DawgTalkers.net Forums DawgTalk Tailgate Forum Cavs get Ben Wallace, Wally Z, Delonte West and Joe Smith in trade

I think ESPN is right. Every article I found about the Bulls signing Joe Smith in July 2007 said a 2-year deal at $5M per...

Not sure how I feel about this trade. I need some time to digest it.

But I think the real key to how good of a deal it is going to be centers around Delonte West. If this guy can play.......than it will be worth it. If not........it was probably a move simply to make a move.

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Gooden is a finesse player, we need bangers, especially considering that Z is a finesse center.

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Damn straight...

It's killed us...Parker goin' to the hoop in the Finals was EMBARRASSING...

Even in the Daugherty/Nannce/Williams era we STILL lacked that ASS KICKER...

The Indians have lacked that ACE...Same thing...

I can't wait to see Wallace get in the face of A-Hole Wallace (Rasheed) when he bangs Bron hard on a drive...

The Cavs are no longer PANZIES down low...

We shoulda went after Ben when he was a FA...

Zerb's is gonna be playin' ALOT of SG...It's been since FREE that we had a damn SG that could put up 20 a night...And THAT'S killed us too...Bron or no Bron u can't have SG's out there scorin' 15 one night and a lousy ass 6 the next...

Even if West isn't what he can be, this trade still sets us up with 34 million in expiring contracts next season. That leads to a HUGE flexibility in trading next year at this time.

WOW!! As a long time Pistons fan, this deal scares the crap out of me....this year and the next few. The dead weight is gone. Big Ben will fit in well in Brown's scheme. I think Wally and West will take heat off LeBron much more than Hughes or Marshall ever did.

We went to the Cavs game Tuesday night and it was almost painful to watch - the team looked uninspired.

We also have tickets to Sunday's game and now I'm really excited to see LeBron and his new supporting cast!!

I wonder when Andy will be back on the court.

According to the New Herald, Andy is supposed to take part in full practice on Saturday and if it goes well, he'll play Sunday...

I was at the game in Houston a couple weeks back... it was painful!

Thankfully I sat with a bunch of Cavs fan (by shear luck) because it really was ugly...

I was somewhat surprised by YAO. (love his name!) I don't think he missed a free throw. He's not quick at getting down the court, but when he gets there he does exactly what he's supposed to. There were a lot of YAO fans at the Q too.

Gooden had a great shot block against him which was sweet.

I hope Andy plays Sunday. The Cavs are going to be a force now IMO. They really needed to do something if for no reason than to keep the fans interested. And hopefully keep the King happy.

wow... what a deal... i'm currious to see how the players will react. I think it will help us significantly. hopefully we will be the city tri fecta in sports championship

Browns CaVs and Indians

Good deal, it'll be awesome to see Wally in a Cavs uniform.

It will be awesome to be able to give 16 fouls between, Smith, Wallace, Z and Andy.


We will be able to to play football on defense.

Just kinda thinking out loud here, so nobody take this too seriously. But I think Ben Wallace may remind me a little of Randy Moss. What I mean, is that he is going to totally turn on the switch and regain his old form playing alongside LBJ, for a team he knows can win the whole bag o' marbles.

I really think he had that kind of "don't give a damn" attitude in Chicago this year. For instance, in last years playoffs he averaged 9 points, 10 boards, and 2 blocks. That shows me he can turn it on when it counts, and it was less than a year ago. I think he knows what is at stake here and knows he is aging, so for some I am pretty confident he is going to "flip the switch" upon arrival to Cleveland.

Just kinda reminded me of Moss for some reason.

Just so you all know, I am stoked about this.

Thank you.

Defensive presence and outside shooting all in one day?

Pinch me, I must be dreaming.

I also like the addition of Joe Smith.

I think that this team instantly got tougher, and tougher to defend. Not a bad day's work.

My buddy just text me from C-town and said Rizzo just confirmed Boobie out 4-6 weeks.

Anyone see that?

Yeah, I saw that on Yahoo and they just said it on Sportscenter. That sucks about Boobie. Hopefully Wally can come out shooting hot from behind the arc and DJ can step up and put some threes on a platter...

The fact that Scott Skiles wouldn't let Big Ben wear a headband is ridiculous.

Hey LeBron James.....why don't you fly in 2morrow and go w/me to the game....but instead of using my season tixs to watch the game.....me and you can suit up and help our boys', since they only have 6 players on the roster.........

My Wally Z rookie cards may be worth SOMETHING after all!!!

Cav's just got a whole lot of attitude....

When the trade first happened, I had a knee-jerk reaction of not liking it...but I wanted to delve deeper to see if how it really affects the Cavs.

First, I have a major bias against Ben Wallace (the fact that he was a Piston and a Bull does not help is cause). I dislike him a great deal and he makes more $$$ than Hughes for just as long...so it's hard for me to even imagine rooting for him to succeed.

Second, I have a major bias against Wally-world. He's always hurt, doesn't play defense and has a horrible contract and I hate people saying he's an Ohio Bball legend like Cleveland fans will care that he played in Miami, OH.

So, of course my intial response is going to be that of angst.


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Now, let's focus on what this means in the playoffs this year...

PG: delonte, damon, snow
SG: Wally, boobie, devin
SF: Lebron, sasha
PF: AV, Joe Smith, dwayne jones
C: Z, Wallace

Positives:
We always have someone to defend forwards (important since we will see some combination of Bosh / Howard / Garnett / Sheed in the playoffs). This is only a positive if Ben starts playing at least like he did last year with the Bulls.

We get a bright young defensive PG in West to pair with a bright young offensive PG in Boobie.

Z doesn't have to play as many minutes.

LeBron has to be pleased we made a move to try to get better.

Wally can't shoot 3's any worse than Donyell did or be injured anymore. So, we should always have at least 2 3pt shooters in the game (Boobie, Wally, Damon, LeBron)

We have someone (Joe Smith) that can score down low and rebound.

We can put out some strange lineups to throw people off (ex. Gibby,

Damon, Wally, LeBron, Ben Wallace....3 deadeye shooters, LeBron driving and Ben cleaning up the boards)


Negatives
Ben might continue to play like he has been playing this season, which is without energy. If he does this, then we are in trouble.

Wally is usually hurt, and could be hurt in the playoffs.

Delonte is really a backup PG...he'll be our starter.

We have to figure out how to integrate 3 new pieces to our puzzle while we still have half the team out with injuries and then continue to piece it together for a playoff run. This will not be easy...especially since we are definitely going to rely on defensive rotations in the playoffs to win.

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Long Term

Positives
We can trade AV this summer to the many teams that covet him without worrying about losing his intensity and defense (IF Ben Wallace plays like he did last year at least). That is if we feel that he will leave anyway because of the contract grief.

We still have tons of assets to trade in expiring deals...players other teams might like, et cetera this summer and next year as well.

We are not taking on any longer contracts than we already had (just more expensive)

We might be making LeBron happy that we made a bid to make the team better without handicapping our future flexibility that much.

We took a 2nd round pick from Chicago...it's 2009, but maybe they stink next year too.

We get to watch Larry Hughes play in Chicago's offensive system, which is to throw up jump shots and hope for the best....IT's his dream come true. And ours too...when we play them. Think he'll get to try to defend LeBron? That should be fun.

Negatives

We are spending more $$$ now....which might mean we have less to spend later (our owner isn't the richest of NBA owners...so it is a valid concern)

They are going to shut down the Larry Hughes website and have to start a new one (maybe wallywhyareyoualwaysinjured.com)

That's it...when I sit down and think about it...it could hurt our playoff chances for this year trying to gel with all the new faces and defensive adjustments, but it should help us long term or at least not affect us.


So, after that long diatribe...I'm on board...not sure how long it'll take me before I can openly root for Big Ben and Wally World (probably the first 20 rebound game and 6 3pter game respectively), but I'm on board with it and will move on from here.

Go Cavs!

The key with Wally is he can shoot.

James gets 2 guys on him when he goes inside.

Wally should get alot of open looks.

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Now, let's focus on what this means in the playoffs this year...

PG: delonte, damon, snow
SG: Wally, boobie, devin
SF: Lebron, sasha
PF: AV, Joe Smith, dwayne jones
C: Z, Wallace

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I heard Z was going to be moved to PF and Wallace would start at C. The Cavs arnt paying him to come off the bench. Z has that mid range jumper and with him & wallace in the paint the lanes will open for Labron, and even help if Wally can hit the outside shots.

i'm not a B-ball fan, just passing on what i heard

They won't move Z off of center, Wallace will come in at PF, I'd imagine. However, match-ups will determine everything. If we're playing the Spurs, Wallace will guard Duncan and Z will get Oberto. Wallace will get the toughest match-up, regardless of the official position. On the offensive side, they won't move Z around since he is accustomed to playing the 5 in this offense. Its the same thing on the outside, West will get the tougher match-up of the 1/2 and LeBron will get the tougher match-up of the 2/3 with Wally guarding the Bruce Bowens of the world.

The boys are going to be short-handed tonight so they raided the minor-leagues...

Cavs sign minor-leaguers
By Beacon Journal staff report

POSTED: 10:54 a.m. EST, Feb 22, 2008

The Cavaliers have signed forward Kaniel Dickens and guard Billy Thomas from the Colorado 14ers of the NBA Development League, the team announced today.

The signings of Dickens and Thomas add some depth to a depleted lineup due to the blockbuster trade Thursday.

The Cavs added in the Thursday trade — Ben Wallace, Wally Szczerbiak, Delonte West and Joe Smith — are not expected to play tonight against the Washington Wizards. They all need to pass their physicals before they are eligible to play.

The Cavs had only six healthy players on the roster to play against the Wizards before the minor-league additions today.

In 29 games (28 starts), Dickens has averaged 20.4 points in 31.3 minutes per game. Thomas is averaging 15.7 points in 27 games (all starts).

The Cavaliers have signed forward Kaniel Dickens and guard Billy Thomas from the Colorado 14ers of the NBA Development League, the team announced today.

The signings of Dickens and Thomas add some depth to a depleted lineup due to the blockbuster trade Thursday.

The Cavs added in the Thursday trade — Ben Wallace, Wally Szczerbiak, Delonte West and Joe Smith — are not expected to play tonight against the Washington Wizards. They all need to pass their physicals before they are eligible to play.

The Cavs had only six healthy players on the roster to play against the Wizards before the minor-league additions today.

In 29 games (28 starts), Dickens has averaged 20.4 points in 31.3 minutes per game. Thomas is averaging 15.7 points in 27 games (all starts).

http://www.ohio.com/news/break_news/15874817.html

I don't know ... when everyone is healthy, do you see Wally starting? His natural position is SF, which is sort of filled by some guy who plays pretty decent for us. I'd see Booby starting at SG over Wally once he gets healthy, because it's more his natural position. Wally probably plays SG for now though, since Pavs and Booby are out for awhile.

But come the playoffs, I think he fills the role of Donyell. A power forward that comes in when we need extra scoring off the bench ... or just a 2 minute breather for LeBron. I'm not sure he was brought here to start.

None of them can play until everybody involved in the trade passes all their physicals with all three teams. Every player has 48 hours from the time of the trade to report to their new teams. If even one of the players decides to take the full 48 hours (especially going to/from Cleveland and Seattle), nobody can play. Its highly unlikely that everybody gets where they need to be and passes physicals by 7 tonight. That being said, I'd imagine at least a few of the players will be in attendance, sitting behind the bench tonight and get introduced to the crowd.

This may have already posted but lost in all of this is Dan "The Man" Gilbert. Yes, Ferry pulled off the deals but Gilbert has said all along "do what you've got to do to make us better". For that, Gilbert will fork out a check for a pretty decent sized luxury tax. From improvements/renovation to the Q to the new training facility to this trade, Gilbert shows he is a "winner" who will do whatever it takes to win a championship.

Yeah, Gilbert isn't afraid to spread a little dough around,, that's for sure..

One thing is this,, I'm no big Bball fan, but those of you who are, do you think the Cavs have significantly improved themselves with these moves?

We are also in a much better place for next year with expiring or at least tradable contracts. The talking heads on TV haven't mentioned that part....which to me is the best part of the trade.

BTW...This is one of the guys (Kaniel Dickens) that we just signed from the Developmental League. Dude is kinda jacked...