What do you think the Cavs will do with Wally Szczerbiak's expiring contract?

[MMacOH]

Wow....the people that are knocking Ferry on this thread must not follow basketball.  Ferry got rid of Damon Jones, Shannon Brown, Larry Hughes, Drew Gooden and Donyell Marshall for Wally (13 mil expiring), Mo Williams (acquired by trading Joe Smith who Ferry got last year), Delonte and Ben Wallace.  Best trade the Cavs have made in a long time.  Anyone who disagrees needs to watch how well these guys play together this year.  Also, Ferry did not make the Jiri Welsh trade. 

The Cavs don't need to clear cap space to sign Lebron....maybe people should research before blindly posting about a subject they know nothing about.

As for Wally, the Cavs aren't looking to just dump him for the sake of dumping him.  The Cavs are clearing cap space for 2010, but it's not to sign Lebron (as some people in this post have hinted at), they can go over the cap to sign LBJ, thats the nice thing about Bird rights.  Since the Cavs are clearing space for 2010, they may not take on some extended bad contracts.  If an all star comes along who will fit in nicely and not be overpriced then Ferry will move Wally.  If not, he may just let the contract expire.  It will depend on where the team is at the trade deadline.

The Cavs are putting themselves in position to sign Lebron and another superstar in 2010 (i.e. Chris Bosh or D Wade). 

[Chris]

Wow....the people that are knocking Ferry on this thread must not follow basketball.  Ferry got rid of Damon Jones, Shannon Brown, Larry Hughes, Drew Gooden and Donyell Marshall for Wally (13 mil expiring), Mo Williams (acquired by trading Joe Smith who Ferry got last year), Delonte and Ben Wallace.  Best trade the Cavs have made in a long time.  Anyone who disagrees needs to watch how well these guys play together this year.  Also, Ferry did not make the Jiri Welsh trade. 

Well, I think we will just have to agree to disagree about these deals.  The only players they picked up in those trades that I think would significantly help them in the playoffs were West and Smith.  Unfortunately, they then went and traded Smith for a PG who doesn't play defense, and really is not a better fit for this team than West.

I really think this team is going to miss Smith a lot come playoff time.  Against a defense like the C's, you really need to be able to take advantage of the overaggressive help defense by our bigs, and without Smith, the only big they have with any legit offensive ability is Z.  Having yet another small guard who can score is not going to matter nearly as much in the playoffs.

[Cman]

The Cavs are putting themselves in position to sign Lebron and another superstar in 2010 (i.e. Chris Bosh or D Wade). 

What is so interesting is how many teams have "positioned themselves" for 2010.  Toronto has positioned themselves to resign Chris Bosh and another superstar (LeBron? Dwade?).  Miami has positioned themselves to resign DWade and another superstar (Bosh? LeBron?).

I actually think Cleveland would be better served not playing this 2010 waiting game, but trying to win now.  They have a very good team -- using Wally's expiring contract as a chip for a nice defensive player would help the Cavs win now.

[RebusRankin]

Would you rather play in NY, Miami or Cleveland?

[rondilla]

I have actually spent a good deal of time thinking about this, and it doesn't make me too happy. The Cavs will almost certainly get one really good player in a trade, and could very well get two. The guys who I find especially trouble are in this order.

1. Mike Miller
2. Michael Redd
3. Antawn Jamison
4. Brad Miller

The reason I have Miller slated at the top is that he is the guy who would be the most useful to the Cavs. They would not have to mess with theuir starting lineup at all, as he is a former SMOY, and can play 3 positions for them. The dude is 6'8", a pretty good athlete and a great shooter. They could play big with him at the 2, and small with him at the 3 with LeBron at the 4 (which is what my reasoning revolves around).

Redd would be a huge addition, but he and Mo wouldn't make for much of a defensive backcourt. I think that Rondo and Ray would pummell them, whereas as Delonte actually plays really good defense at the 2 and has been a great fit in Cleveland... which many of here long thought that he would be, even when he played for us. Still Redd is a primetime scorer and a floor spreader.

Jamison is troubling because he is a good rebounder and a good shooter for a guy of his size. They could play him at the 4, keep LeBron at the 3, and give teams fits. They could even go micro with Jamison at the 5 and LeBron at the 4, provided that one of the other two gets picked up. That would not be fun to guard.

Miller is a good shooting vet who can still play. He's also a great passer. I just wonder how he would be used, because Wallace is actually thriving this season as a starter. You really wouldn't want to bring him off of the bench, and he isn't going anywhere.

The problem for us, and everyone else, is that if they picked up two of the top three you could literally surround LeBron with elite shooters at every position at critical moments of games, making it nearly impossible to effectively double team him. He is such a great passer that he would make any team pay for doing so, yet he is such a great score and athlete that stopping him man-up is nearly impossible. They could very well be able to get both Miller and Redd, and that would a very bad thing for us, as it wouldn't mess much with their teamchemistry, especially Miller. Even Miller, alone, would be a major blow to our Title hopes.

[Cman]

I have actually spent a good deal of time thinking about this, and it doesn't make me too happy. The Cavs will almost certainly get one really good player in a trade, and could very well get two. The guys who I find especially trouble are in this order.

1. Mike Miller
2. Michael Redd
3. Antawn Jamison
4. Brad Miller

I agree MM to Cleveland for Wally would be scary for the Cs.  But I don't see it happening.  Mike Miller will be an even more valuable chip next year, and I see the Timberwolves trading Miller along with one of Love, Foye, Brewer for an All Star to pair with Big Al.  At some point the Wolves will need to "trade up" and I think Miller is their key to doing this.

[wdleehi]

I have actually spent a good deal of time thinking about this, and it doesn't make me too happy. The Cavs will almost certainly get one really good player in a trade, and could very well get two. The guys who I find especially trouble are in this order.

1. Mike Miller
2. Michael Redd
3. Antawn Jamison
4. Brad Miller

The reason I have Miller slated at the top is that he is the guy who would be the most useful to the Cavs. They would not have to mess with theuir starting lineup at all, as he is a former SMOY, and can play 3 positions for them. The dude is 6'8", a pretty good athlete and a great shooter. They could play big with him at the 2, and small with him at the 3 with LeBron at the 4 (which is what my reasoning revolves around).

Redd would be a huge addition, but he and Mo wouldn't make for much of a defensive backcourt. I think that Rondo and Ray would pummell them, whereas as Delonte actually plays really good defense at the 2 and has been a great fit in Cleveland... which many of here long thought that he would be, even when he played for us. Still Redd is a primetime scorer and a floor spreader.

Jamison is troubling because he is a good rebounder and a good shooter for a guy of his size. They could play him at the 4, keep LeBron at the 3, and give teams fits. They could even go micro with Jamison at the 5 and LeBron at the 4, provided that one of the other two gets picked up. That would not be fun to guard.

Miller is a good shooting vet who can still play. He's also a great passer. I just wonder how he would be used, because Wallace is actually thriving this season as a starter. You really wouldn't want to bring him off of the bench, and he isn't going anywhere.

The problem for us, and everyone else, is that if they picked up two of the top three you could literally surround LeBron with elite shooters at every position at critical moments of games, making it nearly impossible to effectively double team him. He is such a great passer that he would make any team pay for doing so, yet he is such a great score and athlete that stopping him man-up is nearly impossible. They could very well be able to get both Miller and Redd, and that would a very bad thing for us, as it wouldn't mess much with their teamchemistry, especially Miller. Even Miller, alone, would be a major blow to our Title hopes.

The guy that I worry about is Marion.  Can play SF/PF.  (replaces Joe Smith's outside shooting at PF)  Can defend on a team that is defense first.  Has shown the ability to be a 20 point player without having plays run for him.  And is in a contract year. 

[Cman]

I have actually spent a good deal of time thinking about this, and it doesn't make me too happy. The Cavs will almost certainly get one really good player in a trade, and could very well get two. The guys who I find especially trouble are in this order.

1. Mike Miller
2. Michael Redd
3. Antawn Jamison
4. Brad Miller

The reason I have Miller slated at the top is that he is the guy who would be the most useful to the Cavs. They would not have to mess with theuir starting lineup at all, as he is a former SMOY, and can play 3 positions for them. The dude is 6'8", a pretty good athlete and a great shooter. They could play big with him at the 2, and small with him at the 3 with LeBron at the 4 (which is what my reasoning revolves around).

Redd would be a huge addition, but he and Mo wouldn't make for much of a defensive backcourt. I think that Rondo and Ray would pummell them, whereas as Delonte actually plays really good defense at the 2 and has been a great fit in Cleveland... which many of here long thought that he would be, even when he played for us. Still Redd is a primetime scorer and a floor spreader.

Jamison is troubling because he is a good rebounder and a good shooter for a guy of his size. They could play him at the 4, keep LeBron at the 3, and give teams fits. They could even go micro with Jamison at the 5 and LeBron at the 4, provided that one of the other two gets picked up. That would not be fun to guard.

Miller is a good shooting vet who can still play. He's also a great passer. I just wonder how he would be used, because Wallace is actually thriving this season as a starter. You really wouldn't want to bring him off of the bench, and he isn't going anywhere.

The problem for us, and everyone else, is that if they picked up two of the top three you could literally surround LeBron with elite shooters at every position at critical moments of games, making it nearly impossible to effectively double team him. He is such a great passer that he would make any team pay for doing so, yet he is such a great score and athlete that stopping him man-up is nearly impossible. They could very well be able to get both Miller and Redd, and that would a very bad thing for us, as it wouldn't mess much with their teamchemistry, especially Miller. Even Miller, alone, would be a major blow to our Title hopes.

The guy that I worry about is Marion.  Can play SF/PF.  (replaces Joe Smith's outside shooting at PF)  Can defend on a team that is defense first.  Has shown the ability to be a 20 point player without having plays run for him.  And is in a contract year. 

ooooh good point.  yes that is worrying.
side note: there are some interesting free agents this offseason that might not be able to get as big of a deal as they otherwise would because teams with cap space are holding on to the cap space (AI, Marion, Rasheed Wallace, Ben Gordon, Ron Artest, Lamar Odom) -- also some interesting bench players (Joe Smith, Zaza Pachulia).

[fatherscott]

I wouldn't worry about Marion -- who's to say the Heat won't be in playoff contention? The only way they'll deal Marion is if they see somebody with a longer term deal that they like (maybe like a Kaman), but I don't think they'll do that as Riley has consistently said he's planning around 2010.

Miller is definitely somebody they should go after, and the most logical deal around Szczerbiak, though I guess the question is whether he's that much better than Wally to warrant paying him longer (could they resign Wally next year cheaply? Probably. Though maybe they've burned their MLE).

Another thought is Kirilenko. Simmons mentioned that kind of deal in his preseason NBA column and I like it, though it takes away from this new-look high-offense Cavs team.

[celticmaestro]

I think they'll do something. Depending on how the Bucks are fairing in February Michael Redd is probably first choice. They'll move him for someone who can help right now, Pau Gasol style.

[fatherscott]

I think they'll do something. Depending on how the Bucks are fairing in February Michael Redd is probably first choice. They'll move him for someone who can help right now, Pau Gasol style.

Yeah, the Redd to the Cavs rumors have been around for a while. But would you rather have him at crazy money or Miller at 3 years at reasonable money? They should go for Mike, I think. Redd's really overrated.

[timepiece33]

Would you rather play in NY, Miami or Cleveland?

The guy gets absolutely nothing by moving to NY.  Most players move to that city, so they can increase their endorsement potential.  Lebron is above that.  The only thing that would happen is a worse tax situation for him.

Miami makes sense.  Personally, he will NEED to find a place where he can win and NY seems like the furthest away from that goal. 

[Chris]

Would you rather play in NY, Miami or Cleveland?

The guy gets absolutely nothing by moving to NY.  Most players move to that city, so they can increase their endorsement potential.  Lebron is above that.  The only thing that would happen is a worse tax situation for him.

Miami makes sense.  Personally, he will NEED to find a place where he can win and NY seems like the furthest away from that goal. 

Not according to the rumors.  It has long been rumored that there was a large bonus worked into his shoe contract (I wanna say it was for an extra $50 million, but I don't remember the exact number), that would kick in if he played in LA or NY.

[Edgar]

Would you rather play in NY, Miami or Cleveland?

The guy gets absolutely nothing by moving to NY.  Most players move to that city, so they can increase their endorsement potential.  Lebron is above that.  The only thing that would happen is a worse tax situation for him.

Miami makes sense.  Personally, he will NEED to find a place where he can win and NY seems like the furthest away from that goal. 

Not according to the rumors.  It has long been rumored that there was a large bonus worked into his shoe contract (I wanna say it was for an extra $50 million, but I don't remember the exact number), that would kick in if he played in LA or NY.

just for general culture
i really dont know
how about taxes
is it better not to play in ny???
not questioning u C just asking

[Chris]

Would you rather play in NY, Miami or Cleveland?

The guy gets absolutely nothing by moving to NY.  Most players move to that city, so they can increase their endorsement potential.  Lebron is above that.  The only thing that would happen is a worse tax situation for him.

Miami makes sense.  Personally, he will NEED to find a place where he can win and NY seems like the furthest away from that goal. 

Not according to the rumors.  It has long been rumored that there was a large bonus worked into his shoe contract (I wanna say it was for an extra $50 million, but I don't remember the exact number), that would kick in if he played in LA or NY.

just for general culture
i really dont know
how about taxes
is it better not to play in ny???
not questioning u C just asking

I'm not sure what the taxes are in NY, I was just saying that he absolutely will increase his endorsement potential (reportedly) by playing in NY.