Why the Cleveland Cavaliers SHOULD BREAK UP the CORE FOUR | Locked On Cavs Podcast

Why the Cleveland Cavaliers SHOULD BREAK UP the CORE FOUR | Locked On Cavs Podcast

on today’s show there’s been a lot of reporting that the core 4 could stay intact yesterday I told you why that’s a good idea today I’ll tell you why it’s a bad idea you are locked on Cavs your daily Cleveland Cavaliers podcast part of the locked on podcast Network your team every day thanks for making locked on Cavs your first listen every day you can find the show wherever you get your podcast Apple Spotify anywhere else be sure to give us a Fest star review there subscribe to the show you can also find the show on YouTube if you’re watching this video right now do me a favor give us a thumbs up hit that like button also be sure to subscribe to the locked on Cavs Channel you can get it for free on YouTube as well as everywhere you get your podcast part of the locked on podcast Network your team every day Today’s Show brought to you by FanDuel new customers visit fanduel.com lockon NBA and you can add big to your summer bucket list FanDuel America’s number one sports book So lately there’s been a lot of reporting that there could be a uh certain scenario in which the Cavs Keep Together the core 4 some people have suggested that might be the most um most likely outcome of this summer for the Cavaliers of course as a reminder the core for Jared Allen Evan Moy Darius Garland and Donovan Mitchell those four guys three of the four already have been All-Stars the fourth is Evan Mo who I think and certainly a lot of people um think has Allstar perennial Allstar potential has been a defensive player of the year finalist in his second season so that is something that could happen on yesterday’s edition of lockon Cavs I told you why that would be a good idea for the Cavs well today I’m going to tell you why that would be a bad idea again I’m Danny Cunningham you might know me from my time covering the Cavs at places like Cleveland magazine 923 the fan or even Once Upon a Time at ESPN Cleveland as well so I went through the reasons yesterday why it would be a good idea to keep all those guys together right first of all four really good basketball players all three of them have been All-Stars the fourth I think Evan Moy has all-star teams in his future so why wouldn’t you want to keep those guys together makes sense to have good players also you know this team hasn’t had a ton of time in the playoffs continuity certainly can be a good thing there’s no doubt about that there are very valid and real reasons to keep these four guys together absolutely there are but I think that there are reasons to break them up too I do and if I’m being truthful the side I lean on if I were Kobe Alman and making this decision this offseason for the Cavs the the side I lean on probably is the one I’m going to talk about today and that is why it makes sense for the Cavs to break up this group and the first thing that pops into my mind when I think about breaking up the core four the quote unquote core four for the Cavs the very first thing I think of is This roster is not optimized as well as it could be when you take a look at some of the best teams in the NBA and how they’re built it’s not an impossible thing to build a great team the way that the Cavs have I think the Cavs have been relatively successful over the last two years even if they haven’t gotten to the point in the playoffs where I think they should have been they’ve won a lot of basketball games no one can argue that but there aren’t a lot of great teams that are built the way the Cavs are built right now where you’ve got two Allstar C guards two Allstar caliber big men and I think that’s the the place to focus here is the two All-Star caliber big men and role players on the wing and not every great player or not every great team I should say has great players on the wings most do I mean Boston is a great example of this where they’ve got two all NBA caliber Wing players I think that’s probably the easiest path to success roster building but those guys are really difficult to find that’s why they’re so expensive when contracts are talked about that’s why they’re so expensive when one of them is available via trade because those guys are difficult to find and I’m not saying that one of those guys is even available for the Cavs this off season might not be but it’s difficult I think for teams to build a true Contender where I I don’t think the Cavs have really been a true like Championship Contender over the last couple of years and I think a lot of people would agree with that where they’ve been a very good team but they haven’t been a team that I’ve looked at and been like man I really think they can win the NBA finals this year they need to get to that point for this era to be considered a success even if they don’t win a title at some point they need to be considered a team that hey you know if the Cavs win the title this year wouldn’t come as some huge huge shock that’s what the Cavs need to get to and there are not often teams that have the roster Construction that the Cavs do that you can say that about it’s a rare thing and I think the two guard thing is a little bit easier to work around even if they’re both a little undersized I think that’s an easier thing to work around for me I think the roster optimization is a really big deal and I don’t think you’re getting the most right now if you’re the Cavs I don’t think you’re getting the most out of the level of Talent on the roster the way it’s currently allocated and as I talk about that I’m talking about the front Court I’m talking about having two guys that are centered types where Evan Mo’s played a lot of power forward personally I think Evan Mo’s future is as a center you don’t see a lot of teams that have two awesome big guys there are teams that have two good big guys where you will have you know I take Boston for another example where Al Horford is still a good basketball player his age but he very clearly has been a role player where Chris ABS porzingis I I don’t think he’s quite a star I think he’s probably on that border line but he’s a very very good player but you don’t see two guys even of that elk I don’t think on teams that are like this maybe if you want to make the case in Denver you know I think Aaron Gordon is a role player and and I think he’s much more of a power forward than a center especially you know because you just never want to take niika yic off the floor so it’s really you don’t see a ton of teams that are built like this maybe you can point to Milwaukee with Brook Lopez and Yannis to too but the big difference there is Brook Lopez is someone that shoots from the outside and the Cavs right now have two bigs that I think are both awesome I think Jarett Allen is a terrific player I think Evan moble is going to be someone that in his career makes an all NBA team at some point I think he’s the the sky is really the limit for him but but because those guys neither one of them and I understand Evans three-point percentage this year was right around 37 but he doesn’t take enough of them for him to be a factor to opposing defenses from Beyond The Ark because of that you just have I think right now too much redundancy in the front Court that’s reason number one why I think breaking up the core four makes sense because right now you can I do believe in the NBA you can be redundant in certain spots you can have some guys that are very similar in terms of their skill sets and really good also as other guys who have the same skill set and also the same level or I guess in the same ballpark level of talent you can do that certainly on the wing and I think you can do it in the back court too I do think you can do it in the back court but I think it’s a much more difficult thing to pull off in the front court and I’m not sure that the Cav’s trying to pull that off especially after we’ve seen what has happened to them offensively in the playoffs in the last two years I’m not sure that trying to pull that off is the best thing for this organization for what this team should strive to accomplish in the postseason I’m not sure that having two guys in the front court that are as good as Jared Allen and Evan Mobley again it’s not a talent is issue I think it’s a fit issue I’m not sure that having that together on the court is maximizing the amount of talent that the Cavs have it’s not that Jared Allen’s not good it’s not that Evan moble is not good it’s not it’s that I don’t think how good this roster could be like if you just said okay you get to you get so many Talent points to build your roster you have X amount of talent to put on the roster you want to sprinkle some in the back court you want to sprinkle some in the front Court some on the wing that’s how you want to build a roster right now the Cavs have a lot of sprinkles in the front court with two really talented guys like I think Jared Allen should have been an All-Star this past year that’s how good he is and then a lot of talent in the back court with Donovan Mitchell and Darius Garland there’s not enough of that Talent sprinkled on the wing and because of that and the redundancy in the front Court I think that the core four moving forward should probably be a core three I know it doesn’t rhyme so that’s not what you would call it and I’m not sure that it’s quite a big three because I’m not sure they’re they’re quite good enough for that label but I think that’s what this should probably turn into not because these guys aren’t good but because the the talent needs to I think I think the talent needs to be allocated just a little bit differently and if that Talent is allocated differently I think you get more out of Evan Moy and I’ll tell you about that next right here on lockdown Cavs Today’s Show brought to you by FanDuel summertime brings a lot you know there’s basketball to bet on you bet on the WNBA I know the NBA Finals not necessarily the most exciting series that we’ve ever seen uh as two teams play for the Larry O’Brien trophy 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fanduel.com this is how you do it FanDuel / locked on and you will add big winnings to your summer bucket list that’s fanduel.com locked on l c k d o n fanduel.com locked on FanDuel Amer number one Sportsbook so the I talk about how the talent reallocation could make the roster just better as a whole because you could be more and do more things right but I think that the biggest benefit to breaking up the core 4 and I will say I don’t think it’s a difficult decision if you are going to trade one of the four which guy it should be I think it should be Jared Allen because I don’t think it’s as easy to make two good bigs in the front Court work as opposed to two good guards in the back court I think that’s a much easier thing to do I really do I believe that if J enen were to be traded for pieces that are not a big Evan moley would take that next step that so many people including myself are waiting to see on the floor because with what you saw from Evan in the playoffs when Jarrett Allen was out with that rib injury that he couldn’t play through that is something that while it might not be an everynight thing like I don’t know that evans’s ever going to be a guy that goes out and just averages 26 points and I think he affects the game in a lot of different ways in a lot of positive ways I I don’t need to go out and you know talk about his defense how good he is on that end because everyone knows that but I think that there are certain things offensively that he doesn’t get the opportunity to do because the Cavs offense hasn’t been structured in a way that allows for that and maybe part of that was on coaching with JB bicker staff not necessarily being an off offensive-minded head coach that is certainly a very real possibility you can make that case to me and I can’t necessarily refute it but I also think part of it is a spacing thing and I don’t care who is coaching whether it’s JB bicker staff or you know whoever the Cavs are hiring at this point and maybe as you listen to this they’ve made a hire I don’t know I’m recording this Sunday night truthfully so maybe they’ve made a hire and that offense looks different but I’m not sure what can be done spacing wise to give the Cavs the room to operate they need when they’ve got two big guys on the floor so if you put Evan Moy in more space here are some things that I think can happen that I think he can be really good at number one I think Evan is a really good playmaker for a guy his size I actually do think you see this sometimes even in that lack of space you see some I think and I think both Evan and Jarrett do a good job of this but the big to Big passing is really good I think Evan does a good job of finding open teammates for easy baskets at times when he’s allowed to operate sort of as like you know an offensive Hub um that’s certainly a term that gets thrown out you stick him stick him on the elbow and let him playmake a little bit from there I think the Cavs fine success offensively there the other thing that I I really do believe that the Cavs need to do more of with him offensively I think getting Evan the ball while he’s already in motion and able to get downhill is really when you see him at his best because yeah you can give him Touches at the at the Block and sometimes he’s going to score and sometimes he’s not but until he adds more strength and truthfully a little bit of weight I think it’s going to be difficult for him to be a super effective super efficient player with his back to the basket I just don’t know that post-ups with him at the block are going to be something that’s worth it where I’m just not sure you’re going to be getting 1.6 or 1.7 points per possession there and with all the other Talent on the floor you know to justify it you need to be I think above 1.5 points per possession to be doing that but I do think if youve and we’ve seen this how much too with particularly when Jarrett’s off the floor and the Cavs get stop defensively Evan grabs a rebound and takes off down the floor with the basketball and he looks great in transition with the ball in his hands and he’s able to attack downhill I think that can be done more in the front Court too when he’s the soulle big out there and there’s more space around him that is one thing that I don’t think is done enough and I think part of it because it’s hard to find him the space to operate when defenses aren’t being pulled from sideline to side line the way they could be when there are four viable Shooters on the floor right now the Cavs for the most part are playing with three and sometimes defenses aren’t paying a ton of attention I know Isaac aoro had a great season shooting where he was near 40% from deep but teams still aren’t giving him you know a ton of respect in the corner it’s not like he’s Kyle corver and they’re sticking to him so it’s hard to find that space to do that and then the third thing is something that I I alluded to a little bit with getting stops and pushing the basketball but I think putting Evan in a situation offensively where if the Cavs are playing with more Pace how many more of those opportunities is he he going to get where if you want to dive into the advanced stats and I don’t have them pulled up right now in terms of exactly what the Cavs Pace has been the last couple of years or where they have ranked in in the NBA but it’s near the bottom and I do think part of that is coaching I think JB bicker staff preferred for his team to play a little bit slower and that’s fine there’s nothing wrong with that but part of it part of it is when there are two bigs on the floor getting up and down and playing in transition and playing fast and doing all those things that I think would make Evan Moy a better more viable offensive threat those become more difficult to do they become more of a challenge when yes defense is the primary focus and I get it and it should be and the Cavs have been built to be a good defensive team they have been and they have been a good defensive team but when that comes first that’s fine but I think it’s come first sometimes at the expense of playing a little bit faster offensively and I think if you want to crank up the pace I’m not saying that the Cavs have to turn into the 7 seconds or less Suns like that’s silly that doesn’t make sense with their personnel but there’s no reason why they can’t be a middle of the pack team next year in terms of pace if they are that and they’re creating more possessions and they’re creating more opportunities in transition who does that benefit I think it benefits Donovan Mitchell but but I think it benefits Evan Moy more than anybody because it gives him the opportunity to make plays out on the run on the break not only for himself but for others too I think that is the thing that you can that’s the lowest hanging fruit to grab with him offensively where you can make that slight change by just playing a little bit faster you’re going to get more out of him he’s going to be more efficient he’s going to be a bigger threat offensively he’s going to take some of that scoring burden away from the guys in the back court if both of them are back I really do think that’s the case with him I think that’s part of the way that you get the most out of Evan Moy and with Moy and this is the last thing I’ll say on him before I move on to my final Point here but I think when Donovan Mitchell was acquired from Utah in September of 2022 what that trade did and what Donovan Mitchell does who Donovan is a great player I think he’s a superstar what he has done is he has raised the the floor of the Cavaliers to where when Donovan Mitchell’s playing basketball and playing well and healthy Cavs are going to be good they are they’re going to be a playoff team probably going to be a homec court team because he’s that good but what I think getting the most out of Evan Moy does is you know you’ve got your floor here getting the most out of Evan Moy pushes that ceiling up because if Donovan Mitchell’s the floor Razer Evan MO is the ceiling Razer and that’s the thing that I I think needs to be thought about as decisions are made this off season because if you’re getting the most out of Evan Moy I think there’s a pretty good chance you’re getting the most out of this roster now with this core four the Cavs have been to the playoffs twice is that enough of a sample size to want to move on I’ll tell you about that next right here on lock down Cavs today show brought to you by eBay Motors passion drive and patience the formula for winning championships we’re talking about patience today talked about it yesterday too but the formula for winning championships is also what keeps your ride or die alive eBay Motors has everything you need to maintain your vehicle and level it up to Peak Performance Cavs Peak Performance eBay Motors Peak Performance superchargers roof racks exhaust kits LED headlights and so much more whether you’re into speed 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number four seed lost to the New York Knicks in five games it was a disappointment I don’t think anyone would argue that the that regular season they won 51 games massive success playoffs failure it was this year regular season wasn’t as successful um I don’t fault the Cavs for that I think that there were a lot of injuries that made it so that happens still had home court advantage made it out of the first round seven game series win over the Orlando Magic lost to the Boston Celtics in five games yeah Jared Allen didn’t play in the Celtics series didn’t play in the last few games of The Magic series Donovan Mitchell missed the last couple of games against the Orlando Magic or against the Boston Celtics excuse me kis lebert missed the last game against the Boston Celtics we can talk about that as it mattering and maybe the Cavs would have wanted another game against Boston I actually think that’s probably pretty likely but if we’re being honest with ourselves I don’t think the Cavs are winning that second round Series against the Celtics even if they have full health I think it’s closer but I don’t think that’s a series that they win and I do believe that the Cavs are at the point where they’re good enough to consider themselves a playoff team every year unless things go really badly as long as Donovan Mitchell is here they should be a playoff team every year and it’s clear Boston is the best team in the Eastern Conference and it’s not really a close race the Cavs what they need to be thinking about doing this off season is they need to be thinking about when they make moves questioning one does this help us get the best out of Donovan Mitchell and Evan Moy I think those are the two most important guys two does this move whatever the move is whether it’s signing a bench player or trading someone or whatever does this move put us closer to beating the Boston Celtics in the playoffs those are the questions that should be answered and I don’t think if you run this back I don’t think if you’re the Cavs you look yourselves in the mirror and say we are closer to beating the Boston and Celtics in the playoffs next year than we were this year by doing the same stuff and I’m not saying that everything would be the same because there are always going to be some changes on rosters like there are always going to be role players that move around but I’m not sure that you can look in the mirror and say if we keep this core four intact we are closer to beating the Boston Celtics than we were last year and I think that needs to be a question that is asked this offseason by the Cavs I do I think breaking up the core four to some extent I’m not saying that you need to trade two of them but I think trading one of them would probably depending what you get back of course would probably answer help to answer that second question a little bit and I think that is something that that has to matter as this offseason goes along thank you again for making lock on Cavs your first listen every day again I’m Danny Cunningham you might know me from Cleveland magazine you might know me from 923 the fan or one of my other stops um throughout my career very much appreciate you making lock on Cavs your first listen every day we’ll be doing a mailbag episode this Friday if you’ve got questions drop your comments on this YouTube video or you can tweet them at realy Cunningham or at locked on Cavs I will get to your questions this Friday did this a couple weeks ago really enjoyed it going to do it again I promise NBA draft talk coming tomorrow um not sure if I’m going to have a guest or not or if it’s going to be going over some of the prospects I like but I will be talking NBA draft Cavs have the number 20 pick that will be on tomorrow’s lockon Cavs so keep it right here at lockon Cavs make us your first listen every day and I will talk to you tomorrow

The Cleveland Cavaliers could keep the “Core Four” intact. Here’s why that’s a bad idea.

On Tuesday’s Locked On Cavs, Danny Cunningham (@RealDCunningham) of Cleveland Magazine and 92.3 The Fan discusses why the Cleveland Cavaliers should break up the “Core Four” prior to the 2024-25 NBA season.

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