Guest ATENEARS Posted February 9, 2009 Report Share Posted February 9, 2009 CLEVELAND -- The trade season is now in full swing. With the deadline less than two weeks away, the rumors are exploding and the Cavaliers, armed with some valuable trade assets, are right in the middle of things. Here's a look at what the Cavs have to offer and a handicapping of their chances at the big names on the market. THE ASSETS • Wally Szczerbiak's expiring contract. Worth $13 million, his is a classic salary-cap clearer at this point in these troubled economic times. Teams underachieving and getting killed at the box office may look to try and reduce future salary commitments. The Cavs want to keep Szczerbiak, so if a trade with him is a pure salary dump, he could take a buyout and return to the Cavs after 30 days. • Eric Snow's $7.1 million expiring contract. The Cavs aren't likely to use this, they can save $11 million in real dollars by letting insurance and NBA disability take over. However, if it is required to trade for a superstar, they would consider it. • Anderson Varejao's $5.78 million expiring contract. Yes, he has an opt-out after this season but so do the Cavs, which makes his deal expiring. The Cavs would only trade him if they got a center with a long-term future here in return. • Sasha Pavlovic's "virtual" expiring contract. Pavlovic is under contract for next season for $4.9 million. But just $1 million is guaranteed, so it acts like an expiring contract. The Cavs don't want to trade him, either, but he's certainly an asset because of this fact. • J.J. Hickson is exactly what teams are looking for when they move highly-paid stars. A young, athletic big man with a cheap contract and huge upside. The Cavs are thrilled with his potential, but pairing him with an expiring contract could create an attractive package. • 2009 first-round draft pick. The early returns are that this upcoming draft is not very deep and the Cavs will likely be picking at the very end of the first round. This diminishes this pick's value and it could be used to sweeten a package. • $1.6 million trade exception. The Cavs have it left over from sending Cedric Simmons to the Bulls last year. It cannot be combined with other assets in a trade, but can be used on its own to take back a player making as much as $2 million for nothing. Often large trades can actually be made up of a number of smaller deals put together, and this is where an exception can come into play. THE POTENTIAL TARGETS Marcus Camby (23, defending against Chicago's Luol Deng) would appear to fit many of the Cavaliers' needs --- strong defense, willingness to come off the bench --- but would the Clippers be willing to deal?• Marcus Camby, Clippers Why the Cavs can get him: Because the Clippers are terrible and owner Donald Sterling is probably furious at the payroll he's paying for one of the worst teams in the league. A good citizen and teammate and defender, he fits the Cavs' profile perfectly. Why they can't: Coach and general manager Mike Dunleavy has said he wants to keep Camby until other stars Chris Kaman and Zach Randolph are healthy to get a better grasp on what he has. • Amare Stoudemire and Shaquille O'Neal, Suns Why the Cavs can: In turmoil and teetering financially, the Suns have made nearly their entire roster available. These two don't fit together and one surely seems like he's moving. LeBron James and Shaq are close friends. Why they can't: Last year, bringing O'Neal in ruined the Suns' chemistry and the Cavs are dearly guarding theirs. For Stoudemire, the Suns want some young stars as part of the package and the Cavs may not be able to deliver that. It also seems like Stoudemire has struggled fitting in when he's not the main star, which he wouldn't be here. • Vince Carter, Nets Why the Cavs can: Carter's contract is huge and runs past 2010, when the Nets want to clear cap space. Headed nowhere this season and with another developing star in Devin Harris, the Nets may be willing to budge. Also Carter has played well in a team role this season. Why they can't: At 32, he's on the downside of his career and it would mess up their cap plans in 2010. He may not be the player they want to do it for. • Brad Miller, Kings Why the Cavs can: Miller is a good rebounder and a shooter who can stretch the floor, plus his contract runs just one more season. Why they can't: Miller is out of shape and having a poor season and it's not clear how he'd fit in. • Mike Miller, Timberwolves Why the Cavs can: They always can use shooters and Miller's contract expires after next season. They have liked him for several years. Why they can't: Bothered by injuries, he's not played as well this season as last and the Timberwolves are winning now and may not want to mess with their core. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
EERSandBROWNS Posted February 9, 2009 Report Share Posted February 9, 2009 Of that list I'm only really interested in Marcus Camby. Shaq is not coming here. Amare would cost too much IMO and wouldn't be worth it. Not when we have the tools to search out a Bosh trade this summer or go after him in 2010 to pair with LeBron. Mike Miller would have been nice this time last year, but I really don't see the need. What we need is a big. My vote goes for Camby who could probably be had with Wally and a 1st rounder. Who knows, maybe they'll even buy Wally out and we can pick him back up on the cheap. If that doesn't work out I'll be hoping Joe Smith gets bought out by the Thunder so we can grab him again. Just my 2 cents but I think Camby or Smith make the most sense right now. Maybe Brad Miller as well, but if given the choice I would take Camby. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CIMO. Posted February 9, 2009 Report Share Posted February 9, 2009 I'll take Amare, please. The Gasol trade means anything can happen, even if it is lopsided. I'd gladly trade Wally, Varejao, Hickson and 2 first rounders for Amare. I can't imagine he's actually a prototypical "bad teammate," I think he just hates the fact that the Suns got rid of their fast, athletic, talented players (Joe Johnson, Shawn Marion) in exchange for slow (or old/fat) players, then they fired Dantoni to bring in a coach who uses a slow, half-court style gameplan (unsuccessfully) in Terry Porter. He'd be a perfect fit in Cleveland, and I'm not going to worry about messing up the chemistry. They say he wants to be the main star...but wasn't he on a (great) team with the 2-time MVP? Going to another team with an unselfish superstar and a roster full of role players who actually know their roles, Amare would just be asked to do his. He's the kind of guy who can give you 15 dunks and 15 rebounds a game, while being pretty solid defensively, at least in the clutch. There is no one off limits to me when it comes to getting him on the same team as LeBron. I'd hesitate with Mo, but in the end I'd probably still do the deal, especially if we can get a third team involved and steal another Delonte from a bad team. No one else really excites me. Camby would be a good fit, but not a game changer like Amare. I've liked Mike Miller for a while, but he's not someone that makes us better than L.A. The rest on that list are pass, pass, pass. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ballpeen Posted February 10, 2009 Report Share Posted February 10, 2009 I think I would just stand pat. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest ATENEARS Posted February 10, 2009 Report Share Posted February 10, 2009 I think I would just stand pat. I don't know about that Russ. Did you happen to catch either Laker game in the past few weeks or the Orlando game? I don't think we have enough muscle inside, and the Lakers have really exposed it to all. We might be able to shoot our way to a victory 2 or 3 three times in a playoff series, but I'm afraid that we will come up short if we don't control the paint. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest ATENEARS Posted February 10, 2009 Report Share Posted February 10, 2009 • Eric Snow's $7.1 million expiring contract. The Cavs aren't likely to use this, they can save $11 million in real dollars by letting insurance and NBA disability take over. However, if it is required to trade for a superstar, they would consider it. I'm not sure I understand this scenario. I'm guessing we can package him in a deal to match another players salary, that obviously financially strapped team then could in return file him for disability and wipe his salary off their books? This is bizaar. I get more angry with every Mickey Mouse scenario I read about these Cavs. We are on the verge of our first ever NBA Championship Trophy and we are dicking around all this stupid shit. No other elite team in this league screws around with this shit, except dumbass Cleveland franchises that don't know how to finish a season and get to the promise land. I'm really frustrated over these Cavs today ... they better clean the Pacers clock tonight because I don't know if my heart can handle another hic-cup tonight. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest ATENEARS Posted February 10, 2009 Report Share Posted February 10, 2009 The Pistons are said to be offering Rasheed Wallace (and his $13.6 million expiring contract), young Amir Johnson and a draft pick for Stoudemire ... and it is said that ain't enough. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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