Hts121

^They do a helluva lot more for the community than empty lots. Keep in mind that new condos with tax abatements are built on non-revenue generating lots. In 10 years, DUE TO THE ABATEMENTS, those lots will be very lucrative in terms of revenue. And also consider that tax abatements don't apply to RITA, so there is still that income. One of my closest friends is a developer in the City and I can GUARANTEE you beyond a shadow of a doubt that the abatements were absolutely necessary for the condos to be built in the first place. It wouldn't have happened without the abatements..... which would have risked the lots going into a land bank and being open to purchase by developers who sought to build 'less desirable' housing options. True, but with juvenile judges there's currently no way to verify they are truly being tough. Or that they are not being tough. Juvenile judges, even moreso than common pleas judges, are handcuffed by the law. The problem I see is not so much with the juvenile courts as it is with the juvenile detention facilities. Kids are coming out worse than they are going in, and the more time they spend in there, the worse off they seem to be. Indeed, Cleveland was never a really big gang city, but we now have one (Heartless Felons) that started in the juvenile facility which would rank up there in terms of violence with any west-coast gang

Unless I am not reading carefully enough, one dynamic Silver is not taking into account is how valuable expiring contracts are in today's NBA, especially the really large contracts. So, while a max contract player might not be worth his contract value at the end of five years, the contract itself becomes a valuable trade asset which can help you improve your team. Case in point, it is how we landed Kyrie in the first place. LAC wanted so bad to get out from under the last two years of Baron Davis's contract and get some cap relief that it gave us an unprotected first round pick (which turned into Kyrie) in a swap for Mo Williams' expiring deal.

I suppose this little tidbit could go in one of the local economy threads. Rich Paul, LBJ's agent is handling all initial meetings with teams interested in his client at his office here in Cleveland. Lot's a bigwigs should be in and out of town over the next week.

To be clear, the Cleveland Heights Municipal Court handles all adult misdemeanors and traffic offenses. ALL felonies go to the county court system and ALL juvenile offenses go to the county's juvenile court system. As for the county judges, the next time a judge runs for election on something other than being "tough on crime" will probably be the first. Sentencing guidelines and state budgetary constraints are the bigger concerns, especially when the latter is being used up needlessly on non-violent offenders. THAT needs to change.

It is more than just a tentative deal. They've agreed, but CBA rules don't allow the papers to be signed until July 10. This is a huge PR moment for the Cavs and another bad look for the self-absorbed NY media who continuously attempted to convince the basketball world that Kyrie would bolt as soon as given the opportunity Kyrie Irving ✔ @KyrieIrving I'm here for the long haul Cleveland!!! and I'm ecstatic!! Super excited and blessed to be here and apart of something special.#ClevelandKID David Aldridge ✔ @daldridgetnt Cavs GM David Griffin, Coach David Blatt & asst Ty Lue all w/Gilbert at meeting w/Irving. Cavs' group was "very impressive," per source. Adrian Wojnarowski ✔ @WojYahooNBA Agent Jeff Wechsler on Blatt-Ty Lue in meeting: "They were incredibly impressive. That's what helped sell Kyrie on taking this deal." The Cavs are said to have expressed interest already in SF Trevor Ariza and C Marcin Gortat, both of whom played for the Wizards last year. Washington may have to choose to sign one or the other if they can't afford both. Several other teams are interested. Also, both Deng and Hawes are receiving a lot of interest around the league. We probably want Hawes back, at the right price, but likely won't re-sign Deng. However, both could still net us some nice assets in a sign-and-trade to teams that don't have the free cap space to sign them outright. The Blazers, for instance, want Hawes and would likely have to do a S/T to get him.

A city doesn't 'find money' for tax abatements on new construction. You're better than that. The violent crime does seem to have picked up in CH this past year. It seems that way because it probably has to a degree, and that degree, however large or small, is being purposefully amplified because the Chief pissed off a vindictive local beat crime reporter. Assuming Brennan was there to pick up the weekend deposits, this particular incident seems too opportunistic to be totally random. It's the apparent rise in random violence which has me more concerned.

Terrible. I'm guessing that this was not a random incident. Someone planned this robbery and, in these types of situations, the police should be looking first and foremost at current and former employees.

^Yup ESPN Cleveland @ESPNCleveland BREAKING: Kyrie Irving will sign 5-year max extension w/ #Cavs, sources tell @TheRealTRizzo. Listen to http://ESPNCleveland.com for more. After his "sources" were correct on Embiid when all of the national guys were reporting the exact opposite, Rizzo has earned some credibility in my book. The big news is that he "will sign 5-year max extension"...... not the three year opt out deal LBJ signed in 2007

Chris_Broussard: Sources: Cavaliers flying to NJ today to offer @KyrieIrving max deal (5 yrs, $90 million) on July 1

My sister says she was driving on Taylor near Meadowbrook and saw someone standing outside a cop car with an assault rifle style weapon. Sounds like SWAT was called in and, given the placement, it would seem to be the strategy they would use if they had a suspect boxed in.

FWIW, the story I posted (which is very bare bones reporting) said nothing about a robbery. It's possible that there was a dispute which turned into gunplay. Still very weird either way.

Wow. That is an odd choice for a Monday afternoon robbery. How do deposits work in the bar business? Are they not completed until the following day? (yes, I'm paging you, E Rocc) Here's all that I could find right now - http://www.19actionnews.com/story/25905980/man-shot-at-bar

I would prefer that the team just got rid of the logo because it brings out nothing but ugliness from both sides that feel so strongly one way or another. On the one hand, you have the Blackhorse lady and her ilk who will drastically overreach and undermine any legitimate complaints on the issue. On the other hand, the blatantly bigoted crowd, who care nothing about the logo other than that they love the fact it offends a minority group, will literally become the "flag-bearer" for our professional baseball team while trying to paint it as a fight against "political correctness." It's an issue that draws all the crazies to the front and center, and I prefer it all just went away. It's not a good look for our City

The Rockets are so eager to be big players in free agency that they pulled a Gund/Paxson/Boozer and declined the $900K option on Chandler Parsons. Cavs are said to be very interested. IMO, he would be a great fit on our roster and in Blatt's system. Another free agent we will likely talk to is Channing Frye, a PF/C who can shoot the 3. Clearly, Griff is looking for big men that can shoot from the outside to open up the lanes for our penetrators. Assuming Hawes and Deng don't return, and I think that there is very little mutual interest in Deng returning, we need to address the void of veteran leadership on this team..... especially if Jack is on the trade market as reported. Over the past several years, we always start out rough and then finish much stronger in the second half once we acquire some veterans to guide the ship. But then we don't bring those guys back - Livingston, Walton, Speights, Ellington, Deng, Hawes, Jack. If we ever want to get out of the lottery, we are going to need veterans. No matter how much talent you have, you need those intangibles only the seasoned vets can provide to take the next step to becoming a playoff team.

Everybody remember "Freedom Fries"? I had Patriot Waffles this morning.

Yes, Z still works for the Cavs. But I'm not sure whether that is going to continue. Chris Grant was a close friend and I've heard mixed reports on his relationship with the current regime. But, to be clear, both Z and LBJ are in Miami this weekend for the wedding of a former Cavs trainer who is now privately employed by LBJ. Many members of the Heat, including Riley, were at that event On another Cavs note, check out this photo of Bennett with Wiggins taken within the past day or two. Dude is lookin' svelte!

I've been really struggling to come up with a good NBA comparison for Wiggins. Who he reminds me of most. Some have said TMac, but I don't see that at all. Thinking about it today, I nailed it, at least IMHO. Latrell Sprewell.... That's who he reminds me of..... Minus the infamous choking incident of course. Particularly the young, Golden State Sprewell

Don't make fun of Surf. The Civic is a very economical car

As part of the Charlotte deal, we get Brendan Haywood. He has a $2mill salary for next season and a $10mill nonguaranteed deal for the following year, the latter making him a huge trade chip because any team we trade him to can use that nonguaranteed deal to create cap space.

We traded Gee late last night for Charlotte's second round selection (#45) of Stanford F/C Dwight Powell..... another Canuck. Big body and good shooter. Scholar athlete of the year in the PAC-12. Inexplicit drop in production from junior to senior year cost him a first round slot. #WeAllFromCanada

2nd round pick - Joe Harris, UVA love it

Well, I hope I'm wrong. I'd hate t think a team in our division got the better prospects at 15 (the Greek Freak) and 2 (Jabari) than we did at 1 (Bennett) and 1 (Wiggins) in consecutive drafts. And that jacket? (double face palm)

Actually, it was Harrison Barnes, not Kyrie, who received all the hype coming out of high school. There was also a hot debate over who was the better PG prospect, Kyrie or Brandon Knight (as well as a flameout named Josh Selby). Kyrie was not the 'explosive' athlete the other two were and considered a bit out of shape. He had one of the highest body fat percentages at the draft combine. Those concerns, along with injuries, led a lot of people "in the know" to prefer Derrick Williams for the #1 overall pick, mostly due to his 'elite athleticism' and 'explosiveness.' Kyrie still went #1 'cause the kid could flat out ball. Sound familiar? Parker will be 'slow at the 3' just like Paul Pierce was slow at the 3. He won't play the 4 unless we want to go with a smaller lineup, filled with shooters, during stretches. But his ability to do so is a plus. Bennett is much more strictly a 4.

Jabari and Bennett are so different in their games, I don't see the comparison at all. Jabari is a small forward who, under the right circumstances (i.e. playing small ball), could fill in a little at the 4. Bennett is a PF who, under the right circumstances (i.e. playing bully ball), could fill in a little at the 3. Other than that, they are about as similar as Lebron and Kobe. I actually like the interchangeability of the two, depending on the matchups. I'd rather not take a "let's see what happens" approach with the 1st overall pick. He has to be your guy.... or trade out. The most common rationale I see for drafting Wiggins is his athleticism and effort on D. Admittedly, he is top notch in both. But notably, nobody raves about his actual "basketball skills" and that scares me.

Good. Now I'm gonna show you my prognostication skills and say that whomever we draft.... and I really mean WHOMEVER.... one of the talking heads will quickly report that Lebron preferred the other guy and we have lost out on any chance of him returning to the Cavs.