There’s been a lot of buzz around the Shaq to Cleveland move, and….I hate to bust bubbles…it wasn’t the biggest thing to pop off in the NBA as of late. When you figure in all the biggest movers and shakers with the latest trades and draft (the Magic, Spurs, Clippers, T-wolves, Suns, Wizards, and Cleveland,) You’d probably have to figure the Cavs in as 5th out of the 7 teams.
Under the Cavs, you have to drop the T-wolves, and Suns…in that order. The Suns dumped Shaq for next to nothing, and, if the stories are true, are about to dump Amare Stoudamire for Stephen Curry, Marco Belinelli, Brandon Wright, and Andris Biedrins. While that would be something decent in the East, adding that to a squad that includes Steve Nash, Jason Richardson, Leandro Barbosa, and….shit, nobody else, is NOTHING out west. We all know the Suns are trying to cut back on paper for next off-season’s free-agent class, but keeping it real, the only thing the Suns have to offer IS money to an upcoming free-agent. At the bottom of the barrel for those making moves is definitely the T-Wolves. First they traded off Mike Miller and Randy Foye, then they draft three point guards (and traded one). Ricky Rubio is holding out, so they have something good worth trading, but out of all the people making major moves, you still have to consider them at the bottom.
Above the Cavs are Spurs, Clippers, Magic, and Wizards in that order. While I originally laughed at the Spurs for picking up Richard Jefferson ( due to the fact he doesn’t play D, and they traded Bruce Bowen), after a few conversations I realized…Richard Jefferson never had to play D. While I don’t expect him to become Shane Battier (the gold standard for perimeter defense) overnight, when input into a good defensive team, Jefferson could probably play some decent defense. Shit, he’s athletic, if he just runs behind people and blocks lay-ups, he could be runner-up in defensive player of the year (that was some bullshit). Add in drafting Dejuan Blair (who ate Thabeet up), and the Spurs aren’t looking that bad after all.
All the Clippers had to do was draft Blake Griffin, and all of a sudden, you have to look at them differently. I don’t predict Blake Griffin to be the next Tim Duncan, but I do think he’ll be a good player. Then, when you consider they have Blake Griffen, Zach Randolph, Marcus Camby, and Chris Kamen all down low, you know somebody is gonna be moved. With rumors of a trade involving either Camby or Kamen, you have to figure they’ll add something decent for either one of those guys. If the rest of the team comes back healthy…the Clippers could be look at a 5 or 4 seed in the West.
The otherere two teams shaking things up w both Eastern Conference teams, and both are liable to give Cleveland problems. The whole Shaq move was done for two reasons: One, to show Lebron they are trying to remain contenders and get him a ring. Two, to try and combat Dwight Howard. The problem is, the Shaq move did nothing to help Cleveland defend high pick and rolls, and it also didn’t give them size on the perimeter to guard bigger guards. Orlando on the other hand, added another guard to their repertoire, in Vince Carter. Sure they traded off the point guard who lead them to the finals (only to get benched in the finals) and the guy who missed the last second alley-oop, but a non injured Jameer Nelson won’t throw up as many air-balls as Jameer did in the finals. While some believe the Vince trade was to replace Hedo…I don’t see Hedo going anywhere. Who can really offer him big bucks, and is willing to part with it for him? One of Cleveland’s rivals…the Wizard also stocked up. The addition of Mike Miller and Randy Foye gave them two more scorers, and a good true point guard, freeing up Agent Zero. Cleveland struggles enough with the Wizards as is. Foye and Miller could be enough to push the Wizards over a Cavs team that took a step down.
If Cleveland hadn’t made the trade for Shaq, they would have gotten Tyson Chandler, and if healthy, I believe Chandler would have been a lot better direction for Cleveland. Chandler is far more athletic, and wouldn’t have been a liability to assist in pick and roll defense. He’s also a better all around defender. Sure, he couldn’t stop Dwight Howard, (neither can Shaq) but he would have given Cleveland’s smaller guards the ability to play closer against bigger players, due to the fact they’d have him backing them up if the ball handler blows past them. At the end of the day, the average shooting guard could still just shoot over Mo Williams, but it would have been more help defensively. Cleveland seems to have preferred the Shaq deal however, cuz Shaq’s contract is only for one year, giving them more money to chase a long term assistant to Lebron next off-season. Before they can do that, they have to convince him to stay,and I don’t think the Shaq move did it.
Filed under: Basketball, Lebron, Shaq, Sports | Tagged: Amare Stoudamire, Blake Griffen, Clippers, Draft, Lebron, NBA, Shaq, Spurs, Trades, Tyson Chander
