Like I've said before, LeBron can make it known that he wants the Cavs to make a deal, but that doesn't mean that the Cavs pieces are any more attractive to rival GMs. "What? LeBron wants to make a move. Well, I wasn't going to take Donyell Marshall's fat ass, but now that LeBron went on TNT, sign me up!"
I also liked how he referenced Kobe going to the media and later ending up with Pau Gasol. The thing is, the Lakers didn't do what Kobe asked them to do. Kobe wanted them to trade Andrew Bynum and then requested that he be dealt. I don't know if LeBron noticed, but neither of those things happened. They ignored Kobe, kept Bynum and tried to improve the team in other ways. Making a move to placate a player is not a good basketball decision.
Every time James opens his mouth to the media, he ultimately makes it harder and harder for Ferry to pull off a good deal. Ferry doesn't have a lot of pieces to begin with and now that GMs know that he has to pull the trigger to keep LBJ happy, they'll be able to tighten the screws. It's not like the guy was dealing from a position of strength to begin with.
Oh, and the second problem? Mike Bibby just got traded for (expiring) garbage:
The Kings have reached an agreement in principle to send veteran guard Mike Bibby to the Atlanta Hawks for guards Anthony Johnson and Tyronn Lue and forwards Lorenzen Wright and Shelden Williams, sources told The Bee on Saturday.In case you were wondering (and I know I was), here are the contracts for some of these players:
Anthony Johnson - final year - $2,860,000
Tyronn Lue - final year - $3,500,000
Lorenzen Wright - final year - $3,240,000
That's $9.6 million coming off the books after this year. The Cavs can offer only $5.6 million in expiring deals (Ira Newble and both Shannon and Devin Brown), so I'm not really surprised that the Cavs couldn't beat that.
Neither development is going to make Danny Ferry's life less stressful.
7 comments:
I don't really think he said anything out of the ordinary, he was just being honest. Moreover, he said "we need to get better", which could mean just a small deal, rather than some blockbuster deal.
I just don't see his statements as message to Ferry. If the Cavs front office doesn't sit down with LeBron on a fairly regular basis to keep him informed as to what position they're in, who they're looking it, and what they want to do, this organization has some major issues.
I'll say it again, Mike Miller would be great here if we don't have to give up a ton for him.
Which scenario would LeBron be the least happy with:
The Lakers trade for Gasol then
the Suns trade for Shaq then
the Mavs trade for Kidd then
the Cavs trade for Delonte West (arms race!!!)
or
the Lakers trade for Gasol then
the Suns trade for Shaq then
the Mavs trade for Kidd then
the Cavs stand pat
or
the Lakers trade for Gasol then
the Suns trade for Shaq then
the Mavs trade for Kidd then
the Cavs trade Boobie Gibson for whoever (LeBron's aware that his "little brother" will have to be included in a major move, right?)
This is pure speculation, but I don't think LeBron would be all that disappointed if the Cavs could make a deal involving Gooden.
I'm not gonna even pretend to know exactly how the Cavs could get a deal done, but maybe they could move Gooden and an expiring contract for something.
Gooden clearly isn't ever going to be a consistent player. Its too bad, but he just doesn't have the "mental makeup".
I get the same feeling about Gooden. He's almost like a 'good player on a bad team' type player. He has all the skills, he's just not consistent enough. Plus, I think Gooden loses LeBron one or two assists per game by either not finishing hard or fumbling the ball out of bounds.
It might be getting to the point where Ferry has to make a move to add someone. This is the most insane flurry of in-season activity I've seen in any sport in a while, and the Cavs are mere spectators.
Maybe it doesn't need to be a blockbuster. Maybe Lowry or Jack. But when you watch the crawl on ESPN and seemingly every other day contenders (or rising teams like Atlanta) are adding major pieces, Ferry gets egg on his face because the Cavs are handcuffed due largely to his own contracts.
If Boston, Detroit, Orlando or Toronto make a significant addition within the next week, Ferry should just lock himself in his basement until the end of the season, because there will be roving mobs of Cavs fans with torches and pitchforks looking for him.
He is NOT a popular guy in Northeast Ohio right now.
Erik- I think he has to make a move too, but I don't think it's going to help.
Bibby, Kidd, Shaq and Gasol have been moved and fans are going to see Ferry "answer" with a trade for a Delonte West type player.
I can just hear the talk show rants now: "Kobe gets Gasol, Nash gets Shaq, Dirk gets Kidd but Ferry gets LeBron TYRONN LUE?!?! Are you kidding me!? That's Ferry's answer to the arms race?"
Unfortunately, the Cavs simply don't have attractive parts. In order to pull off a big deal, they'd either have to completely fleece a team or they'd have to take on multiple bad deals.
(what kills me about the Bibby trade is that the Kings didn't pawn off Kenny Thomas the $17 million he's owed over the next two years. They basically saved some money and got a mediocre prospect- no first round picks either)
He really needs to make a move, even if it is a small move, like West. When you have a guy the caliber of LeBron, you can't just sit on your hands (and I'm not talking major moves, just SOMETHING to make the team better).
And you especially can't do that 2 years in a row.
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