Cavaliers Win, Await Trade News
February 19, 2009NFL Trade Rumors: What is Kellen Winslow Worth?
February 19, 2009
The NBA Trade Deadline is today at 3:00, and we will be doing our best to provide you with full coverage of everything that will be going on today. We will be giving you details and updates throughout the day, but there will be a live blog over at MVN that I will be participating in from 2:00 to 3:00, and a podcast this evening at 8:00 regardless of whether the Cavaliers do a trade or not, so stay tuned for those details.
Update 1:00 pm – Ok, so by now I see you guys are already talking about the potential Shaq deal. This would be an interesting trade because it begs the question, how do use Shaq and Z in a lineup together? Do you play Shaq at the 4? Do you ask Z to come off the bench? Do you ask Shaq to come off the bench? I would actually lean toward doing this trade if I were Ferry. I worry a little about the loss of Ben’s versatility on defense, but as has been pointed out a lot lately, his defense the past few weeks has been pretty bad anyway. Also, it sounds like some talks have picked up with Richard Jefferson again, but I think that will be a last second deal if it happens because Milwaukee wants a better deal than what Cleveland is offering.
Update: 2:00 pm – Not much happening on the Shaq front at the moment, but for the next hour, I will be live blogging over at MVN. You can follow along if you want at Cavalier Attitude.
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On the Cavaliers front, there’s a lot of noise about nothing right now. The latest is that the Wizards don’t want to trade Jamison and the Clippers want legit players rather than expiring contracts for Camby. The Cavaliers aren’t going to do anything like that for Camby’s services, so that deal sounds dead.
At the moment the team you keep hearing the most is the Bucks. There’s some talk that the Cavs have asked about Richard Jefferson. I’m not sure how likely this is to happen. For one thing, Jefferson plays the same position as LeBron does, which means someone is going to have to play out of position. The obvious move would be to put LeBron at the 4, then, but that seems like a pretty dramatic change that could have unpredictable results. How would Jefferson and LeBron work together on the court at the same time? It’s hard to say, really, because even when LeBron is playing the 4, he has a tendency to still play de facto PG. Furthermore, it sounds like the Bucks are being offered better packages than what the Cavs are willing to do.
The most interesting thing to happen so far has been the nixing of the Tyson Chandler trade. This is interesting on a couple different fronts. First of all, as Brian Windhorst pointed out this morning, it puts Chandler back into play. When healthy, Chandler is one of the best defensive big men in the game, and his presence could work quite well in Cleveland. Obviously, though, the Cavs have to question both Chandler’s health as well as his longer term contract which has a player option for the 2010-11 season. If the Cavs were confident in Chandler’s health, he could be a possible long term replacement option for Zydrunas Ilgauskas. I would imagine this would be an intriguing option for Danny Ferry. The Hornets may decide to stick with Chandler now anyway, and the Cavs may not have what the Hornets want to make that deal happen, but it’s an option to keep our eye on.
The other interesting point is that Joe Smith is back in Oklahoma City. At first, when I heard about this, I was overjoyed. I have long thought Smith was exactly what the Cavs needed. A solid, dependable veteran big guy who already knows the Cavaliers well and could step right into the rotation, and his contract wouldn’t be an issue. So, I thought perhaps by him being back on the Thunder, he could now either get traded somewhere else where he could get bought out, or else perhaps he could force a buyout in Oklahoma City. Then, he would naturally come back to Cleveland…..
….but not so fast. Chris Sheridan of ESPN.com is reporting something very different, and something very worrisome for Cavalier fans:
A source who has been in the know for years tells me that Joe Smith is keeping his fingers crossed that the Thunder do not find another trade for him now that he’s back in Oklahoma City.
Smith, the source said, would like to do a buyout and then sign with the Boston Celtics as this season’s version of P.J. Brown.
Obviously, this scenario would be tough for the Cavaliers to stomach. Not only would the Cavaliers lose out on a player they want, but he would go to their prime conference rival. Perhaps there were more hard feelings over the Cavaliers sending Smith into the exile that is the Oklahoma City Thunder. Not sure how true this is, but if Joe Smith goes to Boston, there’s a very decent chance the Cavaliers will long regret the fact that the Hornets trade fell through.
127 Comments
I agree with Scott. The Cavs get nothing from Wally’s contract, if they’re still over the cap even when he comes off the books and an’t sign anyone new. Seems like a waste. At least he’s been playing well as of late, so I don’t feel too horrible about it. Just wish he could have turned into Camby or someone.
And Orlando finally made a deal to get Alston to replace Nelson, but they are giving up Cook.
Since the Cavs didn’t make a trade, how many national writers will have LeBron to NYC in 2010 columns tomorrow?
Well, now the Cavs will have the exact same roster next year minus Wally. They won’t be able to add anything outside of the MLE. ugh
At least 70%. Windhorst still hasn’t reported anything yet on the PD, I would have thought he’d have a “no trade” article ready to go in the event of nothing happening…
Likely doesnt want to jump the gun.
Orlando making a deal irks me. Alston isn’t exactly bad. The only way this will be worse, in my eyes, if Joe Smith lands in Boston.
Just because we didn’t get the big announcement at 2:59, doesn’t mean they haven’t made a trade. The paperwork has to be in for approval by 3pm. I dont think i heard about the trade last year until i was on my way home around 5pm.
Right now today is a bad day for the Cavs – the Magic get a starting caliber PG and Joe Smith now appears likely headed for Boston. Our margin for error got a lot smaller if that all holds.
The Cavs will have another opportunity to trade an expiring deal next year in Ben Wallace. That’s at least an option to improve next season, I guess.
@Jacob… I don’t think this will cause a chemistry issue. I think all these guys on this team, including Wally, and Ben Wallace are mature enough to understand the business side of things. I expect them to continue to produce the same way.
re: the Magic getting Alston:
How do the Grizz give up Kyle Lowry for Orlando’s pick? Kyle Lowry for the 3rd worst pick in the Eastern Conference?
At least it’s not as bad as the trade the Griz made last year.
At least they didn’t trade a 1st rounder for Jiri Welsch…
Boston picks up a nothing backup PG from the Raptors for a guy who also never plays.
The Grizzlies are starting to remind me of the guy in fantasy leagues who drops his players when he finds out he’s out of the playoffs.
Why does everyone think Joe Smith will sign with Boston if/when he is bought out? Every where that I have seen this they didnt even give a second thought to Cleveland nabbing him. Joe Smith is a veteran; he knows that the trade was nothing personal and I think he would love to come back.
I think the only reason people are saying Joe Smith the Boston is because ESPN reported that as someone close to him saying that. But if it comes to money, doesn’t Cleveland have more MLE money available than Boston? I seem to remmeber that from the McDyess bidding.
Grizzlies = Ted Stepien Cavaliers
Rock, somebody, please explain to me. Does this mean the Cavs will be able to spend money in the offseason once Wally’s contract is gone?
I’ve heard yes and no.
NO.
They are over the cap. Their highest spending is their MLE.
That’s how i understood it also. Thank you.
Aside from any possible grudge against the Cavs for trading him, apparently Joe Smith also has a unique bond with Kevin Garnett from their Minnesota days:
http://www.projo.com/celtics/content/sp_bkn_celtsjo11_05-11-08_MGA3LQL_v15.3b78511.html
Is this another reason to favor Boston over Cleveland?
Interesting note from Chris Sherdian via ESPN:
On a related note, one very, very interesting thing to watch for is a possible bidding war for Mikki Moore, who Marc Stein is reporting will be waived by the Kings to clear room for Will Solomon in the three-way deal that also sends Patrick O’Bryant from Boston to Toronto. Cleveland has a big chunk of its mid-level exception, and they’d be willing to throw a sizeable chunk of it at Joe Smith, if he is bought out by Oklahoma City. Whether or not they like Mikki Moore, well, I expect a reading on that from Brian Windhorst within the hour.
…
Looks like we will at least have a shot at a PF whether it is Joe Smith or Mikki Moore (I’d much more prefer Joe Smith)
I would actually be okay with Mikki Moore. Plays good defense… pesky…. LBJ is playing 40+ minutes a playoff game…. need the D more than the O.
Ric Bucher is of the belief that Moore is going to wind up in Boston
Which makes the Cavs the likely landing place Joe Smith
… though how BW reported that Robert Horry would consider playing again this year and has ties with Danny Ferry… I love Horry but I’m not even sure how interested he would be
Remember though, its not just the Cavs and Boston looking at Joe Smith. The Spurs are going to make an offer as well, and surely some other teams will get in on the discussions.
And that’s assuming he gets bought out.
[…] in constant contact in their roles as respective GMs of the Suns and Cavs. We have been down this road before but various outlets, including ESPN’s Chris Broussard, were calling this trade […]