Danny Ferry…
Posted by disappointmentzone on 20 January 2007
I suppose there is a lot I could say about Danny Ferry, General Manager of our Cleveland Cavaliers. But instead of 1000 words on why Ferry has been disappointing — and why he’s shown no signs of improving — I’ll just allow his work to speak for itself (more or less).
In order of how much longer these players are under contracts Ferry gave them:
2010
Zydrunas Ilgauskas (b. 1975) is under contract until 2010. He’s still owed $32.4 million on his $55 million contract (none of the follow contract figures include this season). Due to a string of unfortunate injuries he plays older than he is and his current injury-free run is one of the more surprising and not-talked-about sports stories in recent Cleveland sports memory. He’s tall with a nice touch, but he’s one of the slowest players in the league, which makes him the perfect running mate for LeBron James, who is the type of player you want to surround with plodding big men.
Larry Hughes, despite being about a foot shorter and 80 pounds lighter, is an awful lot like Ilgauskas, with one glaring exception: Ilguaskas can shoot a jumper. Here is how they are alike: Hughes is still owed $38.5 million on his $60 million contract; Hughes’s career has been marred by injuries; both were overpaid by Danny Ferry. Hughes’s saving grace is that he’s a much better defender than is Ilgauskas. Then again, that’s not saying much.
2009
Donyell Marshall will come off the books in 2009. Until then the Cavs must pay him $11.6 million dollars (again, these figures don’t include the 2006/07 salaries), which is a pretty nice chunk of change for a power forward whose on-court comfort grows the farther he’s away from the basket. Unfortunately, his comfort is often at odds with his productivity. Oh, and he was born in 1973 and he can’t play defense.
Damon Jones is still owed $8.3 million, which is a pretty nice chunk of change for a shooting guard who has the height of a point guard minus all the necessary point guard skills. Or wait! He’s a point guard who is capable of knocking down a three pointer but incapable of running an offense. It’s one of the two, or both.
Miscellany
LeBron James didn’t sign a max deal this summer. That’s certainly reassuring. As a fan you always want to see your franchise player leave money and years on the table. That said, he did sign Drew Gooden, but the delay before signing him is indicative. Gooden could have signed with another team; for a while, that certainly seemed to be where things were heading. As it is he’s been the second-best player on the team this year. He’s still incredibly young and this will be the first time in his career that he’s had the same coach for two seasons in a row. Signing Gooden should never have been an issue. Now that he’s signed I must give kudos to Ferry: the Gooden contract is a great contract for the organization. Right now Gooden is the only player (other than LBJ, of course) with trade value higher than what he’s owed by the team. That he is the only such player is really unfortunate and reflects poorly on Ferry. Trading away every other player of substance (and I use that word as a joke) would result in the team taking a hit, financial or otherwise, unless Isiah Thomas is really feeling generous. Ferry was hamstrung by inheriting Eric Snow. This is worth noting. Ferry’s best — and only decent — move as a GM was trading for Flip Murry last season. When your best move is trading for a below-average shooting guard you know you have problems.
Final Note
The Cavs have $64.3 million locked up in salaries for 2007/08, $62.1 million for 2008/09, and $40.3 million for 2009/10.
Eric Snow counts for $14 million of that $166.7 million. Drew Gooden counts for $13.5 million. LBJ counts for $41.2 million.
That leaves $98 million owed to the rest of the players currently on the roster (excluding Varejao, Pollard, and Pavolvic, who all come off the books after this season).
Quick: Name me any combination of players on the team — again, excluding Varejao, Pollard, and Pavolvic — worth that much money.
…….
Times up.
Hope you enjoyed the game. On your way out, please be sure to give a warm round of applause to your host, Danny Ferry, your Cleveland Cavaliers GM!
The Disappointment Zone 
Erik said
I think you are being way too harsh on Ferry. You’re treating him like Jim Paxson, for crying out loud.
I mean, come on. The team is in first place. They are tied for the conference lead.
Ferry must have done something right these past two years. It can’t all be chalked up to having LeBron James. James already proved in 2004 and ’05 he can’t singlehandedly carry a team to the playoffs, so some of the credit has to go the team around him.
Ferry might not have hit four home runs with the signings of Jones, Ilgauskas, Hughes and Marshall, but those guys have all contributed on some level. I think that was the idea. Who else was out there that wasn’t a restricted free agent or had more incentive to sign for more money with their former team? Quite frankly, I am surprised he was even able to pry Hughes away from the Wizards.
What else was he supposed to do with $28 million in cap space? Not spend it? You have to overpay to get free agents to switch teams. That’s how most leagues are set up. We would be on cloud nine if the Indians would spend like that.
I, for one, am sick of Cleveland fans wearing shit-colored glasses. Even when things are relatively good, we have to convince ourselves that they are actually bad so that, in the event things do go bad, we can be the ones to say “I told you so.”
Of course, Cleveland fans will nail themselves to the “43 years without a title” cross and make fun of anyone who tries to tell them otherwise, because they’ve “earned” the right to be miserable. What a right to have. So fine, be miserable. Hope it’s everything you’ve dreamed it could be.
Ben said
As much as Hughes is disappointing me, I’ll still defend his signing. The Cavs didn’t really have a whole lot of options.
As for Z, Marshall and Jones…
I felt that the Cavs needed to keep Z. Losing Z would mean that the only two teammates of LeBron that were worth a damn, Boozer and Z, would’ve left for no compensation. Plus, if you lose Z, who do you replace him with? “Some athletic big man” doesn’t really count in my book.
Big men are typically overpaid and for all his faults Z A) can put the ball in the hole (so you have to guard him) and B) works hard and tries.
Marshall and Jones? Probably too long of deals, but again, you needed outside shooters and you have to overpay to get guys to come to you.
Snow was Paxson’s guy and I find it difficult to fault Ferry for not trading a crappy, overpaid PG.
Ferry may not turn out to be a good GM, but I think it’s premature to bitch about him now (though I can understand the frustration).
If they look like this in a couple years… well…
Randall said
Well, most of my response to this is under the Maggette thread, but one more point is that at the time EVERYONE thought the Marshall signing was the best of the Cavs offseason moves in 2005. His shot wouldn’t drop last year, and despite an offseason training regimen that left him noticeably trimmer, he seems even slower than last year. Of course, Donyell is an old vet and he knows how to pace himself. He had a bit of extra bounce in his step during the playoffs last year.
disappointmentzone said
Erik: That the Cavs are tied for the lead in the Conference doesn’t say a whole lot about how good the team actually is. The EC is pretty terrible right now.
James proved in 04 and 05 that he couldn’t single-handedly carry the team, you are right; but that doesn’t mean he cannot do so now. Players improve. Do I think he’s doing all the work? No. I think Gooden is a very good player. I think Z is an above-average center (although by a very small margin). Other players are making contributions, too.
That guys have contributed at some level does not mean that they were good signings. If Hughes, Marshall, Z, and Jones all signed for the league minimum then that would have been a masterstroke. It’s not just the players a GM signs that is the standard against which he should be evaluated; it’s the terms of the deals as well. You cannot defend any of the money being paid to those four players based on their performances as Cavaliers.
It’s not the $28 million that’s the problem (well, not completely). It’s the $90+ million in contracts he’s dolled out. If you can answer the question I posed at the end of the blog post then please do so.
I don’t know what to make of your last two paragraphs. Were those words intended specifically for me or for Cleveland fans in general?
Ben: I wanted the Cavs to keep Z as well, but his contract was too long and for too much. Something more on the range of 3 years with an option for a fourth year would have suited me much more, and the fewer years the more easily it would be to swallow the per-season price.
In my post I tried to make it clear that Snow is not on Ferry. I don’t fault Ferry for not trading Snow yet–I doubt he could. But in the scheme of things (that is, the next few seasons) Snow is not a huge financial burden. He’s a burden, but not huge.
I don’t think it’s premature to bitch about Ferry. He made four big signings. Do you think those signings will look better in two seasons? He signed two aging big men, a backup PG/SG, and a fragile SG. Both Z and Marshall are beyond their prime. It’s completely fair to judge Ferry on those deals as any smart basketball fan knows that only Hughes has the potential to keep improving. Ferry leveraged a huge amount of the financial flexibility of future teams. We are beyond the “wait and see”. We can see. Z=declining. Marshall=declining. Jones=treading water. Hughes=under-performing. Would you prefer I wait until Z is obviously ill-suited to the team?
How the Cavs will look in a couple of years was largely determined a couple of years ago. Without major trades the team is locked into a whole bunch of players for a few more seasons. If you are resting your hopes about Ferry’s ability as a GM on how this team will look in the future then just squint your eyes and imaging the same roster but two years older.
Finally, please don’t make the “he tries” argument. You know who else tried? Every 11th man in the league. While trying is commendable (I guess; these guys are paid a shit load to try) it doesn’t necessarily mean production. Look at Wilks from last season. Or Snow this season. I don’t mean this to sound cynical. I prefer to root for guys who try. But as a GM your job is to find the guys who’ll help your team win.
Ranall: I didn’t like the Marshall signing that much (wasn’t blown away), but to say it was the best signing of 2005 isn’t much. What else is there for it to complete against?
Ben said
See, I don’t really see Z as being as that unproductive. Take his game versus Denver, obviously not his best game, but he still shot 5-6 from the floor. When the Cavs get him the ball regularly, he produces and the offense runs much smoother (I wish they’ve have James feed him the ball in the post and then cut to the hoop, rather than Snow).
As for the whole ‘trying’ thing, I do think it matters. This league is filled with overpaid big men (look at the Knicks) who don’t work on their games and who rest once they get their big contract. Z spends his offseason trying to develop a better hook shot and during games he hits the offensive boards as bout as good as anyone in the league and he’s always diving on the floor for loose balls. Plus, he’s played some great defense this year IMO.
To me, he gives a better effort than Gooden and Hughes combined (if I see him take another 20 footer with 18 seconds left on the shot clock I’ll strangle him). A lot of the Cavs current problems (James included) is lack of effort.
disappointmentzone said
You are right: Z is not that unproductive. In fact, he’s the third-most productive Cav. His WP48 this season is .142. .100 is average. So he’s above average.
Trying only matters insofar as it results in more productivity. That’s my point. Trying alone is worthless (in terms of wins and stuff) if it doesn’t lead to more productivity. That was my point concerning a guy like Mike Wilks, who probably tries VERY hard but doing so doesn’t make him a productive player. Productivity should be on par with pay. Trying only enters into the equation if it leads to more productivity.
What I was trying to emphasize with my post on Ferry is that you have to evaluate him based on what he’s done to the team now and to what the team can do in the future. That’s the reason for not really looking at this season but focusing on 2008-10. Z is good now, but he’s declined the last couple of years and will probably continue to do so (he’s no spring chicken). How will Z look in three years? This is a relevant question.
Josh said
When Ray Allen and Michael Redd passed on the Cavs $$, Ferry needed to tell LBJ that he was committed to winning but that it wasn’t worth cap space to sign Hughes and he’d have to wait a year to get an upgrade in the backcourt. They used all their space in one year before they really knew best what kind of players most complimented Lebron’s game.
The rush to “win now” meant a guaranteed appearance in the second round of the playoffs but not much else.
jc said
THE HOLE TEAMS SUCKS EXCEPT LE BRON !!!
Erik said
I think we have a difference in philosophy. From what I gather, you think the Cavs’ problems are primarily the product of the talent and the roster that has been assembled. I think the Cavs’ problems are more a matter of motivation and coaching.
I don’t see Danny Ferry as the primary problem. Granted, anyone looks good following a regime like that of Jim Paxson, but I think Ferry has done a reasonably good job. He’s not in the league of Joe Dumars or R.C. Buford, but he’s succeeded in putting a competitive team around LeBron.
I don’t think Ferry is doing anything that any other GM in the league isn’t doing. All teams have at least a couple big contracts, with the possible exception of the Bobcats. And I don’t think the Jones and Marshall deals are as weighty and immovable as you think they are.
The main problem, as I see it, is this team loses focus way too easily and clings to bad habits like a security blanket. That’s not a roster issue. That’s coaching.
I think Mike Brown is a solid basketball guy and I am fine with him as the head coach at this point. But I think that too often he retreats to the playbook to solve the team’s problems, when at times they might just need a good, old-fashioned verbal kick in the ass.
I don’t think he demands the right things from his players all the time, and I certainly don’t think he has the right idea on offense. If he is going to harp constantly on defense while the offense sputters, he owes it to his team to bring in an experienced, skilled offensive assistant to help him.
The Cavs have proven that they are capable of being a very good team, maybe even a team that can reach the NBA Finals out of this weak Eastern Conference, but they only show it in spurts.
It’s not a talent issue. It’s a consistency issue. And that falls on Brown.
Larry Hughes said
Why do I insist on dribbling around for entire posessions and then shooting a jumpshot, even though the whole league knows I’m not a good shooter? I have a huge contract, I’m completely untradable, my only saving grace is I get hurt so much that Daniel Gibson gets to play and hopefully he’ll steal all my minutes so me and my ridiculous contract can ride the bench.
Randall said
DZ,
You said: Do you think those signings will look better in two seasons? He signed two aging big men, a backup PG/SG, and a fragile SG. Both Z and Marshall are beyond their prime. It’s completely fair to judge Ferry on those deals as any smart basketball fan knows that only Hughes has the potential to keep improving. Ferry leveraged a huge amount of the financial flexibility of future teams.
But, every GM must consider his team in a few years AND his team NOW, when making financial commitments. The Ilgauskas deal and the Jones deal, specifically, were calculated risks. Everyone knew that those deals were both probably market value deals per year, but each contract had one more year than would normally be prudent to give. But, that extra year is what it took to get the deals done. Gilbert bought the team because of Lebron, and Ferry had to take his best shot to land players that would maximize the chance of Lebron extending at the end of LAST YEAR. I don’t think anyone thinks that Lebron or the fans would have been happy if Ferry had not fired all of his bullets and merely done what was in the longterm interest of the team (a la Mark Shapiro). Quite the contrary, he would have been roasted for it! Here we have this once in a generation superstar, and our GM doesn’t take his best shots in the name of financial prudence? You criticisms are purely hindsight being 20/20 — Unless you can say what he SHOULD have done with the money that would have a) made us a competitive playoff team last year AND b) improved on our longterm outlook as well.