next Year has a rundown  of where the Cavs sit in this draft. It's got a good rundown on popular picks, as well as an analysis of what the common consensus is on their pick. While who's hot for any team will change about a trillion times between now and the Draft,  there are two guys that stand out right now for Cleveland.

Brandon Rush versus Chris Douglas Roberts.

Here's why the Cavs should opt for CDR.

Recently I was in a bar talking with a friend and we were discussing the Memphis kids.  His argument was pretty solid, based around their conference schedule, Calipari's system, and the difficult leap that the NBA requires in shooting percentages.  He just felt like teams needed to be worried about the Memphis guys.

I stared at him for a second, took a long swig of my beer, slowly put my hands in my lap, looked at my friend, and smiled.

Then I screamed.

"He's a 6-7 shooting guard with unbelievable athleticism, for God's sake! This isn't rocket science!  Being a great college shooter isn't going to mean squat when Ron Artest is blocking the hell out of you because you can't create any space!"

I bring this up not because I think CDR is a sleeper or steal or any of that in this draft. What he is, is a terrific possible complement to LeBron James.  One thing that killed the Cavaliers this year, and by extension LeBron, is the fact that the Cavs had no one with breakaway speed that could finish at the basket.  That's what the Cavaliers are desperate for. They are loaded with perimeter shooters with Gibson, West, Szczerbiak, and Pavlovic.  They have a small army of pure rebounders that can't score worth a damn in the block with Ben Wallace, Anderson Varejao, and Zydrunas Ilgauskus.  They need slashers.  And CDR provides that.  It's a big name prospect that will please the King and provide some much needed athleticism in a back court that lacks it.

This should be a no-brainer for the Cavs.  Pass on the big men that will only serve to compound your problem: you have lots of guys to defend and rebound and no one to put the ball in the hole.  Take Roberts and give the King a running mate.

 

 

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I don’t know how a team would choose Rush of CDR if it came to it. CDR has more upside and he would definitely give Cleveland a slasher that they desperately need.

I never met anybody who said when they were a kid, "I wanna grow up and be a critic." - Richard Pryor

by DennardC on Jun 4, 2008 3:39 PM EDT reply actions   0 recs

I don’t know about sleeper, but if CDR is available at #19 I think he’s a steal.

by Alex Boeder on Jun 4, 2008 8:54 PM EDT reply actions   0 recs

CDR

I have the feeling that Douglas-Roberts will be one of those guys that moves up the ‘mock drafts’ as it nears closer. I’d love to have him OR Rush for that matter, but CDR should be the choice. Great piece!

by scottsargent on Jun 5, 2008 10:30 AM EDT reply actions   0 recs

Larry Hughes?

I like CDR and think he will be a good player on the right team, but isn’t he pretty similar to Larry Hughes? Larry did not work out very well in Cleveland although much of that was due to injuries and inflated expectations based on his salary. Still, they seem like pretty comperable players. It makes me wonder if he is the right guy for the Cavs. The one thing CDR has in his favor is he knows he is not a great shooter and goes to the basket more often than Hughes did in Cleveland.

by Jeremy on Jun 6, 2008 3:23 AM EDT reply actions   0 recs

Hughes has none of the athleticism of CDR, at least at this point in his career

People keep expecting Larry to revert the 2005 Wizards mode, but it’s not coming back. The Cavs desperately need someone who can run a fast break with LeBron, their offense is so predictable another highly athletic guy will do them some good, especially since they are trotting out Ilgauskus and Wallace as their PF and C.

Then again, Mike Brown is coaching this team, so who knows how much CDR would be utlized on a team where he could be stuck behind Pavlovic and Wally World.

Rusty Longley v 2.0

by Ozzie Montana on Jun 8, 2008 1:32 PM EDT up reply actions   0 recs

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