Bad teams tend to be afterthoughts in trade rumors. NBA reporters tend to have an overwhelmingly pro-winning team bias. Last season, and now repeated on Draft Express, is the rumor that the Wizards are going to trade Antawn Jameson to the Cavaliers. Ignoring the on-the-court implication of this deal, Ernie Grunfeld would never make this move. Wizards fans are still smarting over the first Cavaliers-Wizards series, where Lebron James’s uncalled traveling and distracting Gilbert at the free throw line are still wounds that have not healed. The last thing any Wizards fan wants is for Lebron “King” James to be coroneted via a trade for one of our top players. Ernie Grunfeld would lose all credibility with the Wizards fan base, which would make him vulnerable in the event the team struggles. These rumors don’t make any sense.
The truth is that NBA trade rumors tend to involve the lesser team as an afterthought. It can be seen in the trade scenarios between winning and losing teams, and between big market and small market teams. Despite the Knicks not being anywhere close to a championship team with Lebron, everybody writes about him ending up there. Even when the Raptors were playing well, NBA reporters were writing about Chris Bosh’s ultimate destination.
The major point is that when you read trade rumors, look at it from the perspective of the worst team in the trade first. Determine if it makes sense from that perspective, before you waste a lot of time pulling your hair out about it. Unless, of course, it involves the Clippers. Then just order a hair transplant in advance.
Thursday, June 25, 2009
Saturday, June 20, 2009
Shaq to the Cavs?
Trade rumors are always fun. With just a few days till the NBA draft, the rumors tend to fly even faster. However, there is one trade rumor I can’t believe would able to be a reality: Shaq going to Cleveland. The trade doesn’t make sense for either the Suns or the Cavaliers.
The trade proposal as reported is Shaqiulle O’Neal for Ben Wallace and Sasha Pavolvic.
First, Shaq would be a terrible fit for the Cavaliers. Can you imagine a Shaq-Z front-line? At first, it sounds pretty good, two giants patrolling the lane. Then you picture them trying to guard the pick-and-roll. Mike Bibby can thank Shaq’s pick-and-roll coverage for nearly doubling his salary. How would the Shaq-Z front court handle Rashard Lewis? Neither of them have the speed to cover him on the perimeter. Skilled Pfs like Rashard Lewis, Kevin Garnett, and Antawn Jameson would run rampant over a Shaq-Z frontline. Teams would run on the Cavaliers constantly – their transition defense would be a complete joke.
Alternatively, the Cavaliers could bench either Z or O’Neal, but that’s incredibly wasteful in Z’s case, and would create a locker room cancer in O’Neal’s case. Defensively, the Cavaliers wouldn’t suffer as much with only one of them on the court at the time. However, there’s no guarantee that they would have a viable alternative at PF. A Shaq trade would almost certainly result in Anderson Varajeo opting out. He’s most likely get a decrease in minutes, and in a contract year, it would hurt his value. Additionally, he’s not thrilled playing in Cleveland, given his contract dispute.
Additionally, Shaq’s presence would have an adverse effect on the best asset the Cavaliers have: Lebron James. First, Shaq’s presence in low post would clog the lanes. Rather than surrounding Lebron with low-post players who could play away from the basket, as the Bulls did with Jordan, the Cavaliers would be doubling the crowd in their lane. Beyond that, however, there is a serious issue of whether Shaq and Lebron would get along. I have no doubt that at first Shaq would hug Lebron with the his bear arms, and declare that he was bringing a championship to Cleveland. However, after the initial honeymoon, when the rough spots happen who would bear the blame? The press would really have three options: Shaq, Lebron, or the supporting cast. After the Cavs last defeat in the playoffs, everybody else took the blame, not Lebron. Although Lebron’s tendency to over-dribble did hurt the Cavaliers, his stellar play deserved the credit for the wins and his teammates deserved the ire for the Cavalier’s defeats. However, if the media scrutiny fell on Shaq – if the Cavaliers struggled – the Big Aristotle would not hesitate to place it back on Lebron. It’d be interesting to see how Lebron responds to being criticized by his teammate. He’s been the King of the Cavs, and anybody who might be a problem for him has been traded – Ricky Davis and Larry Hughes.
It’s also a terrible trade for the Phoenix Suns. Ben Wallace doesn’t add anything to the Suns’ team, because for every points he takes away on defense, he gives up two points on offense. The assumption is that he’ll accept a buy-out because he’s expressed an interest in retiring. Even if Ben Wallace accepts a buy-out, he’ll still count for $14 million against the salary cap, which means he’s almost as prohibitive as O’Neal. Sasha Pavolvic is only guaranteed for $1.5 million next year. Shaq makes $20 million, and if Sasha and Wallace are both cut, they’ll save $5.5 million for next year.
The trade proposal as reported is Shaqiulle O’Neal for Ben Wallace and Sasha Pavolvic.
First, Shaq would be a terrible fit for the Cavaliers. Can you imagine a Shaq-Z front-line? At first, it sounds pretty good, two giants patrolling the lane. Then you picture them trying to guard the pick-and-roll. Mike Bibby can thank Shaq’s pick-and-roll coverage for nearly doubling his salary. How would the Shaq-Z front court handle Rashard Lewis? Neither of them have the speed to cover him on the perimeter. Skilled Pfs like Rashard Lewis, Kevin Garnett, and Antawn Jameson would run rampant over a Shaq-Z frontline. Teams would run on the Cavaliers constantly – their transition defense would be a complete joke.
Alternatively, the Cavaliers could bench either Z or O’Neal, but that’s incredibly wasteful in Z’s case, and would create a locker room cancer in O’Neal’s case. Defensively, the Cavaliers wouldn’t suffer as much with only one of them on the court at the time. However, there’s no guarantee that they would have a viable alternative at PF. A Shaq trade would almost certainly result in Anderson Varajeo opting out. He’s most likely get a decrease in minutes, and in a contract year, it would hurt his value. Additionally, he’s not thrilled playing in Cleveland, given his contract dispute.
Additionally, Shaq’s presence would have an adverse effect on the best asset the Cavaliers have: Lebron James. First, Shaq’s presence in low post would clog the lanes. Rather than surrounding Lebron with low-post players who could play away from the basket, as the Bulls did with Jordan, the Cavaliers would be doubling the crowd in their lane. Beyond that, however, there is a serious issue of whether Shaq and Lebron would get along. I have no doubt that at first Shaq would hug Lebron with the his bear arms, and declare that he was bringing a championship to Cleveland. However, after the initial honeymoon, when the rough spots happen who would bear the blame? The press would really have three options: Shaq, Lebron, or the supporting cast. After the Cavs last defeat in the playoffs, everybody else took the blame, not Lebron. Although Lebron’s tendency to over-dribble did hurt the Cavaliers, his stellar play deserved the credit for the wins and his teammates deserved the ire for the Cavalier’s defeats. However, if the media scrutiny fell on Shaq – if the Cavaliers struggled – the Big Aristotle would not hesitate to place it back on Lebron. It’d be interesting to see how Lebron responds to being criticized by his teammate. He’s been the King of the Cavs, and anybody who might be a problem for him has been traded – Ricky Davis and Larry Hughes.
It’s also a terrible trade for the Phoenix Suns. Ben Wallace doesn’t add anything to the Suns’ team, because for every points he takes away on defense, he gives up two points on offense. The assumption is that he’ll accept a buy-out because he’s expressed an interest in retiring. Even if Ben Wallace accepts a buy-out, he’ll still count for $14 million against the salary cap, which means he’s almost as prohibitive as O’Neal. Sasha Pavolvic is only guaranteed for $1.5 million next year. Shaq makes $20 million, and if Sasha and Wallace are both cut, they’ll save $5.5 million for next year.
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