I’m shaking off the malaise that has been the preseason.  Frankly there has been little to write about and not much but mental note-taking during this training camp.  I can sense the team hasn’t been too interested in things over the last 10 days or so.  They are quite bored with practice, which is one of the reasons Mike Brown gave them this whole weekend off.  Here’s some stuff I’ve noticed:

–Shannon Brown and Daniel Gibson aren’t going to play right now.  Both were OK in the preseason, they had some moments.  But they were also on the floor and partially responsible for the blowing of three leads and losses.

–David Wesley and Damon Jones didn’t do much for me.  Neither shot more than 32 percent and both seemed to play an awful lot of empty minutes.  One of the assistant coaches told me they were working specifically on the new motion sets in the offense and not so much the pick-and-rolls, which didn’t give Wesley and Jones too many spot-up jumper tries.  That is true, but doesn’t change my opinion much.  If/when Larry Hughes goes down again, there is going to be an issue.

–Drew Gooden was great in the preseason, especially at the offensive end.  Larry Hughes also looked healthy and was very productive.  Donyell Marshall looks like he’s turned the clock back three years or so, playing well under the basket.  Zydrunas Ilgauskas, LeBron James, Anderson Varejao, and Eric Snow all did what they do.  I’m confident those seven players give the Cavs a rock solid front line.

–I know Snow is everyone’s favorite target, I’ve read enough message boards to know how many fans feel about him.  But listen, he’s the best the Cavs have at the point.  He’s going to do what he’s going to do.  I asked him about his perception yesterday and he had a testy reaction, which I relate in this story.  I know that this perception bothers him somewhat.  I agree that he is under appreciated.  But I also agree that when he’s on the floor it makes the Cavs easier to guard and that’s just the way it is.

–I’m going to "unveil" my season prediction for the Cavs later this week.  But tomorrow the Beacon Journal will have its Cavs season preview, in which I rank the NBA teams 1-30 (a little preview: Dallas is No. 1, Portland in No. 30 and Miami is No. 5).

–Thanks for visiting as always, should you have some more free time I’ve got a new ESPN story, or as LeBron would call it, a new ESPN joint up here.  Also if you have an ESPN Insider membership you read my Five Observations.

–By the way, in the picture on ESPN that’s Gatorade LeBron is drinking…shhhhhhh.

–I’ve gotten more calls from Israel over the last few days than Condolezza Rice.  There’s a ton of interest over there about the Cavs game with Maccabi Tel Aviv tomorrow.  Maccabi is one of the best teams in the Euroleague, but they’ve lost their best players for various reasons (including this summer’s little mini-war).  I don’t expect it to be a game (read more American pigheadedness).

–Truehoop has the new LeBron commercial.  Not only does LBJ refer to dunk contests as bourgeois (did he learn that from Warren Buffett?) there’s also a Sanford & Son reference.  Now, there’s a theme song I’d love to hear at the Q.

–I was at Verizon Wireless Arena over the weekend in Manchester, N.H.  Much to my surprise there was no, ahem, wireless network!  However, the media who was there did get treated better in that minor league venue than we now do at the Q.

–Saturday night I was asking Daniel Gibson where his nickname Boobie came from.  He told me his mother, who pronounces it more like Booo-beeeee.  Anyway, the Plain Dealer’s Branson Wright, a proud Cincinnati native, asked if he knew who Boobie Clark was.  Gibson said no, and Wright told him to "look him up."  Which I have done for all of you.  Gibson’s reply: "He should look me up."

–Col. Nathan R. Jessep (Jack Nicholson in A Few Good Men) said: "You can’t handle the truth! Son, we live in a world that has walls. And those walls have to be guarded by men with guns. Who’s gonna do it? You?"  NBA players need guns, too.

First off, the Cavs did not trade Luke Jackson for Dwyane Jones.

Well, technically they did but actually it isn’t about the player swap.  Its about accounting, roster flexibility and granting a player’s wish.  Let’s break it down.

–The Cavs had too many guards and not anywhere near enough playing time.  They’ve been in talks to move one or more of the them for months.  Jackson’s multiple injuries have both cast a doubt on his future and led by to be passed by as the Cavs have acquired a glut of guards.  Jackson had been asking for a trade for the last year or so.

–The Cavs get a prospect in Jones, a guy who is a decent defender and a good rebounder.  He led the NBA D-League in rebounding at 11.7 per game last year.  There’s a good chance he’ll be back there this year.  Jackson was not eligible to play in the D-League.

–Now the numbers, Jackson will make $2.1 million this season, Jones will make $664,000.  To make up the difference, the Cavs sent the Celtics $1.4 million.  Both deals are guaranteed.  Before the deal, the Cavs were less than a million below the luxury-tax line of $64.5 million.  That limited what they were able to do to add to the roster.  The Cavs now have more than $2 million under the tax line.

–Being creative, Cavs GM Danny Ferry actually made two deals.  He traded Jackson and the cash for a $2.1 million trade exception, which is good for one year.  It means the Cavs can now trade for a player worth $2.1 million or less for nothing or combine that in a deal.  Then he took on Jones, who the Celtics were looking to move because they want to keep Michael Olowokandi, for nothing in return, which is allowed because Jones just makes the minimum.  The NBA just treats it as one deal.

Hope all that explains it for you.

–After watching Shannon Brown in summer league in Vegas back in July I was pretty sure he could help the Cavs in some capacity right away.  After watching him in last week’s scrimmage and last night’s relatively miserable preseason opener I feel even stronger that he’s got the potential to be a solid rotation player.  However I am also convinced it won’t be happening anytime soon.  Mike Brown, as reason dictates, is going with Damon Jones and David Wesley in that position for the foreseeable future.  Last night Brown didn’t come into the game until the starters were wearing T-shirts and flip flops in the third quarter.

–One thing Mike Brown tossed out there last night that I’m pretty you won’t see in the regular season is Wesley, Damon Jones and Eric Snow on the floor together.  I thought all three played alright in the game but, eek, that lineup was ugly.

–Anderson Varejao struggled a little bit last night.  His stats looked OK (10 points, seven rebounds in 23 minutes) but he was out of position an awful lot.  Most of that is probably just rust and mechanics.  The Cavs were running more pick-and-rolls with him, where he’d set a pick at the top of the key and then run under the basket.  The ball handler would go around the wing, where sometimes he’d get another pick, and hit Varejao alone under the hoop.  I wrote all about this stuff last week.

–From "How the other half lives files," in the locker room before the game the players were discussing which luxury SUV is the best.  Donyell Marshall was going with the Range Rover,  Larry Hughes said it was the Infinity, and Drew Gooden said either would have to be black with black leather seats to get him interested.  I could’ve injected my opinions on my Jeep Cherokee, but I properly surmised I was out of my league.

–Speaking of Hughes, he made three nice mid-range jumpers last night coming off screens.  He has told me his finger is just fine even though he can’t bend it fully, but I was unimpressed with the shooting I’ve seen from him in the limited practice I’ve seen.  Perhaps he is right, we shall see.

–Following the game, Wesley and Jones were watching the Rockets-Grizzlies preseason game and both were wondering who was running the point for the Rockets. I informed them the man was
       
            
             Vassilis Spanoulis.  It’s too bad LeBron James was conducting interviews at the time, he probably has some unkind memories of "Billy" Spanoulis he could’ve shared.  Or perhaps not, because none of his Team USA teammates seemed to know who he was back in August.  By the way, Billy V didn’t exactly wow them down in Houston last night, he had four points and five turnovers in 21 minutes.

–From the new media seats in the second deck I was actually able to see the scoreboard for the first time.  Boy, the Cavs are shameless in the way they try to goad fans into going to the concession stands.  In between baskets they show close ups of vendors pouring beer and people walking around with food in the concourses.  They ought to just do what that Yankees do in the Bronx.  When a half inning ends, a large Budweiser sign behind the outfield wall lights up.  I’ve never seen as much drinking at a sporting event as in at a Yankees game, so the understated approach must have some value.

There’s been no significant rule changes. They haven’t asked the veterans to report to training camp earlier. The CBA is settled. There’s no dress code changes. What to talk about the first week of the season this year? Ah ha, the new ball.

Look, I’m not a professional basketball player (in case you thought otherwise). I probably can’t appreciate the little nuances, such as the feel of the ball. Just as I bet an NBA player can’t understand, say, the difference in the wireless network availibility at various NBA arenas or the differences in frequent flyer programs. However, I can say with reasonable certainty that all this talk about the ball is much ado about nothing.

They were using the new balls during summer league in July. Those players seemed to handle it just fine. Listening to all the worries about how slick the ball gets, you’d think an NBA practice would resemble a kindergarten dodge ball game these days. Sure, there will be some adjustment, but it isn’t going to impact the game. After the preseason, you’ll probably never hear about it again.

Several of the Cavs actually like the ball. Drew Gooden told me he’s never been able to palm an NBA ball until this year. I couldn’t believe that and challenged him. He said he could cradle it, but not palm it. Eric Snow and LeBron James, the two primary ball handlers, told me they thought the ball was cheap but they’d handle it just fine.

So enjoy the fodder — we beat writers need something interesting to write about this time of year — but don’t read too much into it.

Oh, great line today by Zydrunas Ilgauskas. As a guy who lives in Cleveland year round, Z was asked if it is different being out in public when your with a winning team. Said Z: “Well, it’s better because when people as you how the team will be this season you don’t have to BS them as much.”

That’s all for now. Check my stories from training camp on the Cavs offensive changes and the pressure on last year’s free agents to step up.

–Lots of players saying "I’m happy to be here."
–Scot Pollard not sporting any facial hair, a Mohawk, and joking about an endorsement deal with "Fun Dip."
–Damon Jones saying he’s "in the best shape since I left Miami."  Which, I guess, means he wasn’t in the best shape at the start of last year’s training camp.
–Drew Gooden saying he could throw the ball up high enough for Randy Moss to catch it.
–Lots of players saying they were "looking forward to the season."
–Sasha Pavlovic’s stunning tan, which he said he got back home in Montenegro.  In case you missed it, he’s not from Serbia anymore, there’s a new country.  "It’s still all the same," he told me.
–A clean shaven Zydrunas Ilgauskas.
–Seeing Ondrej Starosta sit at a table all by himself.  By the way, he’s from the Czech Republic, the same people that brought you Jiri Welsch.
–Lots of players saying they’re "trying to get better every day."
–Larry Hughes flicking off a bunch of reporters…showing them the range of motion on his right middle finger.
–Austin Carr sporting his new look…sans mustache.
–LeBron James refering to his new Sprite commercial as a "joint."
–LeBron James calling Warren Buffett "a cool guy, when I found out how much he was worth."
–LeBron James breaking down his "ink."
–Lots of players saying "We just need to win ballgames."