The Cavaliers nearly pulled out an upset of the Spurs last night in a game bereft of injured All-Star point guards Kyrie Irving and Tony Parker, but instead Cleveland lost and continued its trudge toward the lottery. The lottery and draft are usually banner events for the Cavs, who will come away with two top-20 selections for the third season in a row if the Lakers hold on and make the playoffs. Bob Finnan of The News-Herald checks in with the latest from Ohio's team, and we'll hit the highlights:
- Finnan hears from league sources who believes there will be pressure on GM Chris Grant and coach Byron Scott next season, and speculates that both could be gone if the team doesn't make the playoffs.
- The Cavs picked up Shaun Livingston's minimum-salary contract off waivers from the Wizards earlier this season, but Finnan believes it will take more than the minimum to keep him around next season, estimating that a two-year, $4MM offer could be enough to bring him back.
- Scott is pining for someone who can protect the rim. "I'd love to have a couple of guys down there that would change shots and block shots," the coach said. "Hopefully, we'll get that in due time." Scott believes Tyler Zeller and Tristan Thompson could eventually develop into shot-blockers.
- Finnan also passes along a look at the NBA's top agents from Michael Pina of Hoops Rumors.