Written by Demetri Inembolidis

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Chris Grant loves veterans.  It doesn't matter whether or not they can play or are hopelessly inefficient.  There have been rumors tying the Cavs to Derek Fisher, Michael Redd and Brandon Roy.  These are all players who either have a long history or were once elite at their craft at one point in time.  Young teams need players who have spent time in the NBA to show the more inexperienced guys the ropes.  This is a valuable skill that can pay dividends for a team trying to find its way.  It would be great if the Cavs could acquire a veteran who actually can play.  Doing so is easier said than done because these are players who typically acompany large salaries or who do not want to spend the prime of their career tutoring a young team on how to act like professionals and play winning basketball.  The Cavs have had to settle for veterans like Anthony Parker and have been rumored to have interest in Derek Fisher because they simply do not have an option of acquiring a veteran who still has skills.

Until now.

The Houston Rockets are up to something.  Daryl Morey, the GM of the Rockets, has made a series of puzzling personnel moves and is apparently trying to get Dwight Howard from the Orlando Magic.  Houston had three first round picks in the 2012 draft.  Additionally,  Morey has made a series of trades.  The Rockets also tendered large contract offers to Omer Asik and Jeremy Lin.  The most bizarre transaction took place on Thursday night when Adrian Wojnarowski of Yahoo! Sports reported that the Rockets will use the amnesty provision on big man Luis Scola.

Although his NBA career didn't begin until 2007, Scola's was drafted 56th overall in the 2002 draft by the San Antonio Spurs.  The 32 year old power forward is 6'9" and is the exact type of veteran the Cavs can use.  He averaged 15.5 points, 6.5 rebounds, 2.1 assists in 31 minutes per game last year.  Other than his more the adequate statistics, the most impressive thing about Luis Scola is that he is never injured.  He has played 386 out of 394 possible regular season games.  Scola is a skilled offensive player who would fit in very well with the other Cavalier big men. If you take a look at his field goal percentages from different areas on the court, you see a player who scores efficiently from just about anywhere short of the three point line.

The Cavs are going to need a big man who can shoot to open up driving lanes for Kyrie Irving and Dion Waiters.  Although Antawn Jamison was not an efficient scorer last season, his presence alone helped the Cavs because he kept the defense honest.  Teams had to scheme for Jamison's three point shooting, which effectively opened the paint for Irving to operate. 

The Houston Rockets owe Luis Scola $21 million in the next three years.  He will be in high demand and is expected to have multiple teams place bids on his contract.  Luckily for the Cavs, teams over the salary cap are prohibited from bidding on players who have been cut via the amnesty provision.  Interested teams can put in a blind bid with the league and the highest bidder will get to sign Scola for the remainder of his contract. 

Acquiring Luis Scola may not be a home run.  He is 32 years old and will be 34 years old when his contract terminates after the 2013/2014 season.  In order to acquire Scola, the Cavs would have to make a sizable waiver bid.  In other words, he would not be cheap.

Chris Grant should do whatever he can within reason to secure Scola for the Cavaliers.  It is not often that a veteran of his caliber can fall into your lap without giving up any assets besides cap space (which the Cavs have an excess of).  Luis Scola is a little older than is probably ideal, but the Cavs should try and benefit from this odd turn of events that has made acquiring a skilled big man a distinct possibility.