Breaking Down the Cavs Trade

Cavaliers send Zydrunas Ilgauskas and his $11.5M expiring contract to the Washington Wizards.
- Everyone who is anyone that is a Cavaliers fan has a place in their basketball heart for Z. We saw him battle back from foot problems, and develop into a mainstay on some very bad teams, and then some very good teams. He even became an All Star. Right now, Z is no All Star. As Nate Thompson put it, "Dwight Howard eats Z for breakfast." He's right, Howard does. Z doesn't move around as well as he used to, but he does stretch other centers into covering him because of his ability to hit jumpers. (Well, they are kind of jumpers, he barely leaves the floor.) Regardless, the Cavs will miss Z, but there is an outside chance the Wizards may cut him and the Cavs can resign him. That's a big couple of "ifs", but it can happen. Or maybe it won't happen. Nothing is promised in the NBA, right Carlos Boozer?

Cavaliers send Washington a First Round Draft Pick.
- Fine by me. We seem to do better with our Second Round picks (Carlos Boozer, Boobie Gibson) anyways.

Cavaliers receive Antawn Jamison from the Wizards.
- Jamison is big (6ft9") and averaging 20.5 points and almost 9 rebounds a game. Don't get the fantasy into your head that he'll score 20 a night for the Cavs. We don't need him to. He may even come off the bench with the second unit to provide a legitimate scoring threat when LeBron needs a breather. Best 6th man in the NBA, believe that.

Cavaliers receive Sebastian Telfair from the Los Angeles Clippers.
- Telfair is a real toss in. He could provide some quickness, but I really don't know how or if the Cavs will find him minutes. Consider that Mo Williams will be back soon, Delonte West is now healthy, and Leon Powe has been practicing. Cavs may even release him.

What this boils down to is the fact that the Cavs and Danny Ferry want to win NOW. Shaq has the "Get a ring for the King" mentality, the rest of the team is on board, and Jamison is saying all the right things after finding out he'd been dealt to the 1st place Cavs.

If you think about it, the Cavs starting 5 will be:

Mo Williams
Delonte West
Shaquille O'neal
JJ Hickson
LeBron James

Coming off the bench then is:

Antawn Jamison (a starter on any other team in the NBA)
Anderson Varejao (a starter on most teams in the NBA)
Anthony Parker (can really spread the floor, and plays above average defense)
Jamario Moon (also spreads floor with good defense)
Leon Powe (The Cav Killer should provide toughness if he can prove healthy)
Daniel "Boobie" Gibson (with as many open looks as he'll get, he should be a marksman from the 3pt line)
Darnell Jackson (may see the floor more often until/if we see Z come back)

Is that the lineup to bring Cleveland the Championship it so yearns for? I'm not sure, but I do know, if I'm Danny Ferry, I feel good about my chances.

Well done, Danny. Well done.

Love,

Cleveland Fans Everywhere

Shaq Keeping it Real

How can you not love Shaquille O'Neal?

His Shaqship was shocked — shocked! — the Orlando Magic had the nerve to double-team him Thursday night, even though the Magic's starting center, Dwight Howard, likes to call himself "Superman."

Shaq is old school. He comes from a time when men were men and superheroes were superheroes.

The essence of his message to Howard on Thursday was this: "I was Superman before you were Superman. And besides, you ain't really even Superman, so stop calling your tired self that, anyway."

The only thing missing was a "Why, I oughta ... " from Shaq.

"When I was coming up," said the world's largest human being, "there was Patrick Ewing and Hakeem (Olajuwon), I never doubled anybody. You tell me who the real Superman is. Don't compare me to nobody. I'd rather not be mentioned. I'm offended.

"Don't let them (the Magic) double team me and make it a him vs. me thing. Eighteen years straight, Hakeem, Patrick, Rik Smits, Tim Duncan, David Robinson, the best of the best, straight up. I never doubled nobody, nor have I ever asked for a double team."

Got that?

Just to make sure reporters did, at the end of his postgame rant, the big fella got downright Shaqeloquent: "Superman, my (butt)."

Another Cavs Rumor

Rumors are circulating that the Cavaliers are on the verge of acquiring forward/center Troy Murphy from the Indiana Pacers.

A source said Friday that wasn't true.

The Cavs might be reluctant to give up second-year forward J.J. Hickson or a first-round pick in the Pacers' deal.

If they can trade center Zydrunas Ilgauskas and get him back in 30 days, they might be inclined to make such a deal.

The 6-foot-11, 245-pound Murphy is averaging 14 points and 9.9 rebounds and is shooting 38.6 percent from the 3-point line.

- News Herald

Salty's Thoughts: I love how the News Herald posts the rumor, then the next line says a source said it isn't true. Why post it then? Anyways, stay tuned for all the Cavs trade hype and non-hype.

The Plain Dealer is reporting the Cleveland Cavaliers are in negotiations to acquire Suns All-Star forward Amare Stoudemire.

The Plain Dealer is reporting the Cleveland Cavaliers are in negotiations to acquire Suns All-Star forward Amare Stoudemire.

Citing multiple league sources, the report confirms a meeting between Cavs general manager Danny Ferry and Suns GM Steve Kerr Friday afternoon in Dallas.

According to the paper, sources indicated the Cavs and Suns have been discussing a deal involving the five-time All-Star for nearly a month.

The two teams have collaborated on deals before, including a trade that sent Shaquille O'Neal to Cleveland in the summer of 2009.

In recent weeks, Stoudemire has heard his name pop up in one trade rumor after another. Suns coach Alvin Gentry had a discussion with his big man before the Suns' victory over the Nuggets last week about all the speculation, reminding Stoudemire the situation is completely out of his control.

"I told him he's got to try to put it behind him and move on because whatever happens is going to happen," Gentry said after the game. "It always happens this time of year, there's someone that's always the talk -- it just happens to be him this year."

Article here.

Browns interested in Tebow?

This just in from ESPN Insider:

"Tim Tebow's name is arguably one of the more controversial right now, and that's just regarding what his draft stock looks like. A rumor has been floating around all season that the Patriots were interested in him, and it's back as of last week, courtesy of the Boston Globe's Albert Breer."

"Earlier this week, we also wondered whether or not the CFL was a good option. The National Post had word that the Montreal Alouettes secured negotiating rights with the Florida product, meaning if he were to go to the CFL, he'd land with guru Marc Trestman. We argued upon hearing the news that perhaps some work in the CFL could increase Tebow's NFL viability down the road, seeing as it worked for Hall of Famer Warren Moon, Doug Flutie and Jeff Garcia."

"Back south of the border, a new team has potentially entered the mix, as the Cleveland Plain Dealer has word that new Browns GM Tom Heckert came away "impressed" with Tebow following his time at the Senior Bowl. AFC North blogger James Walker is not swayed that the Browns would actually make the move:"

James Walker's take:

"This doesn't necessarily mean the Browns are interested. Everyone will say great things about Tebow's strengths publicly before the draft, while scrutinizing his weaknesses in private."

Todd McShay's take:

"We cannot find a way to give him any higher than a third-round grade, and even then we envision him as nothing more than a Wildcat or short-yardage quarterback who could move to H-back. Overall, Senior Bowl week could not have gone worse from an on-the-field standpoint."

Cavs Getting Love

The only contender that is looking and acting like the real thing at the moment is the Cavaliers, who have already finished a season-sweep of the Lakers.

Read More: http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/2010/writers/ian_thomsen/01/31/lakers.celtics/index.html?eref=sihp#ixzz0eJ2sj7l2
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