The Cleveland Cavaliers are showing A LOT OF FAITH in Emoni Bates by taking a draft-&-stash player

The Cleveland Cavaliers are showing A LOT OF FAITH in Emoni Bates by taking a draft-&-stash player

Next question is brought to us by Game time. There’s nothing like the NBA playoffs, the intensity buzzer beaters, fans losing their minds. Now that it’s baseball season, you could get in on the action. 4 Major League Baseball tickets, killer last-minute deals, Pan American views in your seats, and no surprise fees thanks to game time, which is a total game changer. You could also get NFL tickets through the Game time app for as low as $100 thanks to exclusive discounts. Take the guesswork out of buying tickets with Game time, download the Gametime app, create an account and use promo code lockdown NFL for $20 off your first purchase. Once again, create an account, redeem code lockdown NFL for $20 off. Download game time today last minute tickets, lowest prices guaranteed. So I mentioned earlier that Tyrese Proctor may have told teams, don’t draft me. I want to go to Cleveland because they have an open NBA roster spot. Now, when we were on the live stream last night when the Cavs got to 58, Vlad Golden, the big man out of Michigan, was still on the board and I was like, you gotta take Vlad Gold and. I think he can play right away, play, play, play. And then I realized. They didn’t have an NBA roster spot for him, you know. They have currently 3 of their two-way players still in the fold, Travers, Bates, and Aquan Tomlin. If they were to draft a Vlad Golden in that spot, it would have meant they had to have given up on one of those 33, 2-way players, excuse me, Bates, Travers, or Naquan Tomlin. So gee, I know you’re the biggest, uh, Monte Bates guy on the panel. So I’m just curious. It doesn’t have to be him. It could be any of the three. But would you have been in favor of the Cavs taking a big man that may have been able to contribute this season right away in some capacity over hanging on to the 32 ways they currently have and continuing to build them up as prospects? Um, it all depends on what you’re doing with Jared Allen. Uh, it seemed like people were more on the line in the lines of moving Jared Allen, uh. Maybe if you’re not gonna move Jared Allen, do you guys foresee any way that Jared Allen has a diminished role if he’s here still, so I agree with that. — So he’s
— he’s he’s Jared Allen of — last
— year. OK, so I would, I would look at it, uh, in terms of it. I would, I would have thought about it if I mean, Luke Travers, I don’t know what position they have him. Is he a 3 or a 2 or he’s a wing. I would have looked at it possibly with that. Um, he this kid right here is 7 ft, right? Did he did he eventually get drafted? No, he ended up signing as an undrafted free agent with the Miami Heat. OK, well, look, I, I would have thought about it, but then again, you know, their evaluation might have been, hey, he doesn’t fit our system, so to speak, and we talked to the draft guru, um, what what was his name from, uh, that was, yeah, he was, he was locked in and he said. Yeah, I asked him about, uh, you know, what, when, where can we get these goons at, and he said that ain’t the way it worked no more. We don’t, we don’t do goons like you gotta have a guy with a with a skill set, like, you know what I’m saying, that can do something. So maybe they thought like, hey, we, we can’t just throw him out. I mean at least Harenstein can finish around the rim and pick and roll and do some things. Maybe they just thought it wasn’t that. I would have thought about it maybe for Travers or, or maybe Tomlin, but. That’s, I, I don’t got a problem with it, you know, they must, they must see what they got in the guys right now and they think it may be, they can contribute or may have a shot to do something. We’ll see. I wanted to ask, this is off topic, but it just hit me again because I started asking myself this question yesterday. There was a report that Dan Gilbert is going to sell 15% of the Cavs. Is that a byproduct of what of of the changes that we’ve seen in the NBA. This is the first indication to me that what is he, is he cash strapped? No. When Mark Cuban got out the game, we should have all been looking around. I know, — but now Dan like Dan
— Gilbert this so. you want to finish this and then go back to that. — I don’t have
— anything to add to your question because I — I’ll put a
— bow. I’ll put a bow on what and then we’ll get because it’s interesting what it’s I just wanted to know why I’m fascinated by this too. So in terms of the players, like, listen, I’m not gonna tell you I know everything about Luke Travers. I don’t know. They, they’ve put a lot of time to develop in these guys, so you don’t want to cut. Because the whole point of two-way contracts is you know there are guys who need developed and it takes time and it gives you flexibility so you’re starting that clock over if you, if you cut one of these guys and bring in another one now you’re starting, you’re restarting that clock so they’ve invested time and resources into these guys you want to see unless it’s a total disaster and only they know that they see these guys in practice every day if they if they think he’s never gonna get there then cut bait but if you, if you still believe and you could get something out of him then. That that’s why you go through the process that you do, especially the high functioning teams like where the Cavs are now and you’re competitive and you’re cash drafted you, you have to work on the margins like this is how it’s supposed to work. You drafted Jalen Tyson and then he fills the spot when you have to make a trade and you have to move on from a guy. Um, — it’s
— almost like they’re minor leaguero like, like, like in a little bit, yeah, it’s their developmental guys, yeah, and we mentioned Merrill a couple times. Merrill bounced around a couple different teams. He’s older. He’s, but he needed that extra time to develop to where he could contribute. I think the same thing is gonna be true with with the guys that you saw taken last night. They need time to develop. So these are long term plays. So all you’re doing, can Luke Travers help this team this year, man, I have no idea. I, I don’t know. But maybe in January, February he can if somebody gets hurt, you know, he can come in and fill a role, but these are, are long term plays and you’re really, if you could hit on one, that’s a win, man. It’s like it’s like the Dominican Academy that the Guardians have they developed Jose Ramirez. Well that paid for itself right there kid forever. You got Jose out of that. OK, it’s worth it no matter what else happens, it’s worth it if you can get one. You’re thrilled with that. Now on to the other thing. I’m fascinated by what’s going on in the NBA and I feel like I’m yelling into the clouds because like. The Grusbeck family sold in Boston. The bus family sold in LA. Mark Cuban sold, and I keep going, guys, Mark Cuban knows what’s going on. Is it just that the money is so good and it could be that may be all that it is. It’s the money is so much right now you have to bend down and pick it up and maybe that’s all it is. But when with when you talk about the sagging TV ratings and when you talk about valuations and when you talk about like the 2nd apron like. The, the, the guy that Jimmy Haslam bought out in Milwaukee couldn’t afford the team anymore. He couldn’t make payroll. That’s why he had to sell, and I’m telling you right now, I said before, give it 2 or 3 years, Jimmy will have full control of the Bucks. His West Saens is gonna be out in 2 or 3 years, and Jimmy will have the whole thing, — and
— maybe — he’ll
— sell the Browns, and that can be his toy. No, no, no, come on, I can dream. So, so with Dan, like there’s so much there because there’s obviously there’s the health issues, and his health is what it is. But by the way, like we both talked about this at the at the awards in February. I was stunned at it at where he is. I expected a guy that would be verbally challenged. He was not. I would expect a guy that maybe would have slightly diminished skills. — Just mentally he was
— not. I don’t want, I don’t wanna, I don’t wanna dig into like that’s his personal medical. I’m not gonna get. I get that, but, but I think you’d agree with me that he was further along than I thought he was. Well, he was in real like shortly after the stroke. I don’t think people realize how bad it was. It was really, really bad, and the Cavs did a nice job of. Sort of protecting him and covering it up and everything else and I’ve written about it a little bit at times about his wife stepped in and like took his phone away and they moved to Miami and they she basically blocked out the entire world and said you only focus on is to try and get better so he’ll spend the rest of his life in a wheelchair like this it is what it is and you know. He’s done some things previously that people around him said he would never do like take quick in public that was one thing that he always said I will never like screw the SEC they’re not gonna tell me what I can and can’t do. I will never go public and then he took the company public selling the casinos he had been trying to do that since prior to getting sick. But he has obviously sort of rearranged some things on the deck. This, uh, for now I’m gonna say like it’s just a private equity play. It’s a quick way to, you go. He just went to the ATM and — made $600 million basically punch the computer for fascinating
— to me. So I have a theory, this is a guess. I, I have no idea. I. Just know that smart people know when to buy things and when to sell, — know
— when to get in and when to get out and to your point, when Mark Cuban got out, I said Mark Cuban doesn’t need a money grab. Mark Cuban doesn’t need an ATM. Mark Cuban is flushed forever and will always be, — but
— what Mark Cuban right, Mark Cuban prides himself. The reason he is a wealthy man is because he’s made it his business to no matter what business it is, he goes in. And studies it like a crazy person and learns all of the comings and goings of that business. Oftentimes he does that before he enters, but when he decides to enter the arena, that tells me one thing. I just watch Mark Cuban if you want to get rich, watch Mark Cuban. Watch what he invests in and do the same thing because Mark is ahead of trends. Now that’s not to. that he hasn’t missed and missed big. Famously, all the guys on Shark Tank whiffed on the ring doorbell camera, OK? They, they all said no that’s stupid, it’s a gimmick, it’s not gonna last. Well, — that guy’s laughing with billions in his
— bank. I think it’s like, I think it’s like with the NBA. I, I really think it’s like upside down mortgages. Like I feel like. The league goes as superstars go. The end of the LeBron James era is, is come and gone. — Steph Curry is at the end of that
— road, but superstars come and go. — That’s
— cyclical. But, but here’s the thing. The wages are going up. That’s the thing this high and, and their perception is, yeah, uh, Jason Tatum is a superstar, but is he a superstar at the level where — people
— is worth that much money that everybody, so Jason Tatum comes to your stadium. Is Jason Tatum selling the stadium out like Kobe or, or, or, or people doing. this and doing that like they would with LeBron and I think that the evaluation for the teams are like, OK, so we’re gonna pay you $400,400 million and now I look at the collusion case with the NFL, the basketball owners are, are looking at baseball and, and seeing themselves where they are and saying. This is we’re gonna be paying guys like this that amount of money. Football is the only place — where they’re relatively still in control of
— revenues and ratings go up every year. Jason, my, I’ll finish the point on Mark Cuban getting out. To me that was a waving red flag that. Everybody should have paid attention to. Mark gets out when things are about to take a turn south. Mark jumps in when when fledgling businesses. He’s either a reclamation guy or he sees AI 5 years before anybody heard of AI, that kind of thing. So what I’m wondering is this, Jay. Ratings are down and they’re down substantially. It’s not an anomaly. They’re down like to panic levels. They’ve made it so you can’t buy your championship team anymore. You can’t do that. You, you might be able to do it for a small period, but it’s so punitive. We’re seeing one owner after another divest or sell. He bought this team for 375 million. It was a record at the time, 335 or 75. I don’t remember now, — but it was in it was below
— 400 million and if I’m not mistaken, it was a record sale at the time for an NBA franchise. My point here is, he just sold 15% of his team. And nearly doubled his initial investment, free money, which means he owns 85% of the Cavaliers free. And the reason I say all that is because I think he’s a smart man. I think he’s hedging his bet. I think that it’s possible that these franchises are as worth worth as much now as they’re going to be in the near future. I don’t see how they can go much more than what it was the Laker number 10 billion. Yeah, I don’t think about that for a second. — I don’t understand how
— it actually could we were told it could be 12. Yeah, I read something the other day that said 10 could be as high as 12. I just bring all that up to say this. I think there is a reckoning coming in the NBA in the next decade. You make a great point about the superstars. I, I, — I do believe though that superstars will flush in
— and out of. They don’t get somebody to carry the league. Here’s what they have to carry it. The LPGA has a problem, Jason. You know what the LPGA’s problem is? It’s been this way for over a decade. No stars. The stars are all not American. Their star, go look at the LPGA leader board from last weekend. It will be all Korean names, Asian names, no names that. No, no stars that look like Americans. And, and let’s face it, this, this is an American institution. — You need
— to invoke emotion. You need to invoke some sort of passion. Yes, how can a girl in Iowa, and, and now you look at what’s happening with the WNBA and it’s, it’s flipping, it’s the opposite. So the, the superstars in the LPGA are widely unknown. They don’t look anything like the people that they’re asking to buy the product, and the LPGA has suffered because of it. The NBA has transitioned over the last 20 years. What’s the biggest difference in the NBA? Where the people come from, where the where the stars come from? They’re no longer now on on one level that’s good for the NBA because it’s become an international game and their market has grown because now they care about the NBA in China. Wait until India produces an NBA superstar, you know, then you’ll see the world popularity of that game grow. However, here at home. The popularity, I think, is, could be in jeopardy because this next wave of superstars, look at the superstars right now. The guys right now. — Too many of them are
— not American. No, I know we gotta move on. Mike wants to go to Browns real quick to put a bow on this to what you just said. America’s reckoning with basketball will come in 2028 at the at the Olympics when Team USA does not win gold in LA. So I like the NBA, I, that’s one of the talks of the NBA right now is that. Secondly, Owners cannot afford where the payroll is going. I think that’s what kind of what you guys are alluding to. Part of the reason the Grosbes were selling, yes, the money is incredible, but also Boston was looking at a $500 million payroll for next year. That’s why they’re disassembling $500 million payroll, $230 million in salary if I have this right, $230 in salary, and it was like $270 in taxes and penalties because of the new structure of the league. Owers literally cannot afford to make payroll. And that’s why they got out in Milwaukee. That’s why Jimmy’s there. They wanted Jimmy for his checkbook. Uh, that’s why they, there was a change in ownership in Boston and they’re still disassembling. Now, last thing to take this back to Dan, for now I’m curious to see what does he do with the money. So if he gets a check for 600 million now. Is he, what’s his next play by his audience? No, I don’t think it’s that. — Does
— he say, you know what, that just, I just paid my tax bill. Jason, — finish your point here because
— I don’t know if it’s, I don’t know what it’s, I don’t know if it’s, uh, private equity if there’s a, if there’s a business play in Detroit that he’s working on. I don’t, I’m speculating. I have no idea. Is it NFL? Is he because there’s nobody else when he was really, really sick. Grant was supposed to be the guy that sort of took it over, and Grant is really young. He’s a good dude, man. Like I know him just a little bit. I really like Grant, but he’s young. He’s like 25. He’s not ready for this. There’s nobody else in the family to take the mantle, which is why Dan came back. I wrote that last year. This is like succession, really. It’s real life succession for anyone who watched it, where the dad has this health scare and then he comes back. In the movie is because in the show he didn’t trust his family. In this case there was nobody else. So I’m, I’m curious what the long term play is with, with the Cavs and with Dan, but for now in the short term. I’m curious to see if if he’s setting up something else. Is it just about the money maybe, OK, or is there another play coming with that he was going to Dan, I, I think that that I think it’s like too. Dan doesn’t seem like a guy that’s gonna grab money. — But
— again, he took quickick in public to create liquidity for his top people, right? And that’s really where his fortune exploded. If you go back and look at the timeline, his fortune exploded when he took Quick in public, and that’s when he started getting into the stratosphere of the bombers of the world and all those guys go ahead.

The Cleveland Cavaliers have drafted players in recent years who won’t be instant contributors; instead, they are viewed as projects by the Cleveland Cavaliers. Are Cavs GM Koby Altman and the Cavaliers putting too much stock into “draft & stash” guys?

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