I know LeBron hasn't gone out there and demanded that the Cavs trade for Kidd, but he's made it known that he'd approve (and this stuff gets media attention). But him speaking out about trades like this isn't making Danny Ferry's job any easier (and it just gets the fans more wound up).The Cavaliers have been active in talks on several major trades in the past two years, but Ferry has been unable to pull one off since taking over the club in 2005. He made a strong push for Sacramento's Mike Bibby last year and may still be interested in adding him to Cleveland's roster.
Ferry, though, has been hampered by a roster filled with unappealing contracts and few tradable assets.
But getting a major deal done involving All-Stars isn't an impossibility as the Gasol and O'Neal deals have shown. Whether they work out, well, that remains to be seen.
The Cavaliers would like to add another star player to complement James, who's having an MVP-caliber season. Larry Hughes hasn't been what Cleveland had hoped since Ferry signed the oft-injured shooting guard to a five-year, $60 million contract before the '05 season.
James was asked if it's necessary for a team to have multiple stars to win an NBA title.
"It helps," he said with a laugh. "It does help when you have guys on the team that are perennial All-Stars or can go out there and produce every night and you know what you're going to get."
Reminded that Kidd was still available, James grinned.
"I know that," he said.
James, too, knows that adding another big player can lead to problems.
"It can mess up the chemistry a little bit and it could take a little longer for them to fit in, maybe not," he said. "The reward is you get a good player. Like the Lakers, they got a guy [Gasol] who has averaged 20 [points] and 12 [rebounds] for his whole career. Last night, Kobe Bryant gets six points and the Lakers win by 15, that's the reward.
"It all depends on what caliber of player you are getting and how fast he can adjust to the new system."
If the Cavaliers stand pat and don't make a trade, James is confident the defending Eastern Conference champs are still good enough to win it all.
"As long as I'm healthy, we're going to give ourselves a chance to win," he said. "No matter who is out on the court with me."
I mean, LeBron can publicly ask for Kidd every day for the next month, but it doesn't make it any more likely that Rod Thorn is going to bite on that sweet deal of Larry Hughes, Drew Gooden, Ira Newble and 2008's #1.
Plus, when Ferry does come and make a Tyron Lue level trade, fans and pundits here are going to be upset that he didn't get an All-Star in return.
Like I've been saying all year, the minute the offseason begins is the minute the Cavs have a shot at pulling off a big deal. Until then, it would be extremely unlikely that they'd be able to make something major work.
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