[Pioneer10]

Originally Posted by Premier

Marcus Banks would be killer on the Cavs. Fits very nice with Shannon Brown, actually. Banks is a good point guard that is great at dribble-penetration. Brown is more of an undersized combo guard that is a good shooter. Both players are very athletic and good at defense.

Why do you think he failed in Boston: was he just not a good decision maker or just too young?

[Premier]

Originally Posted by Pioneer10

Why do you think he failed in Boston: was he just not a good decision maker or just too young?

He wasn't given the opportunity to run the team due to Doc Rivers. His decision making was poor earlier in his career, but it has greatly progressed. He is definitely a capable point guard.

[remy23]

View from Pluto

TALKIN’ CAVS

Reigning European MVP draws serious interest

• The Cavs are looking at Anthony Parker, a 6-foot-6 swingman who is considered the best player in Europe, where he was the Most Valuable Player the past two years. He's 31 and he played briefly with the Philadelphia 76ers and the New Jersey Nets, before taking his game to Europe. The Toronto Raptors are supposed to be the favorite to get him, but the Cavs are in the picture. They really like this guy, who has been a star for Tel Aviv. They have a lot of players at his size and position, but the Cavs seem to think he can help them.

• Remember how the Cavs chased another guard from Israel last summer -- Sarunas Jasikevicius, who signed a three-year deal with the Indiana Pacers. Supposedly, Parker wants that kind of contract.

• Some fans wondered why Luke Jackson is not with the Cavs' summer league team. The former No. 1 draft choice had his second back surgery in April. He's out for a while, and certainly he's not in the immediate plans.

• The Cavs have also been looking at Marcus Banks, a backup point guard and unrestricted free agent. Another player they might be considering is Jackie Butler, a center who averaged 5.3 points and 3.3 rebounds off the bench. He is a restricted free agent with the New York Knicks, meaning they can match any offer he receives. But the Knicks are in such a salary-cap mess, they might just let Butler go.

[Like A Breath]

Marcus Banks is a hell of an athlete. As quick as they come and built like a running back. Watch him get in the lane and see opposing point guards just fly off of him. I love how he can do the one-man full court press, it's pretty impressive. His shot's really come along, too. He really should've had a better opportunity in Boston.

He's better than Eric Snow on both sides of the ball, I don't know what the Cavs are waiting for. He has legit starter potential.

[Pioneer10]

Originally Posted by Like A Breath

Marcus Banks is a hell of an athlete. As quick as they come and built like a running back. Watch him get in the lane and see opposing point guards just fly off of him. I love how he can do the one-man full court press, it's pretty impressive. His shot's really come along, too. He really should've had a better opportunity in Boston.

He's better than Eric Snow on both sides of the ball, I don't know what the Cavs are waiting for. He has legit starter potential.

Any FA signings (including Gooden, Banks) were probably contingent on Lebron first commiting to the Cavs

[EHL]

Originally Posted by Premier

He wasn't given the opportunity to run the team due to Doc Rivers. His decision making was poor earlier in his career, but it has greatly progressed. He is definitely a capable point guard.

Agreed. Banks would be a hell of an addition to the Cavs. Perfect fit defensively and is a one man fast break. I still remember when he was with the Celtics and he got into the open court beating Bobby Jackson (then healthy, younger, and still with the Kings) to the point where Jackson had to purposefully foul him. His acceleration is supremely elite.

[Pioneer10]

Mike James signed a 4 year deal with Minnesota so this really only leaves Banks.

Toronto and Atlanta filled there PG needs already. Lakers picked up Farmar in the draft and seem happy with him. That leaves us and Houston as two teams in big need of a PG.

I think considering it looks like a s&t involving Gooden isn't happening, the draft got us two SG's essentially, that getting Banks has become priority number 1 in my mind. I think we have more then a fair shot of getting him too

[futuristxen]

Luke having a second back surgery, I think we can officially label his career a bust.

[remy23]

Originally Posted by Pioneer10

I think considering it looks like a s&t involving Gooden isn't happening, the draft got us two SG's essentially, that getting Banks has become priority number 1 in my mind. I think we have more then a fair shot of getting him too

I bet both Gibson and Brown have the ability to become combo guards, neither 1 or 2 but rather 1.5's. Still Banks would be a good addition. But what becomes of Snow and Jones in that case?

[Pioneer10]

Originally Posted by remy23

I bet both Gibson and Brown have the ability to become combo guards, neither 1 or 2 but rather 1.5's. Still Banks would be a good addition. But what becomes of Snow and Jones in that case?

I'm a bit more pessimistic then you Remy in regards to Gibson and Brown. They both aren't great ballhandlers and they aren't great passers. The only thing combo about them IMO is that they will be able to guard PG's. This might be enough for the Cavs with Lebron and Hughes healthy but we need one true PG.

Like I said earlier: Jones, Pavs, Luke, Newble are all dead weight who the Cavs will be looking to dump. Snow will be an asset off the bench for his defense against 2 guards and bigger PG's

[remy23]

Originally Posted by Pioneer10

I'm a bit more pessimistic then you Remy in regards to Gibson and Brown. They both aren't great ballhandlers and they aren't great passers. The only thing combo about them IMO is that they will be able to guard PG's. This might be enough for the Cavs with Lebron and Hughes healthy but we need one true PG.

I understand where you're coming from. But I'd wager both Gibson and Brown are at the very least as good ballhandlers and passers are Flip. Since we have LBJ, there is less of a premium on passing/handling. As long as they can at least match Flip in those categories, things should be okay. Now if they can't, then there will be a problem.

If Banks is available, I'm all for it. I wouldn't be against that by any stretch. If you have a young core of Banks/Brown/Gibson then you're really athletic and getting burned/embarassed/outworked in the backcourt will become less and less of a problem.

Like I said earlier: Jones, Pavs, Luke, Newble are all dead weight who the Cavs will be looking to dump. Snow will be an asset off the bench for his defense against 2 guards and bigger PG's

Since Sasha is 22 and has shown sparks of what he can do, he should be able to yield something useful in return. Since Cleveland doesn't have a first round pick next year, maybe they can trade for picks. Even if they're only 2nd rounders, stock up on that, do a lot of homework for the future drafts and try to get a steal.

[Benedict_Boozer]

^Yes I agree. We need to get in the '07 draft, even a late 1st rounder could be a solid player because of the depth coming out next year.

If we can nab Banks and Butler for part of the MLE as rumored, that's a solid offseason by Ferry.

Some people are gonna need to go though. I'm not happy with Lebron's backups. Ferry needs to dump the deadweight on the roster - Sasha/Luke/Newble/DJ/Snow - should all be up for grabs.