MILES BRIDGES TO THE CAVS?! | Friday Mailbag! | Locked On Cavs Podcast

MILES BRIDGES TO THE CAVS?! | Friday Mailbag! | Locked On Cavs Podcast

on today’s show the Cleveland Cavaliers are reportedly a team to watch for free agent mil Bridges I’ll tell you why I think that’s a bad idea on today’s edition of lock on Cavs you are locked on Cavs your daily Cleveland Cavaliers podcast part of the locked on podcast Network your team every day what’s up everybody I’m Danny Cunningham you might know me for my time covering the Cleveland Cavaliers at places like 923 The Fan Cleveland magazine and anywhere else along the way thank you for making lock on Cavs your first listen every day you can find the show wherever you get your podcast Apple Spotify anywhere else give us a festar review help us to grow the show in that way also check us out on YouTube the locked on Cavs YouTube channel if you’re watching on YouTube right now like this video make sure you are subscribed to the lockon Cavs Channel if you’re not watching on YouTube well go watch on YouTube like the video subscribe to lockon Cavs help us grow the show that way a proud part of the lockdown podcast Network your team every day Today’s Show is brought to you by Game Time download the game time app create an account and use code locked on NBA for $20 off your first purchase terms do apply Today’s show is going to feel feature a mailbag coming up a little bit later on um the first question I had for the mailbag was actually about miles Bridges and the Cavs uh maybe being interested in him and with what markstein reporting that the Cavaliers are a team to watch in the miles Bridges sweep Stakes I thought I would open the first segment talking about that because miles Bridges is a good basketball player he’s not a great basketball player he’s a good basketball player he is somebody that I don’t think is worth the trouble throughout his career he’s had a number of different incidents some of them off the court that have been covered that I don’t need to go super in-depth upon but there’s some not great stuff with him off the off the court which is why he’s available truthfully like if miles Bridges had not gotten into as much trouble off of the floor I don’t think he’d be available I don’t think this would be a conversation that we would be having there’s also been some stuff that’s happened on the court um if you remember a couple years back at the end of the season there was an outburst towards a f um that Drew a lot of attention and that really was like the first sign that not everything was exactly what you would want it to be with Miles Bridges and that stuff carried out over to some you know some pretty nasty offc Court AC accusations um of things that Miles Bridges has allegedly done um I don’t know the full details but I know enough to know that he’s not somebody that I think is worth the trouble he’s a good basketball player don’t get me wrong I think his fit in Cleveland would be okay I don’t know that he’s quite a good enough shooter to fit in around the core for I think he’s more of a guy that wants to put the ball on the floor and get to the rim which don’t get me wrong he’s good at I don’t know that it’s the best fit in Cleveland if the Cavaliers were to do this I think this would be something that probably probably points them to making a little bit of a change not being able to play to bigs anymore because I think that his play style wouldn’t add space for the Cavaliers it would probably subtract a little bit of space for the Cavaliers but I don’t think it’s worth it I don’t would he make the Cavs better yeah I think he would would he turn the Cavs into a championship Contender I don’t think so they level up a little bit but they don’t become Boston all the sudden because they add miles Bridges to the roster they don’t he’s an athletic player he’s a good basketball player he is but there’s a reason he’s available it’s BEC it’s because he comes with a lot of baggage he does and I’m not saying that everyone in the locker room needs to be a saint because I don’t believe that um not everyone in any professional League not everyone in every locker room is a good guy that’s how Sports works a lot of really great players are not great people and I get it but I also think that the juice here probably isn’t worth the squeeze if miles Garrett were a great figure off the floor and didn’t have the domestic violence accusation against him and stuff like that one he’s probably not available he’d probably be in Charlotte he would have signed a big extension last off seon when he was a restricted free agent or the offseason before and he would his career would be going in probably a different direction probably be the same player that he is which again is a good player it’s not a great player he’s not a star player by any stretch of the imagination and I don’t if he were a star player I think that he’d probably be signed out because it might be worth it but I don’t think that this I don’t think that this type of move is worth it for the Cavs because for somebody that is as troubled off the floor as miles Bridges has been I think you need to bring more on the court I think you need to be better and I don’t love saying that because you should you know you should want to have guys that are upstanding citizens on your roster but the fact of the matter is this is a business it is and the Cavs are in the business of winning basketball games I just don’t know that Miles Bridges would be someone that helps them win enough basketball games to make it worth all the other distractions all the other baggage that comes along with it I really don’t think so I don’t think that this is a move the Cavs should be interested in I will say it is encouraging that the Cavs are brought up because they want to be aggressive that is something if you want to take away if you want to take away a the bright side of this that’s it is that the Cavs realize that they’re not good enough and attaching their name or being in the sweep Stakes of a a good player again not a great player but a good player tell should tell you that they know they need to improve that’s what that should do that should tell you they need to improve and they know they need to improve they know they need to be better again he’s a good player he’s not a great player I really don’t believe that he’s worth the the pr nightmare that it would create there have been some other teams that are rumored to be involved with Bridges I know the LA Clippers are one of them um and I believe there was some reporting done I’m not sure by who and I’m sorry um but Bridges is intrigued there because they’re an organization that has given out Second Chances um earlier in this free agency period they reportedly agreed to terms with Kevin Porter Jr which is a very similar case to Miles Bridges there’s some domestic violence accusations there there’s been a lot of off- the Court troubles there um I just don’t think this is something the Cavs need to sign up for especially when you know if you want to make this strictly about basketball does it make the Cavs better it does it does but it doesn’t make them Championship contenders and if you wanted to make a move like this which I’m not in favor of here it better make you at least a championship Contender like the juice better be worth a squeeze and here I don’t believe that it is I do not think this is a move that the Cav should make I’ll be very curious where Miles Bridges end it ends up maybe it is in Cleveland maybe it’s somewhere else but this is a move that you know I do get it from a basketball perspective I don’t think it’s a perfect fit I really don’t but from an off- thec Court perspective with it not being a perfect fit with it not being something that raises your ceiling to a championship level at least not in my beliefs I don’t think it’s worth it I don’t think that this is a move that you know one of my favorite sayings is the the juice has got to be worth the squeeze I don’t think it is here I really truly don’t I don’t think that this juice is worth the squeeze because it’s going to be wherever he signs it’s going to cause a bit of an uproar for that fan base it is the Cavaliers are going to have to deal with negative push back from fans if they end up with Miles Bridges I have zero doubt about that there’s going to be a large section of this fan base that’s going to be upset now fans will get over it um these things especially if miles Bridges plays well these things will go away a little bit but I also don’t know that you can trust him to stay out of trouble that’s the other part of this is can you trust miles Bridges to be available and be on the floor and not do something else that brings embarrassment to your franchise I don’t think so why would you believe that because it’s not as if he’s a one-time offender he did one thing wrong that’s not what this is there’s been a lot of stuff that Miles Bridges has allegedly done wrong off the floor as an organization when you sign somebody when you pay somebody a lot of money which I think miles bridg is going to get a pretty good contract he he is a good player like I been saying but you need to trust him to be available and to stay out of trouble you can’t do that with him so if I’m the Cavs I’m staying away from Miles Bridges he’s not someone that I think is is worth bringing onto this roster is worth bringing into that locker room and the fit’s not perfect either if it were a perfect fit maybe that conversation changes a a little bit maybe you’re a little bit more lenient to some of the things that have happened or willing to put up with it but I don’t think that fit is perfect I don’t again he’s a good basketball player he’s not a great basketball player I don’t think that Miles Bridges is worth the trouble for the Cavs I get why they’re interested but ultimately I think it’s best for them if they end up making a trade that brings them in a similar type of player without the offc court baggage from somewhere else that’s where I’m at on that we will see what happens it is 9:00 on Thursday night as I record this so by time you’re listening to this things may change I don’t know um but that’s where I stand right now that’s where things stand right now we will see how this entire situation plays out I’ve got a mailbag to get to you guys threw in a bunch of questions but once that news came down earlier today was reported by Mark Stein I knew I wanted to spend at least the first segment talking about it because I do think it’s important to talk about that I really do so we’ve got mailbag questions we’ve got a lot to get to some potential trade targets U maybe a free agent signing or two so that’s all straight ahead right here on lockdown Cavs Today’s Show is brought to you by game time game time is an authorized ticket Marketplace of Major League Baseball and that makes getting tickets faster and easier prices on the game time app actually go down the closer you get to first pitch in baseball that is an awesome thing because you don’t 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healthy eight-man rotation I think other NBA teams have interest for I do like I I maxu is not available but if maxu were to be made available I think that there would be a number of teams that have interest in him Caris LeVert falls into that bucket for me I think that there would be a lot of teams out there that have interest in Caris LT for a number of reasons you know I don’t know that Cavs fans I’m higher on Carris lever as a basketball player than I think a lot of Cavs fans are I like his game I understand that this is not a perfect fit for him in Cleveland um I believe he’s someone that needs to have the basketball in his hands more often than he does um and that opportunity is just not afforded to him in Cleveland because when you’re playing alongside Darius Garland when you’re playing alongside Donovan Mitchell it’s tough to be another high usage player and that’s what Caris vert is he is a high usage player so there are teams out there that are searching for that where I think he’d be a good fit the other thing that is appealing to other teams about Caris LD is Caris LD is an expiring contract he is an opportunity for teams if they so desire to create cap space this summer he’s on a very aable deal I believe it’s around $16 million for this year but he is somebody that if a team trades for him they can have cap space going into next summer I don’t know what what teams would be interested in that I don’t know what who teams would be interested in next off season you know we now in today’s NBA we see a lot of guys that are starting to sign contract extensions rather than hitree agency Cavs were obviously the benefactors of that this week with Donovan Mitchell but that is something that it’s worth worth mentioning that Caris can be an Avenue for teams out there to create cap space so I do think that if if teams called about Caris if the Cavs called teams trying to create a trade wanting to put Caris LT in that deal teams would pick up the phone I’m not saying that you know he would make every deal work but there are I think a number of deals that Caris LT could make work I really do believe that I think he’s someone that has value around the league he’s a good basketball player he’s not in the right role in Cleveland but he is still a good basketball player but Rumple thank you very much for the question um up next ccore Bloom 36 says we do not have control over the first involved with the Utah pick swaps so they cannot be traded to other teams is that correct that is correct um there’s a complicated thing to where you know if the Cavs wanted to make it a three-way pick swap I believe they could do that to where they basically say you know Utah has the right of refusal like if they want to swap picks here they’re the first ones that are allowed to do this but say they make a trade with the Nets and they could say we don’t have control over any of our picks but what we can do is Utah’s got our pick swap after that is done the Nets can have the option to swap picks with what the Cavs have left does that I hope that makes sense things can get a little complicated with NBA trades at that level at that juncture there’s a lot that goes into them um and then the second part of this question can some of those picks be traded to Utah so no they can’t because Utah right now one the Cavs don’t have picks to trade they could trade those swaps with other teams but you can’t trade that swap with Utah why Utah already has that swap so you can’t do that and because of the steppan Roll you have to have a first round draft pick every other year so the Cavs made a draft pick this year in 2024 that means they were allowed to trade their 2025 draft pick that deal was sent out out unprotected to Utah as part of the Donovan Mitchell trade because they sent out the 2025 pick that means the Cavs had to keep their 2026 pick but what they could do is they could attach a swap right to it so that means that instead of trading away their pick the Cavs were able to say to Utah hey we can’t give you a pick because of the stepping rule but if we are worse than you if the Cavs have a worse record than the Jazz the Jazz can say whoa Hang on we’re taking your pick instead you get our pick the the Jazz essentially are given the right to initiate another trade that swaps first round picks so because they already have that the Cavs really can’t can’t loosen anything else and I know that this is because you know Lowry Markin might be available the Cavs are not going to be playing there they’re not going to be players there they don’t have enough to get him um the Jazz are going to want more draft Capital the Cavs have given the Jazz all the draft capital Capital they possibly can so that is that is basically how I would best explain that I know that is can be a complicated answer there’s a lot that goes into this stuff there really is um it can be pretty complicated at times but that’s that’s the best way that I can answer that I very much do appreciate the question go long says what is the trade value of car LT and his expiring contract could it land a guy like DeAndre Hunter Dorian finy Smith or Cam Johnson I think that car vert could be part of a deal for any of those guys um if you had to rank them if I had to rank who has the the most or least value I think Dorian FY Smith of those three is probably the most attainable I don’t know how much more you would have to put in other than Caris LT to get that done probably not much for cam Johnson the Cavs would probably have to attach their I believe they’re now allowed to trade their 2031 first round pick that might have to be something that gets attached or trade two or three second round picks with Caris vert like and then that I think you you might have to add something else in to make the salaries work but I do think that the Nets would be a team that have interest in Caris LT I really do think that um I’m not so sure how much interest the Hawks would have in Levert it could be an interesting fit as a six-man but when you’re playing with Trey young Trey young is just going to be such a high usage player that I don’t know the fit for cares down there I don’t know how interested the Hawks would be but again I I do think I really do think that Caris vert’s got value on the trade market I do I think that Cavs fans sort of underrate him because he’s a high usage player that’s trapped in a situation that forces him to be low usage and it’s a tough it’s a tough spot to be it really really is I’ve got more questions that we have to get to got some about a couple players in New Orleans are they available would they be good fits in Cleveland we’ll talk about that next right here on KN on Cavs back here on lock on Cavs and are you watching Fox Sports or ESPN on your TV all day and you have to turn down the volume because of all the shouting well I’m here to tell you to make the switch to lock on sports today it’s a free 24/7 Sports streaming Channel That’s programmed for you every day to bring you the biggest stories without all of this screaming lock on sports today bring you can’t miss analysis opinions and news streaming 24/7 on YouTube or the free Amazon Fire TV channels app part of the lockdown podcast Network your team every day again thank you for making lockdown Cavs your first listen every day up next in the mailbag Taylor ask says when I see Evan Moy rookie highlights it’s clear to me that he looks so much more like a power forward and showed so much better prowess as a scorer and a shooter can Kenny ainson verse his regression so I think that there are a number of things that Kenny ainson can and will do with Evan to improve him I think that what we see out of Evan Moy this year is going to be the best year of his career offensively I think defensively he’s going to stay the same he’s still going to be a monster on that end I don’t think he needs to improve he’s going to continue to get better but like he is a defensive player of the year candidate like that’s I don’t know that we have to spend a ton of time talking about that but offensively his game’s left stuff to be desired you know I don’t think there’s any debate there he is a guy that hasn’t lived up to expectations on that under the floor yet but one of the things that I asked Kenny ainson about during his introductory press conference was picking up the pace playing faster because that’s something that could benefit Evan just sort of how much lwh hanging fruit there is to grab there and one of the things that I thought was most interesting about that intro presser with Kenny was you know he talked about how yeah it can be difficult at times to run and play fast and play with a really quick Pace when you’ve got two big guys but he also made mention that the Cavs don’t have two traditional bigs in terms of big lumbering guys that have bad feet that can’t get up in the floor he said you know we have fast bigs here in Cleveland and I do think he’s right I do think that the Cavs have more athletic bigs than the average I think that they’re able to get up and down the floor in a way that is is conducive to playing f faster than they have played in the past and I think the person that benefits the most is Evan Moy and I think that for a number of reasons one Evan has looked his best offensively when he’s able to handle the ball in transition and he’s able to get downhill and attack the basket playing faster obviously gives more of those opportunities to him it doesn’t take a rocket scientist to see that if the Cavs are able to run more if they able to get in transition more Evan m is going to benefit I think he’s going to score you know between six eight points per game more just if the Cavs go from I think they were 26th or 27th in Pace last year if they go to 15th like I think he will see that the other thing that I think could help is it’s going to create mismatches for Evan part of the reason I think a lot of people including myself have been frustrated with this offense for the Cavs it’s not just that things slow down too much for them but it’s that they get into everything so late how many times would you be watching a KS game last year and there’s 14 seconds left on the shot clock and the Cavs only got the ball across half court with 17 left on the clock and they haven’t gotten into anything in their offense yet because it took so long to get over half court so now they only have 14 seconds with to work and they’ve got to figure something out it’s really difficult for guys to go to work that is you know Donovan Mitchell can be really successful there I think Darius Garland at times can be really successful even Caris vert can be successful in those situations but it’s a lot more difficult for Evan Moy be successful in those situations it is and I think eliminating eliminating that just getting the ball across half court in 4 seconds instead of seven that changes things a lot it doesn’t sound like it’s a long time but 3 seconds can be a long time in terms of the NBA offense it gives the Cavs an opportunity to do more I think it gives Evan Mobley an opportunity to do more and I think that pace picking up would be really really great for him the other thing I expect Hy ainson to do with Evan is I think he’s going to Force EV a shoot from the outside more than he has shot 38% last year which is a good number but I think he was taking 1.2 a game I believe the final number for three-point attempts was which is pretty low defenses even if you hit 40% of those shots defenses aren’t going to respect that defenses aren’t going to tightly defend Evan Moy on the perimeter because that’s just not a a high enough volume to really make it worth their time they’re going to live with it because they know more often than not he doesn’t want to take that shot I think that is another thing that changes under Kenny ainson so Taylor thank you very much for the question and Bobby says with New Orleans getting off Larry n Jr Jonas Valen chunis no longer there adding de jonte Murray they need to add a big what are your thoughts on trading Jared Allen for herb Jones or Trey Murphy the third so my thoughts are that’d be amazing for the Cavs that would be awesome for the Cavs herb Jones a terrific Defender I think he’s a good shooter I think he’s a longer version of Isaac aoro which is really good Trey Murphy fantastic I think he has such a high ceiling I think he’s going to be awesome the problem with this there’s no way New Orleans does this New Orleans is not trading Trey Murphy they’re not trading herb Jones like if the Cavs wanted to do this trade it would have to be Evan Moy instead of Jared Allen and I don’t think that’s happening I don’t think Evan MO is touchable this offseason I think he’s going to sign a contract extension he’s going to be including for a while so this trade would be amazing for the Cav it’d be spectacular but it’s not one that I see happening I just don’t think that they’re going to be um I don’t think the that the the Pelicans have any interest in moving those guys I don’t I don’t and if they did I don’t think it’d be for Jared Allen I think that it would it would require more from the Cavs to get those guys loose um but Bobby very much do appreciate the question last one on today’s show at CCM 71613 says rank the likelihood of the following trade targets Brandon Ingram DeAndre Hunter Kyle kosma I’m going to guess this is Keegan Murray and cam Johnson which do you prefer considering the cost and fit on that list um I prefer cam Johnson I I think that given what the Cavs could probably get away with giving up to make him a member of the Cavaliers would be awesome um I think M Bridges is better than him but Mel Bridges got five first round picks from the Knicks cam Johnson’s return if the Nets decide to trade him is not going to be close to that it’s going to be a return the Cavs can pay I don’t think male Bridges is five first round picks better than cam Johnson I don’t I think that for the price he could be a fantastic value and the Cavs truthfully they should be on Kobe Alman should be on the phone with Shawn marks the decision maker for the Brooklyn Nets every single day trying to make that happen he should be bothering Shan marks until he says you know what have Cam Johnson let’s do do the trade that’s what that’s what should be going on this offseason um if there’s a bigger trade you know Brandon Ingram for Jared Allen I’m okay with that’s I don’t love getting a a Buy Low candidate with Jared Allen whose stock I think is at an all-time high but I do think it makes some sense for the Cavs I think that Brandon Ingram is going to play much better basketball in the near future than he has in the recent past so that’s that’s just something to keep in mind it it is um if a trade happens there I’d be surprised if it happens relatively soon I think that these two teams if they want to make a deal it’s going to take a little bit of time before they end up making a deal um I think it’s something that could drag out and I don’t think obviously I mean everything has told us that the Cavs are more than okay bringing Jared Allen back I think the Pelicans would be okay bringing Brandon Ingram back I’m not sure how Ingram feels about that I think that’d be something interesting to find out but that’s where I think that situation lies thank you for a great week on lockdown Cavs again thank you for making this show your first listen every day find the show wherever you get your podcast subscribe rate review give us five stars please that is how you can help to grow the show also check us out on YouTube search locked on Cavs in the YouTube search bar click on us subscribe give this video a thumbs up if you haven’t already make sure you’re locked into the locked on Cavs Channel click the notification Bell as well so you get everything that we do as soon as it is ready for you I will be back on Monday we’ve got so much more to talk about with the Cavs summer league is approaching I want to talk about Evan Moy and his contract extension what’s going on with Isaac aoro we’ll talk about all of that next week so keep it locked in right here un locked on Cavs

How much interest should the Cleveland Cavaliers have in Miles Bridges?
On Friday’s episode of Locked On Cavs, Danny Cunningham (@RealDCunningham) of Cleveland Magazine and 92.3 The Fan gives his thoughts on the Cavs having interest in Miles Bridges and answers listener questions in the Friday mailbag.

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