What if the Cavaliers got Michael Redd in 2005?

[blood yes]

(Please, no trolling, from both LeBron and Kobe Stans. No dumb answers, just want to know what you realistically think would happen)

In the summer of 2005, the Cavaliers front office was VERY close in getting Michael Redd, a monster scorer at the time. Of course, at the last minute, Redd resigned with the Bucks and the Cavs were forced to resort to Hughes, a horribly overrated player that really couldnt do much on the offensive end.

Now, remember, this wasnt injury prone Michael Redd, this was a vicious all-nba calibar player that played on team usa, and could ball with the best of em.

His scoring was up there with Kobe, LeBron, A.I, Gilbert Arenas, and Dwyane Wade as the best scorers in the NBA.

AS we all know, LeBron never had a true second option in Cleveland, and seeing how he worked real well with Wade, imagine if he had Redd in Cleveland?

If LeBron ever has an off night, it dont matter, Redd could drop 40 all day.

And Redd was a great spot up 3 shooter too, so they would both fit real well.

This Redd-James combo would have been interesting in 2007, when LBJ took his ragtad squad with Daniel Gibson to the Finals, after a redonkulous 48 point game. However, the Spurs elite defense caused LeBron to struggle, and Boobie wasnt to be relied on.

Imagine Michael Redd in that situation, the spurs would double Bron, and Redd would go off for 30 every game. It would be a win win

So what if The cavs got a PRIME Michael Redd to come play with Bron?

Their 2007 Finals Lineup with Redd
Big Z, Drew Gooden, LBJ, Michael Redd, Daniel Gibson (Varejao, Pavlovich off bench)

Their 2009 Lineup where they won 66 games
Varejao, Hickson, James, Red, Mo Williams(Big Z, gibson, west off bench)

Could they win a title?

[inclinerator]

they'd be better, i still dont think they win a title tho unless redd puts up 25 a night

[blood yes]

they'd be better, i still dont think they win a title tho unless redd puts up 25 a night
Well, Redd averaged 27 in his prime with the bucks, and with the lack of scoring options on the cavs, i dont think it would be farfetched to say that redd could average 25 with the cavs squad

[Basketbolero]

That frontcourt still gets destroyed in the ECF and Redd doesn't make up for it IMO.

We are assuming that Redd does not get injured I guess, so we have to figure out how he ages, when he was a below average athlete to put it mildly.

They would be a more dangerous playoff team that's for sure

[blood yes]

That frontcourt still gets destroyed in the ECF and Redd doesn't make up for it IMO.

We are assuming that Redd does not get injured I guess, so we have to figure out how he ages, when he was a below average athlete to put it mildly.

They would be a more dangerous playoff team that's for sure
Maybe they would still lose to the magic in 2009 (remember, dwight was a monster that year, and hedo/lewis were on steroids)

But what about 2007, the year the cavs got to the fina;s? Remember, the cavs nearly won games 3 and 4, imagine a LeBron, fresh off his best performance ever against the pistons along with Redd?

Or what bout 2010 game 5, when LeBron struggled/quit on the cavs? Redd would have still dropped 25+, I could definately see them winning that year as well

[RedBlackAttack]

They would have been better offensively, but worse defensively. Hughes gets a lot of grief for contributing very little offensively in light of the contract the Cavs gave him in '06, but he was a really versatile defender.

I'd say they may have been marginally better with Redd, but not enough to put the team over the top.

Their actual No. 1 target was Ray Allen that offseason. Second was Joe Johnson. Redd was third and they had to settle on Hughes.

Now, you put a prime Ray Allen on that team? You're cooking with fire.

[PJR]

Kind of crazy how they had they were sitting on all that cap flexibility and ended up with the Larry Hughes, Damon Jones, and Donyell Marshall poo poo platter. :oldlol:

Just goes to show you, cap flexibility doesn't guarantee you shit.....unless you're Pat Riley.

[blood yes]

Kind of crazy how they had they were sitting on all that cap flexibility and ended up with the Larry Hughes, Damon Jones, and Donyell Marshall poo poo platter. :oldlol:

Just goes to show you, cap flexibility doesn't guarantee you shit.....unless you're Pat Riley.
It wasnt management fault tho.

They tried to get MRedd and Joe Johnson that summer of 05, both would have made a HUGE difference in the timeline of the nba.

The cavs didnt want hughes, it was just their only option, and they HAD to get someone, cause lebron literally had ira newble as his other wing man.

[Basketbolero]

Maybe they would still lose to the magic in 2009 (remember, dwight was a monster that year, and hedo/lewis were on steroids)

But what about 2007, the year the cavs got to the fina;s? Remember, the cavs nearly won games 3 and 4, imagine a LeBron, fresh off his best performance ever against the pistons along with Redd?

Or what bout 2010 game 5, when LeBron struggled/quit on the cavs? Redd would have still dropped 25+, I could definately see them winning that year as well
2007 there is no way they go from being destroyed by the Spurs to beating them. Maybe they steal 1 or 2 games if Redd is on a hot streak as Lebron was dominating therefore attracting a lot of defensive attention.

2010 was about matchups again and I reall don't see how Redd changes that. It's not like he was prime Ray Allen. They would be a better playoff team, for sure, but marginally.

We have to also take into consideration that the Cavs defense was elite but it would get significantly worse by adding 35mpg of Redd. Lebron would have to take more defensive responsibilities for instance and he wasn't as good of a defensive player as Miami Heat Lebron.

[blood yes]

They would have been better offensively, but worse defensively. Hughes gets a lot of grief for contributing very little offensively in light of the contract the Cavs gave him in '06, but he was a really versatile defender.

I'd say they may have been marginally better with Redd, but not enough to put the team over the top.

Their actual No. 1 target was Ray Allen that offseason. Second was Joe Johnson. Redd was third and they had to settle on Hughes.

Now, you put a prime Ray Allen on that team? You're cooking with fire.
Lets be honest tho, Ray Allen was never going to go to cleveland:rolleyes: :rolleyes:

He was sticking with Seattle, and no one except delusional cavs fans thought he was going to cleveland.

On the other hand, Redd had a legitimate chance of going to the Cavs. Redd played at OSU, and was chill with Bron. Redd was real close to leaving the Bucks

And I think you're underrating PRIME redd, there is a reason coaches wanted him in the 08 olympics, with kobe, bron, wade, and cp3, instead of taking rookie drose/oj mayo instead (Legit options at the time, team usa usually picks 1 college player to go wit them, like ADavis in 2012)

Dude was a 30 scorer back in the day.

[RedBlackAttack]

It wasnt management fault tho.

They tried to get MRedd and Joe Johnson that summer of 05, both would have made a HUGE difference in the timeline of the nba.

The cavs didnt want hughes, it was just their only option, and they HAD to get someone, cause lebron literally had ira newble as his other wing man.
In fairness, Hughes was coming off of an All-Star season and was still a very young guy. At the time of the signing, it was seen pretty much universally as a solid move.

It's easy to look back now with 20/20 clarity, but Hughes showed quite a bit of promise in Washington.

And, as I said, he was actually 4th on the pecking order, as I remember it.

The Cavs' big board in 2005...
1. Ray Allen
2. Joe Johnson
3. Michael Redd
4. Larry Hughes

[RedBlackAttack]

Lets be honest tho, Ray Allen was never going to go to cleveland:rolleyes: :rolleyes:

He was sticking with Seattle, and no one except delusional cavs fans thought he was going to cleveland.

On the other hand, Redd had a legitimate chance of going to the Cavs. Redd played at OSU, and was chill with Bron. Redd was real close to leaving the Bucks

And I think you're underrating PRIME redd, there is a reason coaches wanted him in the 08 olympics, with kobe, bron, wade, and cp3, instead of taking rookie drose/oj mayo instead (Legit options at the time, team usa usually picks 1 college player to go wit them, like ADavis in 2012)

Dude was a 30 scorer back in the day.
Redd was an incredible shooter and probably a top 5 scorer in the league at that time. Yeah, I remember him well. Hell, he went to Ohio State. I followed his career closely.

I'm just saying that, what he would have given those teams in the way of scoring, some of it would have been negated by his defensive ability or lack thereof. Yes, he was a better player than Hughes and he would have made those teams more of a threat... but, I don't think it would have been enough.

Remember, those Cavs teams hung their hats on defense and rebounding. How would Michael Redd have fit into that system?


As for Ray Allen, he actually did sit down with the Cavs a couple times and there was a good deal of chatter that we were in the mix as one of the final three teams he was looking at.

But, in the end, I think he used Cleveland as leverage in re-signing with the Sonics. I never got the feeling that he was actually serious about leaving. He was still trying to be the No. 1 guy on a championship team at that point. Coming to Cleveland would have meant admitting that he was a second banana.

I'm just commenting on how well he would have fit on that team.

[blood yes]

2007 there is no way they go from being destroyed by the Spurs to beating them. Maybe they steal 1 or 2 games if Redd is on a hot streak as Lebron was dominating therefore attracting a lot of defensive attention.

2010 was about matchups again and I reall don't see how Redd changes that. It's not like he was prime Ray Allen. They would be a better playoff team, for sure, but marginally.

We have to also take into consideration that the Cavs defense was elite but it would get significantly worse by adding 35mpg of Redd. Lebron would have to take more defensive responsibilities for instance and he wasn't as good of a defensive player as Miami Heat Lebron.

Remember, the 2010 magic were nowhere as good as the 09 magic.

I say that cavs team, even with BRon struggling/quitting on the cavs, had they had mredd, would have beat the celtics and the magic, giving lebron new hope with the cavs, who would then proceed to beat the lakers in the finals (Gives us a bron vs kobe finals as well)

[blood yes]

Redd was an incredible shooter and probably a top 5 scorer in the league at that time. Yeah, I remember him well. Hell, he went to Ohio State. I followed his career closely.

I'm just saying that, what he would have given those teams in the way of scoring, some of it would have been negated by his defensive ability or lack thereof. Yes, he was a better player than Hughes and he would have made those teams more of a threat... but, I don't think it would have been enough.

Remember, those Cavs teams hung their hats on defense and rebounding. How would Michael Redd have fit into that system?


As for Ray Allen, he actually did sit down with the Cavs a couple times and there was a good deal of chatter that we were in the mix as one of the final three teams he was looking at.

But, in the end, I think he used Cleveland as leverage in re-signing with the Sonics. I never got the feeling that he was actually serious about leaving. He was still trying to be the No. 1 guy on a championship team at that point. Coming to Cleveland would have meant admitting that he was a second banana.

I'm just commenting on how well he would have fit on that team.

With the Bucks, Redd really was the boss around town. Dude was allowed to say and do whatever he wanted, resulting in his lack of defense

However, with a defensive minded coach in Brown, and a guy like LeBron who would create less iso situations for redd, therefore letting him use more energy on defense, Redd would become a pretty good defensive player.

It would be almost like ray allen with the celtics, not a great defensive player, but masked by the celtics defensive philosophy

[Lebron23]

won 2 games against the 2007 Spurs. The 2007 Spurs were a very good offensive and defensive team.

Losses to the 2008 Boston Celtics in the conference finals in 7 games. Cleveland took them into 7 games in the 2008 NBA ECSF while the 2008 Celtics beat the 2008 Lakers in 6 games.

Won back to back NBA titles with the 2009 and 2010 Cavaliers. Redd is actually 4-5 years younger than Ray Allen, and a much better offensive player than Hughes. Hughes also missed plenty of games in his stint with the Cavs.

[blood yes]

won 2 games against the 2007 Spurs. The 2007 Spurs were a very good offensive and defensive team.

Losses to the 2008 Boston Celtics in the conference finals in 7 games. Cleveland took them into 7 games in the 2008 NBA ECSF while the 2008 Celtics beat the 2008 Lakers in 6 games.

Won back to back NBA titles with the 2009 and 2010 Cavaliers. Redd is actually 4-5 years younger than Ray Allen, and a much better offensive player than Hughes. Hughes also missed plenty of games in his stint with the Cavs.
OMG, forgot 2008:eek:

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:bowdown: :banana: :cheers:


swagggggg,

[HylianNightmare]

they dont lost in 09

[Boston C's]

Redd was an incredible shooter and probably a top 5 scorer in the league at that time. Yeah, I remember him well. Hell, he went to Ohio State. I followed his career closely.

I'm just saying that, what he would have given those teams in the way of scoring, some of it would have been negated by his defensive ability or lack thereof. Yes, he was a better player than Hughes and he would have made those teams more of a threat... but, I don't think it would have been enough.

Remember, those Cavs teams hung their hats on defense and rebounding. How would Michael Redd have fit into that system?


As for Ray Allen, he actually did sit down with the Cavs a couple times and there was a good deal of chatter that we were in the mix as one of the final three teams he was looking at.

But, in the end, I think he used Cleveland as leverage in re-signing with the Sonics. I never got the feeling that he was actually serious about leaving. He was still trying to be the No. 1 guy on a championship team at that point. Coming to Cleveland would have meant admitting that he was a second banana.

I'm just commenting on how well he would have fit on that team.

The bolded is right on the money...I feel like ray def used the cavs as leverage for seattle so he could get the max contract he got from them

however if ray somehow went to the cavs that yr then the entire landscape of the nba would be entirely different today...lebron probably wins a ring with the cavs no decision no miami hell no big 3 in boston etc etc...its funny how most hypothetical situations could really affect the grander scheme of things for years to come

[gyu]

He's injury prone. Even if he did play well, injuries would hold him back.

[blood yes]

He's injury prone. Even if he did play well, injuries would hold him back.
He was not injury prone. He just got a freak injury, and we all know milwakee has shit hospitals.

[blood yes]

Bump cause of a recent espn article

[Lebron23]

I like his shooting style. I heard that he officially retired from the NBA last November.

[AnaheimLakers24]

I like his shooting style. I heard that he officially retired from the NBA last November.
i think the bucks held a special night for him after he retired

[D.J.]

They're not even close to a championship team. LeBron's D was still suspect at that time. Larry Hughes gets a lot of grief, but he was one of the few who could defend on that team. Michael Redd obviously makes them considerably better at the offensive end as LeBron wouldn't be a one man show at that end, but they also get considerably worse defensively. How would they beat the Pistons in '06 or '07? They didn't exactly beat the Wizards or Nets with ease.

[ihatetimthomas]

In fairness, Hughes was coming off of an All-Star season and was still a very young guy. At the time of the signing, it was seen pretty much universally as a solid move.

It's easy to look back now with 20/20 clarity, but Hughes showed quite a bit of promise in Washington.

And, as I said, he was actually 4th on the pecking order, as I remember it.

The Cavs' big board in 2005...
1. Ray Allen
2. Joe Johnson
3. Michael Redd
4. Larry Hughes

It was recognized he was signed because he was the only guy left for them to throw money at. Personally, I did not think he would fit and he never had a healthy season. He looked like to me the classic guy who plays well in a contract year.