Browns Cut to 53 with a few surprises

  The Cleveland Browns made their cuts to fifty-three by today's required deadline and while the Browns could be active on the waiver wire, the moves are likely to be minimal.

That's not to say that the Browns did not have some difficult decisions and are hoping that a few of their cuts will make it through waivers to join their practice squad.

Two undrafted players made the roster linebacker Mohamoud Diabate and safety Ronnie Hickman.

Diabate played three seasons at Florida before transferring to Utah in 2002 and he took advantage of the issues at linebacker with Anthony Walker and Sione Takitaki still working their way back from injuries suffered last season.

Diabate likely made the roster when he forced a fumble and also scored a safety in the Browns tie with the Eagles to go with six solo tackles.

Ronnie Hickman pictured above, signed from Ohio State, intercepted three passes in the preseason and joined D'Anthony Bell as backup safeties who will be expected to help on special teams, which Mohamoud Diabate is expected to contribute as well.

Andrew Berry has traditionally been very reluctant to release players he's drafted but he knows what is on the line this season and he isn't as averse to moving on from his picks as in the past.

Berry released two players from the 2021 draft, fourth-round defensive tackle Tommy Togiai and seventh-round running Demetric Felton, and two players from the 2022 draft, fourth-round kicker Cade York (as reported yesterday) and seventh-round defensive lineman Isaiah Thomas.

The release of York and Thomas along with the earlier releases of fourth-rounder Perrion Winfrey and seventh-rounder Dawson Deaton means that only one year after the draft, Cleveland has only five of the nine selections under contract with one of them, sixth-round wide receiver Michael Woods, out for the season due to injury.

What seems to be the most controversial decision is the team keeping 2022 third-round choice David Bell over preseason standout Austin Watkins.

Watkins led the league in receiving statistics in the preseason with sixteen catches, 257 yards, and two touchdowns but Bell is younger and is a better special teams performer, which is vital for one of the backup receivers.

Bell also seems to be a better fit in the slot and Watkins likely was edged off the roster, not by Bell but by the return of off-season signee Marquise Goodwin from blood clots which caused him to miss training camp and was thought to perhaps cost him a significant part of the season.

The Browns also released veteran offensive lineman Michael Dunn and defensive tackle Maurice Hurst but both are thought to be returning once the administrative procedures of placing players on the injured reserve etc. are completed.

Demetric Felton likely would made the squad as the third running back, had the Browns not traded for Pierre Strong with New England earlier this week, and the Browns will try to bring him back to the practice squad, if possible.

Kellen Mond was released as the Browns have decided to go with two quarterbacks on the active roster but with his experience with the Browns last season, Mond would likely be added to the practice squad as well.

Jaylen Darden is a wideout that I'd love to see clear and return to the practice squad as he has plenty of skills but struggled through some training camp injuries that hindered his chance to make the team.

The main losses of note on defense are the former draftees Tommy Togiai and Isaiah Thomas along the defensive line.

Togiai got caught up in the numbers at defensive tackle after a strong preseason but he didn't stand out enough to hold off the newcomers at the position and Thomas, who missed all of the preseason with a knee injury, also was hampered by the team having to place another injured second-year defensive end in Alex Wright on the roster.

Both could wind up on the practice squad as well.

Cleveland may make a move or two depending on the talent available on the waiver wire but these cuts over the long term look to come down to David Bell vs. Austin Watkins (which unless Watkins becomes a star is for the last wide receiver spot on the roster) and the biggest will be the decision at kicker to trade for Dustin Hopkins and release Cade York, which will affect this season and should York move elsewhere and become the kicker that the Browns thought he would be when they drafted him, affect many seasons to come.

Browns Select Isaiah Thomas

    The Cleveland Browns had two picks in the seventh and final round of the NFL Draft and with the first of the two choices, it was another Oklahoma Sooner, the third in this draft for Cleveland, in defensive end Isaiah Thomas.

Thomas, a rangy 6'5 rush end, finished last season with eight sacks for the Sooners and eleven tackles for loss in twelve games.

Thomas has long arms and like Perrion Winfrey, a very high motor that doesn't stop until the whistle and doesn't take plays off.

Thomas is a bit light at 265 pounds and Ourlads states that Thomas can be pushed away from the passer against heavy power blockers, so Thomas may have to get stronger and heavier to be more than a reserve level player but I've seen linemen before that don't check the boxes physically yet still turn out to be very productive players as part of a rotational defensive line corps.

When it comes to late (or last) round picks, I like to see one of two types of players selected.

You can select a player with high potential that may have had off the field issues or injury problems or one can take a player that may have physical limitations but is a high effort player and can perhaps work themselves onto the roster.

I would think Thomas has a chance to stick on the roster but is going to have to have a great camp as you would think after Myles Garrett, hopefully, Jadeveon Clowney, new arrival Chase Winovich and third-rounder Alex Wright, there could be only one slot available between Thomas, Curtis Weaver, and Stephen Weatherly.

Cavaliers cutting waste at the deadline-Part One

It was pretty clear that whatever the Cleveland Cavaliers were trying to build for the 2017-18 season wasn't working, and with Kevin Love injured, things didn't appear to be getting better soon, despite an overtime win on Wednesday over Minnesota.

That made deadline day in the NBA even more important than usual and Cleveland under Koby Altman or whoever you believe is running the show (the names vary according to which NBA columnists you read) felt compelled to swing into action and when the smoke cleared in Cleveland-three trades were finished, six players were on the road out of Cleveland with four new Cavaliers headed into Northeast Ohio over the course of a frantic deadline day that saw even more dealings than anyone could have expected.
I'm going to write about one major deal now and hopefully the other major deal later tonight.

The flashiest deal was the Cavaliers punting the Isaiah Thomas trial by shipping the malcontented point guard along with veteran big man Channing Frye and the Cavaliers' first-round pick in this year's draft (Not the Nets pick obtained in the Kyrie Irving trade) to the Los Angeles Lakers.
The return was a popular one as point guard Jordan Clarkson and forward Larry Nance Jr. are coming to Cleveland.
Clarkson was averaging 14 points a game in 23 minutes as he was the first player off the Lakers' bench and brings the type of scoring that you'd expect from the modern point guard, with a playmaking ability that should be welcomed after watching Thomas and his struggles over his Cleveland tenure.
Nance returns home after growing up in the area as the son of Cavalier legend Larry Nance Sr, with averages of eight points and just under seven rebounds a game.

Like his father, Nance can play above the rim and will insert his share of highlights into game recaps, but most importantly, he can guard 4's and some 5's and will be able to give bulkier frontcourt opponents fits with his athleticism on both ends of the floor.

Both players are 25 and both are signed through next season, with Clarkson signed for two seasons, so this is not a temporary fix for the Cavaliers as they not only get younger and quicker for the present, they hedge a bet in case of a revamp if LeBron James walks away..

As far as the departed Cavaliers go-
Isaiah Thomas doesn't seem to be completely healed from his hip injury and although I cannot give him enough credit for trying to play through the pain, he clearly didn't fit into the Cavaliers system (or the locker room culture reportedly) and when you are a player that has to have the ball in his hands and being the top option in a team's offensive setup, your skills are going to be a difficult mesh with that of LeBron James.
I will miss Channing Frye, who was a plus in the locker room and when he occasionally got into one of those outside shooting rhythms, it was a pretty sight to see, but Frye was only playing a dozen minutes a game and his game on the defensive end isn't going to bring what Larry Nance will.
The first rounder was part of the price of doing business, and hopefully, these changes will enable that pick to be near the bottom of round one.

I plan on being back in a few hours with some thoughts on the other two trades by Cleveland and just how they could affect the stretch run.

He's Gone! Kyrie Irving traded to Boston

The clouds have finally lifted in Cleveland as the Kyrie Irving era has ended as the mercurial point guard was traded to the Boston Celtics,of all teams for an interesting collection that might see those teams and players slug it out for Eastern Conference supremacy.

Cleveland's return for Irving looks to be as strong as could have been expected when you consider the wall that the franchise had been put up against by the demand of Irving to be moved.

Isaiah Thomas brings an stat line that is comparable to Irving's,although his circumstances were far different than they will be in Cleveland and it'll be interesting to see how the hip injury that ended his season in the playoffs last year has healed.

I'm not saying this has a chance of happening,but I wonder how the deal potentially could be affected,should Thomas's injury be in an issue in the physical that traded players go through.

Thomas uses his quickness and speed to make plays instead of his size (5'9) as physically he doesn't always match well with larger guards,especially on the defensive end.

For these purposes,let's assume Thomas is at 100 percent and brings a motivated (free agent at the end of the season) point guard that will instantly replace Irving at that position.

Thomas excels at the pick and roll and I think his game will mesh pretty well with that of LeBron James.

Jae Crowder brings an excellent defender that can hit a three pointer (39.8 from three point land last year) and averaged 13.8 points per game.

Crowder started for Boston,but likely will be a key part of the second unit as a Cavalier and I think Crowder's arrival will save at least a few minutes a game on average on the wheels of LeBron James-minutes that will be vital in the playoffs as far as fatigue goes.

Crowder's game is rough and physical and he doesn't mind doing the dirty work under the boards and into the lane.

Crowder is signed through 2020 and I think he will be a perfect match for a Cleveland need...

Ante Zizic is another one of those Euro lottery tickets that so many teams take flyers on in the draft.

Much like the Cavaliers did with Cedi Osman a few years back,Boston took Zizic in round one (23rd overall) in the 2016 draft and signed him last month,so Zizic will be a Cavalier this season.

The seven footer from Croatia averaged just under ten points per game in 20 Euroleague (Highest level of play in Europe) games last season.

Zizic appears to be a project,but he's younger (20) than most Euro big men that come over,so there may be an upside to him as the third player in the trade.

Alas the most important player in the long term is not even a player yet-the unprotected 2018 first rounder of the Brooklyn Nets,the worst team in the league last season.

The Nets have added a few players (DeAngelo Russell from the Lakers,Allen Crabbe from the Trail Blazers,DeMarre Carroll from the Raptors) that should improve them and I wouldn't think Brooklyn is a slam dunk to be the worst team this season,but that pick is a slam dunk to be in the top 10 and I think it might even be one to be in the top five.

That pick sets up the Cavaliers in one of two ways (as long as Brooklyn doesn't improve more than expected).

The first would be in drafting a building block for the future in the event that LeBron James left for other courts after this season.

I believe with Kevin Love,Jae Crowder,a top five pick etc would be a playoff team in the weaker Eastern Conference,although not a title contender and this pick positions the Cavaliers for a LeBron less future.

The second would be that depending on the pick and on the player selected,LeBron James might be more amenable to staying in Cleveland.

Adding a young wingman that could ease the long term transition that comes with aging for James could be just the ticket for James to consider re-signing.

As for Kyrie Irving.

I'll miss his ability and his talent,but I think he'll be easier to replace than one thinks and that's not sour grapes.

I've said and written for quite a while that I've thought that Kyrie Irving is more of a true 2 guard than a point guard and his shots per game (Irving shot more last season per game than LeBron James) bear that out.

The game has changed,so one doesn't have to be a pass first point guard to succeed in today's league,but I remember the Irving Cavaliers before the return of LeBron James and he may not be the type of player that raises other players level.

Kyrie Irving sure is exciting and fun to watch,but also has never been an iron man in being able to stay on the floor and I'm interested to see how he deals with adversity in the Boston press,a corps never noted for soft shoeing in the past.

I'll always be grateful for Kyrie Irving's performance in bringing the Cavaliers their championship and I'll always remember him fondly for the championship deciding shot.

I'll also always remember that he demanded this trade because he thought he was better than having to share the floor with the greatest player of his time.

Memories do work both ways...

In closing,give new general manager Koby Altman a hand.

Altman's first major move saw the Cavaliers receive far more than almost anyone could have thought when news of the trade demand of Kyrie Irving leaked.

A top level guard (assuming the hip is fine),a gritty role player that championship teams always need,a potential usable big man and a potential impact player from the 2018 draft is far more than I would have thought the Cavaliers would have gotten,so give credit to Koby Altman for that.

Still,I would have rather not had this been needed-I'm still stunned that Kyrie Irving's need to be number one outweighed winning.

That might just be the eventual epitaph for one young man's career....

Back later with a cleaning of the inbox that will include some Browns talk....