Great Article from the Cavalier Attitude Website.
Troy Murphy: The Perfect Power Forward for the Cleveland Cavaliers
August 23, 2009
By Amar Panchmatia

It seems like just yesterday that the Cavaliers had acquired Shaquille O'Neal in one of the summer's biggest blockbuster trades, but it has now been two months. And in those two months, despite constant speculation of the Cavs' interest, Danny Ferry has not yet landed the one thing that has always worked like a charm when put next to Shaq:
A stretch power forward.
Oh, there have certainly been rumors. Our friend Brian Windhorst of the Cleveland Plain Dealer began the speculation almost the minute Shaq got off the plane in Cleveland back in June:
The Cavs are not done. They still are going to be looking for a wing defender (or two) and I think also a stretch power forward, aka a player who can go out to the 3-point line. This is why I believe they will still consider signing Rasheed Wallace with their mid-level exception. You need to surround Shaq with shooters and stretch the floor, just like you do with LeBron. Look how effective a player like Robert Horry was with the Lakers when Shaq was there. When the Heat won their title [Antoine] Walker played about the same role as the stretch four. So in addition to the formula to pair Shaq with a great wing scorer (Kobe, DWade) also you need the other big to be able to stretch the floor. Not to mention it would help the Cavs in matchups with the Lakers and Magic as well.
Yep, Rasheed was thrown out there as a possibility, but he ended up signing with arch rival Boston. Lamar Odom's name was thrown out there sometimes, but he wasn't leaving Los Angeles any time soon -- at least not for a city other than Miami, for sure.
So far this offseason, the only serious activity at power forward surrounding the Cavs has involved Anderson Varejao and Leon Powe, neither of whom are stretch forwards in any sense and both of whom get their points off of hustle and energy.
So the speculation went from focusing on A-listers to D-listers such as Steve Novak and Rob Kurz, neither of whom deserve a starting role for any championship contender. And the Cavs' hope of landing a good fit at the "four" to put between Shaq and LeBron James is becoming more and more modest by the day.
But since the Cavs used a division rival, the Milwaukee Bucks, last summer to add a huge long-term piece to their puzzle in Mo Williams, why not look within the Central Division again to add a guy who could enjoy career numbers in Cleveland as well?
The team we're talking about are the Indiana Pacers, and the player is one Troy Murphy.
Murphy, the 14th overall pick by the Golden State Warriors, back in 2001, will be entering his ninth year in the league. He still has two more years left on the mammoth six-year contract extension he signed with the Warriors literally a day before the start of the 2004-05 season, both of which will pay him about $11 million a year.
But it wasn't until this past season that the 6'11", 245-pound Murphy showed signs of being a real player in the league. He averaged 14.3 points and 11.8 boards, the latter of which ranked second in the entire league behind only Dwight Howard. Not only that, but he is a great stretch forward in every sense of the word, knocking down 45 percent of his treys last season.
And it wasn't like he only shot a limited number of 3's and had a small sample size. Murphy attempted 358 treys and connected on 161 of them, a number that would be staggering even for a sharp-shooting guard. But the 6'11" Murphy, a guy who can play both forward and center, did it while being a big man who also pulled down boards at an alarming rate.
At the age of 29, Murphy is in the prime of his career and has been able to avoid major injuries over the past several years. He played 73 games last season and 75 the season before that. The Notre Dame product has been virtually injury-free since a deep bone bruise in his right foot and stress reaction in his right ankle wrecked most of his 2003-04 season. He is finally coming into his own after struggling for bad Golden State teams early in his career, but he has still been unable to play on a playoff team due to subpar Indiana clubs over the past couple of years.
Back in December, DIME Magazine had a piece about Murphy calling him "The White David West." Definitely not a bad thing to be compared to a guy who has been a two-time All-Star as a power forward in the Western Conference.
Considering the fact that Murphy has put up such good numbers on teams devoid of real talent, he would get more open looks in Cleveland than he would know what to do with. Considering the massive attention that opposing defenses pay to LeBron and the respect that dunking machine Shaq still commands in the paint, teams would still have to respect a guy like Murphy on the wing.
Combine that with the newfound respect for All-Star Mo Williams, and you could really be looking at the final piece that could make this Cavaliers team virtually unbeatable.
So how can the Cavs go about acquiring Murphy? It was hard enough to pry Williams away from a division rival a year ago, and it required a third team. If Ferry can't find a third team this time around, then he still has the massive expiring contract of Zydrunas Ilgauskas, who is still a serviceable player.
But Z is also five years older than Murphy and offers no young potential, something the Pacers would probably want for a guy like Murphy.
Although the Cavs are high on J.J. Hickson, they really can't afford to keep waiting around for him to develop with the stakes as high as they are. If including Hickson in a package with Z is what it would take to get Murphy to Cleveland, then the Cavs should -- by all means -- pull the trigger. Hickson isn't a guarantee at this point. Murphy, however, is. And he is also a much better fit for the Cavs right now than Hickson.
Plus, it's possible that Hickson's value could be higher right now than it will be at any point in his career if he goes downhill from here. The Cavs can either cash in on his value right now or keep waiting around for the future -- a future that may not include LeBron James if 2010 doesn't end with the Larry O'Brien trophy.
Murphy also doesn't guarantee the title, but he definitely stacks the odds in their favor. If last year's Cavs team won 66 games, then swapping Ben Wallace, Sasha Pavlovic, Zydrunas Ilgauskas, and J.J. Hickson -- three of whom even didn't contribute much to begin with -- for Shaq and Murphy would definitely push 70 assuming good health.
It also moves Anderson Varejao back to the bench where he belongs. Now that Andy is getting paid and in the fold for the long haul, it will probably be easier for him to accept the role that he had to begin with. Plus, both Varejao and Murphy's abilities to play center as well as power forward would afford a much deeper bench and a more versatile frontcourt rotation -- one that would get even stronger once Powe comes back in the spring.
For the Pacers, getting Z would save them $11.9 million for next summer and get them under the new salary cap by about $7 million. It also gives them a young piece in Hickson to help begin a rebuilding project, another thing that a team treading water would be looking for in trading a star like Murphy.
Of course, it's all speculation at this point. But an expiring contract begins to accumulate more and more value the closer we get to the trading deadline. And if the Pacers are looking at another season of being 10 games under .500 (or making the playoffs as an eighth seed only to be dusted off unceremoniously by one of the East's top dogs), then this trade begins to make more and more sense for both clubs.
Just imagine a team that rolls out King James, Shaq, Mo Williams, Troy Murphy, and Delonte West every night -- with Anderson Varejao, Anthony Parker, Jamario Moon, Daniel Gibson, Darnell Jackson, and soon Leon Powe off the bench.
Yeah, 70 doesn't sound like too much of "stretch," does it?
August 23, 2009
By Amar Panchmatia

It seems like just yesterday that the Cavaliers had acquired Shaquille O'Neal in one of the summer's biggest blockbuster trades, but it has now been two months. And in those two months, despite constant speculation of the Cavs' interest, Danny Ferry has not yet landed the one thing that has always worked like a charm when put next to Shaq:
A stretch power forward.
Oh, there have certainly been rumors. Our friend Brian Windhorst of the Cleveland Plain Dealer began the speculation almost the minute Shaq got off the plane in Cleveland back in June:
The Cavs are not done. They still are going to be looking for a wing defender (or two) and I think also a stretch power forward, aka a player who can go out to the 3-point line. This is why I believe they will still consider signing Rasheed Wallace with their mid-level exception. You need to surround Shaq with shooters and stretch the floor, just like you do with LeBron. Look how effective a player like Robert Horry was with the Lakers when Shaq was there. When the Heat won their title [Antoine] Walker played about the same role as the stretch four. So in addition to the formula to pair Shaq with a great wing scorer (Kobe, DWade) also you need the other big to be able to stretch the floor. Not to mention it would help the Cavs in matchups with the Lakers and Magic as well.
Yep, Rasheed was thrown out there as a possibility, but he ended up signing with arch rival Boston. Lamar Odom's name was thrown out there sometimes, but he wasn't leaving Los Angeles any time soon -- at least not for a city other than Miami, for sure.
So far this offseason, the only serious activity at power forward surrounding the Cavs has involved Anderson Varejao and Leon Powe, neither of whom are stretch forwards in any sense and both of whom get their points off of hustle and energy.
So the speculation went from focusing on A-listers to D-listers such as Steve Novak and Rob Kurz, neither of whom deserve a starting role for any championship contender. And the Cavs' hope of landing a good fit at the "four" to put between Shaq and LeBron James is becoming more and more modest by the day.
But since the Cavs used a division rival, the Milwaukee Bucks, last summer to add a huge long-term piece to their puzzle in Mo Williams, why not look within the Central Division again to add a guy who could enjoy career numbers in Cleveland as well?
The team we're talking about are the Indiana Pacers, and the player is one Troy Murphy.
Murphy, the 14th overall pick by the Golden State Warriors, back in 2001, will be entering his ninth year in the league. He still has two more years left on the mammoth six-year contract extension he signed with the Warriors literally a day before the start of the 2004-05 season, both of which will pay him about $11 million a year.
But it wasn't until this past season that the 6'11", 245-pound Murphy showed signs of being a real player in the league. He averaged 14.3 points and 11.8 boards, the latter of which ranked second in the entire league behind only Dwight Howard. Not only that, but he is a great stretch forward in every sense of the word, knocking down 45 percent of his treys last season.
And it wasn't like he only shot a limited number of 3's and had a small sample size. Murphy attempted 358 treys and connected on 161 of them, a number that would be staggering even for a sharp-shooting guard. But the 6'11" Murphy, a guy who can play both forward and center, did it while being a big man who also pulled down boards at an alarming rate.
At the age of 29, Murphy is in the prime of his career and has been able to avoid major injuries over the past several years. He played 73 games last season and 75 the season before that. The Notre Dame product has been virtually injury-free since a deep bone bruise in his right foot and stress reaction in his right ankle wrecked most of his 2003-04 season. He is finally coming into his own after struggling for bad Golden State teams early in his career, but he has still been unable to play on a playoff team due to subpar Indiana clubs over the past couple of years.
Back in December, DIME Magazine had a piece about Murphy calling him "The White David West." Definitely not a bad thing to be compared to a guy who has been a two-time All-Star as a power forward in the Western Conference.
Considering the fact that Murphy has put up such good numbers on teams devoid of real talent, he would get more open looks in Cleveland than he would know what to do with. Considering the massive attention that opposing defenses pay to LeBron and the respect that dunking machine Shaq still commands in the paint, teams would still have to respect a guy like Murphy on the wing.
Combine that with the newfound respect for All-Star Mo Williams, and you could really be looking at the final piece that could make this Cavaliers team virtually unbeatable.
So how can the Cavs go about acquiring Murphy? It was hard enough to pry Williams away from a division rival a year ago, and it required a third team. If Ferry can't find a third team this time around, then he still has the massive expiring contract of Zydrunas Ilgauskas, who is still a serviceable player.
But Z is also five years older than Murphy and offers no young potential, something the Pacers would probably want for a guy like Murphy.
Although the Cavs are high on J.J. Hickson, they really can't afford to keep waiting around for him to develop with the stakes as high as they are. If including Hickson in a package with Z is what it would take to get Murphy to Cleveland, then the Cavs should -- by all means -- pull the trigger. Hickson isn't a guarantee at this point. Murphy, however, is. And he is also a much better fit for the Cavs right now than Hickson.
Plus, it's possible that Hickson's value could be higher right now than it will be at any point in his career if he goes downhill from here. The Cavs can either cash in on his value right now or keep waiting around for the future -- a future that may not include LeBron James if 2010 doesn't end with the Larry O'Brien trophy.
Murphy also doesn't guarantee the title, but he definitely stacks the odds in their favor. If last year's Cavs team won 66 games, then swapping Ben Wallace, Sasha Pavlovic, Zydrunas Ilgauskas, and J.J. Hickson -- three of whom even didn't contribute much to begin with -- for Shaq and Murphy would definitely push 70 assuming good health.
It also moves Anderson Varejao back to the bench where he belongs. Now that Andy is getting paid and in the fold for the long haul, it will probably be easier for him to accept the role that he had to begin with. Plus, both Varejao and Murphy's abilities to play center as well as power forward would afford a much deeper bench and a more versatile frontcourt rotation -- one that would get even stronger once Powe comes back in the spring.
For the Pacers, getting Z would save them $11.9 million for next summer and get them under the new salary cap by about $7 million. It also gives them a young piece in Hickson to help begin a rebuilding project, another thing that a team treading water would be looking for in trading a star like Murphy.
Of course, it's all speculation at this point. But an expiring contract begins to accumulate more and more value the closer we get to the trading deadline. And if the Pacers are looking at another season of being 10 games under .500 (or making the playoffs as an eighth seed only to be dusted off unceremoniously by one of the East's top dogs), then this trade begins to make more and more sense for both clubs.
Just imagine a team that rolls out King James, Shaq, Mo Williams, Troy Murphy, and Delonte West every night -- with Anderson Varejao, Anthony Parker, Jamario Moon, Daniel Gibson, Darnell Jackson, and soon Leon Powe off the bench.
Yeah, 70 doesn't sound like too much of "stretch," does it?
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