Big Man said...
I've been arguing about this all day.I think this was a great move by Ferry for the following reasons.
1. He sacrificed no important players to get Shaq.
2. He did not sacrifice his cap space to get Shaq.
3. This should improve his team.
It's a win/win.
16 comments:
I've been arguing about this all day.
I think this was a great move by Ferry for the following reasons.
1. He sacrificed no important players to get Shaq.
2. He did not sacrifice his cap space to get Shaq.
3. This should improve his team.
It's a win/win.
They need more than Shaq to beat Boston and Orlando.
Bring back Carlos Boozer.
35 years old,
+
350 pounds
+
knees
+
toes
+
processed salt
________________________
47 regular season games
57% from the line
17 points per game
11 rebounds
3 blocks
Second round of play-offs
The game transcended the traditional big man / center / back to the basket / kick ball in / kick ball out years ago.
Today's big men are Forward - Center hybrids. Gasol, Garnet, Duncan.
They work better with superstar guards who dominate the ball.
Yeah Shaq pulled it off before with Kobe and DWade.
Which I think is testament to the superhuman accomplishment of those two unique players.
He's in the twilight of his career.
LeBron will be in New York in 2010.
DV
Shaq doesn't guarantee a ring.
But that doesn't mean this is a bad trade.
Shaq does not hurt the Cavs in the East. They still matchup well with Boston and, once they sign wing player, they'll match up great with Orlando, even with the Vince Carter trade going down.
The Cavs had to do something, anything, to make Lebron feel they are serious. This was the easiest and cheapest move they could make and still be considered serious. This was a smart move. I'm not saying a ring is coming, but it was still a smart move.
Knicks baby!!!
Vin Sanity to Orlando. Let the wheeling and dealing begin.
All Orlando needs now is a Charles Oakley/Dennis Rodman type power forward who just rebounds and plays defense.
Patrick Ewing, Jr, where are you?
Can Sean May possibly get in shape and become this type of role-player?
The Celts have to keep Big Baby. If he goes to Orlando, its a rap.
oooh anon - I like Big Baby in Orlando... On the other hand Sean May is trash, basura, soft as wet bread. Unless he's been with Tim Grover & Co. for the last 24 months straight he's entirely irrelevant.
Shaq in Clev? Good start. Doesn't address the core need but displays strong intent to Big Man's point. Keeping Ilgauskus is HUGE.
DV is on point as far as Shaq dwindling but he's still a problem. Clev grabbed him for the post season so missing 40 - 50 games won't matter.
My issue is the relatively new transparent product manufacturing tendency of the NBA. I just don't think the league needs these contrived personnel/marketing pushes and knudges to get down the road.
Shaq plays against the "New Shaq" (Howard) at some point in the playoffs, & clev has its rematch w/a retooled Orlando.
Cleve makes it to the Finals vs LAL, and you have another so called epic clash of the titans with the Kobe/Shaq soap, round II of the most valuable puppets (i can see shaq signing with Nike just so he can get in on it) and Bron vs Kobe.
The theater is great. I just don't like a hormone injected league. Call me a purist.
Maybe this has always been the case. Maybe this is the exact same reason Lew Alcindor left my Milwaukee Bucks & the Big O for the big market LAL. Maybe I just need to take masters level NBA economics.
the last joint was KP btw
The Cavs will have a worse year next season than they did this season. They will not make the nba finals, which is the least required to establish improvement. Shaq is now a pawn. An nba toss rat. A year here, a year there, he's little more than an expiring contract.
This is a one year experiment. Expiring contracts, last ditch effort to appease LeBron before he head to NJ.
It will be a huge failure.
The Cavs are now reduced to a half-court team. This trade helps very little if they intend to be the aging Celts and the young Magic.
Ok, since cats want to have an actual debate, I'll lay out my points.
1. Shaq has a proven track record of guarding Dwight Howard without need of a double team. He STILL regularly outplays Howard when the meet and did so last season.
Cleveland's biggest problem against Orlando in the playoffs was defending the pick and roll, and having to double team Howard. One of those problems is solved. The other should be solved if the Cavs sign a wing player who can defend and hit three pointers. That's the easiest thing to find in the league.
2. Once the Cavs sign wing player, it could even be Trevor Ariza since he's a free agent they can go with two primary lineups.
For Boston:
Mo Williams, Delonte West, Lebron, Varejo and Shaq. That lineup matches up well enough with Boston's starting five, and the Cavs still have Big Z, Daniel Gibson and, possibly, Ariza, to bring off the bench.
For Orlando:
Mo Williams, Delonte, Ariza, Lebron, Shaq.
Once again, that lineup matches perfectly all of Orlando's areas of strength, even with the signing of Vince Carter.
In my opinion, this whole thing hinges on the Cavs signing and athletic wing player who can defend. Once that occurs, they should be definite contenders in the EAst and matchup well against the other top two teams.
Plus, since they already have a starting caliber center, Big Z, they can afford to rest Shaq far more than others teams might be able to rest him.
The really interesting debate is whether the Spurs have enough to beat the Lakers now?
To your last question Big Man, I see the spurs chances hinging on the health of Ginobili. He's gotta be 20pts/game Gino along with the boost from Jefferson for there to even be a slight chance of upsetting the lakeshow, provided LA keeps Ariza and Odom.
1. Your argument hinges on Ariza in Orl. So, Ariza was traded from Orlando and now you think he'll go back after winning a ring w/LA where he looks like he will be Kobe's Pippen during the Black Mamba Dynasty? HELL NAW!!
2. Dwight is getting better, Shaq played well last year but he's clearly in decline. A problem due to size, strength, altering shots and eating up space but not a Howard stopper.
3. Since Dwight has ascended to a recipient of political officiating love, shaq will be in foul trouble as long as Dwight goes hard. U know he added time to his off season workout sched when the trade was final.
3. until Clev finds a big 3 with range, versatility and D rashard and Turkoglu will kill them.
4. starting two small guards with Lebron forces Lebron to do just as much work as he did last year on the perimeter. Neither williams or west are distributors so Bron still has to orchestrate.
5. Mike Brown sucks.
I suggest Clev try to scoop Rasheed Wallace if you want to do a one year attempt to get a ring. he's not ultra quick but neither is Lewis. I think he is long enough to switch off to either Lewis or Turkoglu and do a much better job than what we witnessed this postseason. He's not a stopper but he can stretch the D and get buckets down low. Shaq, Sheed, Lebron at 3, 4, 5 is dumb nice. No guarantee but nice.
FYI, word on the street is Detroit and Boston are looking at swapping backcourts:
Stuckey and Rip for Rondo and Allen
Anon above is KP
KP
I just used Ariza as a placeholder.
Like I said, it's not that hard to find 2/3 who can hit threes and defend. It's really not.
Consider, Stephen Jackson.
My argument is that with one more piece, the Cavs are legit title contenders again.
Big Man, I don't understand this Cavs needs for a wing player. The have LJ. Are you talking about a wing 2 or 3?
What the Cavs need is a power forward, but I think the chances of getting Boozer are now reduced.
Rasheed does not help them.
McDyess would be a better fit.
The Cavs do need a wing player. You can call it a 2 or 3. It doesn't matter. LJ is going to be the 2 or 3 or at times point. They need a pure shooter. Williams and West are too small to play together and aren't consistent 3 point shooters. The point, 2 and 3 needs to be Williams, a pure shooter with size and LJ. They also need a 4 to play with Shaq but with LJ demanding a double and Shaq sometimes demanding a double, a pure 3 point shooter SHOULD average 20 poinst a game. With LJ's 30 a game and Shaq's 17, that's 67 a game. That team is hard to beat given Williams is good for 10 and a 4 should be good for 10. 87 a game for the starters and throw in 15 from the bench (over 100 per) along with some D = a better Cavs team.
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