Cleveland making run at Haslem

Cleveland making run at Haslem
http://www.miami.com/mld/miamiherald...l/12092112.htm
The Cavaliers are planning to meet with Udonis Haslem and have the cap space to offer him more than Miami can.

BY ISRAEL GUTIERREZ



The Cleveland Cavaliers missed out on top free agents Ray Allen and Michael Redd, so their immediate plans now include courting Heat free agent Udonis Haslem.

Sources indicate the Cavaliers are interested in setting up a meeting with Haslem to convince the third-year forward he can be part of the team's future, and they could be prepared to offer Haslem more than the five-year, $33 million deal the Heat can offer.

Word among players is that LeBron James has become a Haslem fan after watching him the past two years and playing with him in the Rookie Challenge games the past two All-Star weekends.

Having failed to lure Allen and Redd from their current teams, the Cavaliers and new general manager Danny Ferry need to provide James with reasons to stay in Cleveland past his current contract. Cleveland already has come to terms with free agent Larry Hughes, and signing a young, workhorse power forward such as Haslem could be another measure taken. With about $28 million of space under the salary cap, the Cavaliers can still afford to sign Haslem and center Zydrunas Ilgauskas after signing Hughes.

The Heat has been in negotiations with Haslem, meeting with the free agent the first day negotiations were allowed, but an agreement is still not in place, leaving the door open for a team such as the Cavaliers to pursue Haslem.

Haslem's agent, Jason Levien, wouldn't comment on negotiations.

Should Haslem, a restricted free agent, sign an offer sheet with the Cavaliers more than the amount the Heat can offer, it is believed the Heat would have to forfeit the use of its mid-level exception to match the deal (final word on that rule won't be official until the new collective bargaining agreement is completely written later this month).

That would put the Heat in a bind and give the team much less flexibility than once expected. Should the Heat sign Haslem under its terms, the team would have a starting power forward in place and still have its mid-level exception with which to sign at least one point guard and possibly another frontcourt addition.

If Haslem signs a larger offer sheet elsewhere, the Heat could choose not to match the offer, then likely would need to use all or most of its exception to sign a starting caliber power forward such as Donyell Marshall or Shareef Abdur-Rahim (the Nets remain in the lead to sign Abdur-Rahim). That likely would narrow the team's options for a point guard, with re-signing Damon Jones as its most reasonable option.

Haslem, who has indicated his desire to stay in Miami, still could sign with the Heat, overlooking the possibility of signing for more money elsewhere. But the longer the Heat waits to come to an agreement with Haslem, the greater the possibility Haslem could be drawn elsewhere.

Sweet. :elephant

The Cavs are really hurting the Heat by doing this. They'll force Miami to pick between matching for Haslem or having a decent point guard. If they decide to match, that'll tie up their MLE and the Heat will then have to find a PG for the LLE.

But most likely the Heat won't match and will use their MLE to re-sign Damon Jones.

Thanks, Danny.

:smokin

This would also be ironic, considering the Cavs would be getting a restrictive free-agent power forward coming off his second year in the league by outbidding the previous team.

The Boozer Revenge.

I thought the new CBA prevented that kind of cherry picking. Good move by Danny if he can.

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If they decide to match, that'll tie up their MLE

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Will it? I thought the Heat had EB rights on Haslem.

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Originally Posted by ginobili_is_god

I hope he signs with the Cavs. I am a big Cavs fan and would love for them to have an agressive player like Haslem. However he wouldnt start. If he did, they better trade Gooden. I dont think he is gonna leave the Heat though. He loves it there

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If they can find a PF with good defensive skills like Haslem, they either dump Gooden or bring him off the bench. He doesn't complement Ilgauskas well.

BTW, can they afford to get Hughes, Ilgauskas, Haslem, and a new PG? Or would Haslem mean they're stuck with McInnis?

Haslem is staying in Miami because that is the only team that makes him look good. He wouldn't get those open shots anywhere else. Wade and Shaq do everything for that team. Haslem is a scrub but even scrubs look good with Miami.

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Originally Posted by ChumpDumper

I thought the new CBA prevented that kind of cherry picking. Good move by Danny if he can.Will it? I thought the Heat had EB rights on Haslem.

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The way I understand it, the Cavs can offer any contract they want. The Heat can match (even if it's over the average player salary) by using the their MLE.

That's how I (and this article, appearantly) understand that new CBA rule. But I guess we'll have to wait until they finish drafting it to see the actual rule on paper.

But the MLE is the average player salary.

That doesn't do much to reign in salaries, either. Have to do more reading to get it.

Yeah, that's why I said it's above the average player salary. Because, supposedly, the MLE can cover it in the new "Gilbert Arenas Rule".

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Should Haslem, a restricted free agent, sign an offer sheet with the Cavaliers more than the amount the Heat can offer, it is believed the Heat would have to forfeit the use of its mid-level exception to match the deal (final word on that rule won't be official until the new collective bargaining agreement is completely written later this month).

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That's how this article reads too. It's not exactly "using" the MLE ... it's that the Heat could match but then they'd have to give up their MLE for the year.

I think the article might just be wrong. I thought that the Cavs couldn't offer more than the MLE.

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21. Second-round picks will be restricted through three years, and will be limited to the MLE for the first year of a new deal if they become a free agent within the 3 years, allowing their original team to match any offer and retain them as long as they have their MLE available.

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True.

Since Haslem wasn't a second round draft pick, it might that the Heat are just out of luck if the Cavs offer him something higher than the MLE.

Even better.

My guess is that the Cavs sign Saras Jasikevicius next. They need the perimeter shooting and he can fill it up, plus he's buds with "Z".

In fact, if Saras is signed soon and Z stays, the Cavs may actually have 3 Lithuanians on their team before too long. They may have gotten a major steal by trading 2nd round picks with Orlando for the young Lith. Center Martynas Andriuskevicius, who is still 19 and developing his game.

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Since Haslem wasn't a second round draft pick, it might that the Heat are just out of luck if the Cavs offer him something higher than the MLE.

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That's my guess, though it would seem silly just to make that rule for 2nd rounders and not the undrafted as well.

If I were the Cavs, I'd forget about Z and lockup Haslem, a point guard and a center.

Going to battle with:

C Steven Hunter
PF Udonis Haslim
SF LeBron James
SG Larry Hughes
PG Earl Watson/Antonio Daniels/Damon Jones

That's a scary team right there.

:smokin

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Originally Posted by timvp

If I were the Cavs, I'd forget about Z and lockup Haslem, a point guard and a center.

Going to battle with:

C Steven Hunter
PF Udonis Haslim
SF LeBron James
SG Larry Hughes
PG Earl Watson/Antonio Daniels/Damon Jones

That's a scary team right there.

:smokin

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Don't forget Drew Gooden. He ain't chopped liver, ya' know.

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Originally Posted by timvp

If I were the Cavs, I'd forget about Z and lockup Haslem, a point guard and a center.

Going to battle with:

C Steven Hunter
PF Udonis Haslim
SF LeBron James
SG Larry Hughes
PG Earl Watson/Antonio Daniels/Damon Jones

That's a scary team right there.

:smokin

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That would be scary team. I don't think they can get Hunter, Haslem, and a new point guard. I agree that Ilgauskas sucks and Steven Hunter is a better fit for that team and most teams. Ilgauskas is the most overrated center in the league.

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Originally Posted by Spursdaone

That would be scary team. I don't think they can get Hunter, Haslem, and a new point guard. I agree that Ilgauskas sucks and Steven Hunter is a better fit for that team and most teams. Ilgauskas is the most overrated center in the league.

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You forgot about Yao Ming.

Yao Ming is a good player and much quicker than Ilgauskas. He causes matchup problems to some centers in the league. Rasho probably did the best of anyone on Yao in the whole league.

Better to make a run at Gadzuric than Hunter.

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Originally Posted by Spursdaone

Ilgauskas is the most overrated center in the league.

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Given all the people like you who completely write him off, he's also the most underrated center in the league.

He's not a guy who can fit in on any team (and he'd be useless on the Spurs), but if you build a team with him in mind, he can definitely be better than the average center in this league.

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Originally Posted by strangeweather

Given all the people like you who completely write him off, he's also the most underrated center in the league.

He's not a guy who can fit in on any team (and he'd be useless on the Spurs), but if you build a team with him in mind, he can definitely be better than the average center in this league.

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I am not a fan of slow centers or slow players and Ilgauskas is very slow. I do not want him on a fast break team and Cleveland is better without him. They should go for an athletic center like Hunter, Dalembert, and Chandler who I would rather have than Ilgauskas.

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Originally Posted by Spursdaone

I am not a fan of slow centers or slow players and Ilgauskas is very slow. I do not want him on a fast break team and Cleveland is better without him. They should go for an athletic center like Hunter, Dalembert, and Chandler who I would rather have than Ilgauskas.

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Damn, I actually agree with your dumbass on something. He will slow that team down. With Dalembert or Hunter they can be the Suns of the East.

Damn Danny's not wasting any time. Plus, he's sticking it to the Heat :lol