Photo. MannionIf nothing else, today’s 11-player deal involving the Cavs, Bulls and Sonics will allow LeBron James to stop hiding just how frustrated this season has been for him. Beyond the MVP-type numbers and carrying the Cavs to one of the better records in the East, the King had to be royally pissed off as he watched contenders like Phoenix, Dallas, Boston and the Lakers make moves to beef up their respective rosters increase their chances at a championship. Even teams like San Antonio and Detroit, while not making headline grabbing moves and not getting high-profile draft picks, have been putting themselves in position to take the ‘08 crown. And all the while the Cavs did nothing.
Whether today’s trade — which netted Cleveland Ben Wallace, Wally Szczerbiak, Joe Smith and Delonte West — brings the Cavs to another level or not, at least LeBron knows his front-office is trying to surround him with quality talent.
What does the trade do for each team?
CLEVELAND — Whatever Ben Wallace has left in the tank, he should be able to get the most out of it on a defensive-minded team like the Cavs. Although Wallace can’t replace Drew Gooden’s points, he can start at power forward next to Big Z and play a Udonis Haslem-ish enforcer role for Ilgauskas. Or they can start Joe Smith, who has shown he can be an effective low-post scorer. Wally is a pure shooter/scorer on a team with a dearth of them; at worst he can come in and lead the second unit as a scorer when LeBron is out, at best he can actually knock down the open threes that guys like Damon Jones and Donyell Marshall kept missing. Delonte is a quality backup point guard who can push the pace and just makes things happen when he’s on the floor.
CHICAGO — They just gave up their best low-post scorer (Smith) for Gooden. Not good, even if Drew is younger. If Larry Hughes plays like Good Larry Hughes, he provides defense on the perimeter (something of a problem with Ben Gordon) and occasional big scoring nights. Cedric Simmons and Shannon Brown are strictly potential-based pickups.
SEATTLE — Adrian Griffin, Donyell Marshall and Ira Newble. I can’t even speak on this right now. You’ll hear from me tomorrow.
February 21st, 2008 at 5:41 pm
Spliff 2 My Lou says:
Look at the brightside Austin, there may not be a team in Seattle in a few years for you to call your hometown team then it won’t matter how bad they are.
February 21st, 2008 at 5:44 pm
first time first says:
first
February 21st, 2008 at 6:24 pm
Sushi says:
Read the blog, feel my pain…
February 21st, 2008 at 6:27 pm
SWAT says:
Ok so gerlad green is now a rocket!
February 21st, 2008 at 6:27 pm
SWAT says:
oops meant to say Gerald Green…
February 21st, 2008 at 8:11 pm
Brown says:
It looks SO funny to see losers claim first when someone who actually has something to say beats them to the spot. Get a life losers.
February 21st, 2008 at 8:15 pm
Brown says:
Cavs fans will love this. They’re better than they were, and it’ll be interesting to see what Ben Wallace can give them. I’m still shocked they found someone to take Hughes’ contract.
I figured if they could at least get a decent PG, they’d be ready to push for the East crown, but they made out like bandits today.
Although, their salary cap situation just got a hell of a lot worse, they probably only need to add one more player if they don’t win it all this year, and the MLE can take care of that.
February 21st, 2008 at 10:48 pm
Ferdiberdi says:
actually wanted them to get mike miller but this trade is solid for cavs since they got a lot tougher and also have shooters around LBJ. they also dumped hughes’ contract.
February 21st, 2008 at 10:49 pm
Top Gun says:
Now they can’t give excuses. LeBron has Ben Wallace ! If this was two year ago, fools in cleveland would be chanting championship.
On top of that, he has Wally Szerbiak, the worst All-Star selection of all time.
Delonte West should run the floor, because the way they use LeBron 40 plus minutes a game is just taking away years from his longevity.
February 22nd, 2008 at 2:09 am
Vignesh says:
oh man..seattle..what have they done..they give away kurt thomas then they give away wally…man..looks real bad for them now…
houston made a foolish deal as well..bonzi was pretty good for them… dont think bobby jackson will have a seat saved by tmac in the locker room though!!! remember the fight these two guys had back in the day…
bulls took hughes contract…daayyuummnn!
February 22nd, 2008 at 3:52 am
mrcanadian says:
paxon is a joke.
no kg, no kobe, no gasol…
but he gets gooden and larry
between paxon and jordan, the verdict will be out on kerr, if you were an owner, wouldn’t you totally remove pippen from your possible gm speed dial???
craig hodges for gm
February 22nd, 2008 at 4:14 am
Bobby B says:
Why are you guys making a big deal about the Cavs dumping Hughes’ contract?
I’m more surprised that Paxson was able to dump Wallace’s huge contract. Hughes is making just over $12M this year; when his contract expires, he’ll be making about $13.6M. Wallace is making $15.5M this year, $14.5M next season, then $14M in the final year of his contract.
Both players are way overpaid, but contract-wise I think the Bulls come out on top. And, overall, I think Hughes gives you more bang for your buck than Wallace. But, again, I’d like to reiterate that both are way overpaid.
February 22nd, 2008 at 6:05 am
YOUNGFED says:
Good deals all around don’t know how much better this makes the Cavs but it does make them better. West and Wally will definitely bring scoring for the Cavs. Seattle is the only loser in this equation.
I’m out like Seattles hope of a championship……atleast until 2030. (LOL)
February 22nd, 2008 at 7:46 am
sam says:
Seattle will most definitely not have a championship even after 2030 if that dirtbag owner moves the team.
Why isn’t Stern doing anything about this?!?