Hey Larry Hughes, Please Stop Taking So Many Bad Shots

I couldn’t resist posting this quote from the Chicago Tribune article, “Well-traveled Larry Hughes has grown up”:

Hughes calls himself “a guard, period. Just let me play. I’ve learned to take fewer bad shots, to recognize situations, so just put me out there and I’ll try to make the good play. If it’s from the two-guard, what’s the difference?”

Full article here.

I started this site for one reason: to get Larry Hughes to stop taking so many bad shots. And along the way, I was hoping that I could make a few people laugh too. I wasn’t looking for any personal recognition and I’ve remained anonymous throughout this entire process because I felt this site was the voice of many Cavs fans and not just me.

I’ve read all of your feedback, I’ve considered many of the options, and here’s what I’m going to do:
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Keep the site going for Bulls fans?

There’s no way in hell I’m going to do this because I hate the Bulls! Look, we’re division rivals and I’m still bitter about what Jordan did to us in the 80’s. This site was trying to get Larry to stop taking  bad shots, but now that he’s a Bull, he’s your problem! And besides, Chicago fans should be thanking me for raising the money to buy Larry the Better Shooting DVD - it seems to have helped some.

Verdict: No.
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Convert the site to HeyBenWallaceBlahBlahBlah.com?

I’ve received hundreds of suggestions that I should rename the site to something mentioning Ben Wallace’s poor shooting. But there are a bunch of reasons why I don’t want to do this:

1) We already know he can’t shoot free throws, and that’s not we’re asking him to do. We need him to play tough defense, get rebounds, and teach Zydrunas Ilgauskas how to become the next Rick Mahorn of the NBA.

2) It’s too early to start ripping on the new guys. Let’s give them a chance to gel and make this thing work. It’s the same reason I waited 2 seasons before complaining about Larry.

3) While the new guys aren’t perfect, I don’t think there’s a single player on our roster who is capable of the profound brickitude that Larry Hughes provided.

Verdict: No.
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Make it an all-purpose Cleveland Cavaliers site?

I’ve considered this very seriously, but I’m going to pass for now. I wasn’t trying to launch a blogging career, and I wasn’t pursuing this as a money-making venture. I was just a frustrated Clevelander sick and tired of watching one of our “star” players underachieve. 

And I’m not a greedy guy: there are enough fantastic Cleveland sports sites out there to satisfy all of our needs. TheClevelandFan.com is spectacular in its depth and breadth of content, Brian Windhorst does a great job as a beat writer,  WaitingForNextYear.com has been coming on strong lately with great stuff, Mistake By The Lake is always good for humorous and stat-driven content, etc, etc. So does the world really need another Cavs site?

Verdict: No.
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Make it a site that rips on ALL underachieving NBA players?

It’s another good idea, but it just won’t be the same as All Larry, All The Time. And there are already a few sites that do this, and I’m not interested in following suit. Part of the reason is that it would require that I watch about 10 times more games every night in order to monitor the crappiness across the league and I just don’t have the time (or the cable package).

Verdict: No.
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Freeze the site as a memento of the Larry Hughes Era in Cleveland?

Of course I’ll keep the site up so you can show it to your grandchildren when they ask about that Larry Hughes Web site guy. But when Larry was traded on February 21st, this mission was complete.  So I won’t be actively updating the content or tracking Larry’s progress anymore.

Verdict: Yes.
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Channel my creativity into another project of epic importance?

I’ve learned a lot while running this site and it’s time to move on. But I’ve been brainstorming some other Web site ideas that I’m hoping to launch later this year. None of them focus solely on the Cavaliers, nor do I think I’ll do another Cleveland sports blog (never say never). But some of my ideas are sports related and hopefully you’ll see them emerge in the next few months. They will be weird and funny, and I think you’ll like them.

Verdict: Hell Yes.
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And now some parting words…

To Cleveland fans:

Thanks again for being so supportive. You are the most dedicated fans in the world and you deserve a championship. I’ve been very grateful for the emails and comments you’ve sent me the past few months and I’m still in awe of the response HLHPSTSMBS has generated. I’ll see you at the Cavs games!

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To Delonte, Ben, Joe, and Wally:

Play hard and live up to your potential. If you guys help us win a championship, you will be loved by Clevelanders for the next eight thousand years.
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To Larry Hughes:

Sorry if any of this hurt your feelings. As people like to say in professional sports, “it’s just business.” Like when the Cavs charge fans $7 for a beer and $20 for parking, or like the time Boozer swindled the blind guy, or when Modell moved the Browns, or when or when Manny left for more money. If everyone in professional sports wants to be ”all about business”, this is just a reminder that we fans can play that game too. 

Best of luck in Chicago! Hopefully you’re in a system that allows you to play up to your full potential. You can now slash to your heart’s content, you slasher you. And now that you’re in Chicago, it’s totally fine if you want to ignore this site, throw away the shooting DVD, and TAKE AS MANY BAD SHOTS AS YOU WANT.
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Bye for now.

GO CAVS!

I can’t wipe the smile off my face.

Did that just happen? Danny Ferry convinced another team to take Larry Hughes?! Ponder that for a moment. I’m almost afraid to write about this until the league formally reviews and approves the deal.

Is this a good deal for the Cavs? I think so, but the best way to evaluate a trade like this is to wait a year and see what the hell happens. So I’m holding off on any grades, but I commend Danny Ferry for making a move.

And now the question: What am I going to do with this site?
I’m not sure right now, and I feel like I need a few days to figure it out.

Here’s the plan:
1) Brainstorm my options
This site could go in a number of directions such as: keeping it going for Bulls fans, turning it into a Cavs site, selling the site, or turning it into a general NBA site. I’m also considering shutting it down completely. Or perhaps someone would like me to write for their site.

2) Listen to your ideas
Once I come up with my top 5 options, I’m going to launch a survey on the site and I’m going to let everyone vote. I’ll count the votes and go from there.  UPDATE: I’ve decided against the survey because all of your comments have replaced the need to do one.

So please comment or send me an email (heylarryhughes@gmail.com) if you have any good ideas, and I’ll read every single bit of feedback. Thanks to everyone for all of your participation, comments, and Cleveland sports loyalty. It’s been a lot of fun.

In the meantime, I’m gonna get off the couch and try to do some good for the community.

Feb 20, 2008: Cleveland 106 (win) at Indiana 97

FG            FG%        3P         3P%          FT       FT%   

7-16         .437        2-5        .400          3-5      .600

Larry had a pretty decent game tonight. He shot well in the first half and then went into the tank in the 3rd quarter (with the rest of the team). Overall, 19 points on 44% shooting is something I can’t complain about!

Boobie suffered a nasty ankle sprain in the third quarter when Pacer guard Travis Diener slammed into him. The initial report is that the x-rays were negative and the team would reevaluate the injury on Thursday. But it looked pretty bad, so cross your fingers it wasn’t too serious.

Now onto the fun stuff! Brian Windhorst is teasing the hell out of Cavs fans with this mid-game blog post:

Folks, I have not watched a second of the first half as I pursue some hot trade rumors with the Cavs. They are being very active and are in talks over a blockbuster that has not been reported yet. It does not involve Mike Miller. More to come later.

The suspense is killing me! Is it possible that Larry Hughes could be part of the deal??? I don’t know about you, but I’m glad we didn’t mortgage the future of the franchise for Mike Bibby or Jason Kidd.

Game 53: Feb 19, 2008. Houston 93 at Cleveland 85 (loss)

FG            FG%        3P         3P%          FT       FT%   

5-15         .333        1-4        .250          5-6      .833

Psst…. Hey Larry, the trade deadline is February 21st. You’re not supposed to shoot crappy until AFTER the trade deadline passes. Danny Ferry is actively working on a new trade with the Dallas Mavericks. According to my sources, it would be a two player deal as outlined below:

Cavaliers get: Keith Van Horn plus the Mavs first round draft pick from 1993.

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Mavericks get: Larry Hughes plus an appearance from Bizarro Larry Hughes once every 12 games. And if the Mavericks are willing to do the deal in the next 12 hours, they will also receive Dajuan Wagner’s colon as a special bonus!

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Mark Cuban, don’t let tonight’s game deter you from making this trade! The Cavs were just a little rusty after the All-Star layoff. And yes, Larry shot poorly tonight, but so did everyone on the Cavs team!

Larry: 33%
LeBron: 39%
Gooden: 30%
Boobie: 20%
Donyell: 33%
Devin: 33%

Give Larry a break. He had to travel back from New Orleans on Monday and this was after finding out at the last minute that he was snubbed from the All-Star team. We’ve already proven that Larry Hughes is better than Jason Kidd, so if you can pull the trigger on this trade, you’d effectively land TWO Jason Kidds for the Mavericks.