Cleveland Cavaliers: Karma came full circle yesterday

The Cleveland Cavaliers just got hit by karma.

Karma is real. At least, that’s how I look at it after the Cleveland Cavaliers announced that center Edy Tavares had fractured his hand yesterday.

Why do I say that? Because I wonder how the Cavs ended up signing him.

It’s not that there was no need for the Cleveland Cavaliers to improve their ability to protect the paint. It’s not that Tavares isn’t a pretty talented shot-blocker.

It’s just that based on the defensive schemes that the Cavs are using, there was no need for them to sign a center. It’s just that there was no need for Jordan McRae. Larry Sanders or DeAndre Liggins to have been released.

That McRae is at home after being hailed as a Jamal Crawford-like player by the Cavs during last season’s Summer League circuit, McRae never really got much of a chance to make a mark despite scoring at least 20 points in two out of three occasions when he was a starter this season. That type of potential is what got him signed but he was waived as the Cavs signed former Golden State Warriors center Andrew Bogut.

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Which is interesting, considering the ordeal between Bogut and LeBron James a couple of seasons ago. An incident in which Bogut hit James with a hard foul and James stumbled into the cameraman. Bogut would say James did it on purpose. The Cavs said Bogut’s remarks were bogus.

Bogut, however, was injured a minute into his Cavs debut. If you believe in signs, and you’re me, you’re thinking that was a sign of something that wasn’t supposed to be. I mean who are the Cavs? The Golden State Warriors, who signed former Cav center Anderson Varejao last season, and proceeded to play him 41 minutes too long in the 2016 NBA Finals.

Both Sanders, who the Cavs signed after they waived Bogut, and Liggins were good players who made their mark on the defensive end but more importantly, both were players who were rebuilding their image in their time with the Cavs. Both players who were more or less in exile for a period of their NBA careers and in Cleveland, where what they have the chance to play or a championship and what has become a model organization with general manager David Griffin, head coach Tyronn Lue and James at the helm.

Both players seemed to have grown as people before they joined the Cavs. Both players seemed to have grown as people during their time with the Cavs.

Honestly, it seemed Lue was tired of being criticized for his decision to go with Iman Shumpert over Liggins despite Liggins being more consistent defensively. In theory, the move was supposed to work because Shumpert was a better shooter. However, Shumpert’s shooting regressed towards the mean after his sizzling start to the season and now, Shumpert keeps the ball moving rather than trying to be a catch-and-shoot threat.

It’s poetic irony at it’s finest.

This isn’t to say Dahntay Jones isn’t a player who shouldn’t be on the roster. The reason I say Tavares took Liggins’ spot and not Jones is because Jones was needed regardless. Genereal manager David Griffin said as much, according to Cleveland.com’s Joe Vardon:

"“If we had made a multi-player trade, if we created two roster spots, we’d have brought him in in February or whenever it was,” Griffin said. “He’s really meaningful to the coaching staff. They have a great deal of trust in Dahntay.”"

Essentially, Tavares was in Liggins’ spot.

"PG: Kyrie Irving, Deron Williams, Kay FelderSG: J.R. Smith, Iman Shumpert, Dahntay JonesSF: LeBron James, Kyle Korver, DeAndre Liggins Richard JeffersonPF: Kevin Love, Derrick Williams, James JonesC: Tristan Thompson, Channing Frye, Edy Tavares"

Jones and Liggins don’t bring the same thing to the game, despite their similar skillsets. Liggins is more of a ball-dominant player on offense and a better on-ball defender. Liggins also has a more level-headed temperament than Jones.

Tavares hasn’t been on the active roster but the Cavs wanted to utilize his rim-protecting abilities in practice. So, essentially, Liggins was waived so the Cavs could have a player to try to block their shots around the rim. In theory, that’s nonsensical as the Cavs style of play takes rim-protecting centers away from the paint.

It really just seems like the Cavs wasted a lot of money and lost out on a player that they could actually use in the process.

It’s understandable that Sanders wasn’t in game shape and so he wouldn’t have been able to contribute. It’s understandable that McRae seemed to be content with is game “as is” and the doubts about his work ethic and his consistent lack of effort on defense led to his release

But Liggins? Liggins was in game shape, he was working hard and trying to learn as best he could from LeBron James. He was a terrific defender. He was a smart player who kept the ball moving and though he’d be hesitant to shoot (like Shumpert is now), he made 38.5 percent of his three-point attempts when he was with the Cavs.

Now? Now Liggins is with the Dallas Mavericks, healthy and available, while Bogut and Tavares are rehabbing injuries.

The grass isn’t always greener on the other side.

I hate to say it so bluntly but the Cleveland Cavaliers just got hit by karma yesterday. Now they have a spot that somebody could have filled but that nobody will fill, since players can’t be signed after the end of the regular season.

All because they didn’t value a few players who should have been. That includes Derrick Williams, whose ability to clog the paint defensively was quite a help for the Cavs at times. There really was no need for a rim-protecting center with him on the roster.

At the end of the day, it’s unfortunate that Tavares is injured.

It’s also concerning that the Cleveland Cavaliers went through signing rivals and releasing friends to sign Tavares. That they let go of players who they acted invested in just to sign a player that they weren’t using.

The Cleveland Cavaliers have made a few great moves in the past few seasons but those are a few bad ones that they made this year.

I don’t think I’d be doing my job if I bit my tongue about it either.

*All stats courtesy of www.basketball-reference.com

Cavs karma came full circle yesterday

By Quenton S. Albertie | May 14, 2017

The Cleveland Cavaliers just got hit by karma.

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