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After chaos last time, Ferry, Gilbert and Brown agree: What a difference a year makes
By Brian Windhorst
Beacon Journal sports writer
Published on Friday, Sep 26, 2008
INDEPENDENCE: As it neared midnight on the eve of last year's training camp, Cavaliers General Manager Danny Ferry and some members of his staff sat in his office waiting for their BlackBerrys to vibrate or the fax machine to click on.
Two key players from the season before, Anderson Varejao and Sasha Pavlovic, were unsigned. They were waiting, in vain as it turned out, for contracts to be faxed back.
Eric Snow, a starter from the previous year, had just torn up his knee in an offseason workout. Yet another player, Damon Jones, had demanded a trade.
A fascinating yet daunting trip to China was planned just two weeks before the start of the regular season and the November schedule was one of the most demanding in team history.
In short, it was hardly camp harmony.
Fast forward to Thursday afternoon at the now lived-in Cleveland Clinic Courts. As balls bounced in the nearby gym with nearly the full team — all signed and reasonably healthy — in for early workouts, Ferry, Cavs owner Dan Gilbert and coach Mike Brown relaxed in cushioned chairs as they held a pre-training camp news conference.
Their expressions and demeanor were dramatically different this time around as they prepare for the start of the new season with camp opening Tuesday.
''There is a great feeling of stability in the organization,'' Gilbert said. ''I feel really good. I think it is the best feeling I've had in the four years I've been involved. This was our best summer. I think the team has a lot of depth and a lot of character. It's a lot different feeling than last summer.''
After last September and October's upheaval followed by the roster-shaking, 11-player midseason trade, there is an air of stability around the Cavs these days.
There was another trade this summer with point guard Mo Williams added to the roster. There will be two rookies, draft picks J.J. Hickson and Darnell Jackson, and two new free agents, Tarence Kinsey and Lorenzen Wright.
So there are some new faces, but the prospect of a peaceful camp opening and reasonable stability follows much closer to the course Ferry and Gilbert charted when they remade the organization starting in 2005.
''I am a big believer in having continuity, and going into this year that can be a strength of ours again,'' Ferry said. ''We have a tremendous opportunity in front of us as a franchise. We'll have challenges, but we feel like with the coaching staff we have and the depth we have on our roster that we can face them.''
Gilbert said he thought that his team was closer to winning a championship last year, when it was knocked out in the second round by the eventual champion Boston Celtics, than in 2007 when it lost in the NBA Finals.
''We were close last year. You can make a lot of arguments and speculation, but I like the direction,'' Gilbert said. ''In my other businesses, I have seen it go the other way so I know what it is like. I have a very good feeling about this year.''
The only negativity Gilbert, who is now paying the second-highest payroll in the NBA at more than $90 million, focused on Thursday was the summer's jump-start of another round of speculation over the future of star LeBron James when his contract runs out in two years.
There was a significant uptick over the summer with the coverage around the U.S. national team.
''It is kind of an insult to the city of Cleveland in my opinion, an insult to the Midwest,'' Gilbert said. ''I could go on and on, but I was given the riot act not to say what I want to say. I think we'll compete for a championship in the next year or two, and we'll worry about that summer when it comes.''
Brian Windhorst can be reached at bwindhor@thebeaconjournal.com. Read his blog at http://www.ohiomm.com/blogs/cavs/.
INDEPENDENCE: As it neared midnight on the eve of last year's training camp, Cavaliers General Manager Danny Ferry and some members of his staff sat in his office waiting for their BlackBerrys to vibrate or the fax machine to click on.
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Comments
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Posted 03:24 AM, 09/26/2008
I wish Gilbert would open up his mouth a little more. He deserves every right to say what he said. He's the best owner in the NBA in my opinion. Hole in his pocket, ultra-competitive, and he stays out of the way of management. The only thing I haven't liked about Gilbert was the firing of Reghi. I'm excited about the season.
Posted 10:07 AM, 09/26/2008
Still need a coach, just like the Browns.
Posted 02:44 PM, 09/26/2008
Hats off to Danny Ferry. I have been a big critic in the past but he made the most of this offseason making us younger and more athletic and finally assembling the kind of cast that can help Lebron to flourish even more. Hats off to Dan Gilbert for being the kind of owner willing to spend to win. And hats off to the Cavaliers players like Varejo and others who stuck around Cleveland to get healthy and work on their game this summer. I am confident, if we stay healthy, we will hang the first championship banner in Cleveland since 1964 at the end of this season. Go cavs!
Posted 10:19 PM, 09/26/2008
Precisely how is Gilbert "spending?" It's PR blarney. The purported "spending" is the result of long-term contracts signed years ago, contracts of which are unloadable. Furthermore, Szczerbiak is as good as gone, Snow's contract is being taken off the books thanks to the injury being considered a permanent disability. He's "spending?" No, he's not. Sounds impressive, though.
Posted 07:35 AM, 09/27/2008
- it's the second highest payroll in the league. The payroll is undeniably higher than it was last year, eh? The Cavs could have save money at the expense of the team by not re-signing either Gibson or West, but added $10 million to payroll to keep them. Ditto Pavlovic and Varejao last year. And "long-term contracts signed years ago, contracts of which are unloadable," is ridiculous, and pretty ill informed. Lebron and Z are the only players signed by the Cavs more than a year ago. And Williams, Wallace, Szczerbiak, West are obviously tradeable - they've been traded within the last year. Talk about blarney - there isn't much in your post that isn't either pessimistic conjecture or just flat out untrue.
Posted 11:36 PM, 09/27/2008
"PR blarney"??? That reeks of Alan Tucker. Thought I smelled something stale and bitter. The Cavs pay the luxury tax (and lots of it) every year, biting the bullet to make this team the best it can be. I wish the Indians had that kind of testicular fortitude. That said, there SHOULD be optimism coming into camp. This is the most talent the Cavs have had since James arrived, and the sky is the limit. I like the Cavs coming out of the East this year, and I think James collects his first MVP trophy.
