A little bit of this..

Sometimes you are motivated to write and other times you are not.
That might not be the major reason that I've never made a dime on this, but I know it's not the only reason.

I had ideas for columns and even started a few (Blogger has a few posts that have been started), but I never felt up to finishing.
Keep that in mind, in a week or no when there is a flurry of posts!

The Cleveland Indians outfield situation doesn't look strong entering Arizona, but the Indians added another competitor in the race for starting positions with the signing of free agent Matt Joyce.
The 34-year-old Joyce hit .208 with seven homers in 83 games for Oakland last season, which doesn't exactly fill one with confidence that this is the answer for the Indians offense, but the hope that Joyce hits more along the lines of his 2017 season where he hit a career-high 25 homers for the Athletics.
It's low risk, a little over a million if he makes the team and incentives, but I'm not overly hopeful.

I do have some hopes for another signing, this one for the bullpen as the Indians signed Alex Wilson, formerly of the Tigers.
Wilson notched a 3.36 ERA for the Tigers last season in 59 games and has been solid in his six-year career with Boston and Detroit so this could be a signing that helps a bit.

Remember the post when Nik Stauskas was acquired by the Cavaliers and I wrote how he was worth a flyer, only to be traded the next day to Houston?
Stauskas was traded the following day after that to Indiana and was waived by the Pacers.
After all that, where did Staukas wind up? Cleveland.
Salary caps can make strange things happen.

And then there's Marquese Chriss, who has scored double figures in three of his four games as a Cavaliers and sent a crunching dunk over the head of noted Brooklyn shot blocker Jarrett Allen that sent the league into a gossip frenzy.
It's only a few games, but Mr.Chriss seems motivated to please and just might be a Cleveland steal

In boxing, Marcos Maidana has decided to return to the ring in what looks to be a bad decision.
Maidana looks like he's gained 75 pounds at least in photos and before he starts training, he's closer to heavyweight than his desired welterweight for his return.
Maidana has not fought since his loss to Floyd Mayweather in September 2014, so almost five years off isn't going to help Maidana very much, but his mauling style may age better than others.
I still would rank an all-Argentine brawl between Maidana and Lucas Matthysse as one of the top few fights that I would have loved to have seen that never happened.

The Chicago Cubs are starting their own network "Marquee Sports" in conjunction with Sinclair Broadcasting, who are so right wing that they make Fox News look moderate.
The Cubs expect to have games exclusively on Marquee for the 2020 season.

Cavaliers add Brandon Knight and more

Writing about players that the Cleveland Cavaliers acquire over the last year requires a willingness to have articles quickly become obsolete as new players are often coins to be accumulated and then moved along for other merchandise.

Case in point, yesterday's article on the Cavaliers adding Nik Stauskas and Wade Baldwin was out of date that quickly as both of the new Cavaliers became old Cavaliers as part of a three-team trade between Cleveland, the Houston Rockets and Sacramento Kings.

The Cavaliers shipped Stauskas, Baldwin and the biggest chip in Alec Burks to the Rockets (Burks would later wind up with the Kings) as their part of the trade, while Cleveland added guard Brandon Knight, forward Marquese Criss and most importantly for their trouble- the Rockets 2019 first round draft pick.
Burks was averaging eleven points and five rebounds in his thirty-four games in Cleveland and since he would be a free agent at the end of the year, this is the situation that the Cavaliers hoped would play out since trading for him with the Utah Jazz as part of the Kyle Korver trade- Feature him until the deadline, hope that Burks would play well and would bring something back.

Mission Accomplished.

The 27-year-old Knight averaged double figures in points with the Pistons, Bucks, and Suns, but has never been able to stay healthy and missed the entire 2017-18 season with a blown-out ACL.
Knight is signed through next year and earns a whopping fifteen million next season.
Considering that Knight's knee hasn't helped his comeback in Houston (ten minutes a night in just twelve games and averaging three points) and for the weight that his contract carries, Knight didn't seem to be worth exceeding the salary cap tax that the Rockets are trying to avoid.
Houston was willing to float their first rounder in 2019 to avoid that tax and Cleveland was willing to take the contract on in exchange for that pick.
It'll be interesting to see if the Cavaliers actually use Knight or simply list him as a name on the roster, but since the Cavaliers are paying Knight anyway, they might try assisting in his comeback.
During next season, Knight's contract will be an expiring one and if Knight can return to two-thirds of his past game, Knight could be a valuable trade piece himself this time next year.

Marquese Chriss is the other player in the deal and he's another interesting case.
Remember all the prose that I wrote about Nik Stauskas yesterday, a lottery pick that showed some occasional strong play that turned pro too soon and might need a chance to play a lot for a bad team?
Save me the typing and apply all that to Marquese Chriss, who was the eighth pick in the 2016 draft out of Washington by Phoenix.
The 6'10 Chriss had a decent rookie year with the Suns averaging nine points and four boards with 50 percent shooting, but his second year saw a drop in play before moving to the Rockets before this season in a trade that also included Brandon Knight.
Chriss played very little for the Rockets as he averaged 1.8 points in only sixteen games and demanded a trade.
At 21, Chriss will be a free agent at the end of the year as the Rockets declined his rookie option, but still, this could be a good situation for the Cavaliers to take a free look and Chriss to show something to help him sign a new contract whether with Cleveland or someone else.

As for the first rounder- it is lottery protected, but the Rockets are the fifth seed in the Western Conference right now, so that's unlikely, but the more games the Rockets lose, yet still make the playoffs will improve that draft pick.
In the end, the Cavaliers will have to make the best of what they have, but considering that they started with Kyle Korver and a few months have turned one aging shooting specialist into a number one, two second rounders and an eventual expiring contract.
Time will tell who those players become, but you have to give Koby Altman credit for what his deals this year have brought in return.