More trade talk

Of course, today, we have to talk more about the Cavs trade. In any trade, you have to look at what you gave up. The Cavs gave up…

 

Larry Hughes. We’ve been trying to get rid of him for two years and the only problem, he has been the sources of so many creative jabs that now we have no one to hate.

 

Drew Gooden. A good player but never played in the fourth quarter because the game was twice as long as his attention span.

 

Donyell Marshall. Old droopy eyes hasn’t been able to make a shot this year.

 

Ira Newble. May be the biggest lost in the trade but come on, it’s Ira Newble.

 

Cedric Simmons and Shannon Brown. Two young players who have talent and could become good players somewhere else but they weren’t going to play in Cleveland. 

 

So they gave up six players, three starters, but really they didn’t give up anyone that makes you say “I wish we could have done the trade without giving up him.”

 

Now let’s look at what we got. 

 

Joe Smith. The journeyman who almost single-handedly brought down the Minnesota Timberwolves organization a few years ago but has always been a solid player and is average 11 ppg this year, his best in five years. He will be a solid guy with the second unit with Andy, LBJ, Boobie and Damon Jones or who ever takes the other  guard spot off the bench.

 

Wally Szczerbiak. First, I probably won’t type Szczerbiak ever again. In fact I used copy and past for that one. He will simply be Wally. He is the spot-up shooter the Cavs have never had. Sure he’s old and slow but he can shoot. Remember all those times LBJ drove and found Larry or Marshall open for three only for you to think “my goodness we need someone other than those guys taking the shot”? Well, now they do. 

 

Ben Wallace. His contract is just slightly more money than Larry’s but the same amount of years so that’s not a problem. The Cavs will lose a little bit of offense with him instead of Gooden but those shots/points will easily be made up by Z, LBJ or Wally. Wallace’s impact will be on the defensive end and on the glass, obviously. Wallace is the Larry Hughes of Chicago and trading them for each other makes sense. Hopefully, a new place will get Wallace back to playing like he did in Detroit. It’s going to take a bit of getting used to since I hated him for so long because he was on the Pistons but if he plays like he did as a Piston, I can easily get over hating him.

 

Delonte West. He was the key to the whole thing I believe. Ferry loves him and the Cavs needed a point guard. He hasn’t played that well this year in Seattle but it’s Seattle and it’s hard to put up good numbers as a point guard when your best player is putting up 56 shots a game and only averaging 19 ppg. West was pretty solid with Boston last year and Boston was horrible. I’ve liked him since he played with Jameer Nelson at St. Joe’s (I think I only liked him because St. Joe’s was this little A-10 school going for a perfect record but whatever, I still liked him and Nelson). West can play defense and make outside shots. It will be interesting to see what the Cavs offense can do with a true point guard.

 

Right now, I’ll call this a good deal. The final verdict will come in playoff time when we see how they all play together. It may or may not work out but the day after feeling is the Cavs made the right move. And by right move, that is any move. Ferry needed to pull something off to show he was trying to improve the team and to show LeBron he wasn’t going to just let nothing happen. That’s the best part. That Ferry actually did something. Now these guys are going to have to some how come together and learn to play with one another. That could take some time, especially with all the injuries. I think going 21-9 in the last 30 games to get to 50 wins is out of the question. With Daniel Gibson now hurt and out for 4-6 weeks, Sasha still out a few more  the team won’t be hole until just before playoff time. Andy hopefully will return next week. It’s going to take a while but the good news is, the Cavs will at the worst be the fifth seed in the East. That’s where they are right now. That matches them up with the Raptors. That doesn’t worry me. Next would be the Celtics and I really think the Cavs can beat Boston in a seven game series. I think they have a better chance against Boston than they do against Detroit. So that gives the Cavs some time to play together without having to worry that much about where they are in the standings. 

 

The trade isn’t one of those trades that make people around the NBA say “wow, the Cavs are now the team to beat,” but that’s OK. The Cavs didn’t need that kind of trade. This trade makes the Cavs better simply because the players they got are better than the players they gave up. Can they win the East with this team? Of course. But they could have with the other guys too. Simply because they have LeBron James. He’s another reason why the transition to get everyone on the same page will be easier. He wanted a trade, any kind of trade (like most of us) and he is a leader that will make sure all four new guys feel welcome. Plus, he is the kind of player that anyone would be happy to play with and the kind of player who makes it easy to play with. The Cavs are a better team today than they were yesterday.

 

Now, they just need to get healthy. That’s a bigger problem than getting the new guys incorporated into the system. With Gibson out (damn you basketball Gods!!! Why?!?!?!), Sasha out and Andy still out at least one more game and these four guys not being able to play tonight, the Cavs have six active/healthy players. If Danny Ferry reads this blog (and he might since I’m sure he is looking for compliments today in the cyber space world) or if someone reading this knows him, give him this message: Instead of signing NBDL players, sign a few of us from Team River City. We are coming off an emotional third place finish and have all the momentum in the world to help the Cavs beat the Wizards tonight. Thank you.

 

 

Fratello

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