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The expansion list being turned in on
the 12th of June, so much specutlation going on so CavsWatch brings you a
player by player break-down of the expansion draft and the Cavaliers.
The Rules:
The expansion draft is on June 22. The Cavaliers must submit their
expansion list to the NBA by June 12. The Cavaliers can protect up
to 8 players who are under contract for next season. Restricted free
agents can be protected but are eligible to be selected by Charlotte if
they are not on the protected list. In a case where a restricted
free agent is drafted by Charlotte, said player becomes an unrestricted
free agent. The Cavaliers may also use up to 3M, draft picks or
players as a bargaining chip to induce Charlotte into selecting or not
selecting a player from their unprotected list. Cleveland can only
lose one player. They can also have none selected.
Protected List:
SG LeBron James - The no-brainer to end all no-brainers.
PG Jeff McInnis - The Cavaliers have a $300,000 buyout on McInnis
before July 1st but they do not plan on waiving him so he will be
protected.
PF Carlos Boozer - C'mon now.
C Zydrunas Ilgauskas - Not even Jim Paxson is dimwitted enough to
leave Ilgauskas unprotected. Going into the final year of his
contract, Ilgauskas is an under-30, top 3 center that the expansion
Charlotte Bobcats would select and pawn to the highest bidder.
SG DaJuan Wagner - Wagner is the type of cheap young talent that
would appeal to Charlotte. Even if he is not in the Cavaliers plans,
it makes sense to keep him and then trade him in order to get something in
return.
SG/SF Kedrick Brown - Ending contract. Also see DaJuan
Wagner.
C DeSagana Diop - Ending contract. Also see DaJuan Wagner
(minus the word "talent").
PF/C Tony Battie - (Cavs
Watch sources are incongruent with the current media reports on the
expansion list. We we're told that Battie was not protected)
This one I don't really understand. Battie doesn't fit the profile
of the type of players that the Bobcats are targeting. Battie is an
oft injured veteran with shaky knees and 2 years 10M left on his contract. He
doesn't have much trade value but he is one of Silas’s favorites.
That may account for something.
Unprotected List:
PG Kevin Ollie - The veteran PG no longer fits into the
Cavaliers plans. He also has 4 years at roughly 12M left on his
contract. Unless the Cavaliers can induce Charlotte into taking him,
he will remain a Cavalier.
SF Ira Newble - A bit younger than Ollie but has the same contract
making him unattractive to the Bobcats.
SF Jason Kapono - This is the player we thought would be protected
instead of Tony Battie. The normal philosophy in expansion drafts is
to protect cheap, young players and Kapono fits the bill. Charlotte
could target him because of his youth, rookie minimum contract and
shooting ability.
C Ruben Boumtje-Boumtje - (There
is some debate as to whether Boumtje-Boumtje is a restricted or
unrestricted free agent)
Bruno Sundov was activated to see what he had but the Cavaliers were mum
on Boumtje-Boumtje. He is an restricted free agent therefore the
Cavaliers must decide whether to protect him or not. Boumtje-Boumtje
is the most attractive player on the Cavaliers unprotected
list simply because if Charlotte selected him he would become an
unrestricted free agent and not cost them any salary towards their cap
Ineligible for the Expansion Draft as Unrestricted Free Agents:
SF Eric Williams
SF Lee Nailon
Overview:
The Cavaliers did not have many hard choices when it came to their
expansion list. Apparently, the last selection came down to Jason
Kapono or Kedrick Brown. If Jason Kapono was left unprotected as
reported by Bob Finnan in the News Herald then it goes against the
philosophy that GM Jim Paxson hinted at in his earlier statements.
Protecting Tony Battie implies that the Cavaliers are scared of losing
him. I really don't understand why. The Bobcats only have 66% of the
league's salary cap available to them in
their inaugural season. That is projected to be around 29M. I
find it hard to believe that the Bobcats would use 4.8M of it on Tony
Battie because Battie doesn’t have much trade value and has multiple
years left on his contract. There are other big men who are expected
to be available, like Detroit's Elden Campbell and the Suns' Jahidi White
who are going into the last year of their contracts. You’d have to
assume that Battie isn't down on the Bobcats’ list.
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