Dwayne Jones is in his 3rd season in the NBA. Daniel Gibson, Shannon Brown, and Cedric Simmons are in their 2nd seasons in the NBA. Here is a quick breakdown of where these guys stand as individual players and on the Cavaliers' roster.
1) Daniel Gibson: He is clearly enjoying his second season in this league. He returned from All-Star Weekend in New Orleans with a Rookie Challenge MVP Award and the runner-up position/cash prize for the Long Distance Shootout. Gibson entered tonight's game averaging 11.6 points, including a remarkable .467 mark from downtown and a solid .802 mark from the line. He is showing great promise as a bench contributor and combo guard. On the other hand, he averages a modest 2.6 assists per game (still 2nd on the team, though).
Of the four young players, "Boobie" Gibson is the only one considered a key part of this team. His value is seen not just in the present, but in the future. The concern right now is that the team really needs him to develop his ballhandling skills, even if he shares the ballhandling duties with LeBron James and others. Gibson has the potential to be the 'point guard of the future' for this team and has playmaking abilities aside from hitting spot-up jumpers. As he showed in the Eastern Conference Finals last season, he is deadliest when he utilizes his full game, driving to the basket and either getting to the line or opening up opportunities for his teammates.
2) Dwayne Jones: He has more potential than people realize as a big man in this league. He has the size, power, and work ethic to be an everyday player, albeit mostly off the bench. In his limited playing time, his defense and rebounding have been respectable. Hopefully, with more playing time, his averages of 1.8 points per game, 2.9 rebounds per game, and 0.5 blocks per game will increase. His free-throw shooting (.500) remains a concern, though.
The Cavaliers need at least one more big man to step up aside from just Zydrunas Ilgauskas, Drew Gooden, and Anderson Varejao. Injuries are a reality in the NBA, while interior toughness too often gets overlooked. With Z and Gooden being more of finesse players, the team needs another power big man to support the energetic and unorthodox Varejao. Donyell Marshall provides versatility and has played well in spurts since joining the Cavaliers, but injuries have limited his offensive productivity this season. Thus, Jones's style of play and ability to succeed without needing to be a primary option on offense make him more valuable to the Cavs' roster than people realize. However, Jones is a free agent after the season, and the Cavaliers may very well invest in a big man in the draft or focus on developing Cedric Simmons.
3) Shannon Brown: He is somewhat of an enigma. When Sasha Pavlovic held out and Devin Brown reported to camp in subpar shape, it appeared that S. Brown was on his way to having a solid sophomore season. Instead, he put up a poor showing in the preseason and seems to have digressed as a player. His defense is currently below his own standards, while his productivity on offense has been limited to scoring. He still seems to have a load of potential as a shooting guard, but he needs to show the maturity in his game that he showed in college.
It does not appear that S. Brown will get another shot at making it into the Cavaliers' rotation. He has lost confidence from Coach Mike Brown and has done nothing aside from score when given the chance to play this year. The Cavaliers should have reconsidered picking up S. Brown's option for next season, but since they did not do so, they really need to consider trading him before he leaves and makes it big elsewhere. That is, at least get something for him while they still can. The top trade options would be a veteran big man or a guard that can push the other guards and swingmen on the roster.
4) Cedric Simmons: In theory, he has the athleticism and shotblocking ability to be a contributing big man in this league. However, he looks a little out of sync on the court. This could be attributed to a lack of playing time, but at the same time, his athleticism and shotblocking appear to be the only skills he has to offer at the moment. More playing time would probably show some rebounding ability, but he still seems to be very raw and lacks offensive potential.
The Cavaliers made a respectable calculated risk in trading for Simmons and then picking up his option for next season. As stated, he has skills not always found in bigger players around the league. At the very least, he is another forward-center for this roster, and as was stated for Jones, the team needs another big man to step up inside. This season, Simmons does not appear to have much to offer, unless he turns out to be lightning in a bottle in the playoffs. Next year could be a different story, depending on if the Cavaliers look to reshape the roster (example: they decide to trade Gooden for a point guard) and push Marshall down to the end of the bench.
1) Daniel Gibson: He is clearly enjoying his second season in this league. He returned from All-Star Weekend in New Orleans with a Rookie Challenge MVP Award and the runner-up position/cash prize for the Long Distance Shootout. Gibson entered tonight's game averaging 11.6 points, including a remarkable .467 mark from downtown and a solid .802 mark from the line. He is showing great promise as a bench contributor and combo guard. On the other hand, he averages a modest 2.6 assists per game (still 2nd on the team, though).
Of the four young players, "Boobie" Gibson is the only one considered a key part of this team. His value is seen not just in the present, but in the future. The concern right now is that the team really needs him to develop his ballhandling skills, even if he shares the ballhandling duties with LeBron James and others. Gibson has the potential to be the 'point guard of the future' for this team and has playmaking abilities aside from hitting spot-up jumpers. As he showed in the Eastern Conference Finals last season, he is deadliest when he utilizes his full game, driving to the basket and either getting to the line or opening up opportunities for his teammates.
2) Dwayne Jones: He has more potential than people realize as a big man in this league. He has the size, power, and work ethic to be an everyday player, albeit mostly off the bench. In his limited playing time, his defense and rebounding have been respectable. Hopefully, with more playing time, his averages of 1.8 points per game, 2.9 rebounds per game, and 0.5 blocks per game will increase. His free-throw shooting (.500) remains a concern, though.
The Cavaliers need at least one more big man to step up aside from just Zydrunas Ilgauskas, Drew Gooden, and Anderson Varejao. Injuries are a reality in the NBA, while interior toughness too often gets overlooked. With Z and Gooden being more of finesse players, the team needs another power big man to support the energetic and unorthodox Varejao. Donyell Marshall provides versatility and has played well in spurts since joining the Cavaliers, but injuries have limited his offensive productivity this season. Thus, Jones's style of play and ability to succeed without needing to be a primary option on offense make him more valuable to the Cavs' roster than people realize. However, Jones is a free agent after the season, and the Cavaliers may very well invest in a big man in the draft or focus on developing Cedric Simmons.
3) Shannon Brown: He is somewhat of an enigma. When Sasha Pavlovic held out and Devin Brown reported to camp in subpar shape, it appeared that S. Brown was on his way to having a solid sophomore season. Instead, he put up a poor showing in the preseason and seems to have digressed as a player. His defense is currently below his own standards, while his productivity on offense has been limited to scoring. He still seems to have a load of potential as a shooting guard, but he needs to show the maturity in his game that he showed in college.
It does not appear that S. Brown will get another shot at making it into the Cavaliers' rotation. He has lost confidence from Coach Mike Brown and has done nothing aside from score when given the chance to play this year. The Cavaliers should have reconsidered picking up S. Brown's option for next season, but since they did not do so, they really need to consider trading him before he leaves and makes it big elsewhere. That is, at least get something for him while they still can. The top trade options would be a veteran big man or a guard that can push the other guards and swingmen on the roster.
4) Cedric Simmons: In theory, he has the athleticism and shotblocking ability to be a contributing big man in this league. However, he looks a little out of sync on the court. This could be attributed to a lack of playing time, but at the same time, his athleticism and shotblocking appear to be the only skills he has to offer at the moment. More playing time would probably show some rebounding ability, but he still seems to be very raw and lacks offensive potential.
The Cavaliers made a respectable calculated risk in trading for Simmons and then picking up his option for next season. As stated, he has skills not always found in bigger players around the league. At the very least, he is another forward-center for this roster, and as was stated for Jones, the team needs another big man to step up inside. This season, Simmons does not appear to have much to offer, unless he turns out to be lightning in a bottle in the playoffs. Next year could be a different story, depending on if the Cavaliers look to reshape the roster (example: they decide to trade Gooden for a point guard) and push Marshall down to the end of the bench.