In another bid to strengthen their chances for a deep playoff run (and to convince Lebron James to stay), the Cleveland Cavaliers executed a three-way, six player deal to get PG Maurice "Mo" Williams from the Milwaukee Bucks. In the same deal, the Bucks received Oklahoma CIty's (former Seattle franchise) PG Luke Ridnour and SF Adrian Griffin and the Cavs' PG Damon Jones. Meanwhile, the young OKC franchise will welcome back "hometown" favorite Desmond Mason, formerly of the Bucks and veteran PF Joe Smith of the Cavs.
The Cavs, especially General Manager Danny Ferry, is excited about the deal, but who are really the true winners and losers of this deal?
Winners
Oklahoma City
The former Sonics franchise, under General Manager Sam Presti, has been intent to rebuild from the ground up, meaning using young players from the draft. So far, they have been doing great by drafting the phenom SG Kevin Durant and SF Jeff Green. This year, they added another young stud, Russell Westbrook, who they figure will run the point in the years to come. By releasing Ridnour and Griffin, they clear the way for these youngsters to get better by playing more minutes. In any case, Ridnour didn't seem to be living up to his hyped potential. The addition of former Slam Dunk Contest champ Mason, meanwhile, gives the newly-relocated franchise an instant recognizable and well-loved player. Mason played college ball at OKC and he also played there when the Hornets were temporarily relocated becaue of Hurricane Katrina.
Milwaukee Bucks
The Bucks have done their best to reshape their roster this year, and this latest trade looks to be helpful for them. Giving up Williams might seem like a bad idea, as he was their second leading scorer, but he does have a reputation for not playing defense too well. Under new Head Coach Scott Skiles, not playing defense is a mortal sin, so it might be best that Williams leave anyway. Plus, it never hurts to relieve yourself of a huge contract, and WIlliam's six year, 51.5 million dollar deal is now the Cavs' problem. Young PG Ramon Sessions played well in the previous year, and the Bucks will give him a shot to prove he was no fluke. In any case, he would then have two veteran back ups in Jones and Ridnour, and those two would also benefit from less expectations. Both guards were under pressure to perform in their previous teams, so being back ups in Milwaukee might help them build confidence.
Losers
Cleveland Cavaliers
Adding a good point guard in Williams seems to answer two of the Cavs' concerns (a playmaker and a number two scoring option behind James), but it also means taking on another huge contract. They are already paying the bloated long term contracts of aging veterans Ben Wallace, Zyfrunas Ilgauskas and Wally Sczerbiak, and adding William's contracts gives them little room to make more moves. If Lebron decides to leave hometown Cleveland for the bright lights of New York or the glitz and glamour of buddy Jay-Z's Nets, the Cavs will be stuck with a bunch of old guys sucking in paychecks and losses.
Meanwhile, the bigger concern for Cleveland is solving their frontline problem. Having Ilgauskas, Wallace and Anderson Varejao sounds like you have a great frontcourt, but the three can't seem to play well enough together to make an impact. However, if (and it's a big IF) the three big men finally figure it all out and play well, then it will make Danny Ferry look like a genius by executing this deal (and make me look like a fool).
Delonte West (restricted free agent)
He's not included in the deal, but he seems to have lost because of this. The Cavs indicate that they want to keep West and he's still in negotiations for a new contract with the Cavs. Unfortunately, with Williams in the roster, he loses more negotiating power. After all, the Cavs will survive without him. Futhermore, if he does sign a new contract, he wil almost certainly lose his starting position and his minutes. Cleveland just signed PG/SG Daniel Gibson to a new contract, and they figure he and Williams would form their starting backcourt. He also has SG/SF Sasha Pavlovic to contend with. With his good but less than spectacular performance last year, West might be better served looking for a nice fat contract in Europe.
While this newest trade in the busy NBA off season did not produce winners on all sides, it does cause fans more reason to take note of the Eatern Conference. Are these moves enough to dethrone the reigning NBA Champs, the Boston Celtics?
