[CrackerJack]

Originally Posted by jman23

NO!!!! WAY!!!!!!! Lebron needs more help then what he has to make it to the finals i mean the west is too
powerful and the east is a JV league .so i don't know what your expecting but they won't be in finals
for a very long time.

you do know that one team from the east HAS to make the finals right??? you cant have 2 west teams and last year they proved they can beat the pistons so they are in with a very good chance although they do have a major problem which is the celtics

now back to the topic the trade was very good for the cavs in the fact they got pieces they needed, not just the best players out there. wally is a guy who can knock down open shots when called upon and can pick up the scoring slack if need be, he is a big upgrade on what larry hughes brought to the table. delonte west means that the cavs finally have a ball distributor who can both create and score himself AND age is on his side so he could very well be lebrons side kick for many years to come. bringing in ben wallace is also a good move in the fact that it takes alot of pressure off Z on defense and offense with lebron penetrating all ben has to do is jam it home (which he is capable of. and finally joe smith has proved this season he is still capable of playing at a high level on the offensive and gives them a big man scoring option coming off the bench which they didnt have before with varejao and marshall wasnt showing anything

this trade certainly makes the cavs a far more dangerous team offensivley and defensively and thewy are now definately in the mix for the east spot in the NBA finals

[futuristxen]

Originally Posted by MLKG

In no ways are expirings better than actual cap space.

Cleveland made a pretty large financial investment with this trade for an owner who has been hesitant to spend money. They're footing a very large luxary tax bill this year. Dan Gilbert has said he was willing to put up the big money short term to try to win a championship, not long term. He's looking at the $29 million in expiring deals as financial relief, not trade chips. I haven't heard anything that would suggest the $80 million plus team salary is going to become a regular thing.

False. He was on for like most of the first half of the Grizz game talking about the trade, and one of the things he pointed out was that the deal allowed them to go after a bigger player down the line if need be. In fact he criticized the ESPN announcers who are reporting that the deal hurts the financial flexibility of the team.

[MLKG]

Forgive me if I'm hesitant to believe the plan for Cleveland is to operate regularly in the $85 to $90 million salary range. Cleveland is not New York and Dan Gilbert is not Paul Allen.

[futuristxen]

Originally Posted by MLKG

Forgive me if I'm hesitant to believe the plan for Cleveland is to operate regularly in the $85 to $90 million salary range. Cleveland is not New York and Dan Gilbert is not Paul Allen.

Well forgive me if I decide to take the word of the man who is signing the checks and every other major Cleveland writer--over you.

There's no logic to what you're saying. Because they fly completely in the face of the facts. You're just basing them on what makes sense to you, but you're not a decision maker for the Cavs. And when what you're saying is directly in contradiction to what the decision makers are saying, i have to question it.

[compsciguy78]

Why does everyone hate Wally Z besides his model pics? hahaha

I think everyone one of those players will contribute. Wally Z can be a 15ppg scorer off the bench if need be.
West is a solid PG. WAllace and Joe Smith are solid bigs.


Solid trade all around. They picked up pieces and got rid of Hughes and Gooden.

They should have gotten rid of Hughes and Big Z.


Big Z blows.

[DuMa]

Originally Posted by compsciguy78

Why does everyone hate Wally Z besides his model pics? hahaha

I think everyone one of those players will contribute. Wally Z can be a 15ppg scorer off the bench if need be.
West is a solid PG. WAllace and Joe Smith are solid bigs.


Solid trade all around. They picked up pieces and got rid of Hughes and Gooden.

They should have gotten rid of Hughes and Big Z.


Big Z blows.

Big Z is the best FT shooter, the best rebounder, the best offensive rebounder, the best shot blocker on the team, and he's the most experienced playing with LeBron. hes very valuable to the team. you're ignorant if you dont know that.

[Ruff Draft]

Originally Posted by compsciguy78

Why does everyone hate Wally Z besides his model pics? hahaha

I think everyone one of those players will contribute. Wally Z can be a 15ppg scorer off the bench if need be.
West is a solid PG. WAllace and Joe Smith are solid bigs.


Solid trade all around. They picked up pieces and got rid of Hughes and Gooden.

They should have gotten rid of Hughes and Big Z.


Big Z blows.

You must not watch basketball if you think Ben Wallace has anything over Z.

[SPMJ]

Originally Posted by DuMa

Big Z is the best FT shooter, the best rebounder, the best offensive rebounder, the best shot blocker on the team, and he's the most experienced playing with LeBron. hes very valuable to the team. you're ignorant if you dont know that.

^ Agreed. Big Z is the 2nd best player on Cleveland and is a VERY solid center in this league. His off. rebounding and outside shooting is a huge part of their success.

[MLKG]

Originally Posted by futuristxen

Well forgive me if I decide to take the word of the man who is signing the checks and every other major Cleveland writer--over you.

There's no logic to what you're saying. Because they fly completely in the face of the facts. You're just basing them on what makes sense to you, but you're not a decision maker for the Cavs. And when what you're saying is directly in contradiction to what the decision makers are saying, i have to question it.

There's no logic? How is suggesting that a medium market team with the leagues 3rd highest payroll is going to be hesitant to deal it's financial relief for long term luxary cap hell illogical?

Gilbert may be willing to pay the luxury tax this year and next, but that doesn't mean it's not a financial strain, and it doesn't mean it's standard operating procedure. Weren't the Cavs balking big time on resigning Pavlovic and Varejao based on luxury tax concerns?

Gilbert has said directly that the trade was a risk he was willing to make. It's not a risk because of the talent, it's a risk because of the money. He went all in with this trade and if they don't win a championship the finances are going to be an issue.

"I'd rather pay more in the short term than for a longer period of time."

Does that sound like a guy itching to add big long term contracts to an $80 million payroll?

I'm not saying they won't make any deals involving expirings next year, but if you think they are going to add $30 million in multi-year salary you're insane.

They might use 8-12 million of those expirings to improve the team, which is still substantial. But as it pertains to this trade, it's irrelevant. They already had around $25 million in expirings before the trade. Adding a couple million more is superfluous because there is no way they even use that full $25 million.

[DuMa]

Originally Posted by SPMJ

^ Agreed. Big Z is the 2nd best player on Cleveland and is a VERY solid center in this league. His off. rebounding and outside shooting is a huge part of their success.

and hes also been the most healthiest Cav this year. hes really gotten over those foot problems he had earlier in his career