The art of the deal
Patrick Creighton: Dear Daryl Morey, call Dan Gilbert’s bluff on LeBron
Feb 6, 2018, 4:38 am
LeBron James, right, would make a series with Steph Curry and the Warriors very interesting. SBNation.com
The worst kept secret in the NBA is that LeBron James and Dan Gilbert aren’t buddy-buddy anymore. Gilbert fired the GM (David Griffin, who was significantly underpaid for his position) that LeBron liked, and Gilbert really doesn’t like paying the huge salaries ($134M+, barely 2nd in NBA to Golden State) and subsequent high luxury tax bill (reportedly near $50M).
LeBron has demanded more help from the team, but after getting all his buddies paid (JR Smith, Iman Shumpert, Tristan Kardashian Thompson, et al) the team is almost $35M over the cap and has very little to offer other teams to get that help.
Currently, this incarnation of the Cavaliers has lost 13 of their last 20 games, and have a negative point differential for the season. They are 26th in scoring defense and 28th in defensive efficiency. Let’s be honest, this team is in a free fall and can no longer be considered a contender for the Eastern Conference let alone the NBA title.
After the Rockets laid a beatdown on Cleveland at Quicken Loans Arena, LeBron suggested the NBA take them off national television since they have been so bad. LeBron knows no help is coming, and he played that way on Saturday. His teammates followed his lead.
LeBron will not commit to Cleveland, and his actions continue to indicate he will leave Cleveland in the offseason. Dan Gilbert, owner of the Cavaliers, reportedly doesn’t care if LeBron leaves because the Cavs got a title out of him and they have the Nets draft pick.
Clearly this relationship is doomed. That being said, Gilbert is an absolute fool if he is willing to lose LeBron for nothing a second time.
Enter Daryl Morey. The Rockets GM is notorious for being extremely active and a dealmaker. Call Gilbert’s bluff.
Getting some quality players and another pick would certainly help ease the hurt of losing James yet again. Why give up an asset for nothing if the intent is to rebuild?
The time is now for Morey to pounce. It’s well chronicled how much Morey has wanted that third superstar to add to James Harden and Chris Paul. LeBron and Paul have a long standing friendship. It would seem like a no-brainer that James would waive his no-trade to come to Houston. All that remains is creating an amenable package and matching salaries.
So here’s the proposal. Ryan Anderson (let’s be real, any deal has to include Ryno’s money though he has regained his shooting touch again) reigning 6MOY Eric Gordon, Trevor Ariza, Chinanu Onuaku, and their 2020 1st rd pick for LeBron. The salaries work, Ryno, EG10 & Ariza are all good players (Ariza is also in a walk year) Onuaku is a young player under control cheaply for another year, and that pick will be useful.
LeBron is still arguably the best player in the world, and they will never get equal value (especially since LBJ must OK the deal anywhere he goes), but they can get some value. Moving LeBron will also get them a better pick in this year’s draft as their record will surely continue to plummet.
Meanwhile, the Rockets (and LeBron) are now a deadly threat to the Golden State Warriors. Meanwhile, the Cavs can begin their rebuild early, and have the option to keep those players or move them (Gordon has value).
It’s probably the best scenario for both Gilbert and LeBron, who are fractured beyond repair. No one stalks better than Daryl Morey. Let’s see if Gilbert really doesn’t care if LeBron leaves, call his bluff Daryl.
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After finishing up with the Guardians the Astros have a rather important series for early May with the Seattle Mariners heading to town for the weekend. While it’s still too early to be an absolute must-win series for the Astros, losing the series to drop seven or eight games off the division lead would make successfully defending their American League West title that much more unlikely.
Since their own stumble out of the gate to a 6-10 record the Mariners have been racking up series wins, including one this week over the Atlanta Braves. The M’s offense is largely Mmm Mmm Bad, but their pitching is sensational. In 18 games after the 6-10 start, the Mariners gave up five runs in a game once. In the other 17 games they only gave up four runs once. Over the 18 games their starting pitchers gave up 18 earned runs total with a 1.44 earned run average. That’s absurd. Coming into the season Seattle’s starting rotation was clearly better on paper than those of the Astros and Texas Rangers, and it has crystal clearly played out as such into the second month of the schedule.
While it’s natural to focus on and fret over one’s own team's woes when they are plentiful as they have been for the Astros, a reminder that not all grass is greener elsewhere. Alex Bregman has been awful so far. So has young Mariners’ superstar Julio Rodriguez. A meager four extra base hits over his first 30 games were all Julio produced down at the ballyard. That the Mariners are well ahead of the Astros with J-Rod significantly underperforming is good news for Seattle.
Caratini comes through!
So it turns out the Astros are allowed to have a Puerto Rican-born catcher who can hit a little bit. Victor Caratini’s pedigree is not that of a quality offensive player, but he has swung the bat well thus far in his limited playing time and provided the most exciting moment of the Astros’ season with his two-out two-run 10th inning game winning home run Tuesday night. I grant that one could certainly say “Hey! Ronel Blanco finishing off his no-hitter has been the most exciting moment.” I opt for the suddenness of Caratini’s blow turning near defeat into instant victory for a team that has been lousy overall to this point. Frittering away a game the Astros had led 8-3 would have been another blow. Instead, to the Victor belong the spoils.
Pudge Rodriguez is the greatest native Puerto Rican catcher, but he was no longer a good hitter when with the Astros for the majority of the 2009 season. Then there’s Martin Maldonado.
Maldonado’s hitting stats with the Astros look Mike Piazza-ian compared to what Jose Abreu was doing this season. Finally, mercifully for all, Abreu is off the roster as he accepts a stint at rookie-level ball in Florida to see if he can perform baseball-CPR on his swing and career. Until or unless he proves otherwise, Abreu is washed up and at some point the Astros will have to accept it and swallow whatever is left on his contract that runs through next season. For now Abreu makes over $120,000 per game to not be on the roster. At his level of performance, that’s a better deal than paying him that money to be on the roster.
Abreu’s seven hits in 71 at bats for an .099 batting average with a .269 OPS is a humiliating stat line. In 2018 George Springer went to sleep the night of June 13 batting .293 after going hitless in his last four at bats in a 13-5 Astros’ win over Oakland. At the time no one could have ever envisioned that Springer had started a deep, deep funk which would have him endure a nightmarish six for 78 stretch at the plate (.077 batting average). Springer then hit .293 the rest of the season.
Abreu’s exile opened the door for Joey Loperfido to begin his Major League career. Very cool for Loperfido to smack a two-run single in his first game. He also struck out twice. Loperfido will amass whiffs by the bushel, he had 37 strikeouts in 101 at bats at AAA Sugar Land. Still, if he can hit .225 with some walks mixed in (he drew 16 with the Space Cowboys) and deliver some of his obvious power (13 homers in 25 games for the ex-Skeeters) that’s an upgrade over Abreu/Jon Singleton, as well as over Jake Meyers and the awful showing Chas McCormick has posted so far. Frankly, it seems unwise that the Astros only had Loperfido play seven games at first base in the minors this year. If McCormick doesn’t pick it up soon and with Meyers displaying limited offensive upside, the next guy worth a call-up is outfielder Pedro Leon. In January 2021 the Astros gave Leon four million dollars to sign out of Cuba and called him a “rapid mover to the Major Leagues.” Well…
Over his first three minor league seasons Leon flashed tools but definitely underwhelmed. He has been substantially better so far this year. He turns 26 May 28. Just maybe the Astros offense could be the cause of fewer Ls with Loperfido at first and Leon in center field.
Catch our weekly Stone Cold ‘Stros podcast. Brandon Strange, Josh Jordan, and I discuss varied Astros topics. The first post for the week generally goes up Monday afternoon (second part released Tuesday) via YouTube: stone cold stros - YouTube with the complete audio available via Apple Podcast, Spotify, or wherever you get your podcasts.