Former Cavaliers GM Danny Ferry knew patience would be necessary when he traded $300K in cash for the draft rights to Sasha Kaun in 2008, as he tells Terry Pluto of The Plain Dealer. Still, Ferry had watched similar draft-and-stash prospects pay off when he was with the Spurs, and he sees Kaun, who’s finally coming to the Cavs, as a strong defender whose professional experience overseas has made him ready for the NBA.
“He will really help the Cavs,” Ferry said to Pluto. “He was a three-time Academic All-American at Kansas. He’s like a sponge. He soaks up everything the coaches tell him. The best thing he did was go and play for CSKA Moscow. It’s the elite level in Europe.”
Cleveland’s deal with Kaun reunites the center with Timofey Mozgov and coach David Blatt from the 2012 Russian Olympic team, Pluto notes. See more from around the Central Division:
- The Bucks are ready to do a deal on a rookie scale extension for John Henson, but the sense from Henson’s camp is that they want to see what the market yields for other extension-eligible players, sources tell Steve Kyler of Basketball Insiders for his NBA AM piece. We looked at Henson’s extension candidacy in depth earlier this month.
- Recent Bucks signee Marcus Landry, a Milwaukee native, has long been a fan of the team, as he explains to Charles F. Gardner of the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel. “We still have so many things from Ray Allen and guys before Ray Allen,” Landry said. “We have a sign that my mom held onto. I have a pair of shoes I got from Ray Allen personally. We have a lot of memorabilia from coming to a Bucks game at a young age. It’s an overwhelming moment for me at times when I really sit back and think about it. It’s definitely going to be a great experience.”
- The Pistons traded for Steve Blake after watching Spencer Dinwiddie struggle with turnovers in the summer league, but while a healthy Brandon Jennings would threaten to knock Dinwiddie further down the depth chart, last year’s 38th overall pick remains confident, writes Keith Langlois of Pistons.com. Dinwiddie is entering the final guaranteed season of his contract, one of 17 on the Pistons that includes a full guarantee for this year.
Pretty unfair Ferry doesn’t have a job still. I thought he might circle back to the Spurs or maybe even 76ers. Yes what he said was wrong, but it was taken a little too far. Not to mention he was legit sorry for how it went down. I just feel other NBA GMs, coaches, owners say all kinds of crazy stuff that could be taken out of context. (not just racial stuff)
I think he’ll get a job before too long. There haven’t been a lot of openings this year.