Mychel Thompson is one of the newest Cleveland Cavaliers to hit the court for the 2011-12 season. He has known the Cavs’ coach – Byron Scott – his entire life because his father and coach Scott played together in Los Angeles. However, Thompson expects no favoritism.

“He’s doing pretty good,” said coach Byron Scott. “He’s a solid basketball player. He doesn’t make a lot of mistakes. He just does what he knows he can do. He’s pretty good on the defensive end.”

Thompson is an undrafted player. Traditionally, undrafted players have an uncertain future in the NBA, but with the Cavs, Thompson’s future could possibly be rather bright. During last season, Jawad Williams, Manny Harris, Jamario Moon and Samardo Samuels were all undrafted.

Manny Harris is still with the team, but is currently not playing due to having an ulcer on his right foot. Samardo Samuels is still on the roster and is getting game time this season. He actually had 15 points in the first 2011-12 preseason game. Jamario Moon was traded off to another NBA team last season. Williams is still with the Cavs.

Based on looking at the Cavs’ track record with undrafted players, there is a chance that Thompson will have a home with the Cavs, at least for the remainder of this shortened season. This could be especially true if any of the front court ends up injured at some point during the season.

During the first preseason game (12/16/11) of this season, Thompson made a three-pointer, had a blocked shot and had three rebounds. This is not too bad for his first professional basketball game. Coach Scott is optimistic about him and so am I.

Thompson has basketball in his blood and he is definitely passionate and motivated. As the Cavs tackle more difficult teams, like the Knicks and Celtics, we will truly get to see how well Thompson can adapt to the Cavs and NBA.

R. Elizabeth C. Kitchen was born and raised in Cleveland, Ohio and still lives there. She was raised a Cavs’ fan and has remained loyal through all of the teams ups and downs. She remains confident that the Cavs will bring home a championship at some point in her life. Follow Rose on Twitter @Rose_Kitchen

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The Cleveland Cavaliers used the amnesty clause on Baron Davis and on Friday, December 16, 2011, Davis cleared waivers. This made him eligible to head to another NBA team if he chose to. Well, the New York Knicks picked up Davis and did not waste any time.

“Davis and the Knicks have agreed to a one-year deal worth $2.5 million, which is the maximum New York could pay in using what is known as the “mini” mid-level exception for luxury-tax teams,” reports ESPN.

Right now Davis is off the court with a back injury. He has two bulging discs. From personal experience I know that this injury can be a lengthy one to recovery from. It is estimated that he will need at least eight to 10 weeks to recover, but there is always the chance that it could take longer. The season is already cut short because of the lockout, so Davis may not see much court time with the Knicks.

Despite Davis being injured at this time, it is said that the Knicks went after him rather aggressively. Their backcourt does need some help and when Davis is healthy, he is definitely a solid choice. Personally, being a Cavs’ fan, I think the Cavs should have kept Davis on this year. Even if he had not been on the court much, he could have been an excellent mentor to rookie point guard Kyrie Irving. Irving is already showing promise, but with direction from an All-Star veteran like Davis, he could really shine.

Carmelo Anthony has expressed a lot of excitement about Davis joining the Knicks. He is reported as saying, “everybody knows what he can do when he’s healthy and when he’s focused. I was here for two months last year and we played (the Cavaliers) quite a bit of time when I got here and he was healthy then. They beat us and he was a big part of those wins. When BD (Davis) is healthy, he’s one of the best.”

If only the Cavs would have recognized this. He is good, both on the court and when on the sidelines. His experience alone is of great value. I, of course, wish him luck, but wish the Cavs would have just kept him on the roster.

R. Elizabeth C. Kitchen was born and raised in Cleveland, Ohio and still lives there. She was raised a Cavs’ fan and has remained loyal through all of the teams ups and downs. She remains confident that the Cavs will bring home a championship at some point in her life. Follow Rose on Twitter @Rose_Kitchen

Note: This article was written by a Yahoo! contributor. Sign up here to start publishing your own sports content.

As the Cleveland Cavaliers complete their first preseason game of the 2011-12 season, they are already looking better and more in sync than they did last season. On Friday (12/16/11), the Cavs defeated the Detroit Pistons 91 to 87 and while there were some bumps during the game, the team recovered quickly and kept pushing forward.

Rookie Kyrie Irving and veteran Antawn Jamison were who to watch tonight. Surprisingly, Samardo Samuels also pulled in 15 points for the Cavs tonight. He looked pretty clumsy when he first entered the game and then seemed to find his rhythm. He took several fouls and made most of the shots. Jamison had 13 points and Irving led the Cavs with 21 points in his first NBA game.

A lot of people were skeptical about Irving since he only played in 11 college basketball games, but if this game is any indication of how he will fare in the NBA, I think it is safe to say that the Cavs have a very solid and skilled player on their hands that will only get better with time and increased experience.

Tristan Thompson also got some time on the court tonight and really showed off his defensive skills. In addition to his epic block that had the jaws of many Pistons on the floor, he also scored eight points. In a way, he almost reminded me of J.J. Hickson in how Hickson would literally slam the ball to the ground when blocking and seem to show up exactly when he was needed.

Will the Cavs be playoff contenders this season? Probably not, but of course it is too soon to tell and if you know anything about Cleveland sports, you know they are unpredictable. However, it seems certain that even without playoffs, the Cavs are definitely headed for more wins and a more exciting and explosive season than they had last year. Not only do they have some new and talented players, but they have a new sense of direction and motivation to take the court and set it on fire.

R. Elizabeth C. Kitchen was born and raised in Cleveland, Ohio and still lives there. She was raised a Cavs’ fan and has remained loyal through all of the teams ups and downs. She remains confident that the Cavs will bring home a championship at some point in her life. Follow Rose on Twitter @Rose_Kitchen

Note: This article was written by a Yahoo! contributor. Sign up here to start publishing your own sports content.

The Cleveland Cavaliers must have a lot of confidence in their No.1 pick, point guard Kyrie Irving. They opted to use their amnesty clause to waive Baron Davis and complete a well-orchestrated trade in the process. In hindsight, it all began when Cleveland acquired Davis along with the Los Angeles Clippers first round draft pick in exchange for Mo Williams and Jamario Moon. Now, the Cavaliers have Irving and 8 million dollars of wiggle room under the cap this year and 20 million next season. Let’s just hope the whole LeBron James ordeal taught the Cavaliers a much needed lesson.

Always a class act

While I liked Baron Davis and hate to see him go, it will be interesting to watch what Irving can do. Besides, this did not really come as any surprise. 32 year-old Davis has been out of training camp due to a bulging back disc and while he was saying all the right things, there was a lot of doubt in his future with the Cavaliers. I wish him the best of luck wherever he lands, he was a class act, right down to his farewell words on his Twitter page, “I’m going to miss Cleveland fans and the organization! When I was down and out you believed in me and embraced me! I will always be a Cav!”

Bold contrast

The management seems to feel the same way. Their official announcement was full of respect. “We would like to thank Baron for his contributions to the team during his time in Cleveland,” said general manager Chris Grant. “He has been an absolute professional since the day he joined the Cavs and we now wish him the best in the future.” That is a big contrast to the infamous letter Cavalier owner Dan Gilbert issued after LeBron left.

On with the new

Kyrie Irving will get his big debut Friday, during the preseason opener against Detroit. Then the teams meet again at the Q on Dec. 20. Head coach Byron Scott is showing knowing but confidence in Irving’s abilities, he said, “He’s pretty good. The one thing about Kyrie is each day he shows you a little something special. The first day it might have been one thing. Then we had a scrimmage and there were five or six things. He’s progressing very nicely.”

More by Sylvie Branch:

Cleveland Cavaliers Coach Byron Scott Keeping the Training Wheels on Training Camp

Christmas in Cleveland, Lockout Over. Fan’s Reaction

Cleveland Cavaliers Baron Davis is Hot in Cleveland: Fan Report

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The New York Knicks should definitely try to pursue point guard Baron Davis if he becomes available this week. It seems clear that Davis will not stay with the Cleveland Cavaliers for much longer, potentially making him a free agent that the Knicks could sign for the veteran’s minimum.

There are two options that could land Davis in New York for the upcoming season, with the first being that the Cavaliers would use the NBA amnesty clause on him. Cleveland owes Davis just under $14 million this season and would likely have to pay him the nearly $15 million player option for next year. The team could choose to use the amnesty clause to take him off the salary cap and then pursue other free agents. The other option is that Cleveland could simply waive him and save the amnesty clause.

Davis is not the healthiest of guards out there and has been going through some back problems. If he is healthy though, he could become the perfect distributor for the Knicks in the 2011-12 NBA season. He can still score a lot of points in spurts, but would best serve the Knicks as a veteran taking care of the ball and helping get Carmelo Anthony and Amare Stoudemire the best shots possible. He would also come very cheap, because the Cavaliers are on the hook for the majority of his salary no matter how it plays out.

Last season for Cleveland, Davis averaged 28.4 minutes per game, putting up 13.1 points and 6.7 assists in those games. With Davis and Mike Bibby splitting time at the position, it would also give the Knicks a lot of depth off the bench. That’s exactly what the team needs after parting with more assets in order to make the Tyson Chandler deal work out.

Even if the Knicks end up making a deal with Jamal Crawford to come in as the starting shooting guard, the team should try its best to bring in Davis as well. With the abridged season, the Knicks have to add depth to the roster, and it has to come from inexpensive contracts. Adding some savvy veterans to the mix of young players off the bench could really give the frontcourt trio of stars the best chance to make it deep into the Eastern Conference Playoffs this year.

More From YCN :

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Source:

Full Knicks Schedule

New York Knicks Website

*Ryan Christopher DeVault is a fan of the New York Knicks that has followed the team since the days John Starks, Charles Oakley, and Anthony Mason instilled their defensive will on the rest of the league.

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