Some random thoughts on the Cavs’ deal to acquire Mo Williams:
—Hate losing Joe Smith. Guys like him don’t come along often. Consummate pro. But … as they say … whoever they are … you got to give something to get something. Besides, I'm an old fuddy-duddy who takes a liking to guys like Smith. It's why GMs are hired to make decisions and the decisions are not left to sentimental old fart sportswriters.
—Nice to hear that Mo Williams has worked with Daniel Gibson in the offseason and acted as a bit of a mentor. Friendship does make the heart grow fonder.
—Think this helps Wally Szczerbiak?
—Poor Joe Smith. Guy does everything anyone can ask. Works hard. Fills his role. Contributes. Did a tremendous job in the playoffs. Now he goes to Oklahoma City. Sheesh, Toto, this just does not seem right.
—Clearly the Cavs are not afraid to spend money. Williams brings $43 million in future contracts with him.
—I wish he’d be described as a pass-first point guard, but at the same time the Cavs may have solved two problems in one trade. They got a guy who can handle the ball, penetrate AND score. Not bad.
—Hope the Cavs do not lose Delonte West. He’s a good player. And he’s an American original.
—That’s three pretty good guards to play in different tandems – West, Gibson and Williams.
—The Szczerbiak-Sasha Pavlovic influence seems to be waning a bit, does it not?
—The Cavs are being quiet, but they must like first-round draft pick J.J. Hickson. A lot.
—They also must have high hopes for Anderson Varejao. He has to be better this season than he was at the end of last.
—Anyone besides me remember Ben Wallace playing so well in the fourth quarter of Game 7 in Boston? Guy stood up to Kevin Garnett. Actually got jaw to jaw with one of the great talkers in the NBA. How refreshing was it to see that from a player from Cleveland? As Toby Keith might say, Ben is not as good as he once was, but he’s as good once as he ever was.
—Final verdict on the trade: The Cavs gave up a guard who was not going to contribute and a good guy on the frontline but a guy who also is 33 with shaky knees. They got a 25-year-old point guard who can score. It’s a plus.
—Yes, strong stands like that one are what this blog is all about.
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Welcome back man!!
I like the trade. I too will miss Joe. He did the little things and was just consistent…something this team has needed.
Maybe they cut Joe loose and we can pick him back up.
You're not the first guy to write that purported "not afraid to spend money" line, but that's not necessarily true. Could you be putting the cart before the horse?
First, so far they've actually saved themselves ballpark $2 million for this season alone, taking potential luxury tax into account. Nobody has mentioned that. And, it wouldn't be shocking if they ultimately get very close to the luxury tax threshold, and possibly even under the threshold by the time it's all said and done. Varejao and Szczerbiak are on borrowed time with the team, and may be traded for salaries that don't come close to matching. Who knows, they may even toss Gibson out there to eventually get a deal done.
With respect to that future salary they're supposedly "spending," don't neglect the fact that Wallace's and Ilguaskas' nutty salaries will be gone. So, absent signing some other guys with equally crazy paychecks, are they really "spending" money? Particularly if they lose James, and then they dive into the lottery and add some rookie salaries to rebuild. They just might end up having a middle-of-the-road NBA payroll, and Williams just may be the highest-paid/overpaid player on it.
Love the trade, as long as Mike Brown can get him to have at least an average year defensively.
Noticed that you spelled quiet, "quite". Does the Journal need a proof reader? I've noticed more and more spelling errors online than any other news source. I'm not saying that to be mean or anything, just my observation. I'd be willing to take that position by the way, I've been a paid proofreader in the mortgage industry for a while now.
It is sad to see Smith go and frankly I'll miss Damon as well. But it is the kind of move that needed to be done with Delonte asking for more that he actually deserves. I don't know why anyone thinks that Varejao is on his way out however. If anything the Cavs are short in the frontcourt and rapidly aging. It'd take another young big to pry Anderson away. Sure he wants more money than he's worth, but the fact is we can pay him more than anyone even as a free agent.
I don't get it, Ed. Did you proofread that ultra-sweet $5 million tax abatement very quietly deposited in Gilbert's coffers in exchange for opening a Quicken Loans office in Cleveland? If you didn't, I wish you had. Precisely what does "a paid proofreader in the mortgage industry" do?
Anyway, who cares about a few misspelled words? I worry far more about Pat's musical sensibility. Toby Keith???
I can't see Coach Brown going with a backcourt rotation as small as Gibson, Williams and West would be. I wouldn't be surprised if Pavlovic still starts.
They should trade Big Z for Nene and then West, Pavlovic and Snow's expiring contract for Jason Richardson.
About this "shoot first" player thing.
1) His 6.x assists per game ranked 13th in the league last year. And that will be second best on our team.
2) 82games.com does some crazy stat crunching. Not sure exactly how they came up with this…
http://www.82games.com/FGSORT7.HTM
Mo Williams has the 2nd best jump shot % in the game. Why wouldn't you want him shooting a lot?
~Adam
P.S. Glad 1st & 10 is back. Sucks "blog" is in the url because it gets blocked at work.