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Cavs just got better, even if it isn't quite Redd. Hughes really impressed me over last season.
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Larry Hughes to Cleveland
By Nick Prevenas
7/7/05
Larry Hughes
Sources tell NBADraft.net that the Cleveland Cavaliers will sign Washington Wizards' free agent guard Larry Hughes. The deal is reportedly worth an estimated $12 million a year and will run through the 2010 season.
After losing out on Michael Redd and Ray Allen (both of whom resigned with their original teams), the Cavs have landed their shooting guard and LeBron James' running mate. Hughes fills a massive hole for a team in need of perimeter scoring and defense.
Hughes averaged 22 points, 6.3 rebounds, 4.7 assists, and 2.9 steals a game in his breakout season for the Wizards. He was also named to his first All-NBA Defensive First Team. His stellar play was one of the main reasons the Wizards were able to surprise nearly everyone and snag a 5-seed in the 2005 playoffs. Their first-round defeat of the Chicago Bulls was the first Washington playoff series victory since 1982.
While Hughes was one of the league's most sought-after free agent 2-guards, there are concerns surrounding him. First, durability is a issue. He missed 21 games last season due to a broken thumb. He's missed large chunks of time during his seven-year career due to other various injuries. He's only played more than 70 games in a season twice, in 1999-2000 and again in 2001-2002.
Second, for everything he does well, he does not shoot a high percentage from 3-point range. Last season, he shot 28%, which is a slight improvement over his 27% career average. This weakness was especially evident during the Wizards' playoff defeat to the Miami Heat, where he shot 33% from the floor and 25% from three. One of Cleveland's big weaknesses last season was their inability to knock down open threes, and at this point, it's hard to say whether Hughes will help fill that void.
Third, the 2004-2005 season was clearly Hughes' best season as a pro. Some feel that he might've kicked it up a notch in a contract year. He's bounced around a little, playing for three teams (the 76ers, Warriors, and Wizards) during his seven-year tenure. Some even considered him a mild disappointment until the past two seasons. Personally, I think Hughes has always had the ability to put up numbers like he did last season, but he just needed the right situation to prosper. Now we'll be able to see whether he can continue his fantastic play teaming up with King James.
These possible concerns are far outweighed by the positives he brings to this Cavalier ballclub. He is tremendously gifted athlete and can effectively defend three positions. His ability to force steals creates many easy baskets for his teammates. He's also a terrific penetrator who can create open looks for his squad. He's a versatile player who brings a lot of good things to the floor and will allow LeBron James to run wild at the small forward spot.
This is a big move for the Cavs, but they're far from finished. They still need to sign a quality point guard (both Antonio Daniels and Earl Watson's names have been mentioned). In a pinch, Hughes can fill in at the point, but he's built to play the off-guard. They also need to decide what to do with Zydrunas Ilgauskas. Depending on what happens with Big Z, they've expressed interest in signing another athletic bigman to go alongside Drew Gooden (Dalembert, Swift, Brown, etc.). Let's not forget, the Cavs are still in need of a permanent head coach. Signing Hughes is a big first step, but new General Manager Danny Ferry still has a lot of work ahead of him.
Where does this leave the Wizards? Their promising young nucleus has lost a big talent in Hughes. Jarvis Hayes will be expected to shoulder a much bigger scoring load and take over Hughes' role alongside Gilbert Arenas and Antawn Jamison. They'll still be an exciting team to watch, but they'll be hard-pressed to replicate their 45-win output of 2004-2005 without Hughes' contributions.
The Clippers and Nuggets had also expressed interest in Hughes.
Cavs just got better, even if it isn't quite Redd. Hughes really impressed me over last season.
The deal is reportedly worth an estimated $12 million a year
Hughes is better than Redd, but maybe not for this particular system. Cavs are one solid shooting PG away from being a pretty good team. If they don't pickup a sweet shooting PG then Hughes won't make as big of an impact, because he still is a pretty weak long range shooter.
It's imperative they shore up their PG spot with a guy who can shoot, play reasonable D, and not make too many mistakes. Daniels could be solid, but even his 3pt stroke is subpar. But he still plays great D, scores efficiently, and can hit the medium range shot pretty well.
I am very interested to see what they will do with the PG spot.
I guess after missing out on Ray Allen and Micheal Redd, Ferry decided to go to the extreme and throw everything plus the kitchen sink on the table.
Works great if they actually manage to buy their guy with it, but it will probably bite them in the ass later.
I'm guess $12M/year isn't the start, but rather the average. So it's probably five years/$60M, which I guess isn't that horrendous.
Kind of makes you wonder if this guy knows what he's talking about.Let's not forget, the Cavs are still in need of a permanent head coach.
Hughes makes the Cavs a more dangerous team with his shooting and allows the Cav's bigs to have more operating room but, 12 Mil IMO is too pricey for Hughes, he should get more like 6-8 mil a year.
-NIKOS COBRA IS ING SICK AS !!!!!!!!
The price is dirt cheap if it helps get the Cavs compe ive and thereby keeps LeBron in Cleveland.
That's a pile of money for a player coming off a break-out season.
The Cavs will have an exciting look to them. Hopefully, Hughes stays healthy.
Well I don't know if I'd call it dirt cheap if it starts at $12M - that's close to the max, right?
I'll believe it when I see it somewhere more reputable than nbadraft.net
But it's a shrewd pickup by the Cavs. They just got better, and Wizards just got worse.
Lebron and Hughes will be on wheels.
Wow. NBADraft.net. I'm impressed or something.
That's what it sounds like to me and given what Allen and Redd signed for, it looks like a decent deal for the Cavs. The new 5/6 max contract lengths really make a difference.I'm guess $12M/year isn't the start, but rather the average. So it's probably five years/$60M, which I guess isn't that horrendous.
Watched it on DVD the other night. Liked it as a kid so decided to s out a whole $4.99 for it.
That movie is so bad, its good. I actually laughed hard at several parts, and they weren't even supposed to be funny. The parts that were intended to be funny/witty, actually gave me a chuckle because of how silly it was.
Psyco Killer : Hey man, I'll blow this whole supermarket up!
Stallone/Cobra: Go ahead, I don't shop here.
Is it this even a legit source? I am starting to question it's authenticity.
Psyco Killer : Hey man, I'll blow this whole supermarket up!
Stallone/Cobra: Go ahead, I don't shop here.
Gooood tiiiimes.
No Nikos, it's not a great source, but not bad. So that's why the thread le says, "Looks like ..."
Cleveland had to come out of this off season with an impact player. I really like Hughes, provided he can stay healthy better than Redd or even Johnson, he's a better defender of quick players and most importantly e's a better penetrator in the mold of Manu and Wade and with the new defensive rules penetrators that can get to the basket, score and/or get fouled are worth their weight in gold. Now they just need a spot up shooter or two. Luke Jackson sucked apparently in his fisrt Vegas game.
Watched it on DVD the other night. Liked it as a kid so decided to s out a whole $4.99 for it
That movie is so bad, its good. I actually laughed hard at several parts, and they weren't even supposed to be funny. The parts that were intended to be funny/witty, actually gave me a chuckle because of how silly it was.
Psyco Killer : Hey man, I'll blow this whole supermarket up!
Stallone/Cobra: Go ahead, I don't shop here.
It does look somewhat legit now that I think about it. NBAdraft.net is a solid site, but I never really see it as a news mill for upcoming signings. Just suprised to see it come here first, if it is indeed true.
Yes that's why I put in the looks like. It seems pretty plausible though. I imagine part of the fatness of the deal was along the lines of Nash's in that Ferry probably said "will pay you a premium provided you don't try to use us as leveragre to go back to the Wizard for a match or better offer. If you agree you promise to accept the deal." Then they have to hope Hughes isn't a Boozer.
The Cavs will now have the NBA's #1 and #3 ranked steals leaders from 2004-05!
Larry Hughes was 1st with 2.89 steals/game
LeBron James was 3rd with 2.21 steals/game
Hughes was actually pretty good last year. He has never been an efficient scorer, but this season he has been very good on both ends of the court.
For some reason Hughes had an awful playoffs. True Wade is a tough cover, but he didn't step up on offense at all against the Heat. But in the regular season he was very good in the clutch.
He doesn't draw as many fouls as Manu or Wade, but his midrange jumper in transition is money. His value is that he can do everything pretty well if you consider scoring, passing, rebounding, and defense. He can also initiate the offense for Lebron at times. He won't shoot too well from 3 off Bron's passing, but he can create for himself and others, and take the load of Bron in that regard. Obviously he is an asset on defense. Even if he isn't a stopper in the classical sense of containment D, he is still very valuable on defense due to being a terror in the passing lanes. His man defense is solid at worst, and generally I would say it is very good.
Now it is essential for them to get a PG who can shoot, avoid turnovers, and play solid D.
Put him and Daniels in the backcourt, LeBron at the three, Gooden, Varejao and Z as the bigs and you have a pretty good team.
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