The Browns Will Win If…
November 28, 2008LeBron Recieves Criticism for Role in 2010 Hype
November 28, 2008The Cavaliers look to improve on the league’s best home record tonight against the Golden State Warriors. Since dropping 2 of their first 3 games (on the road at Boston and New Orleans) the only blemish on the Cavs 12-3 record is a loss to the Pistons in Detroit last week. Since that loss the Cavaliers have demoralized their opponents winning by an average margin of just over 22 points.
Brian Windhorst treats us to a nice piece today on Wally Szczerbiak. I remember thinking after the Detroit loss that Wally would have helped in that game. (If you remember he was excused from the team to attend to his father.) In that game Delonte West and Mo Williams were playing in foul trouble. Williams only played 31 minutes despite being hot from outside the arc (5 for 8). Is it possible that Cavs win that game if Wally was available? Sure it’s possible, but if you remember the fourth quarter of that game, the Pistons couldn’t miss. Iverson was killing us floating through the lane, and I don’t think Wally would have made a difference in stopping AI.
What is certain is Wally’s improvement from last season. Windhorst writes-
He’s shooting 53 percent, a cog in the Cavs’ overall offensive uptick. He is averaging 7.6 points, which doesn’t seem like much when you look at his career numbers, but Szczerbiak’s ability to stretch the defense off the bench has been vital to the Cavs developing a strong second unit.
“I’m the same player, nothing has changed with me,” Szczerbiak said. “It has been a matter of getting comfortable with the guys and my coaches. That’s why training camp is so important, I don’t know if everyone understands that. This year the guys could see who I am, and I could see who they are.”
Just in the past three games, it is clear to see how important being settled off the court is to Szczerbiak. After leaving the team to be with his father, Walt, for heart surgery, he has returned knowing his father was going to be OK. Over the past three games, he’s made 13 of 18 shots and averaged 11.3 points.
Before the season began, it was pretty much a forgone conclusion (in this writer’s mind anyway) that Wally was destined to find himself on his third team in as many years. A trade seemed certain, as his $13 million dollar expiring contract would certainly attract some interested buyers. But what about now?
Sure, if the Cavs were presented with “the player they just couldn’t pass up” I’d still be for a trade. Low post scoring hasn’t been the Achilles heel many of us thought that it would be. Offense in general hasn’t really been much of a trouble spot. With Ben Wallace’s recent plunge into the fountain of youth, and Andy Varejao playing like the high energy guy that had teams calling for his services two seasons ago, the Cavs seem to be set in the paint. They’ve even been able to find minutes to bring J.J. Hickson along. Make no mistake, the more minutes Hickson can play in November, the better he will be in March and April when we might need productivity out of the rookie.
But with Wally, are you in such a hurry to get rid of him as you were before? I’m not so sure right now.
18 Comments
Wally is definitely proving himself a valuable member of the bench this year. As you said, if a too-good-to-be-true deal for a good, young-ish front court player comes along we should jump on it for the sake of the future, but more and more it’s looking like (for the sake of this season) we might as well keep Wally, let his contract expire, and possibly re-sign him for less in the offseason.
I would resign him to a nice long term deal worth a good amount of money- those seem to really make a player play hard and hungry
I agree one hundred percent Sasha.
My ears are burning.
Not sure what I think about Wally so far this year – mainly because I haven’t seen many games. I’ve noticed in the stat lines that he’s gotten a lot of fouls and scored some points. I’m in the same camp as the other guys – if there’s someone that’s a can’t pass sidekick that someone is willing to unload for Wally and someone else, go for it. If not, he seems to have definitly improved his play over last year.
I c wut you did thar, Sasha!
The nice thing is that, as you point out, they don’t *have* to trade him simply to trade him. It’s kind of like a few years ago, when they missed out on Michael Redd and then all but *had* to sign Hughes to the big deal, because they had to do *something*.
They’re in the position right now to entertain all kinds of offers, and really look at the long-term effects any trade might have (by that, I mean the July, 2010 effects). The way this team is playing, I’d be hard-pressed to say that you should tinker with it if it ain’t broken.
That said, if someone bowls them over (think Memphis GM: “Sure, we’ll give you Gasol for a heaping pile of crap!”), you make the trade. Absolutely.
I’m in agreement with a lot that is said here. A “can’t miss” deal has got to be on the table with the way the kid from Redhawk land is playing. My question to you guys is, Who would you trade Wally for?
My Top Picks
#1- David Lee
#2- Michael Redd (A healthy Redd)
#3- Jason Richardson
#4- Raymond Felton
#5- Channing Frye
I left Vince Carter off of this list because he can NEVER stay healthy and i personally see him as someone who would not be able to play with LeBron at all!
I think JJ’s point about carter’s health can be used in this scenario as well.
I think we should hold off on this discussion for a couple of month. who knows what the Cavs will “need” due to lack of production or, heaven forbid but clevelanders expect, injury.
I agree, though, that the cavs should trade just to trade. I have faith that Ferry is not that dumb.
i would trade wally for:
1. Shawn Marion
2. Gerald Wallace
3. Chris Kaman
I would love a solid perimeter defender like Marion, or a great scorer like Wallace. Only one problem, you bring in those guys, and where does LeBron play? He either goes to the two and knocks Delonte out of the lineup, or you force LeBron or Marion (or Wallace) to play an undersize four for extended minutes and i know Mike Brown doesn’t want to play LeBron at the 4 in anymore than 3 or 4 minute intervals. Plus, LeBron would be the only one that could stand a chance out of the three against legit 4s like Amare, P. Gasol, Duncan, KG, etc. Cleveland needs a solid 4 that can play D and run or a 2 that can light it up from anywhere on the court (like a J Rich, VC, or Redd). One outside guy that i can see Cleveland going after but would swallow a bad contract and cause them to lose some ground in 2010 (LeBron-a-thon wise) is K-Mart.
Don’t trade unless the offer is so good you have to take it. Upgrades only. We also need another scoring big man, and I think if Joe Smith could get a buyout from OKC, that we should try to get him here, so then we aren’t dependent on Hickson in the playoffs.
I would trade him b/c you can get another serviceable role player for multiple years, while Wally is gone after this year. Use the contract to improve long-term. Is Wally really going to be the difference between a championship or not? If your answer is no, you have to trade him – that contract is a huge asset.
Although Wally’s contract is a huge asset, lets not forget we also have Eric Snow’s contract. What about Snow, Pavlovic and a #1 for someone like Antwan Jamison who is averaging 20 and 10? I know he is a bit old and his contract is not favorable at all, I think he would fit well with us. And we would be giving up practically nothing for him.
I love what Wally’s been able to do this season – he’s been our most consistent guard off the bench, and until Gibson starts hitting his outsides shots, Wally becomes our most dangerous outside threat. I realize the amount of talent that Wally (and Snow) could potentially bring us, but why change things now? As it is, we have a great starting lineup. We may not have a bonified second all-star player, but look at what everyone brings to the table: Mo is athletic, can make shots and is a much better point guard than people give him credit for. Delonte has proven to be one of our best defenders (shutting down Vince Carter and Joe Johnson on consecutive nights was fantastic), and can make any shot he wants. LeBron…. is LeBron. Ben Wallace is a good defender on the decline, but still capable of getting boards and blocks. Z is still one of the best centers in the league. If we did make a trade to get a good low-post player (I don’t think we need another guard), who would you sit? Our defense is what’s going to carry us through the playoffs, and I’d want Ben Wallace starting every single game. He’s essentially useless sitting on the bench.
I would personally love the right here, right now aspect of it. But it does the Cavs no favors after 2010 (much like my K-Mart suggestion)
Bill Simmons on the ESPN site has similar thoughts:
“Why don’t more people realize that the Cavs, already really good, will be even better three months from now?
Only 5-to-1 odds to win the title? Really? Even in this crummy economy, with ticket sales about to drop through the basement, the Cavs can’t blow their LeBron Window for one reason: If they win a title, he might stay and save professional basketball in Cleveland. Money is no object. They don’t care. And given that they have $20 million worth of expiring contracts (Wally Z. plus Eric Snow) as well as two favorable contracts (Andy Varejao and Sasha Pavlovic), that means the following guys are in play for them: Mike Miller and Michael Redd (the two biggies), along with Josh Howard, Shawn Marion, Gerald Wallace, Jason Richardson, Rasheed Wallace, Brad Miller, Raja Bell, Leandro Barbosa and Antawn Jamison.
For instance, let’s say they traded Wally, J.J. Hickson and $3 million to Minnesota for Mike Miller, and $10 million worth of Brian Cardinal and Mark Madsen in 2010 … then they dealt Pavlovic, Snow and a 2009 No. 1 pick to Washington for Jamison and Darius Songaila’s mildly reprehensible contract. Two reasonable trades, right? Cleveland gets two blue-chippers; Minnesota and Washington save money, gain cap space and position themselves for 2009 (fan-tanking) and 2010 (the free-agent bonanza). Wouldn’t the Cavs become the favorites if they landed Jamison AND Miller without giving up anyone in their top eight? I’d be more scared as a Celtics fan if Mike Brown wasn’t in charge. The point is — they will definitely add one more elite guy and possibly two. Which means that our top three (Boston, Cleveland, Los Angeles) could end up being more loaded than any top three since 1993 (Chicago, New York, Phoenix). This is a good thing.”
My only problem with getting any guy that plays the 3 (small forward) is where does that said player and LeBron get their minutes? Can you really afford to have LeBron play the two and actually make him work on D? “Put him at the 4” you say. Well, if the Cavs land a 3 and a legit 4, said 4 gets no minutes behind LeBron unless said 4 is placed at center when Z is tired. Guys like Mike Miller, Gerald Wallace, and Josh Howard aren’t combo guys. Howard possibly could put some time at the 2 in but i doubt it. Marion is a freak and could play really any position on the court except for the two extremes (center and pg), but if he can’t play with Wade or Nash what makes you think he can play with LeBron??