Here’s some stuff to chew on over the trades the Cavs made today:

–The Cavs got a total steal in getting Flip Murray for Mike Wilks.  Flip is an inconsistent player who isn’t a great shooter, but he can get to the basket and can create his own shot.  He can also play a little point guard.  He’s been on the trading block for weeks and his value is a great deal higher than Mike Wilks.  Danny Ferry gets an A for this deal because he was able to grab him when everything else the Sonics were working on fell through.  A few weeks ago, this guy was going to be the principal in a trade for Earl Watson and the Cavs got him for Wilks.  I like Mike and he worked hard, but honestly, there’s no comparison.

--The reason this deal is different than last season’s deadline pickup of Jiri Welsch is that there’s low risk and high reward.  Unlike Welsch, Murray really didn’t cost the Cavs any assets and he’s a free agent at the end of the season.  That means he’s highly motivated and the Cavs are under no obligation to him.  Welsch cost a 2007 first round pick and also cost them when the had to give up their lottery protection on the first-round pick they owed to the Charlotte Bobcats.  He was also under contract for another year.

--The Lee Nailon pickup is totally about saving money for the 76ers.  Ferry and 76ers GM Billy King are the best of friends and this was friendly deal.  I got to know Lee a little bit a few years ago when he was with the Cavs and I like him and his game, he will be able to score when he’s 50.  I respected how he kept having to prove himself over and over.  But Lee’s had numerous run-ins with the law and was charged with hitting his wife last month.  The 76ers needed to get rid of him and were looking to save all the luxury tax money they could.  Ferry accommodate them and still was able to turn it into an advantage to the Cavs.  When Danny got the job, the Cavs had no 2005 picks, a 2006 first round pick, no 2007 first round pick and no second round pick until something like 2009.  He got a pick in 2005 (Martynas Andriuskevicius), now has two 2006 second-round picks and counting.

–Dan GIlbert’s willingness to spend made both these deals possible.  The man has high demands but he never lets money stand in the way in his businesses.  He was willing to write the check to the Sonics to get Murray, because really the Cavs just bought him for the rest of the season.

–Getting Murray should be considered a challenge for Damon Jones and Sasha Pavlovic.  I think Jones’ minutes are more in danger because Murray might wind up on the floor a lot as a the point guard with James with the second unit because he’s got much of the same skill set as Larry Hughes.  In some ways Murray is like Sasha in that he’s inconsistent, but he’s much more athletic and much more proven.  It is not unreasonable to think that if he plays well he could challenge for Sasha’s job.  To qualify that, though, we all thought the same thing about Welsch last season.  As for Ira Newble, I’m not sure there’s space for him once he is healthy now.

–Getting technical here, but just in case you are thinking ahead and care about the collective bargaining agreement rules, the Cavs will not have Bird rights on Murray.  If they want to re-sign him to more than a minimum contract this summer they will have to use money from their mid-level exception.

–The Cavs still have some serious issues with their team, especially the inability to bring it every night.  But they are better in the short term and perhaps slightly better in the long term after this deadline day.  All in all, any objective observer would have to give them high marks.

When I finally trudged home from Houston yesterday, I was mildly surprised to see my e-mail inbox stuffed with people calling me, wait, let me go back and check…an "idiot," a "jackass" and a "moron."

Well, OK, I wasn’t surprised they called me those names, just the reason why.  It seems that many people thought the story I wrote for Sunday’s paper on why LeBron James won’t be named the MVP this season was one-upped when James won the All-Star Game MVP.  Over the years I’ve written very few stories about how or why LeBron can’t do something and it is with good reason.  I learned a long time ago that underestimating or undervaluing him is almost always a mistake.  In this case, however, there are just too many facts and opinions that are probably going to prevent it from happening.

Michael Jordan averaged 37.1 points in his third season and didn’t win the award because his team wasn’t elite.  As I mentioned in the stories, no player from a team with less than 50 wins (not including the lockout season) has won the MVP since 1982, when Moses Malone did it for the 46-36  76ers.  And no, even if the Cavs get to 50 wins I don’t think he’ll win it.  If you took the time to read the story you’ll see that I talked to people that know and, frankly, I know too because I’m one of the 125 people that get a vote and I know probably 70 of the other voters.

Other happenings from Houston:
–Based on what I heard, there’s probably only a 25 percent chance of the Cavs making a trade before Thursday’s deadline.  If they do something it may be minor, like that old Jiri Welsch deal.
–I got an invitation to go to Terrell Owens’ party on Saturday night.  The invite said there were five rooms to party in, two of "Atlanta’s hottest DJs," and a cigar bar.  I was totally all set to go hang out when I saw the attire requirement was "fashionably fly." I ran over to my closest and looked and all I had brought with me to All-Star Weekend was my "mildly mundane" collection.  After uttering a frustrating "drat" I went to the media party, were all were displaying their "tragically unhip" styles.
–Speaking of hanging at the hotspots, I went to the Nike club for this story and was chillin’ with a bunch of cheerleader-types hired by Nike to smile at everyone next to the bar which had a huge glass case with shoes and water in it overhead.  I could’ve played video games on some big flat screens, or pulled the beads back on a private booth with some of the Nike girls, but you know, I heard there was free shrimp at the media gathering.
–Last week in Washington D.C. I left my credit card at a restaurant and had to cancel it.  I finally got my replacement while I was in Houston.  I was pleased.  I activated it and when to dinner, where I left it again.  Doh!
–I remembered by card after brunch on Sunday but still ruined the meal when I spilled my water all over Phil Miller’s corned beef hash.
–I watched Elizabethtown on the flight down there from Boston, a movie I’ve heard people rave about.  Now, while I admit this movie was doomed in my mind as soon as I watched Orlando Bloom (the dude on the cute bike, FYI) for 15 seconds, but I’m sorry, Cameron Crowe insults the intelligence of his viewers.  I’m too young for Say Anything to have meant anything to me, but I didn’t buy one character in Elizabethtown.  Gee, I felt the same way about Jerry Maguire.  I need not say anything about Crowe’s Vanilla Sky, which goes more to my belief that Tom Cruise hasn’t made a good movie since The Firm and A Few Good Men.  The only Crowe movie I’ve seen where the characters aren’t totally fake in my mind is Almost Famous and that’s because he’d lived the damn thing.
–This isn’t from Houston, but it is still funny to me.  After the Cavs win in Boston a harmless drunk  on the subway platform was complaining about how his wife had left him on Valentine’s Day.  He encouraged Bob Finnan of the News-Herald to hold onto Mary Schmitt Boyer of the Plain Dealer no matter what.  Finnan informed the drunk that Mary had already decided on another man (in fact, her husband) but this did not slow him down.  Things turned for all parties, however, when it was suggested that I was their son.  I thought it was funny, but they didn”t. So I gave him a quarter to go away.

Houston — I’ve made it to the All-Star festivities, yee haw.  This is my third All-Star Game and really the fun is off it.  It is rather cool for about 15 minutes, but in all honestly I don’t see why this event is so popular.  After a few dunks and steals in the game, it just seems somewhat boring to me.  More about personalities and celebrities than the actual game.  There will surely be some great fodder to come out of today’s media session.

Then there’s "All-Star Saturday" and whole production that has become.  When I was a kid, I remember being excited about watching the 3-point and dunk contests.  That was when Michael Jordan and Dominique Wilkins were going toe-to-toe and Larry Bird was winning the 3-point contest on the last shot.  Honestly, now I can’t see why a viewer would want to watch All-Star Saturday night.  I just can’t understand why so many people were upset when LeBron James declined doing the dunk contest again.  I mean Brent Barry won this title a few years ago.  Nothing against Brent Barry, but, heck, he’s not even close to Harold Miner on the excitement scale.  Why would LeBron want to measure his dunks against Hakim Warrick?  I mean, seriously, get over it.  Now, I’ve never actually watched the Skills Challenge, so I’ll get back to you on that.

Anyway, at the break the Cavs are 31-21, which is the same record they had at this time last season.  Of course, last season’s team folded.  I don’t exactly see the same track for this team, but you never know.  An injury in a key spot could devastate them in the current position they’re in.  But they have an eight-game lead over the last playoff spot and 18 of their last 30 games are against teams with losing records so I think everything is lined up for them really.  Plus on the George Karl scale (combining home losses with road wins) the Cavs are a pretty good +5.  More on all that stuff later.

As for trade possibilities, right now I think this story sums up everything.   I’d put their chances at making a deal before the Feb. 23 deadline at about 40 percent as of this moment.  Also, cease with the Latrell Sprewell e-mails, it isn’t going to happen and if I have to expound why then I’m disappointed in this blog’s readership.

One of the most popular topics concerning LeBron James over the last year or so is what his future holds, and it is with the Cavs?  I’ve covered this ground extensively here and in the paper, but I’ve just finished this story for ESPN.com that ties everything that has been going on together.

It is a major issue with many facets and the story is still unfolding and I’ll continue to report on it.

Minneapolis — I went around telling everyone for two days that I really didn’t like the way the Cavs played when they beat the Bucks Monday night.  I thought they were lax in handling their business in that game, playing focusless offense and not showing urgency on defense when the game was very much in doubt.  They ended up pulling it out with a big offensive play and a big defensive play, but honestly, it never should’ve come to that.

So then last night, the Cavs rallied to beat the Wolves and feel completely the other way.  Even though the Bucks are a better team, last night’s win to me was way more impressive.  They made several in-game adjustments, going to zone on defense being the primary weapon.  Tricks like that never work for long — remember Paul Silas’ little experiment with the triangle-and-2 last season that worked for awhile while opposing teams were dumbfounded by it — but this was an excellent decision.  It totally took the teeth from Kevin Garnett and allowed Ricky Davis to shoot the Cavs back into it.  By the way, much of the credit goes to assistant coach Kenny Natt, who suggested it to Mike Brown.

Also on offense, the switch of LeBron to point guard down the stretch got it done in the end.  It wasn’t gold because often LeBron dribbles too much and doesn’t run the play — the Cavs shot just 33 percent in the quarter — but he made the play when it counted.  I was much more impressed with how Brown got his team to use Zydrunas Ilgauskas early in the game when the Wolves were up big.  After hoisting up jumpers after refusing to test the middle, it was remembered that Mark freaking Madsen was starting on Z and they got him the ball and he got points.  He ended up scoring 10 down the stretch of the first quarter to get the Cavs back in the game.

So, what I’m saying it, I think what’s going on is good, but then again, maybe not.

Now, a few more things:

–Larry Hughes is in a huge hurry to come back, but don’t get excited because the Cavs won’t let him.  Why have the surgery unless you wanted to get to 100 percent?  Seriously, right now just assume it is March.

–I keep getting e-mails about the comments section.  It is not meant to be a chat room, if you want one I’ll suggest this one.   I really don’t have the time to deal with this, but I guess I’m going to have to start enforcing the two comment rule effective now.  There’s some funny and insightful stuff in the comments, let’s try to respect it.

–Joe Vardon of the Wooster Daily Record does excellent if unheralded work covering the Cleveland pro teams.  I think you’ll also enjoy his blog if you check it out.

This is a term I have invented for the five or six times per season I arrive in a town for a road game and absolutely nothing goes according to plan due to the following: 1) moronic tourists; 2) moronic airline/car rental/hotel employees; 3) the entire setup in the NY/NJ metro area. This usually leads me to: 1) grind my teeth; 2) curse profusely; 3) openly mock the situation to complete strangers with sarcasm only to have it completely fly over their heads (see moronic tourist entry).

This, however, has nothing to do with the lessor known and more rare "arrival amusement," which happens when one is suffering arrival frustration and I witness and laugh at their situation.  Most recently, there was the guy in Denver who was still holding on his suitcase by the handle from the curb as the rental car guy shoved it into a rack on the rental bus, pile-driving the guy teeth first into the steps.  Also on Thursday when News-Herald’s Bob Finnan shook his fist at car rental employee to tell them the car he was given only had a half tank of gas and was informed that he was looking at the temperature gauge.

Which bring us to the events of yesterday, when I invented the term of "departure frustration."

So, let me say that I didn’t arrive at THE Q, this is way I’ve been instructed to refer to it, until there were 10 minutes to play in the Cavs loss to the 76ers Saturday.   Could never tell by my insightful story, eh?  OK, it is rubbish, read my Sunday Column it is better.

My idea was to stay an extra day in Florida, not a bad idea in February, right?  So I hung out in South Florida on Friday and it stormed the entire day, flooding the streets of South Beach.  No, the models didn’t float, sickos.  So I show up at Ft. Lauderdale International Airport Saturday while it is still raining.  My is that a wonderfully run and constructed facility let me tell you.  Apparently,  when it rains, which it apparently never does in Florida the way this was handled, only one runway can be used.  Note from photo, several exsist.  My 1 p.m. flight didn’t board until 4:30 (the plane was there much of the time but there was no gate for it) and I took off at 6:30 and it wasn’t even raining anymore!  There’s nothing like tarmac time to unwind.  We landed in a blizzard, nearly ran out of runway, at 8:45 yet I was in the arena by 9:15.  Props please!

What, you want to read about the Cavs?  Tough, this is part of my therapy.

From what I saw, there were thinking about how they’re all going to go to Detroit for the Super Bowl instead of playing the 76ers.  Also, a week after Mike Brown did a great job of coaching in the over over the Suns, he fell flat.  Why oh why do those Cavs chuck up 3 after 3 when they have guys that can drive and the second-best post center in NBA?  I don’t have answers, but I will keep asking the questions.  Also, anyone notice Donyell Marshall played 54 seconds in the second half?  There are issues at power forward over playing time as I mention in Sunday Column (above).

In parting, while trapped on the Continental Airlines 737 for hours, I watched this movie called Proof.  It was average, but I couldn’t help speculating that Jake Gyllenhaal has got to be the only actor to have filmed sex scenes with Jennifer Aniston, Gwyn Paltrow and Heath Ledger.

Some stuff going on with the Cavs that I will pontificate about:

• Why won’t LeBron take part in the dunk contest?  Because what if he doesn’t win.  Seriously, it is the same reason why none of the top draft picks go to the pre-draft camp, all he can do is embarrass himself.  The reason he didn’t do it the first two years was for the same reason, it was beneath him.  Why would he want to get into a competition with the Chris Andersons and Hakim Warricks of the world?
• Mike Brown did a very nice coaching job in the win over the Suns.  Especially with the changes he made on the fly when his game plan didn’t work.  It was a bright spot for him.  I still think his offense lacks creativity at times and he simply has got to figure out more ways for Zydrunas Ilgauskas to get the ball.  It is unacceptable not to find ways to get him the ball in the post.
• Brown was reluctant to play Anderson Varejao and he had great reasons for doing so.  He was nervous about his defense and he had no history with him.  Paul Silas said the same thing last year.  Andy will force his coaches to play him because he brings intensity every single night.  He won’t be able to be effective in every game, foul trouble will get him, but there’s no way he’ll remain on the bench for stretches.  Brown is getting this lesson now.
• The Cavs have played better recently because the role players have performed well, covering the loss of Larry Hughes.  This, I suspect, will be a common refrain until Hughes returns.  When Donyell Marshall is making shots, Sasha Pavlovic is contributing, Varejao is effective and Damon Jones is making shots the Cavs will be winning.  If not, they’ll be losing, LeBron and Z can’t do it by themselves.
• The Cavs continue to deny my reporting that things aren’t on the up-and-up with Usher.  Hip-hopper Nelly, Hughes’ friend from St. Louis, was at two Cavs games in the past week including one in Usher’s hometown of Atlanta.  The part-owner of the Bobcats and the part-owner of the Nets, Jay-Z, have now both been to two Cavs games this year and we’ve yet to have a Mr. Yeah sighting.  Just for the record.
• Speaking of things I’m not buying, that LeBron wearing his tights has anything to do with his knee anymore.  Call it what it is, a winning streak charm and maybe a bonus check from Nike.  By the way, not to incite legal action, but LeBron actually wears Under Armour gear, a Nike rival, under his uni.
• The NBA released a list of jersey sales rankings for NBA players.  Tracy McGrady was No. 1, ahead of Yao, which was a surprise.  Not listed was Li-Ning mega endorser Damon Jones.  I’m sure it was a mis-print.