The sadness of losing in the Finals was already enough for Cleveland to swallow. Now, the Cavaliers must master contractual and budgeting issues during one of the more exciting offseasons in NBA history. Everyone knows the Cavs will make at least one move to address the point guard situation. However, the situation in the frontcourt could determine whether or not the Cavs find themselves back in the Finals next season. The frontcourt dilemma starts and ends with two power forwards: Drew Gooden and Anderson Varejao.
Gooden, formerly one of the headliners in the NCAA Final Four, found himself in Coach Brown's doghouse in the NBA Finals. After Game 2, a reporter asked Brown about the scoring production by Gooden in the 3rd quarter. The reporter commended Gooden and noted that his scoring helped keep Cleveland in the game. Brown replied by saying that "it's not just about scoring" and expressed displeasure with Gooden's (and the rest of the team's) lack of defense, energy, and focus. In turn, Gooden did not find his rebounding touch until the 4th quarter of Game 3, which he left after fouling out.
Meanwhile, Varejao, coming to Cleveland as a secondary part of the Gooden trade, quickly became a fan favorite. Yet, he also found himself in Coach Brown's doghouse in the Finals. At the end of Game 3, he put up the biggest shot of his career. The problem was that it was also the ugliest and arguably most ill-advised shot attempt of his career. After the game, Coach Brown questioned Varejao's focus and decision-making. More importantly, the loss left the 2006-2007 Cavs in position to become only the eighth team swept in Finals history.
The problem is not just that both players disappointed the coach. As noted earlier, contracts make the situation at power forward more confusing. Drew Gooden just finished the 1st year of his 3-year, $23 million contract. Meanwhile, Varejao just finished his rookie contract. Although a restricted free agent, Varejao will be commanding similar money in the free agent market, probably anywhere from $5 million to $9 million a year. While other teams are willing to risk payroll problems in order to obtain projected success with Varejao, the Cavs will have to draw the line somewhere.
Technically, Dan Gilbert gave Danny Ferry something that few GMs in any sport get from their owner: approval to go over the luxury tax. Yet, concerning contracts, the team is going to have problems keeping both 6'10" big men. The team already has $60 million invested in LeBron James over the next 3 years, $36 million invested in Larry Hughes, and $33 million invested in Zydrunas Ilgauskas. With that in mind, the Cavs have about $43 million a year committed to the three players alone. Meanwhile, the salary cap last season stood at about $53 million with a luxury tax for payrolls starting at about $65 million. By keeping both Gooden and Varejao, the Cavs will leave themselves out-of-position to make large external free agent signings (the Bird exception allows them to keep their own without having to honor salary cap rules) and instead rely on the midlevel exceptions worth a combined amount of about $6-8 million.
There is not a clear solution in choosing just one of the players either. Drew Gooden has played no fewer than 70 regular season games a year, while counterpart Varejao has only played in more than 55 games once. With the Cavs, Gooden has only missed 5 regular season games in three years. Plus, Gooden's contract will probably provide the Cavs with more flexibility than any contract Varejao signs. Yet, Coach Brown often uses Varejao down the stretch in games instead of Gooden. Even Donyell Marshall gets as much, if not more, playing time than Gooden in crunch time. Add the facts that Varejao doubles as Z's backup and spends more time than Gooden guarding featured big men (ex. Tim Duncan) and that means more reasons to keep Varejao. The bright side in this confusion is that the two power forwards are the most tradeable players the Cavaliers have, so they can get something in return for them.
Sadly, most of what the Cavs need out of the power forward position in their current team philosophy is provided to the Utah Jazz by Carlos "Benedict" Boozer. No, "Benedict" Boozer will probably never return to the Cavs. Yes, the Cavs have done just fine with Gooden and Varejao. Yet, Boozer's rebounding and consistency are critical in giving the Cavaliers' starting lineup the balance that it needs. While Boozer is a much more physical power forward that gladly hits the low post, Gooden, Varejao, and Marshall are all finesse power forwards that prefer to score without having to put their backs to the basket.
Even after Boozer spurned Gordon Gund's kindness (which had allowed "Booze" to opt out for a better contract) three summers ago, the Cavs were looking fine with Gooden joining LeBron and Z in what was considered the team's strong point: the frontcourt. Back then, the team was considered a point guard and a sharpshooter away from contending for the NBA championship. After attempting to address those issues every season since, as well as changing the Head Coach and GM, the Cavaliers recently overtook the Eastern Conference. Yet, the Cavs are still considered a point guard and a sharpshooter away from contending for the NBA championship. Despite having the same needs as three years ago, this team has made plenty of progress. In moving forward, the Cavs need to make sure to get a hold of the payroll and power forward situations, whether that means Gooden, Varejao, or someone else fills the role. Suddenly, being 'a point guard and a sharpshooter away' doesn't sound so bad, as long as Gooden and Varejao stay away from trying to be that sharpshooter.
Gooden, formerly one of the headliners in the NCAA Final Four, found himself in Coach Brown's doghouse in the NBA Finals. After Game 2, a reporter asked Brown about the scoring production by Gooden in the 3rd quarter. The reporter commended Gooden and noted that his scoring helped keep Cleveland in the game. Brown replied by saying that "it's not just about scoring" and expressed displeasure with Gooden's (and the rest of the team's) lack of defense, energy, and focus. In turn, Gooden did not find his rebounding touch until the 4th quarter of Game 3, which he left after fouling out.
Meanwhile, Varejao, coming to Cleveland as a secondary part of the Gooden trade, quickly became a fan favorite. Yet, he also found himself in Coach Brown's doghouse in the Finals. At the end of Game 3, he put up the biggest shot of his career. The problem was that it was also the ugliest and arguably most ill-advised shot attempt of his career. After the game, Coach Brown questioned Varejao's focus and decision-making. More importantly, the loss left the 2006-2007 Cavs in position to become only the eighth team swept in Finals history.
The problem is not just that both players disappointed the coach. As noted earlier, contracts make the situation at power forward more confusing. Drew Gooden just finished the 1st year of his 3-year, $23 million contract. Meanwhile, Varejao just finished his rookie contract. Although a restricted free agent, Varejao will be commanding similar money in the free agent market, probably anywhere from $5 million to $9 million a year. While other teams are willing to risk payroll problems in order to obtain projected success with Varejao, the Cavs will have to draw the line somewhere.
Technically, Dan Gilbert gave Danny Ferry something that few GMs in any sport get from their owner: approval to go over the luxury tax. Yet, concerning contracts, the team is going to have problems keeping both 6'10" big men. The team already has $60 million invested in LeBron James over the next 3 years, $36 million invested in Larry Hughes, and $33 million invested in Zydrunas Ilgauskas. With that in mind, the Cavs have about $43 million a year committed to the three players alone. Meanwhile, the salary cap last season stood at about $53 million with a luxury tax for payrolls starting at about $65 million. By keeping both Gooden and Varejao, the Cavs will leave themselves out-of-position to make large external free agent signings (the Bird exception allows them to keep their own without having to honor salary cap rules) and instead rely on the midlevel exceptions worth a combined amount of about $6-8 million.
There is not a clear solution in choosing just one of the players either. Drew Gooden has played no fewer than 70 regular season games a year, while counterpart Varejao has only played in more than 55 games once. With the Cavs, Gooden has only missed 5 regular season games in three years. Plus, Gooden's contract will probably provide the Cavs with more flexibility than any contract Varejao signs. Yet, Coach Brown often uses Varejao down the stretch in games instead of Gooden. Even Donyell Marshall gets as much, if not more, playing time than Gooden in crunch time. Add the facts that Varejao doubles as Z's backup and spends more time than Gooden guarding featured big men (ex. Tim Duncan) and that means more reasons to keep Varejao. The bright side in this confusion is that the two power forwards are the most tradeable players the Cavaliers have, so they can get something in return for them.
Sadly, most of what the Cavs need out of the power forward position in their current team philosophy is provided to the Utah Jazz by Carlos "Benedict" Boozer. No, "Benedict" Boozer will probably never return to the Cavs. Yes, the Cavs have done just fine with Gooden and Varejao. Yet, Boozer's rebounding and consistency are critical in giving the Cavaliers' starting lineup the balance that it needs. While Boozer is a much more physical power forward that gladly hits the low post, Gooden, Varejao, and Marshall are all finesse power forwards that prefer to score without having to put their backs to the basket.
Even after Boozer spurned Gordon Gund's kindness (which had allowed "Booze" to opt out for a better contract) three summers ago, the Cavs were looking fine with Gooden joining LeBron and Z in what was considered the team's strong point: the frontcourt. Back then, the team was considered a point guard and a sharpshooter away from contending for the NBA championship. After attempting to address those issues every season since, as well as changing the Head Coach and GM, the Cavaliers recently overtook the Eastern Conference. Yet, the Cavs are still considered a point guard and a sharpshooter away from contending for the NBA championship. Despite having the same needs as three years ago, this team has made plenty of progress. In moving forward, the Cavs need to make sure to get a hold of the payroll and power forward situations, whether that means Gooden, Varejao, or someone else fills the role. Suddenly, being 'a point guard and a sharpshooter away' doesn't sound so bad, as long as Gooden and Varejao stay away from trying to be that sharpshooter.