The Raven Report 6.24.16: The NBA Draft & Old Faces In New Places

By Raven Williams, @nevaRWilliams


Times.... they are changing.

Teams are retooling and rebuilding. Players are sharpening their skills. GM's are starting to reshape their teams and in turn, reshape the league. And of course...

THE CLEVELAND CAVALIERS ARE NBA WORLD CHAMPIONS!

But what happens when a new champion is crowned? The twenty-nine other teams try to get better to attempt to compete with, and dethrone the king of the league. It all began Wednesday with two of the biggest markets in the NBA, the Chicago Bulls and New York Knicks.

The Bulls traded star point guard Derrick Rose, Justin Holiday and a 2017 2nd-rounder to the Knicks for Robin Lopez, Jerian Grant and Jose Calderon. Rose, 27, should be able to offer a boost to the 'always' struggling Knicks backcourt, while also providing some offensive punch to help support the Knicks star forward, Carmelo Anthony. After not playing at all in the 2012-13 season, Rose played in only 10 games in 2013-14, but he bounced back in 2014-15 playing 51 games and 66 games in 2015-16.

Another good thing for the Knicks, they reduced salary in dumping Lopez ($13.2M), Jose Calderon ($7.7M) and Jerian Grant ($1.6M) to pick up Rose's contract for 2016-17 at $21.3M.

The good thing? Rose will be a free agent at the end of this upcoming season. So if things do not fit well, the Knicks will not be handcuffed and can once again make a play for a major piece to build around Carmelo Anthony.

In a smaller deal that also went down Wednesday afternoon, the Atlanta Hawks finally parted ways with point guard Jeff Teague, sending him to the Indiana Pacers in a three-way trade. Like Rose, Teague will also be a free agent in 2017, but this season in Indiana could help himself and star Pacers forward Paul George get better and create a solid team-up for the Pacers.

As part of the three-way deal, the Pacers sent guard George Hill to the Utah Jazz, while the Jazz sent the 12th overall pick of the 2016 draft to Atlanta.


And that brings us to Draft Night, where things got CRAZY!

First things first, the draft. As most know, LSU forward Ben Simmons and Duke guard/forward Brandon Ingram went to the Philadelphia 76ers and Los Angeles Lakers at 1 and 2, respectively. After that, the Boston Celtics were on the clock for the first of what turned out to be their EIGHT draft picks, selecting small forward Jaylen Brown from California.

Earlier Thursday, it was rumored that the Celtics were very actively trying to shop the 3rd pick to many teams to attempt to bring in a veteran scorer to pair with point guard Isaiah Thomas. By the end of the night, the Celtics didn't pull off any miracle deals, or blockbuster trades. While they did draft some quality talent in Brown, Providence forward Ben Bentil among others, the majority of Celtic fans came away unhappy with GM Danny Ainge's haul for the night, considering all of the assets the team had at its disposal.



Where the Celtics failed to make a splash, the Oklahoma City Thunder and Orlando Magic did not. Just when you thought the core of the Thunder would return to take another shot at advancing to the NBA Finals, OKC GM Sam Presti had different ideas.

The Thunder traded 6 year veteran forward Serge Ibaka to Orlando for guard Victor Oladipo, Ersan Ilyasova and the draft rights to Domantas Sabonis, who was selected 11th overall. Ibaka, 26, averaged 12.6 points and 6.8 rebounds last season for the Thunder, and should be able to create a much needed inside presence for the Magic once new Magic coach Frank Vogel gets him in practice. As for the Thunder and Oladipo, this is an obvious upgrade over last season's starting shooting guards, namely Dion Waiters and Andre Roberson, as the OKC shooting guards averaged 6 points and 0.8 assists per game, compared to Oladipo's 16 points and 3.9 assists in 33 minutes of play. This deal should see the end of Waiters time in OKC, as he is a free agent, and could entice superstar forward Kevin Durant to stick around for one more season, if not longer.

Or Durant could disagree with ridding the team of Ibaka who showed his value in the Western Conference Finals with his defending all areas of the court and outside shooting. We shall see when free agency begins next week.

Ibaka will be an unrestricted free agent in 2017. It's said that the Toronto Raptors were also interested in Ibaka.

In other draft night deals, the Brooklyn Nets traded Thaddeus Young to the Pacers for the 20th pick, which turned out to be Michigan guard Caris Levert. Young re-signed with the Nets last season on a four year, $50M deal. The Pacers now project to have a starting five of Jeff Teague, Monta Ellis, Paul George, Myles Turner and Young.

Not to be excluded from the draft night fun, the WORLD CHAMPION Cleveland Cavaliers (still feels great to say) made an acquisition. Entering the night without a draft pick, the Cavs bought the 54th overall pick from the Atlanta Hawks for $2.4M, selecting Oakland University point guard Kay Felder. Felder, 5'9", 177 lbs., led all of college basketball with 9.3 assists per game and was fourth in scoring with 24.4 points. That made Felder the only player in the past season to be in the top 5 of both points and assists. The 21 year old Felder was also 2016 Horizon League Player of the Year and was All-Horizon League First Team the past two seasons. Despite being just 5'9", Felder had the second highest max vertical at the NBA Draft Combine with 44 inches. Cavaliers scout and LeBron James friend, Brandon Weems, was an assistant coach at Oakland for two seasons, where he worked with Felder. Personally, I think Felder could make the team if backup point guard Matthew Dellavedova decides to go elsewhere in free agency. He's a good defender who plays well in the pick-and-roll, and has a good jump shot.

In case you'd like to see Kay Felder in action, look below:

ICYMI: Here's a look at Kay Felder's 'Best Dunk Compilation' from this past season #NBACombine #Bounce #OUrstory pic.twitter.com/UKN2vjej3Q

— Drew Dennison (@drue_denni) May 13, 2016

There were other deals like the Hornets acquiring Marco Belinelli from the Sacramento Kings for the draft rights to Syracuse shooting guard Malachi Richardson.

The Kings weren't done though. They sent Washington's Marquese Chriss, whom they selected with the 8th pick, to the Phoenix Suns in exchange for the 13th overall (Greek center Georgics Papagiannis) and 28th overall (Kentucky center Skal Labissiere), a second-round pick in 2020 and the draft rights to Bogdan Bogdanovic.

Labissiere joins star big man DeMarcus Cousins and second year center Willie Cauley-Stein on Sacramento's roster who also went to the University of Kentucky. Labissiere was a potential top 10 pick, but fell due to his 6.6 points and 3.1 rebounds as a freshman for the Wildcats.

In other deals:

- The draft rights to Cheick Diallo was acquired by the New Orleans Pelicans from the Los Angeles Clippers in exchange for the draft rights to David Michineau and the draft rights to Diamond Stone.
- The draft rights to Daniel Hamilton was acquired by the Oklahoma City Thunder from the Denver Nuggets in exchange for cash.
- The draft rights to Isaiah Whitehead was acquired by the Brooklyn Nets from the Utah Jazz in exchange for the draft rights to Marcus Paige and cash.

Here are the full draft results for Thursday's 2016 NBA Draft:

Round 1

1) Philadelphia: Ben Simmons, F (LSU)
2) LA Lakers: Brandon Ingram, F (Duke)
3) Boston: Jaylen Brown, F (California)
4) Phoenix: Dragan Bender, F (Croatia)
5) Minnesota: Kris Dunn, PG (Providence)
6) New Orleans: Buddy Hield, SG (Oklahoma)
7) Denver: Jamal Murray, G (Kentucky)
8) Phoenix: Marquese Chriss, F (Washington)
9) Toronto: Jakob Poeltl, C (Utah)
10) Milwaukee: Thon Maker, PF (Canada)
11) Oklahoma City: Domantas Sabonis, C (Gonzaga)
12) Atlanta: Taurean Prince, SF (Baylor)
13) Sacramento: Georgios Papagiannis, C (Greece)

14) Chicago: Denzel Valentine, SG (Michigan State)
15) Denver: Juan Hernangomez, F (Spain)
16) Boston: Guerschon Yabusele, PF (France)
17) Memphis: Wade Baldwin, G (Vanderbilt)
18) Detroit: Henry Ellenson, PF (Marquette)
19) Denver: Malik Beasley, SG (Florida State)
20) Brooklyn: Caris LeVert, G (Michigan)
21) Atlanta: DeAndre Bembry, F (St. Joseph's)
22) Sacramento: Malachi Richardson, SG (Syracuse)
23) Boston: Ante Zizic, C (Croatia)
24) Philadelphia: Timothé Luwawu, SG (France)
25) LA Clippers: Brice Johnson, F (North Carolina)
26) Philadelphia: Furkan Korkmaz, F (Turkey)
27) Toronto: Pascal Siakam, PF (New Mexico State)
28) Sacramento: Skal Labissiere, PF (Kentucky)
29) San Antonio: Dejounte Murray, PG (Washington)
30) Golden State: Damian Jones, C (Vanderbilt)

Round 2

31) Memphis: Deyonta Davis, C (Michigan State)
32) LA Lakers: Ivica Zubac, C (Croatia)
33) New Orleans: Cheick Diallo, PF (Kansas)
34) Phoenix: Tyler Ulis, PG (Kentucky)
35) Memphis: Rade Zagorac, (Serbia)
36) Milwaukee: Malcolm Brogdon, SG (Virginia)
37) Houston: Chinanu Onuaku, C (Louisville)
38) Golden State: Patrick McCaw, SG (UNLV)
39) LA Clippers: David Michineau, PG (France)
40) LA Clippers: Diamond Stone, C (Maryland)
41) Orlando: Stephen Zimmerman, PF (UNLV)
42) Brooklyn: Isaiah Whitehead, SG (Seton Hall)
43) Houston: Zhou Qi, C (China)
44) Atlanta: Isaia Cordinier, SG (France)
45) Boston: Demetrius Jackson, PG (Notre Dame)
46) Dallas: A.J. Hammons, C (Purdue)
47) Portland: Jake Layman, SF (Maryland)
48) Chicago: Paul Zipser, SF (Germany)
49) Detroit: Michael Gbinije, SF (Syracuse)

50) Indiana: Georges Niang, PF (Iowa State)
51) Boston: Ben Bentil, PF (Providence)
52) Utah: Joel Bolomboy, PF (Weber State)
53) Denver: Petr Cornelie, PF (France)
54) Atlanta: Kay Felder, PG (Oakland)
55) Utah: Marcus Paige, PG (North Carolina)
56) Denver: Daniel Hamilton, SF (Connecticut)
57) Memphis: Wang Shelin, C (China)
58) Boston: Abdel Nader, PF (Iowa State)
59) Sacramento: Isaiah Cousins, SG (Oklahoma)
60) Utah: Tyrone Wallace, PG (California)



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Simply search "No Static Radio" or "Triple Threat CLE"

Leadoff with Lee 5.6.16

By Chris Lee, @TripleThreatLee

- Frank Vogel, the coach who holds the most wins in Indiana Pacers NBA franchise history, will not return at the end of his contract, Larry Bird announced in his end-of-season press conference Thursday morning. "It's time for a new voice around here," Bird said. "Sometimes my job really sucks and this is one of the toughest things I've done because of the respect I've had for Frank. I've had time to think about it and watch the team throughout the year."

Vogel, 42, began his career as the ladder-climbing video coordinator who would do anything to get his foot into the door of big-time basketball. He climbed all the way to the head of the Pacers’ bench, where he held the position for five full seasons after replacing Jim O'Brien during the 2010-11 season. The Pacers made five postseason appearances under Vogel and developed a reputation as one of the best defensive teams in the NBA. Vogel finishes with a 250-181 record in the regular season – more victories than any other NBA Pacers’ coach who held the position. Pacers assistant Nate McMillan and ex-Pacers aide Brian Shaw are two of the first names I hear in to replace Frank Vogel.

- The Cleveland Browns agreed to terms with 11 undrafted free agents, including All-Big 12 linebacker Dominique Alexander, from Oklahoma. Also signing was Texas A&M center Mike Matthews, nephew of former Browns linebacker Clay Matthews.

Here's a listing of all the signed free agents:

Missouri DB, Kenya Dennis
Georgia Tech FB, Patrick Skov
Pittsburgh TE, J.P. Holtz
Miami DB, Tracy Howard
Sam Houston State DB, Mikell Everette
Florida State DL, Nile Lawrence-Stample
West Virginia DL, Kyle Rose
Kentucky DB, A.J. Stamps
Maryland K, Brad Craddock

- The Seattle Seahawks clear $6.5M by placing Marshawn Lynch on the reserve/retired list and create $5M in dead money. Lynch, 29, has two years remaining on his 3-year, $31M contract, which included $12M guaranteed. He would've made a base salary of $9M in 2016 and $7M in 2017. Lynch announced his retirement on February 8, 2016.

- According to the website PennLive.com, former Penn State head coach Joe Paterno was told about Jerry Sandusky's sexually abuse as early as 1976. The new development was discovered in a court order in an insurance case connected to Sandusky's abuse of minors.The same report says an unnamed assistant coach reported separate incidents between Sandusky and unnamed children in 1987 and 1988. This comes after a Pennsylvania judge on Thursday gave convicted child molester Jerry Sandusky a hearing on May 20th to prove his claims that prosecutors lied, withheld evidence and leaked secret grand jury information to find additional victims.

- "You can’t call her, you can’t text her, you can’t email her, you can’t send her any letters or go to where she’s at".

That quote is what Judge Roberto Canas told Johnny Manziel. Canas also asked Manziel if he owns any guns or lives in a place where guns are accessible; both are prohibited under terms of his bond. "No, your honor,” Manziel responded. Johnny Manziel was indicted last month on a misdemeanor assault charge and is accused by Colleen Crowley of kidnapping, hitting and threatening to kill her at a hotel in January. Crowley’s eardrum was ruptured and she lost hearing as a result of the assault, according to her claim. If convicted, Manziel faces up to a year in jail and a $4,000 fine.

Cliff's Edge: 13 Keeps It Traditional #Cavs

By @CLG2282

Well, it was fun while it last right? That "lucky" 13 reared it's head, and I'm not talking about Tristan Thompson's fierce rebounding attitude.

After a subpar performance against the Indiana Pacers,  the winning-streak that carried the Cleveland Cavaliers into 2015 has come to an end. For the 4th time in franchise history, a winning streak has been stopped at or one game short of 13. (13 straight games being the best in franchise history).

Something about these superstitions I guess.

In an attempt to win their thirteenth consecutive contest, the Cavs displayed a late game effort that rivals some off-day walk thrus. The Cavs started in typical fashion, coming out strong in the 1st quarter. They seemed to be clicking, hitting eight of their first ten shots, with several assists to boot. But somewhere towards the end of the 2nd quarter, our Cleveland squad went D-League.

LeBron and company squandered a double-digit lead and had to hit a desperation 3pt FG at the halftime buzzer by Kyrie Irving to have a somewhat respectable lead of eight points going into the half.

In typical Cavalier fashion, the 3rd quarter was more forgettable than a spam account following you on twitter. After scoring 31 in the first quarter and 24 in the 2nd, the Wine and Gold some how were only able to pull together 15 points in the 3rd quarter. It seemed as if the Cavs played so well in the first half that they thought they won the game, packed their bags and headed to the airport. And oh yea, they allowed 16 4th quarter points to C.J. Miles, and 36 to the Pacers as a whole.

Former Cavalier C.J. flippin MILES. SMH.

Forgetting to move the ball on offense and to rotate on defense lead to a pathetic ending to Friday night's game against the Pacers. And sadly the same end to a very encouraging and uplifting winning streak.
Standing around watch team mates go one-on-one for a full half is not how to win games. It was just a 2nd half that just  shouldn't happen. Oh well I guess.

You may notice my lack of detail and depth on the loss. Well that is because I don't want to overshadow the fact that they just won 12 straight. I mean come on. That's like getting on the case of a straight A student for getting a bad grade on one quiz.

So yes, David Blatt needs to have a chat with his students about there C-minus effort last night. That however does not mean start changing things.

Next time, and for the rest of the season, they need to remember to show up for ALL four quarters.

Catch you next time folks.

#GoCavs #ClevelandOverEverything

Leadoff with Lee 8.2.14

-During last night's USA Basketball intrasquad scrimmage game at UNLV, Indiana Pacers star forward Paul George suffered a VERY gruesome broken right leg. While getting back on defense, George went up in the air to defend a James Harden lay up and landed at the base of the basket stanchion. George's leg buckled and snapped, breaking the skin. Teammates reacted immediately, sickened and doubled over with great concern for their fallen friend, teammate and basketball brother. Medics rushed to the fallen George, stabilizing his leg in an air cast before taking him to a Las Vegas hospital where he was accompanied by his family. Needless to say, U.S. coach and Duke University coach Mike Krzyzewski announced that out of respect for Paul and his family, the game was over.

Almost two hours after the incident, Paul George tweeted this out:

Thanks everybody for the love and support.. I'll be ok and be back better than ever!!! Love y'all!! #YoungTrece

— Paul George (@Paul_George24) August 2, 2014

USA Basketball chairman Jerry Colangelo would not speculate on the severity of the injury and asked the media to be patient and not to ask when Team USA roster cuts would be made. Along with all members of both scrimmage teams, players around the league reacted, sending out their well wishes and prayers to Paul and his family.

George, only 24, has emerged as the leader of the Pacers and one of the best players in the NBA and a two-time All-Star. George signed a 5 year $90M extension with the Pacers last season that was ready to kick in this season.

USA Basketball it announced that he had successful emergency surgery of a right leg open tibia-fibula with no ancillary damage and is expected to remain in a Las Vegas hospital for about 3 days. Recovery time could range anywhere from 6 to 12 months, at minimum. A very sad time for USA Basketball, the NBA, the Indiana Pacers and Paul George and his family.
-Chris Williams, The Raven Report

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-Even though we all know Andrew Wiggins has been involved in the trade talks for Timberwolves big man Kevin Love, I have "may" have further proof of the trade details that were made in principal. After looking at Cavs.com jerseys, Andrew Wiggins' jersey has been labeled discontinued. Could this be a internet error? I for one, don't think so. Remember when LeBron was drafted? His jersey was labeled sold out and wasn't labeled discontinued until he signed with the Heat.

-Josh Gordon's appeal hearing appearantly went longer than I first reported. From the same source I talked to yesterday morning around 10:22 to be exact, called me at 5:45 and told me "That was just a recess at 10:30am. Gordon's appeal hearing will resume Monday afternoon. NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell will review all the details and I will still say we will hear something Wednesday or Thursday at the latest. In my opinion, sample A was positive and samble B was negative. 1 positive + 1 negative = 0. I was horrible at math but I'm sure that is correct. But according to the NFL CBA, Sample A is the main test and sample B is to confirm the drug was in the system. But I have heard and seen false positive tests.

-Who knew golfers get tested for drugs? Dustin Johnson tested positive for cocaine. He also failed tests for marijuana in 2009, and two more tests for coke in 2012. Johnson has been suspended for 6 months by the PGA. Friday he stated, he will seek treatment for his "personal challenges" I.E his drinking, drug and sex indiscretions.

-The Cleveland Indians romped the Texas Rangers 12-2 on Jim Thome statue day. Danny Salazar pitched 6 innings, giving up one run, 4 hits and 4 strike outs. "Dr. Smooth" Michael Brantley went 3-4 with 2 RBI. Right fielder David Murphy went 4-4, scoring 2 runs and 2 RBI. It was just an all out hit fest as the Indians scored 12 runs on 16 hits. Danny Salazar goes to 4-4 on the season. They will take the field again tonight at 7 PM, with TJ House on the bump.

-Support Triple Threat Podcast by liking and following us on Facebook and Twitter, @triple3xthreat. Also, tweet and follow Chris Williams here @nevaRWilliams and myself, Chris Lee here @cleeverizon.

Leadoff with Lee 5.31.14

-The man who is dubbed "Flash", Josh Gordon, received a speeding ticket over Memorial Day weekend. No big deal right? As the officer got to the car, he stated he smelled marijuana. The passenger of the car that was with Gordon took the blame for possession of marijuana less than 200 grams. This isn't good for Gordon as he is appealing a possible suspension for either failing a drug test or missing a drug test. The question now becomes, what should the Browns do with Gordon? Release him or trade him. The Browns will let the appeals process take place and will be faced with that decision after that process is complete. The rise and fall of Gordon is a sad story and the story won't end here.

-The Indians snapped their four game losing streak and defeated the Colorado Rockies 5-2. Corey Kluber struck out 12 batters in his 7 1/3 innings pitched, while only giving up 2 runs on 5 hits. Michael Bourn and Lonnie Chisenhall each had 2 hits for the Tribe. Shortstop Asdrubal Cabrera hit his fourth homerun of the season in the bottom of the 5th inning. Corey Kluber improves to 6-3 on the season and finishes the month of May with 60 strikeouts.

-The Miami Heat will return to the NBA finals for the fourth straight year with their 117-92 win over the Indiana Pacers. Lebron James and Chris Bosh scored 25 points each for the Heat. At one point, Miami was up 37 points in the game. The big men dominated for the Heat, out scoring the Pacers 50-32 in points in the paint. Paul George had a game high of 29 points but that wasn't enough to keep the Pacers in the game. Lebron James did not play in the 4th quarter but still had a solid overall game. The Heat will face either the Oklahoma City Thunder or the San Antonio Spurs in the NBA finals which will start on Thursday.

Leadoff with Lee 5.21.14

-The shot heard 'round the world happened for the 3rd time in 4 years for the Cavs last night. With only a 1.7% of landing the number one pick in this years NBA draft...BOOM went the dynamite! Now who do the Cavs select? Jabari Parker? Andrew Wiggins? Sign and Trade for Kevin Love? Cleveland has a loaded weapon and is ready to pull the trigger on a big name player. But who will be the next Cavs head coach? Can Cleveland sign Kyrie Irving to a extension? Let the rumors fly and only time will tell.

-The bats of the Indians came alive last night, beating the Detroit Tigers 6-2. Trevor Bauer recorded his first win of the season with 6 innings pitched, giving up 7 hits, 2 runs and 5 strikeouts. Nick Swisher, Asdrubal Cabrera and Michael Bourn each recorded 2 hits. Right fielder David Young went yard in the 7th. The Indians will finish the series against Detroit today, with the game starting at 12:05.

-Minnesota has been awarded the 2018 Super Bowl by NFL owners. The Vikings new home is will open in 2016. The total cost of the stadium is $975 million dollars. The stat that gets me is that the stadium will seat 65,400 people but is expandable to seat 72,000. Expandable stadiums? Wow!

-Lawyers representing a group of over 600 retired NFL players are seeking a class action lawsuit, claiming the NFL provided them with narcotics and painkillers. The lawsuit states the league administered the drugs illegally without prescriptions and without warning players of the side effects. Notable players are from 1986 Bears team Jim McMahon and Hall of Famer Richard Dent.

-With the NFL owners meetings going on, playoff expansion is on the table. Playoff expansion is expected to happen in the 2015 season. Under the current postseason format, 12 of the NFL's 32 teams make the postseason. The proposal will increase to have 14 teams make the playoffs. This expansion will need to be voted on by owners and seek approval by the NFLPA. I do think this will pass with flying colors. More money for the league, more money for the extra 2 teams who make the playoffs, which means extra money for those owners. And I'm sure those players from those extra 2 teams that make the playoffs want a ring.

-The Miami Heat defeated the Indiana Pacers 87-83 to tie the series 1-1. Lebron James scored 22 points for the Heat and Dwayne Wade had a team high of 23. All five of the Pacers starters scored in double digits, with Lance Stephenson scoring a game high of 25 points. The Pacers only scored 16 points in the second quarter. Even though this game was tight throughout, the Heat outscored the Pacers 25-20. And Lebron James came through in the clutch, scoring 12 of his 22 in the final quarter. The series heads to Miami with Game 3 starting on Saturday.

Leadoff with Lee 5.2.14

-The Browns signed two quarterbacks to one-year deals. Vince Young and Tyler Thigpen signed yesterday to create competition. Heading into yesterday's voluntary minicamp, the Browns only had Brian Hoyer and Alex(Trick Shot) Tanney under contract. Remember folks, just because Young and Thigpen were signed doesn't mean the Browns are obligated to their contracts. The only money guarenteed is guarenteed money, which none is involved. I expect the Browns to carry 3 quarterbacks on the active squad and one on the practice squad. I'm 100% positive the Browns will draft a quarterback in this years draft. With that being said, one of the five that will be on the roster will be cut.

-The Browns and Joe Haden are in discussions for a long term contract deal. Haden has stated he "loves the team and embraces the city". I expect this deal to be done prior to Week 1 of the 2014 season.

-The Browns have until Saturday May 3, to pick up Jabaal Sheard's fifth year option of his rookie contract. With that said, he would cost the Browns $5.5 million and I have reason to believe the Browns will exercise his fifth year.

-Browns Pro-Bowl tight end Jordan Cameron is in his last year of his deal. It may be cheaper to try and negotiate a contract with him now. But the Browns may opt to wait until the end of the season.

-Phil Taylor is also into the last season of his contract. My question is what does Ray Farmer want to do with what SOME think is an underperforming lineman?

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-The Indiana Pacers forced game 7 with a 95-88 victory over the Hawks in Atlanta. Paul George and David West led the the Pacers in scoring with 24 each. West also had a team high of 11 rebounds. Jeff Teague had 29 points for Atlanta with Paul Milsap contributing with 18 rebounds. Game 7 is Saturday in Indiana.

-The Thunder were THUNDEROUS in their survival in pushing their series with the Memphis Grizzlies to a Game 7 on Saturday. Oklahoma City dominated the Grizzlies, 104-84. The very "reliable" Kevin Durant pumped in 36 points and 10 rebounds, with Russell Westbrook partnering with 25. Zach Randolph had a solid outing with 16 points and 8 boards. Memphis' Mike Conley suffered a hamstring injury, but vows to play in Game 7.

-Golden State also survived to force a Game 7 Saturday versus the LA Clippers. Steph Curry's 24 and Draymond Green's 14 pushed the Warriors to a 100-99 victory. The Clippers Chris Paul had a very off night, with 3-10 shooting and finishing with only 9 points. Game 7 will be Saturday night back in Los Angeles.

-This will be the first time in NBA history that THREE Game 7's will happen on the same day.

Leadoff with Lee 4.25.14

-Former Ohio State Buckeyes cornerback Bradley Roby was arrested early Sunday morning and charged with OVI. Roby was reportedly found passed out in a parking lot behind the wheel in Columbus. It was has not been disclosed if the keys were in the ignition. When approached and questioned by Columbus police, Roby was cooperative and submitted to a field sobriety test. His BAC was recorded at .008 which is considered to be intoxicated in the state of Ohio. After being booked by Columbus Police, Roby was released on a personal bond. He is due in court today and most likely will plead not guilty, until his lawyer can get additional facts concerning his arrest. Bradley Roby is expected to be a first round draft pick in this years NFL draft. So the bigger question should be will his stock go down after this latest incident? Please note Roby was arrested and charged with misdemeanor assult in Indiana last July. Urban Meyer suspended Roby for one game last season. Those assault charges were later reduced in a plea bargain to disorderly conduct.

-Call him "Complete" Corey Kluber! Kluber improves his record to 2-2 and led the Indians to a 5-1 win over the Kansas City Royals yesterday afternoon. Kluber had a complete game while recording 11 strikeouts, 0 walks, while only throwing 101 pitches. Carlos Santana got his bat going in the 5th inning, hitting a double. Michael Brantley followed up with with a single, scoring Santana. Royals pitcher Bruce Chen walked Ryan Raburn, then Yan Gomes singled to load the bases. David Murphy comes up and hit a single of his own scoring Brantley and Raburn. Asdrubal Cabrera smacked a double to left. The Tribe won the series against Kansas City winning 3 out of 4. And return to .500 evening their record to 11-11. They will travel to San Francisco to open against the Giants. The series starts today with game time being 10:05pm.

-The Atlanta Hawks defeated the Indiana Pacers 98-85. Jeff Teague led all scorers with 22 points. Kyle Korver added 21 points for the Hawks. Lance Stephenson led Indiana in scoring with 21 points. Atlanta holds off the top seeded Pacers to seize a 2-1 advantage in the series. Game 4 will be Saturday at 2 PM in Atlanta.

-The Oklahoma City Thunder fell to the Memphis Grizzlies, to take a 2-1 series lead. Despite Kevin Durant and Russell Westbrook's efforts (both had 30 point games), it just wasn't enough. Game 4 will be Saturday at 9:30 PM in Memphis.

-The LA Clippers held on to win against the Golden State Warriors 98-96, after a controversial no foul call in the final possession for the Warriors. Blake Griffin had 32 points, while his teammate DeAndre Jordan had 14 points and 22 rebounds. High scorer for the Warriors was Klay Thompson with 26, while Steph Curry poured in 16 points and 15 assists.