Is Channing Frye The Missing Piece For the Cleveland Cavaliers?
The Cleveland Cavaliers acquired Channing Frye from the Orlando Magic before the trade deadline on Thursday.
The Frye has returned to Cleveland!
No, I’m not talking about former Cleveland Browns quarterback Charlie Frye. In a three-team deal, the Cleveland Cavaliers acquired power forward/center Channing Frye from the Orlando Magic in exchange for Jared Cunningham and a second round pick from the Portland Trail Blazers. However,the Cavaliers had to part ways with one of their longest tenured players, Anderson Varejao.
He was traded to the Trail Blazers along with a 2018 conditional first round pick that is top-10 protected for two years. Varejao was immediately waived by the Blazers and can sign with any team (except the Cavs).
Some fans believe that the Cavaliers could re-sign him as they did Zydrunas Ilgauskas in 2010 after trading for Antawn Jamison from the Washington Wizards. But not so fast. Since then, the NBA has came up with a new rule that I like to call the “Z” rule, which states that a team cannot re-sign a player they previously traded until that date the next season.
The rule came into effect in 2011. That was only six years after implementing the “Gary Payton rule” that stated if a player was waived, they had to wait 30 days before re-signing with their original team.
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While it’s a tough loss for Cavaliers fans, it’s a move that makes sense for the rest of the season and going into the playoffs. They finally get the true stretch power forward they have been looking for. Frye came into the league as a player that strictly played in the paint and didn’t have much of a three-point shot.
During his rookie campaign with the New York Knicks in 2005-06, he only went 3-of-9 (.333) from three-point range.
It wasn’t until his last season with the Trail Blazers in 2008-09 that he took significantly more attempts. He went 11-of-33 (.333) from long range.
He had his best three-point shooting season during his first year with the Phoenix Suns in 2009-10. Frye went 172-of-392 (.439), and it continued throughout his career. He will spread the offense out and keep opposing defenses honest.
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Most power forwards/centers don’t like coming out of the paint to defend, and with defenses having to worry about LeBron James, Kyrie Irving and Kevin Love, he will have a lot of open looks. Being 6-foot-11 isn’t a bad thing either.
Some have complained about his second-lowest career numbers this season with the Magic. Frye is averaging 5.2 points per game and has only played in 44 games. But he is averaging his second-best rate from three-point range at 39.7 percent.
I expect his numbers to go up significantly playing with the Cavaliers, especially with the open looks he should have.
Frye’s defense has always been a concern for the teams, but according to FiveThirtyEight of ESPN, his defense has been much better than his offense. He has even admitted how his defense has been the most underrated part of his game.
He doesn’t get many rebounds (4.9 career rebounds per game) or blocked shots (0.7 career blocks per game), but his length can disrupt shots of opposing teams trying to penetrate to the basket.
Chris Haynes of Cleveland.com reported that head coach Tyronn Lue envisions Frye being able to set the pick-and-roll, which would make it tough for teams to defend along with James and Love on the court. Going back to Frye’s Suns days, Lue isn’t far off. Goran Dragic and Frye ran the pick-and-roll/pop to perfection.
Grantland reported that in 2013, the duo was ranked as one of the most efficient at running it. Yes, Tony Parker and Tim Duncan had competition that year.
Irving dribbling the ball around the pick set by Frye — and then Irving passing it back to him while defenses close in on James and Love — will be a welcome sight for fans. The Cavaliers are currently ranked 11th in the NBA in pick-and-roll efficiency, which should be a lot higher with all of the talent they have.
It isn’t the inside defensive presence that the Cavaliers need, but Frye will be another offensive threat within the rotation. With the trade deadline over, teams can now buy out players. The Cavaliers can still address the need for defense if a player like Roy Hibbert of the Los Angeles Lakers is bought out.
He hasn’t been a reliable player in the regular season or the playoffs, but he would be a big body that would just be asked to play defense and nothing more.
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The Frye trade could turn out to be great or just average, but either way it was a great move by the Cavaliers. They addressed one of their needs and might have gotten our P.J. Brown or Antoine Carr in the process.