Random perspectives from Cleveland

So the Cavs have made one of the biggest trades in NBA history. The 11 player swap means that in tonights game the Cavs will have 6 players, along with two that they've just signed out of the D-League. Hey LeBron, I think that means you'll finally get that playing time you've deserved for so long.

I'll break down this trade from a Cleveland-centric perspective.

First, they traded Drew Gooden, Larry Hughes, Shannon Brown, Donyell Marshall, Ira Newble, and Cedric Simmons, the hot dog vendor from section 132, and the mens room attendant from club level A.

Of those, the only one I will miss is the hot dog vendor from 132. Oh, we had some good times, but sadly, they are no more. Actually, I don't like getting rid of Gooden. Yeah, he had mental lapses, but he put up numbers, and that's ultimately what matters. Especially with Varejao, Pavlovic, and now Gibson being injured, the Cavs have no depth to speak of. Literally. They have 6 players right now, and one of those is Eric Snow, so not only does he not count, but it almost takes away another spot. They might have to go Hoosiers on the Wizards tonight. And no, I don't mean call Gilbert Arenas and tell him that the Cavs are hiring his dad as an assistant coach.

The Larry Hughes experiment never really amounted to anything. He was often injured, and when he was actually healthy, he was best at launching crazy 20 footers instead of actually driving to the rim. Larry, I hate to break it to you, but you're not a jump shooter and you never will be.

Shannon Brown never amounted to anything in Cleveland. He had the hype from the Cavs draft class 2 years ago, but Daniel Gibson has blown him out of the water. Brown may one day develop into a decent player, but if the Bulls are planning on him replacing Ben Gordon after this summer, they're sadly mistaken.

Cedric Simmons, we hardly knew ye. You played, I think. Congratulations, you make millions of dollars for sitting on your butt. We should all aspire to so much.

Ira Newble, I dislike you. You played some defense. Occasionally you scored. That's it. That's the list. You had no motivation when you weren't getting solid minutes, and you actually refused the coaches decision to come into the game. Good riddance to bad rubbish.

Donyell Marshall actually hit some big shots in a Cavaliers uniform, but he won't be missed. He is essentially just a tall set shooter. Kind of like Bill Lambeer, except black.

In return for half of the team, the Cavs got Captain Consonant Wally Szczerbiak, Ben Wallace's afro, Delonte West, and Joe Smith. While I liked getting rid of Hughes' contract, I don't like taking on Wally World's and Ben Wallace's contracts. The key to this deal will be in Wallace an be re-energized by playing on a contender. I'm not sure. The Cavs scouts apparently think so, as they've been watching him for the past 3 weeks and have said that he isn't playing up to his potential. Is it really a good idea to bring someone one who gets paid $15 million per year to play basketball and yet cannot motivate themselves to actually play the game? We'll see. Hopefully the answer is yes.

I think the real steal of this trade is getting Delonte West. Everyone seems to talk about how tough he is and what a good shooter he is. Those are both aspects that the Cavs are not especially strong in. He may not be a pure point guard, but then again, no one on the team is, so it's not really a problem. Maybe they can bring Mark Price out of retirement.

Sczcerbiak should be that shooter that can really benefit from LeBron James driving the lane and then passing out. Hopefully this can allay some of the 5 on 1 defenses that have been drawn up against the Cavs. I also hope that this means the Cavs can actually run an offensive set. I mean, one other than "Everyone stand around! LeBron's going to do something!" If Wally can consistently hit his shot while also playing olé defense, then maybe he can be the next Craig Ehlo. I'd take that.

The Cavs also picked up an additional 2nd round pick. I'm pretty happy with that, because their second round picks seems to work out much better than their first round picks not named LeBron. Reference Boozer and Gibson as proof of that.

One thing I'd love to see come from this trade is to have the whole team start sporting fros. It would truly be a sight to see. Just imagine...