Samardo will sign with Cleveland; hailed as 'next LeBron'

by Mike Rutherford on Jul 22, 2010 9:14 AM EDT in Basketball

Only half of that headline is true. Your task for this morning is to decipher which half.

The Cleveland Cavaliers have agreed, in principle, to sign former Louisville power forward Samardo Samuels to a multi-year deal according to the Cleveland Plain Dealer's Brian Windhorst.

Though terms of the deal weren't immediately available, Windhorst tweeted that the "deal has partial guarantee in the first year, which means Samuels is likely to make the team. Cavs liked him before draft, didn't have pick."

Samuels, a 6-foot-8 rookie who played with the Chicago Bulls in the Vegas Summer League, averaged 12.6 points and 7.4 rebounds while shooting 57% from the field in five games in Vegas. The 21-year-old former top-five recruit averaged 15.3 points and 7.0 rebounds while at Louisville last season.

While Samuels looked good in three of his five Summer League games - the three that he started, coincidentally - his best performance in my eyes came against the DeMarcus Cousins' led Sacramento Kings. Against the Kings, Samuels shot 6-of-8 from the field to score 17 total points and grab seven boards in 27 minutes of action while being defended by the fifth overall pick. Though Samuels didn't always draw Cousins on the other end of the floor, the most polished big man in the draft countered with a disappointing 10 points on 3-of-15 shooting.

Great news and major congratulations to Samardo. I thought it was the right move for him to leave school when I thought he had no shot at making an NBA roster, and now that it appears he's going to be a Cav, well, I really think he made the correct play.

Best of luck to the big guy in the league.

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Best of luck Samardo. He should do well under Byron Scott.
p.s. please don’t get on Dan Gilbert’s bad side :)

by aunt-B on Jul 22, 2010 9:25 AM EDT reply actions

Carlos Boozer

I said it before numerous times, and I’m sticking to it. That’s who Samardo reminds me of. It took that guy 4 years to look like anything special at Duke, and he’s been a much better pro.

by Hari Seldon on Jul 22, 2010 9:31 AM EDT reply actions

I think the issue has always been

motivation with SamSam. The guy showed us all glimpses of how good he could be-albeit few and far between. Good luck Samardo.

by twistedwedge on Jul 22, 2010 9:44 AM EDT reply actions

very cool.

But he’s got to rebound on defense. Good luck to him!

The East Coast Bias - St. John's blog with midwestern interludes.

by picodulce on Jul 22, 2010 9:49 AM EDT reply actions

Congrats Samardo!

Always knew you’d be the next LeBron!

by Cardhoopster on Jul 22, 2010 10:19 AM EDT reply actions

Picture of me this morning...

That said, congratulations Samardo! Take care of your family and then take care of business on the court to secure future money.

by Remote Cardinal on Jul 22, 2010 10:24 AM EDT reply actions

Could not be happier right now. Screw LeBron! GO SAMARDO!!

by uoflcard on Jul 22, 2010 12:02 PM EDT via mobile reply actions

This also means that our entire front line from '08-09 will be playing in the NBA next year.

When was the last time our entire front line from a given year wound up all playing in the NBA at the same time? My guess is Morton-Minor-Rozier.

by cardsinindy2010 on Jul 22, 2010 1:34 PM EDT reply actions

Next Lebron?

So he’s going to promise Cleveland a championship, then bolt to a different team to play with friends while doing it in the most egotistical way possible?

by CardinalDude on Jul 22, 2010 1:52 PM EDT reply actions