Are the Cavaliers a better team today than they were at the end of the 2006-2007 season? The question is simple, but the answer far from it.
“It would be interesting (to find out),” center Zydrunas Ilgauskas said after a long pause. “I don’t think we’re any worse. Last year, we just had an easier schedule in the playoffs.
“But it’s hard to say because the season only ended (eight days ago).”
It is hard to say, which clearly means the huge trade Cleveland made in February was not the solution many fans and media members predicted it would be.
By getting rid of 40 percent of their roster in one bold move, the Cavs took a gamble in order to make a run at the powerful Boston Celtics and Detroit Pistons. They dealt away starting power forward Drew Gooden, erratic shooting guard Larry Hughes and proven playoff performer Donyell Marshall, among others, to give them a very different on-court look.
In the end, though, Cleveland was unable to get by Boston despite having
double-digit leads in five of the series’ seven games.
The main culprits were newcomers Wally Szczerbiak and Ben Wallace, who were erratic at best — though they were supposed to be the final pieces to the puzzle assembled by general manager Danny Ferry.
Point guard Delonte West was a pleasant surprise, while power forward Joe Smith delivered solid minutes as expected. Neither of them, though, could keep the Cavs from taking two steps backward after reaching the 2007 NBA Finals.
“I like this team and I do believe this team has the ingredients to win a championship,” coach Mike Brown said. “But knowing your season is over, that’s a hard pill to swallow. As a coach, what makes your life hard is you always second-guess everything.”
The second-guessing includes whether the megadeal should have been made.
Had superstar LeBron James not publicly challenged team management — begging for a point guard after New Jersey dealt Jason Kidd to Dallas and Phoenix picked up Shaquille O’Neal — the trade probably would not have happened.
Let’s hope “The King” takes note that the Mavericks’ acquisition of Kidd and Phoenix’s pickup of O’Neal were disasters that resulted in first-round flops. History had long ago proved that major late-season trades are almost always short-term mistakes in the NBA.
“It’s a different team, but I like this team,” Ferry said. “I like the guys’ skill set, the toughness and the edge they play with, and I think we’re a better shooting team overall.
“But we’re all still pretty frustrated from (the loss to Boston). This is not the right time to critique where we are today.”
Putting everyone’s still-raw emotions aside, the bottom line right now is this: None of the new Cavs performed as well as Gooden did during the last two postseasons. No one took his spot as a third offensive option or as a back-side rebounder, which killed Cleveland against Boston.
Worse yet, both Wallace and Szczerbiak are making roughly twice what Gooden is, which makes shedding Hughes’ giant salary not as impressive.
And for the record, Hughes averaged 11.3 points and was a .333 3-point shooter in the playoffs with the Cavs. Szczerbiak averaged 10.8 points and shot .323 beyond the arc this postseason.
“I think we had better team chemistry,” owner Dan Gilbert said. “All things being equal, I do think we’re closer (to a championship). You get one or two little things to go differently, and you’re in the Eastern Conference finals and anything can happen from there.”
With all of that doom and gloom having been said, fear not, Cavs fans, there is a bright light at the end of the tunnel.
Except for having to pay Wallace $28.5 million over the next two seasons, the trade will not have much of a long-term effect on the ballclub.
Cleveland still has James and Ilgauskas under contract through the 2009-2010 season, meaning its top two talents are secure. The only other players tied up for that long are Wallace and Sasha Pavlovic, giving Ferry roughly $45 million in salary cap room next summer.
Even if the Cavs re-sign restricted free agents West and Daniel Gibson, as expected, they still have plenty of options to pursue other players.
Szczerbiak ($13 million), Eric Snow ($7.3 million) and Damon Jones ($4.5 million) all have expiring contracts in 2008-2009, which makes them unbelievably attractive commodities to teams looking to shed salary.
Add in the modest deals of non-core players Anderson Varejao ($5.8 million), Smith ($5.2 million) and Pavlovic ($4.5 million), and the number of sign-and-trades Cleveland can pull off are limitless.
All the Cavs have to do is find a willing dance partner. If Ferry makes the right moves, there is no reason the team can’t be back in the NBA Finals next season.
It all hinges on what moves Cleveland makes once the free-agency madness begins July 1. Take a quick vacation, Dan, Danny and Mike, you’re going to be busy this summer.
Contact Brian Dulik at sports@ohio.net.

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

Need help? Email Us.