The Wine and Gold Rush

I Went to Cleveland, and All I Got Was... Exposed to Influenza A

On Monday, the Cleveland Cavaliers made their first cuts of the preseason . . . waiving forward Rob Kurz and center Luke Nevill. 

Neither was particularly shocking.

Nevill, who's 7'2", was brought in basically to play opposite Shaquille O'Neal in practice.  There was never any real talk about him cracking the Cavs opening day roster.  He played in four preseason games, averaging 2.8 points and 1.8 rebounds.

Kurz, on the other hand, was a little surprising.  Not so much that he was cut . . . but that he didn't get more of a look in the preseason.  He's a so-called "stretch forward," who can make an outside shot.

And supposedly, we need one of those.

(That's Kurz in the picture, if you wanted to put-a-face-to-a-just-waived-player.)

Last season, Kurz played for the Golden State Warriors, averaging 3.9 points and 2.0 rebounds.  He shot 39.5% (or 15-of-38) from beyond the arc, but shot just 38.9% overall. 

He had a few good games, at least stat-wise.  In one, he had 21 points and five rebounds . . . and in another he had 20 points and seven rebounds.

It seemed like the Cavs spent all of August trying to get him to come to Cleveland's camp without a guaranteed contract.  But when he got here, he didn't play much.  In games at least.

Kurz played in five preseason games (in mostly scrap minutes), averaging 3.4 points and 2.0 rebounds.  He also had a block and showcased a nice resilience to viral pandemics.

But no degree of infectious disease immunity can make up for not fitting into Coach Brown's defensive schemes. 

The Offseason Report, Part Seven: Investing in the Not-Too-Distant Future

In June, Danny Ferry brought in Shaquille O'Neal to rule the paint . . . or at the very least, to occupy it.

In July, he signed Anthony Parker and Jamario Moon in an effort to vastly improve the team's perimeter defense.  And in the process, he also got another proficient long-range shooter and an athletic scorer, who will be turning open lanes into highlight reel footage. 

He also locked down Anderson Varejao to be a core member of the Cavs for years.

So what did Ferry have on tap for August?

Upgrading the bench.

The Cavs were a deep team during the regular season last year.  When they were healthy, it was difficult to find everyone a steady spot in the rotation.  And when players like Zydrunas Ilgauskas, Delonte West and Ben Wallace went down with injuries, they were able to adapt, seamlessly, and remain dominant.

In the playoffs, the bench was inconsistent and seemed a step off their games.  There were chances for a reserve to step up in the Orlando series, but no one seized the opportunity.  So even though the chemistry was so tight last season, some new blood was needed.

That's one of the reasons we didn't pick up the option on Tarence Kinsey, whose contract for the upcoming season was non-guaranteed.

Initially, I was disappointed to see him go.  In the extremely limited role he had last season, he had some good moments that made me think he could be a nice, athletic player to have at the end of your bench.

Also, he was a fantastic cheerleader . . . if not a little TOO excitable.  He was regularly caught on camera going absolutely ballistic about something.  Or anything, really.  If LeBron James made a three-pointer in the fourth quarter, regardless of the score, Kinsey would have to be physically restrained by J.J. Hickson and Darnell Jackson.

The Cavs also shed Wally Szczerbiak (who contributed last year) and Lorenzen Wright (who didn't).  And of course, they had previously turned Ben Wallace and Sasha Pavlovic into Shaq.

The Cavs wanted Joe Smith back, but he opted to take similar money from the Atlanta Hawks because they could offer him more playing time.  It seemed like a weird decision, since he's been in Cleveland for two playoff runs and has to know how close to a title we are. 

And he might have re-upped . . . if we wouldn't have signed Leon Powe.