6'11", 250.
29 years old.
Looks like a Russian hit man.
That's right, I'm talking about Sasha Kaun (not that you have any idea who that actually is).
For those of you unfamiliar with Mr. Kaun, he is a former Sonic draft-and-stash 2nd round pick from 2008 that the Cavaliers acquired for cash. And according to sportando.com, the Cavs may be interested in bringing him in next year.
And I'm (probably) unreasonably excited about this.
29 years old.
Looks like a Russian hit man.
That's right, I'm talking about Sasha Kaun (not that you have any idea who that actually is).
For those of you unfamiliar with Mr. Kaun, he is a former Sonic draft-and-stash 2nd round pick from 2008 that the Cavaliers acquired for cash. And according to sportando.com, the Cavs may be interested in bringing him in next year.
And I'm (probably) unreasonably excited about this.
Back in the 2009 offseason, when I realized the Cavs owned the rights to a 6'11" big overseas, and when the Cavs were direly in need of size underneath, I was clamoring for the team to bring him over. Unfortunately, it didn't happen back then, regardless of the fact that it would've meant a championship for the Cavs that year...
Ok, I may be exaggerating a bit. But still, it never hurts to have a big that can move on the roster. Now that we have Blatt and Mosgov though, who were both with Kaun on the Russian national team that won a bronze medal in 2012, there might be real interest. Especially with the front-court needing legitimate depth past this offseason (assuming Perkins is only on the team as an enforcer), the Cavs may be able to benefit from Kaun's prior relationship with Blatt the same way that they have with Mosgov.
Some of you may remember Kaun from Kansas though, where he put up an average 7.1-3.9-1.2 (PTS-RBS-BLK) in his senior year. Not overly impressive, but he has been much better on the CSKA Moscow team as of late. Kaun has been averaging 9.6-4.7-1 in just under 20 minutes a game.
When he played at Kansas, the team won a National Championship (courtesy of Super Mario Chalmers hitting a death-defying buzzer beater to send the game into OT). Kaun, on that team, was a defensive anchor. He held down the middle and locked up the lane. That was against inferior collegiate competition but it is worth mentioning.
While this move might not sound exciting, it's good to hear that the team is still looking to improve and has even more avenues to do so, and probably with minimal risk.
Ok, I may be exaggerating a bit. But still, it never hurts to have a big that can move on the roster. Now that we have Blatt and Mosgov though, who were both with Kaun on the Russian national team that won a bronze medal in 2012, there might be real interest. Especially with the front-court needing legitimate depth past this offseason (assuming Perkins is only on the team as an enforcer), the Cavs may be able to benefit from Kaun's prior relationship with Blatt the same way that they have with Mosgov.
Some of you may remember Kaun from Kansas though, where he put up an average 7.1-3.9-1.2 (PTS-RBS-BLK) in his senior year. Not overly impressive, but he has been much better on the CSKA Moscow team as of late. Kaun has been averaging 9.6-4.7-1 in just under 20 minutes a game.
When he played at Kansas, the team won a National Championship (courtesy of Super Mario Chalmers hitting a death-defying buzzer beater to send the game into OT). Kaun, on that team, was a defensive anchor. He held down the middle and locked up the lane. That was against inferior collegiate competition but it is worth mentioning.
While this move might not sound exciting, it's good to hear that the team is still looking to improve and has even more avenues to do so, and probably with minimal risk.