Dalembert clears waivers

[Hey Yo]

"Samuel Dalembert came to the Knicks as part of the trade that sent Tyson Chandler to the Mavericks, but failed to come close to replicating what Chandler was able to provide on the defensive end of the floor.

Combine that with his nonexistent contributions offensively, along with the fact that this has truly become a lost season for the New York franchise, it wasn

[Eric Cartman]

Is he good? Can the cavs or heat get him?

[hawkfan]

Come to Atlanta. We need a backup big who can provide interior defense.

[smoovegittar]

Cavs. The hits keep coming...

[RedBlackAttack]

From what I've heard, the Cavs prefer Jermaine O'Neal, but it is looking more and more like he's going to end up on a Western Conference team... possibly Portland.

Dalembert would be the Cavs' backup plan. Not a bad consolation.

PG - Kyrie, Delly
SG - Shump, Miller, Smith
SF - LeBron, Marion, Jones
PF - Love, Tristan
C - Mozgov, Dalembert


...not too shabby. Could use another backup PG, but that should be enough to make a contender in the East assuming they eventually get healthy again.

[VengefulAngel]

From what I've heard, the Cavs prefer Jermaine O'Neal, but it is looking more and more like he's going to end up on a Western Conference team... possibly Portland.

Dalembert would be the Cavs' backup plan. Not a bad consolation.

Cav's making some decent decision's recently.

[KNOW1EDGE]

He has always been solid, but now he's declining and doesn't really offer much of anything on either side of the ball. He is simply a big body

I hope the Blazers can sign Jermaine cuz with the injury to Robin Lopez and Joel Freeland we could really use him right now.

[Done_And_Done]

Is he good? Can the cavs or heat get him?

I could care less about either of those teams but this little jab stopped being funny months ago.

[RedBlackAttack]

I could care less about either of those teams but this little jab stopped being funny months ago.

I never thought it was funny.

[christian1923]

From what I've heard, the Cavs prefer Jermaine O'Neal, but it is looking more and more like he's going to end up on a Western Conference team... possibly Portland.

Dalembert would be the Cavs' backup plan. Not a bad consolation.

PG - Kyrie, Delly
SG - Shump, Miller, Smith
SF - LeBron, Marion, Jones
PF - Love, Tristan
C - Mozgov, Dalembert


...not too shabby. Could use another backup PG, but that should be enough to make a contender in the East assuming they eventually get healthy again.

MikeMiller ahead of Jr in the rotation?

How do you feel seeing your turn from a bunch of young up and coming homegrown talent to a team filled with vets and recently aquired guys?

[RedBlackAttack]

MikeMiller ahead of Jr in the rotation?

How do you feel seeing your turn from a bunch of young up and coming homegrown talent to a team filled with vets and recently aquired guys?

I was vocally against trading Andrew Wiggins, but that's water under the bridge at this point. I can either support the team that we have or stop following the NBA. The latter was probably never all that realistic, although I did threaten it with all of the LeBron drama.

We still have quite a bit of youth on this team. It's not like we're Miami, totally filled with vets and aging stars. There are the guys that I'm confident will be at least very good players for a long time like Kyrie Irving (22), Tristan Thompson (23), Iman Shumpert (24) and Kevin Love (26). Then, there are the young guys on the bench who've shown flashes here and there who I think could become good role players down the line with a lot of work and a little luck like Joe Harris (23) and Matthew Dellavedova (23).

That's half of our active roster that is under 26, five of which are 24 or under. Even Mozgov could have a longterm impact for this franchise. He's only 28 and, more importantly, he doesn't have a lot of wear and tear on his body. Unlike guys like Kyrie Irving and LeBron James who come in at 18 and 19, Mozgov didn't start this NBA grind until he was 24 and, even then, only began playing 20+ minutes a night at the age of 26.


So, I'm not freaking out about the future. Yes, moving Wiggins particularly and Dion/AB to a lesser extent hurt, but we're still one of the youngest teams in the NBA if you look at our primary rotation guys.

And, Mike Miller was really freaking good last year all things considered and it wouldn't surprise me a bit if he gets more minutes than JR in the important games down the road. Then again, there is room for both guys to be solid contributors. JR can be sort of a combo guard, while Miller could bounce between the 2 and the 3.


One thing is for sure... the team has so much more versatility now than it did 48 hours ago. With Shumpert and Mozgov, we have a couple of defensive anchors who will allow a lot of flexibility with the rest of the roster.

I'm especially warming up to Shumpert's place in the starting lineup the more I've thought about it. His length on both ends and ability to contribute without the ball being in his hands only gives our flashy superstars more room and freedom to do what they do.

I think he could be an awesome fit next to Kyrie in the backcourt if Shump can get healthy. Those two compliment one another very well, it would seem.


TL;DNR

Mozgov, Shump and Smith should be really great additions and their moves don't kill our longterm potential.