LeBron having a supporting cast = Good

This supporting cast = Not So Good

With seconds remaining before the NBA trade deadline the Cleveland Cavaliers remade their roster surrounding LeBron James. The Cavs orchestrated a three way trade with Seattle and Chicago, a deal that allowed them to jettison bad contracts (Larry Hughes), moody players (Drew Gooden), and spare parts (Ira Newble, Shannon Brown, Cedric Simmons, and Donyell Marshall). Cleveland was able to bring in four players that can make an immediate impact, Seattle guard Delonte West and forward Wally Sczerbiak, and Bulls forwards Ben Wallace and Joe Smith. Despite bringing in a serious upgrade in talent, the Cavs might be worse off in the short run, and are far from being the favorites in the Eastern Conference.

There is little doubt that LeBron James is the best player in basketball, and he led the Cavaliers to the NBA Finals last year with very little consistent support. Zydrunas Ilgauskas has been an All-Star caliber center in the past, but he has been on a decline the last two years, and too much weight has been placed on his shoulders. Shooting guard Sasha Pavlovic and power forward/center Anderson Varejao were the sparks that helped Cleveland exceed expectations last year, but both have been out with injuries for a month. Varejao could be back in a week, but Pavlovic’s return is still a month away. Cleveland had recently been fueled by a poor mans’ Allen Iverson (shooting guard in a point guards’ body) Daniel Gibson, but he just injured his ankle and is likely out for at least a month. Once these players return the Cavs will be much improved, but will the team have any chemistry?

While the Cavs would have preferred to add an impact star (Shawn Marion, Pau Gasol, Jason Kidd, or Michael Bibby) as opposed to revamping their entire roster mid-season, this shake up was a necessity to turn around the team’s performance. The issue with this trade is that the Cavaliers will certainly have more depth, but they still don’t have any impact players besides LeBron James. All four of the new players are having sub-par years compared to their career averages, and only Delonte West isn’t on the downward slope of his career. Will the Cavs really be able to compete for a title this year?

So how will these new acquisitions fit in with the Cavs? Joe Smith is a veteran that can play power forward and center, giving Zydrunas Ilgauskas a chance to stay fresh during the stretch run and playoffs. Since Larry Hughes was sent to Chicago and Gibson and Pavlovic are hurt, Cleveland lacks a shooting guard. Delonte West is a true point guard that has been shuffled from the point to shooting guard since college. The issue is that West shoots less than forty percent from the floor as a shooting guard, and James handles the ball as much as most point guards. Wally Sczerbiak may see the most time at shooting guard, however he is a defensive liability and lacks the speed to keep up with any guard in the NBA. Sczerbiak is a pure small forward, but LeBron will not be losing any minutes to him. Wally is a big contract and good scorer but has no place to play without compromising more than he offers. The real problem in this deal is Ben Wallace and his contract. Wallace has a wealth of playoff experience, but he cannot score, and his defense and rebounding has dropped immensely since leaving Chicago. Wallace has gone from star to liability almost overnight, and Joe Smith and Drew Gooden are better than Wallace at this point in his career. Wallace’s reputation as a star may keep Anderson Varejao on the bench more than he should be, thus hurting the Cavs playoff chances.

Being the best basketball player on the planet must give LeBron James the ability to get away with comments that make him sound like a ####. When Shaq was traded to Phoenix for Shawn Marion and Marcus Banks, both James and Cavaliers coach Mike Brown were pleased to see The Diesel join the Western Conference, but they were remiss that talented players were not coming to the East, especially to Cleveland. The Cavs have had their once promising season turn somewhat grim after injuries to Sasha Pavlovic and Anderson Varejao. The Cavs have been left depleted and lacking in firepower outside of James, especially with the streaky play of Zydrunas Ilgauskas and Larry Hughes. What LeBron needs to realize is that Cleveland isn’t going to get another star player soon, and the East is better and deeper than last year. 

For years the Western Conference has been better and deeper than the Easter Conference, almost on par with the difference between the American and National Leagues in baseball. The balance of power is shifting with Toronto and Orlando becoming legitimate threats instead of cellar dwellers. If memory serves me correctly one of the biggest free agent signings this offseason was the Magic signing Rashard Lewis, who played in the Western Conference. Also the team with the best record in basketball, the Boston Celtics, traded for two Western Conference All-Stars (Ray Allen and Kevin Garnett) and only had to give up one player that is even close to being a star (Al Jefferson). Even the trade of Shaq means more to the Suns than the Heat only because they can win a title with him. The Heat have the worst record in basketball and that is with Shaq out hurt and Dwyane Wade battling injuries. Shawn Marion is a 20 point 10 rebound player for 82 games a year while Shaq’s numbers (15 points 8 rebounds) have been on the decline the last three years and is lucky to play in 2/3 of his teams’ games. At this point Shaq’s name is better than his game, and Marion is an All-Star caliber player. This deal is a steal for the East.

It would be tough to argue that the Cleveland Cavaliers aren’t in rough shape, despite being the fourth seed in the Eastern Conference. They are in strapped with the salary cap unless another team is willing to take on Larry Hughes’s ridiculous contract (get Isiah Thomas on the phone). The team doesn’t have a true point guard, Hughes plays the point as an out of position shooting guard. LeBron handles and distributes the ball the way Michael Jordan did in his prime, with the offense revolving around him. Zydrunas Ilgauskas is an All-Star center but his play has been sporadic and he is on the down slope of his career due to injuries. Drew Gooden is an average at best power forward and the backup guards are offensive minded without enough offense, defense, or playmaking ability. The Cavs have LeBron and whoever else decides to contribute on a given night. There isn’t another playoff caliber team in the NBA that is so devoid of talent surrounding their top option.

Here are the quotes from LeBron according to ESPN

"Unbelievable," James said after practice Wednesday. "That's all I got. It's unbelievable."

When James was asked if being paired with Kidd, his teammate last summer on the U.S. national team, could win the Cavs their first championship, "Yeah," James said. "It's that easy."

"It helps," he said with a laugh. "It does help when you have guys on the team that are perennial All-Stars or can go out there and produce every night and you know what you're going to get."

"It can mess up the chemistry a little bit and it could take a little longer for them to fit in, maybe not," he said. "The reward is you get a good player. Like the Lakers, they got a guy [Gasol] who has averaged 20 [points] and 12 [rebounds] for his whole career. Last night, Kobe Bryant gets six points and the Lakers win by 15, that's the reward.

Congrats to the Spurs, with four titles in nine years you can now restake your claim as a dynasty. You have had an amazing run, from David Robinson, to Tim Duncan, to Tony Parker, and even Big Shot Bob. This was a great year, you won the Western Conference Title (which was more difficult that beating up on Lebron and four guys from the local YMCA). Tim Duncan was his normal stellar self, and veterans like Michael Finley, Brent Barry, and Jacque Vaughn finally got their rings and a shot at another big contract payday. I still can't believe that Tony Parker won the Finals MVP when a few years ago he was not good enough in most fans' eyes. (Strange to think that both the regular season and finals MVPs were both born outside of the USA. Truly the World's game). Not a bad month for Parker, winning a ring, and MVP, and getting hitched to Eva Longoria. He is scheduled to win at least $100 million in the lottery on his honeymoon. Congrats again to the Spurs, just watch out for the Suns with their glut of picks in the NBA Draft.