CLEVELAND — They were treated like rock stars Friday night, but Ben Wallace, Joe Smith, Wally Szczerbiak and Delonte West all realize they arebackup performers in LeBron James’ band.
“When you have a guy of his caliber that plays as unselfishly as he does, it’s always a great opportunity to come in and fit in,” Smith said. “He makes his teammates better. That’s something you don’t see a lot these days.”
You also don’t see a general manager drive to the airport to personally pick up his new acquisitions, as Danny Ferry did Friday afternoon and evening.
You don’t always see four guys seated in a luxury suite get a standing ovation upon the conclusion of a video introduction midway through the first quarter.
But then again, you don’t always see a three-team,
11-player deal one minute before the NBA trade deadline.
“It was a good feeling to come to Cleveland and have the fans receive us the way they did,” said Wallace, who was as unpopular in Chicago as the departed Larry Hughes was in Cleveland.
“I had fun in Chicago. We didn’t win the way we wanted to win, but the experience was good. … I was doing things I wasn’t doing in Detroit. It was a little bit of a struggle for us playing basketball.”
Wallace and Smith both chuckled when asked what it would be like to play against the Bulls four times in less than two months, with the first meeting at The Q on March 2.
“You try to look at those games as any other game,” Smith said. “Honestly, as a player, you always have something in the back of your mind to want to go out there and play well against your former teammates.”
West and Szczerbiak, meanwhile, are simply happy to be away from a Seattle team that is totally rebuilding and joining a club with championship aspirations.
“You have to embrace a situation like this,” West said. “This is what I’ve been working for the last four years.
“I just don’t want to come in and fit in. I want to put in my two cents.”
Added Szczerbiak: “I’m ecstatic to be with a franchise whose main goal is winning. … It’s a blessing. I’m looking forward to taking advantage of it.”
None of the new players — Wallace will wear No. 4 with the Cavaliers, with Smith donning No. 32, Szczerbiak taking No. 10 and West going with No. 13 — has completed his physical, but they could be in uniform Sunday evening against Memphis if all 11 players involved in the deal have finished their examinations by that time.
“I definitely think we have what it takes (to win it all),” said Wallace, who won a championship with Detroit in 2004. “We’re going to have to work at it. It’s not going to be easy. We’re going to have to show up.”
If the Cavaliers do go on to capture their first NBA championship, the new guys know James will be the guy leading the way.
“I was just marveling at how LeBron makes everyone look like they’re playing in slow motion,” Szczerbiak said. “He makes it look so easy. It doesn’t even look like he’s trying and he’s moving at a different speed.”

LeBron likes trade

James endorsed the trade that brought Wallace, Smith, Szczerbiak and West to Cleveland, but it hasn’t altered his approach at all.
“You always want to win now,” James said before Friday’s game against the Washington Wizards. “We’re not a franchise that’s trying to regroup and play for the future. I’m a player who wants to win now. I don’t care who’s on the court. Even if we didn’t make a trade, I want to win now.”
The 23-year-old was excited the Cavaliers added veterans with playoff experience — Wallace won a championship with Detroit — but was quick to add Cleveland’s current group has proven nothing in the playoffs.
“The players that were here proved they could win in the postseason,” he said. “The guys that came in, we don’t know that yet.”
James, who played a lot of power forward prior to the trade, also likes the size the Cavaliers have added with Wallace and Smith.
“Our front line is deeper now,” the 6-foot-8, 250-pounder said. “We had to play a lot of small ball (before the trade).
“If you dribble down the paint and see Andy (Anderson Varejao) and Big Ben down there, you’re going to think twice before you throw the ball up.”
Contact Rick Noland at (330) 721-4061 or at rickn@ohio.net.

In order to comment, you must agree to our user agreement and discussion guidelines.

Need help? Email Us.