NBA Trade Deadline

I think Chef's right on with the Bibby mention. He's exactly what Cleveland needs -- a competent perimeter shooter with the ability to also run the point.

Danny Ferry actually messed up a few years ago when he went after Larry "Contract Push" Hughes instead of Michael Redd.

Redd's one-dimensional, but he's one of the top 3-4 shooters in the NBA. Hughes never really fit in Cleveland's system, and he was always hurt besides.

 

Hughes killed. Cavs made a run at Redd, but they couldn't offer him the $$$ that Milwaukee could.
As far as missing on Kidd, that's crazy because the Cavs were never truly players. They didn't have nearly the pieces to offer that Dallas did.

 

Cleveland could have made a contract offer for less years for near the same amount of money. And there was some strong sentiment that Redd wanted to play in his home state, and with LeBron.

I guess we'll never know.

 

Rube, how is Drew Gooden a better version of Ben Wallace? They have completely different strengths.

While he's a solid offensive player, Gooden is an absolute space cadet on defense, and I won't miss watching him get burned on rotations, leading to easy layups at all. And Larry Hughes has been a disaster from virtually the day he arrived. He can hit the bricks (he certainly knows how to shoot 'em).

I really like the Cavs' front line now once they get everybody healthy, but I'm a little worried about backcourt defensive matchups with Detroit. For as jumper-happy as Hughes has been, he's a solid defender.

Still, they needed something like this. They've been needing another outside shooter from the day LeBron joined the team and their defense this year has been putrid at times. I'll gladly sacrifice some of Gooden's offensive production for a more solid defensive front line.

 

I know on the surface the deal that brings Gerald Green back to H-Town is below the radar, but he's the type of talent that could suddenly hit the "on" switch to his career at the right time if the Rockets make the playoffs. He's excited to return back to town, a fact that you can't underrate. The Rockets needed athleticism in the worst way, and Green's the X-factor that could make them very interesting if (and only if) they make the playoffs.

 

Gerald Green will not see any significant time for the Rockets. Not this season. Maybe he'll amount to something down the line. But he'll be no factor this year.

 

That may have been a bit of a hasty comment on my part, I apologize. BUT, if you're a Cavs fan (and I'm not saying you are or aren't) and you think that you're getting the Ben Wallace of 4 or 3 or even 2 years ago, you're sorely mistaken. He's old, he's slow, he still can't shoot a jumper or a free throw, he has durability issues and I think he's even lost a step. While Gooden may have had his problems on the defensive end, he is at least a high energy guy who is going to go hard on both ends and be relatively productive on both ends.
Ben Wallace can't check KG, he can't check Rasheed, he can't check Duncan, he can't check Amare, he can't check Gasol and hell, he probably can't even check Shaq anymore.
He won't make a difference.

 

I think the Cavs are banking on Wallace being rejuvenated a bit by playing for a contender again, which is a bit of a gamble. But for all the energy and positives you mention about Drew Gooden, he was a total nonfactor in crunch time most nights. I understand LeBron is going to control the ball for the most part, but there are plenty of ways for Gooden to get involved in those situations, especially on the glass, and a lot of times, he wasn't even on the floor. Same with Larry Hughes. That's telling.

That's the really interesting thing here. The Cavs have added viable pieces, and their best crunch time combination - Z, Varejao, LeBron, Gibson and whoever's hot that night (which, at times, has been Damon Jones, Devin Brown, Pavlovic or Hughes) - is largely untouched. I'm really curious to see what they can do if they can ever get everybody healthy and playing, which they haven't really had all year.

 

I think Wallace is a huge reach at this point.

5.1 points per game. 8.8 rebounds per game. 1.6 blocks per game. First time in seven seasons he's been belows 10 and 2 in rebounds and blocks. They might hope he picks up, but I'm not seeing it. And for $15.5 million, I'm thinking that's not going to cut it.

 

I'm wondering how Wallace is anything different than Ilgauskas at this point. Sure, Big Z is old, but he can still play some solid defense.

Wallace, of course, can too. But I'd take Z's offense over Wallace's any day of the week.

 

Cavs made the Redd pitch, he visited Cleveland and everything. Cavs couldn't offer anywhere near what Redd got from Cleveland. That's not a legitimate criticism of Ferry, lots of other real shots you can take at him.
Better anyway. Redd would be a disaster. Huge ego, must be the No. 1 option. He couldn't get along as Scoonie Penn's sidekick at Ohio State, you think he'll ever defer to someone like LeBron James?
If Redd can't raise Milwaukee, hard to imagine a place that fits what he wants, financially and rotation wise better.

 

Everyone who cares has probably seen these already, but in case there's a straggler out there, Hollinger's trade grades on ESPN.com: (It's Free Insider)
http://insider.espn.go.com/nba/insider/columns/story?columnist=hollinger_john&page=TradeGrades-080221&action=login&appRedirect=http%3a%2f%2finsider.espn.go.com%2fnba%2finsider%2fcolumns%2fstory%3fcolumnist%3dhollinger_john%26page%3dTradeGrades-080221

(If there's a way to hot link words os I didn't have to post that whole damn thing, well I don't know it)