Show Us What You Got Cleveland
It’s now day two of the free agent signing period and it seems as though the Cavaliers have struck out. Prior to the start of the free agency period, the Cavaliers were thought to be a favorite in signing Power Forward, Charlie Villanueva. Once Villanueva, agreed in principle to sign with the Detroit Pistons, the Cavaliers turned their attention to Ron Artest and Trevor Ariza.
After reports of Lebron James contacting Ron Artest in hopes of recruiting him to Cleveland and the Cavaliers Coaching Staff sitting down with Trevor Ariza, it appears that both free agent forwards will respectively sign with other teams.
Ron Artest has announced that he will happily be joining Kobe Bryant and company in Los Angeles next season as the Lakers look to make a run at back to back NBA Championship. In the mean time, sources say that former Laker forward, Trevor Ariza, has agreed in principle to signing with the Houston Rockets.
It seems as though the Cavs always wait until last minute to start contacting free agents. When the Cavs do begin talking to free agents they turn all their attention to one player. If and when that player decides to sign with another team the Cavs are left empty handed, and precede to move on to the next potential signing.
If the Cavaliers believe that they can win a Championship with their current line up, they’re wrong. It’s going to be difficult enough as it is to contest with the Orlando Magic and the Boston Celtics (let’s face it Cavs fans), let alone dethrone the defending NBA Champions.
So where do the Cavaliers look to now?
I think the Cavs have to address the Power Forward position. Signing a Small Forward to the MLE will leave the Cavs without a starter at the post position and having Lebron play at the four spot just won’t cut it. Thankfully there seems to be plenty of options at this position. One option would be to sign and trade Anderson Varejao. However, the Cavaliers can still sign a player to the Mid-level Exception.
Rasheed Wallace now appears to be the best option for the Cavaliers in free agency. If you can put up with his attitude and temper tantrums, Rasheed Wallace can be very valuable to a team.
He’s a big man that can hit from just about anywhere on the floor. Wallace likes to clog up the lane and clean up off the boards. Not only is Wallace effective on the offensive side of the ball but he’s even better on defense. He’s capable of defending guards off the pick and roll or swat a shot or two in the key.
Brandon Bass, Antonio McDyess, and Paul Millsap are just a few of the many directions in which the Cavaliers can go. The balls in your court Cleveland, now show us what you got.
