INDEPENDENCE — Delonte West might end up being the
X-factor in the Cavaliers’ blockbuster trade with Seattle and Chicago, but it’s the chance to get more W’s that really excites the 24-year-old.
West, acquired in the 11-player trade that also brought proven commodities Ben Wallace, Joe Smith and Wally Szczerbiak to Cleveland, knows all too well what it’s like to lose.
In his rookie year in Boston
(2004-05), the Celtics managed to win 45 games, but West appeared in just 39, so he really wasn’t a big part of that. The following season, when the left-hander began playing a lot, Boston slipped to 33 wins, then all the way down to 24 in 2006-07.
The Celtics have the best record in basketball this season (42-12 prior to Monday night versus the Clippers), but West didn’t get to enjoy any of it because he was dealt to the Sonics along with Szczerbiak in the trade that brought sharpshooter Ray Allen to Boston.
Seattle, meanwhile, is floundering with a 15-40 record, and the tear-it-apart Sonics figure to get even worse before they get better, which is precisely why West is so happy to be with the defending Eastern Conference champion Cavaliers (32-24), who are a season-high eight games above .500 and getting better.
“I’m learning quickly how things can change in this league,” West said. “Last year I was playing for a losing franchise and I didn’t think it could get worse, then I go to Seattle and go from starting to not playing at all. Then the (Boston) team I was playing on becomes the best team in the league. And now I’m playing for a team that made the NBA Finals.”
West is not only playing, he’ll be starting at point guard tonight when the Cavaliers play in Milwaukee. Cleveland then plays the Celtics on Wednesday in Boston.
“I’ve been on the losing end of things,” the slender 6-foot-3, 180-pounder said. “It definitely gets you back to appreciating positions like this.”
West scored just five points Sunday against Memphis in his Cleveland debut, going a woeful 2-of-12 from the field, including 1-of-5 from behind the arc, but he did have six assists and three steals while committing just two turnovers in 31 minutes.
More impressive is the fact West’s assists, which came after just one practice with the Cavaliers, weren’t Larry Hughes-like passes where he simply stood and swung the ball to someone who made a 22-footer. West broke down Memphis’ defense on numerous occasions, with most of his assists leading to layups or dunks.
“He took good shots and led the team,” Cavaliers coach Mike Brown said Monday following a lengthy practice at Cleveland Clinic Courts. “It’s exciting to see a guy like that get the ball up the floor quickly.
“He did a nice job, but he still has some things he has to get used to doing for us.”
West isn’t a classic point guard, but his ability to handle the ball, push the tempo and play solid defense should fit in well with the LeBron James-led Cavaliers.
West, a fourth-year pro is having a bit of a down season, but he was in and out of the lineup on a Seattle team that also had Luke Ridnour and Earl Watson at point guard. West is averaging just 6.8 points and shooting a career-low .378 from the field, including a career-low .328 on 3-pointers, but he’s a lifetime .444 shooter in the NBA, including a respectable .370 from behind the arc.
Those numbers might go up with the Cavaliers because James’ presence will get the St. Joseph’s product more open shots, but West is facing another adjustment that may prove to be even bigger than learning new offensive and defensive systems on the fly.
In Boston, he averaged 11.8 points, 4.1 rebounds and 4.6 assists while starting 71 games in 2005-06 and 12.2 points, 3.0 rebounds and 4.4 assists in 2006-07, but those Celtics teams rarely had a chance to win.
Neither did the Sonics when West was with them this season, so the young man Danny Ferry has had his eye on since becoming Cleveland’s general manager in 2005 is going to have to prove he’s capable of being something other than a decent player on a bad team, a la guys like Zach Randolph, Shareef Abdur-Rahim and, going back even further, Sherman Douglas.
“You always want to win,” West said. “They were definitely rebuilding (in Seattle), and this year was just the first year of that stage. I’m excited to be here.”
Contact Rick Noland at (330) 721-4061 or rickn@ohio.net.
 

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