Ben Wallace traded to Cleveland, LeBron happy
NBA Obsessed takes you into the hit and run game of NBA Basketball.
This is a monster trade by Cleveland, Chicago, and Seattle.
Cleveland gets Ben Wallace and Joe Smith from Chicago and forward Wally Szczerbiak and guard Delonte West from the SuperSonics.
Danny Ferry, the Cleveland GM, immediately announced they were good enough to win the title.
Hold on, there.
All four players were underperforming, especially Ben Wallace.
Now as a huge Pistons fan, your intrepid author likes Ben Wallace a lot, but he is 33 years old. His best years are behind him. You also gave up Dwight Gooden to get him. Expect Ben to play excellent defense, but will he be able to rebound like days gone by? Most likely not.
Here is a rundown on the trade.
In an 11 player three-team blockbuster trade, the Cavaliers acquired Chicago’s Ben Wallace and Joe Smith, Seattle’s Wally Szczerbiak and Delonte West before the trade deadline closed on Thursday, two league sources confirmed.
The Cavaliers sent Larry Hughes, Drew Gooden, Shannon Brown and Cedric Simmons to the Bulls, and Donyell Marshall to the Sonics. Seattle also gets the expiring contracts of Chicago’s Adrian Griffin and Cleveland’s Ira Newble. source
LeBron James
Still LeBron James has to be happy. His current cast was going nowhere and Ben is an intimidator, Smith and Szczerbiak give you scoring, and West is young. It will help LeBron to have more outside shooting around him than Daniel Gibson.
Danny Ferry is happy to be out of Larry Hughes contract.
Much like Wallace, Hughes didn’t deliver as the Cavs had hoped. They signed him to a five-year, $60 million free agent deal in 2005, but he struggled with injuries and his jump shot.
Hughes had become a target of abuse at Cleveland home games as fans grumbled with every miss and every mention of a contract—he’s making $12.8 million this season—that seemed untradeable. source
Still, Danny Ferry was trapped. His Superstar, LeBron James, was unhappy and that is not good.
He’s dead serious, though, about getting the Cavaliers their first title. James, who led them to their first finals appearance last season, had publicly campaigned for Ferry to do something before the deadline.
James got his wish. Ferry overhauled the Cavs, trading 60 percent of the starting lineup Brown used Wednesday night.
The deal caps a busy month of trades as several stars, including Shaquille O’Neal, Jason Kidd, Shawn Marion and Pau Gasol, all were dealt to new teams. The Gasol swap triggered an arms race of sorts among the Western Conference’s top squads, while this one could have a major impact atop the East.
Will Ben Wallace bring Cleveland the NBA Title?
Probably not, but the mix makes James happy and gives them a shot and that is all he wanted.
NBA Basketball Fan Question Can you break down this trade to make LeBron happy?
As always, any NBA Basketball related comments are welcome.
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POSTED IN: Ben Gordon, Chicago Bulls, Cleveland Cavaliers, LeBron James, Seattle Supersonics
5 opinions for Ben Wallace traded to Cleveland, LeBron happy
NBA Roto
Feb 22, 2008 at 11:26 am
Great analysis. I agree with you that this will probably not bring Cleveland a title. The upper echelon of the East is too good. Detroit, Orlando and Boston.
Interesting to see Boston expose itself as mortal though. They aren’t nearly as daunting as they were a month ago.
Let’s say Cleveland makes it back to the big game. I don’t care who the West sends — there is no way they’ll match up. The West is just flat-out scary.
But, I do think Cleveland did what they had to do.
I think, oddly, the winner in all of yesterday’s action is Tyrus Thomas (from a fantasy perspective anyway). I think with the extra minutes, he’s going to break out.
Great blog. I check it every day.
Joe Purkey
Feb 22, 2008 at 7:05 pm
I love it. Gooden was a decent role player who was to unpredictable. Ben gives them the defensive presence that they needed. I am a big cavs fan and i was dissapointed when they didnt make any moves on the off season. I am EXTREEMLY HAPPY that larry hughes is gone, he isnt even good enough to play in college anymore. With the development of a few young players they really have a shot.
james
Feb 22, 2008 at 11:47 pm
We seem to have a divided opinion here. With LeBron, who knows?
Keep in mind, Joe and Wally have not won anywhere.
Ben is on old legs, his production declining each year.
Will they make the difference?
Does not matter.
Keep LeBron Happy!
Give LeBron a chance.
those two things, it does.
bb community
Feb 24, 2008 at 10:14 pm
1. hughes leaving is good.
2. big ben won’t make any different to cavs.
3. drew gooden leaving is a little bit wasted.
4. look forward for joe smith mid range offensive play.
5. anyway, who cares? lebron is going to get more than six titles in the future no matter who is his teammate~
james
Feb 25, 2008 at 8:41 am
LeBron will get better players as soon as Stern finds a way to put him on the Knicks and get rid of Isiah.
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