March 2002 Cleveland Cavaliers Wiretap

Bulls success only Miles away?

Dec 30, 2002 8:02 PM

Sam Smith of the Chicago Tribune continues his quest to single handedly rebuild the Bulls into an NBA powerhouse, and although the majority of his scenarios fail to adhere to the rules outlined in the collective bargaining agreement his latest piece points in the direction of the Cleveland Cavaliers.

According to Smith Cleveland are scratching their heads over what to do about young phenom Darius Miles whom the team acquired from the Los Angeles Clippers this summer for NBA assists leader Andre Miller.  With the emergence of rookie Dajuan Wagner at shooting guard and the prolific scoring of Ricky Davis at small forward Miles is being left out in the cold.  Cleveland trialled Miles at point guard but had little success.

Smith's solution?  Package Miles, who Krause coveted during the 2000 draft to Chicago for Jamal Crawford and a protected first round pick.  This would keep the Bulls in the LeBron James sweepstakes, give the Cavaliers a starting point guard and give the Bulls some much needed athleticism at the two guard position.

Miles was recently rumored to be heading north with center Zydrunas Ilgauskas for Vince Carter, a deal shot down by the Raptors.

Tags: Chicago Bulls, Cleveland Cavaliers, NBA

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Raptors laugh off trade rumors

Dec 29, 2002 9:11 AM

Doug Smith of the Toronto Star reports that Raptors GM Glen Grunwald denied any trade talks involving Vince Carter and the Cleveland Cavaliers. After reports that Toronto may be talking about trading Carter to Cleveland for Zydrunas Ilgauskas and Darius Miles, Grunwald reacted.

"There is absolutely no truth to that story whatsoever," Grunwald said yesterday. "Someone doesn't know what they're talking about."

Smith adds that the Raps would not trade their franchise player for a Center who has missed 185 of his last 325 games due to injury and a kid who has done nothing in the NBA except jump high. Not only that, but the deal does not come close to working financially under the Collective Trade Agreement trade rules.

While the Raptors are not trading their star player, they are coming apart on the court.

Missing Carter and Antonio Davis has taken a huge toll on the team. Smith writes, "So far, the public displays of acrimony have not emerged, but there's an uneasy feeling that an explosion lies not too far beneath the surface."

"Adversity is always tough. I understand adversity and I know what it can do to you emotionally and physically," said 10-year veteran Lindsey Hunter. "It's just a matter of staying focused. Somehow, we'll do it."

Players are getting frustrated with each other and their coach. "You can't get down on your teammates. Everybody out there is trying hard and doing the best they can do," said Jerome Williams, who sat for long stretches of Friday's loss in Golden State as Wilkens went with Michael Bradley. "You definitely don't want to go to pointing fingers because there's no one to point at."

Tags: Cleveland Cavaliers, Toronto Raptors, NBA

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Air Canada to Cleveland?

Dec 28, 2002 9:38 AM

Frank Zicarelli of the Toronto Sun reports that there may be some trade talk going on between Toronto and Cleveland. Vince Carter's name is being linked with a trade rumour involving Darius Miles and Zydrunas Ilgauskas.

Zicarelli says that it is unknown how serious the talks are, but that there is an uneasiness between the Raptors and their oft-injured star. Carter is unhappy in Toronto and would not object to a trade according to various sources.

Sources also say that the Raptors are unhappy with Carter. They feel that he hasn?t worked hard enough to come back from his various injuries and hasn?t practiced with the team when healthy.

Zicarelli notes, "At first glance, a Carter for Ilgauskas and Miles swap makes sense."

The Cavs have given up on this season and would love to have a box office draw like Carter to fill the empty seats at The Gund.

Miles and Ilgauskas have battled injuries, but each brings something to the table that is lacking in Toronto. Ilgauskas is a legitimate center and when his game is on there aren't many centers better in the Eastern Conference and Miles is an emerging star who is young and extremely athletic.

RealGM Note: Carter?s BYC status would make this particular trade impossible and any trade involving Carter very difficult to complete.

Late Evening Update: Responding to today's rumors, Sportsnet.CA reports Raptors GM Glen Grunwald has deemed Carter "untradeable" and stated that there's "no truth" to the Cleveland trade rumors.

Tags: Cleveland Cavaliers, Toronto Raptors, NBA

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Riley warns against optimism

Dec 27, 2002 8:28 AM

Harvey Fialkov of the Sun-Sentinel reports that Heat coach Pat Riley is warning against being too optimistic after a 3-1 road trip. He wonders if his young roster will produce another "go to" guy to help push the 9-19 Heat into the playoffs.

They have Eddie Jones who has taken the leadership role on the club. They have Brian Grant averaging almost a double-double and playing tough interior defense. Occasionally a third player steps up and produces. "In order for us to win, it's got to be done together. Otherwise, we're not going to get there," Riley said after Thursday?s practice.

The lack of dominant teams in the East give the Heat a hope of possibly making the playoffs, but games like Monday?s loss to the Cavaliers make Riley doubt his team. "This whole thing in trying to do the best that I could, that's good for your children to say. `Daddy, I'm trying to do the best that I could do,'" Riley said. "In the pros, that isn't it. I don't want to hear that.

"`Daddy, I am doing what is necessary to succeed.' That's what I want, and sometimes that takes more than just doing your best.''

Tags: Boston Celtics, Cleveland Cavaliers, Miami Heat, NBA

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Pierce: NBA too soft on hard fouls

Dec 24, 2002 9:30 AM

Mark Murphy of the Boston Herald reports that Paul Pierce isn?t happy. He?s been on the receiving end of some hard fouls recently and he thinks the NBA need to do more to protect the players.

He received a scratched cornea courtesy of Cleveland?s Zydrunas Ilgauskas and had to have reconstructive dental surgery after a run in with Suns? rookie Amare Stoudamire in the last two weeks.

``The refs really do need to crack down on it,'' said Pierce. ``Sometimes I feel that teams aren't looking to make a play on the ball but are just trying to make a play on me.''

Pierce?s coach, Jim O?Brien agrees. ``I don't think the guys in this league purposely try to hurt people, but there's a frame of mind that says not to let the ball get to the rim,'' O'Brien said. ``It's important for the NBA to call those situations, not only against Paul but on the part of anyone who drives to the rim. We don't like people driving to the rim, either, but there are limits,'' he said. ``Attempting to block the shot is one thing, but if you attempt to block the guy, well, that's quite another matter.''

Pierce added that if the rough stuff continues, he wouldn't be adverse to calling someone like Stu Jackson, the NBA's discipline czar. ``If I feel it's getting out of hand, I will,'' he said.

Tags: Boston Celtics, Cleveland Cavaliers, Phoenix Suns, NBA

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Links of the Month?... Huh, what?

Dec 23, 2002 7:02 PM

Tried a Links of the month to keep readers busy.  It is after all the holidays and a pretty long Nuggets layoff.

RealGM

Tags: Cleveland Cavaliers, Denver Nuggets, NBA

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Lebron James at the top of everyone's wishlist

Dec 19, 2002 11:03 AM

Drew Litton of the Rocky Mountain News has a cartoon for the holiday season.

The Rocky Mountain News

Tags: Chicago Bulls, Cleveland Cavaliers, Denver Nuggets, Miami Heat, NBA

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Davis Calls Out Cleveland Fans

Dec 18, 2002 7:13 AM

Bob Finnan of the News-Herald reports that Ricky Davis? mouth is getting him in trouble again. The Cavaliers leading scorer has had problems with his team this season for criticizing his teammates. This time, it was the fans.

After Monday?s loss to the Sonics, Davis said that the fan support in Cleveland was deplorable. He also complained that the fans often cheer for opposing players and are not behind the Cavs. Much of what he said was true, it?s just that no one else was brave enough, or stupid enough to say it.

"What I want Ricky to do is translate that venom to his play so we can attract more fans," Cavs coach John Lucas said. "We need to finish games we're supposed to finish. We need to be fan-friendly. We're rebuilding. We also have to rebuild our fans. The dog days are coming closer. I'm sure some other players feel what he feels. Our fans are very knowledgeable people."

Finnan points out that the average guy making $30,000 a year might not be willing to drop $100 to buy two seats, pay for parking and refreshments to see a team with the worst record in the league. The crowds keep getting smaller at Gund Arena. The Cavs have had five consecutive games with less than 10,000 in attendance.

Some of the fans didn't take kindly to Davis' comments. Davis said he doesn't regret anything he said.

"I don't care," Davis said. "We're trying to make an improvement over here. We want to improve through the whole organization. We need the fan support. They know we're trying to rebuild over here. We need for them to support us and not put us down."

Tags: Cleveland Cavaliers, NBA

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Radmanovic fumes about officials

Dec 17, 2002 8:35 AM

Frank Hughes of the News Tribune reports that Seattle forward Vladimir Radmanovic had a few words about the officiating in last night?s game against the Cavaliers. Radmanovic was ejected after elbowing Cleveland?s Carlos Boozer with 24 seconds left in the Soncis 111-98 win.

Radmanovic didn?t dispute the elbow, but explained that it was the culmination of several minutes of dirty play by Boozer.

"I just want the (league) to see the ... tape .. and then see what happens," Radmanovic said after the game. "This is crazy. Guys are hitting me with like three minutes left in the game and the referees don't call nothing. I hit the guy and he calls a technical foul. Yes, I hit him, but they have to call something under the basket. The last three minutes, I took 10 elbows from him and I didn't say anything. That referee, I don't know how he saw that hit that I threw at that guy. If he was expecting that, that was the only way to (see) that because I am not hitting the guy for no reason."

Radmanovic was involved in a confrontation last week in New York with the Knicks? Kurt Thomas. The two were shoving each other. Thomas ended up being fines $5,000 for shoving Radmanovic in the back after the game.

Radmanovic has no problem with rough play, but he believes that dirty play should not be tolerated by the officials. "If a guy plays hard with me, I am going to play hard with him. But don't play dirty because that is not basketball," he said. "I don't care who is testing me and who is not. If a guy hits me, that's a foul. That's what they should call. There is no other thing to say about that."

Tags: Cleveland Cavaliers, New York Knicks, Oklahoma City Thunder, NBA

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Nuggets hit mark but fall

Dec 16, 2002 4:30 PM

Marc Spears writes about the loss to the Cleveland Cavaliers over the weekend.

The Denver Post

Tags: Cleveland Cavaliers, Denver Nuggets, NBA

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Miles to see more time at point

Cleveland Plain Dealer

What else can go wrong?

Smush has been a smash

Cleveland Plain Dealer

Vince hurts `good' knee

Boozer dazzling with slimmer frame

Cleveland Plain Dealer

Basketball Gods Conspire Against Bulls

Cavs lose 15th straight

Cleveland Plain Dealer

Wagner turning heads

Trading Cavs' Davis might be a plausible option