Cavs Acquire Mo Williams; Trade Joe Smith & Amon Ones

[cdt]

I think Mo has worn 25 his entire career, but that number forever belongs to Mark Price in Cavs history. If I had to guess, Mo might go with 23....just kidding. I think he goes with 2, 5, 24, or 26. Of course, he could alway pull a Drew Gooden and go with 52.

26 is my number but I'd be willing to let Mo rock it..

 

[kriegs]

99 like manny

 

[CavsRules]

Been away for four days, come back home, see a million new post and 94 pages on the Cavs landed Mo Williams.. Guessing I should take another four days off, and we come back and get Kobe?

Anyway, since I didn't comment on the deal, nor am I going to read 94 pages from you insane fans.. I'll leave them now.

I love the fact we got Mo, especially for cheap. I will miss Joe Smith though, he brought a good mix of what we needed off the bench in a big, but I think we will be OK without him. Damon really didn't do much, but he was fun to be around with and he was always making somebody laugh. But nonetheless, this is the kinda move Ferry and The Cavs as a whole needed to make. Hopefully Mo has success here, because Lord do we need someone to step up and help James.

Defensively, Mo is getting a lot of praise.. I didn't think he was a good defender, but even if hes good or great, he'll learn a lot with Mike Brown. I'm excited to say the least, anyway..

 

[TJ_4_CV31]

Great move but it won't produce 5 wins?

Typo on my part. The Cavs ARE in 50 win territory again. I have them as the second best team in the east now.

 

[TJ_4_CV31]

I think he meant "you guys are NOW back in 50 win territory" but who knows.

That's EXACTLY what I meant to type. Thank you.

 

[Smooth]

Pluto's take:

Cavaliers' summertime deal most likely a steal
by Terry Pluto
Saturday August 16, 2008, 6:45 PM

Talking to myself about the Cavaliers trade ...

Question: How do you like the Cavs deal?

Answer: They traded a guard who never plays (Damon Jones) and a backup forward (Joe Smith) who is a nice veteran to have for a player in Mo Williams who actually can create his own shot! I've been begging them to get a guy like this for two years.

Q: So you like the deal?

A: Williams is not the perfect player, but he averaged 17 points in each of the last two seasons. I'm not very worried about his defensive problems. I value finding a guy who can take some of the scoring load off LeBron James over a player who can defend. And let's be honest, how good a defender was Larry Hughes here? Or Sasha Pavlovic?

Q: So why would Milwaukee trade him, especially since the Bucks traded for Richard Jefferson and kept Michael Redd supposedly to make the playoffs?

A: Follow the money. The Bucks signed Andrew Bogut to a 5-year, $60 million extension starting in 2009. Next season, they would have had Redd ($17 million), Jefferson ($14 million), Bogut ($10 million), Williams ($8.3 million) and Dan Gadzuric ($6.7 million) on the payroll. They don't want to pay the luxury tax for excessive spending, so someone had to go. Milwaukee also picked up point guard Luke Ridnour ($13 million over two years), whom they see a cheaper alternative to Williams.

Q: What about the Cavs' budget?

A: Last season, they paid $14 million in luxury tax. Only Dallas and New York ($19 million) paid more. Right now, the Cavs have the second highest payroll in the league at over $80 million. Teams over $68 million had to pay the luxury tax, and Milwaukee is not willing to go there. Dan Gilbert just keeps writing checks.

Q: I thought the mortgage business was in trouble?

A: I repeat, Gilbert keeps writing checks. Danny Ferry and Mike Brown have told me that never once has Gilbert said, "We can't afford that." He doesn't want to throw money in a sewer, but he wants to win, and win big. He knows what is at stake when it comes to making this a team where James will want to play when his contract expires in 2010.

Q: Isn't Williams overpaid?

A: That's some question in a league where the average salary is over $5 million. He has five years and $44 million left on the deal. He makes $8.3 million this season. After that, it's $8.8, $9.3, $8.5 and a player option for $8.5 million. He averaged 17 points, 6.0 assists and shot 48 percent. He's not a great outside shooter, but he puts the ball in the basket -- and his contract is worth much less than the Larry Hughes deal.

Q: Wait a minute, Williams is not a true point guard. He sounds a little like Hughes, and what makes you think he will be any better?

A: The pressure is on Mike Brown -- and a lesser extent, James -- to make sure it works. Brown has to design an offense to help Williams. James has to sometimes share the ball and trust his new teammate. It can't be all LeBron, all the time, especially at the end of every quarter and every game.

Q: But Hughes said he couldn't fit with the offense...

A: He averaged the same 12 points and shot the same miserable 37 percent after being traded to Chicago as he did with the Cavs. It wasn't all Mike Brown. If one move doesn't work, should you just quit? Don't try to get someone else? I give Gilbert/Ferry credit for staying aggressive.

Q: What does is the mean to Delonte West?

A: More importantly, the Cavs just got a point guard better than West. I expect West to sign a one-year qualifying offer ($2.7 million) and become an unrestricted free agent next summer. I like what the deal does for Daniel Gibson and Wally Szczerbiak, two stand-still shooters who can benefit from James and Williams drawing defensive attention -- allowing them to be open.

Q: Who would you start in the backcourt?

A: I've heard whispers about Williams and West. I'd start Williams and Szczerbiak, with Gibson as my third guard. Then Mike Brown can pick from Sasha Pavlovic or West to come off the bench. If the Williams/Wally backcourt is weak defensively, you can change and play West or someone else.

Q: Will they miss Joe Smith?

A: Yes, and that means Ben Wallace and have to play more and play better. There's reason for optimism about power forward J.J. Hickson, but he's still a rookie. Supposedly, Anderson Varejao was happy about the deal because it means more minutes for him. But trading Smith and Jones for Williams? It just made the summer so much better for Cavs fans.

http://www.cleveland.com/pluto/blog/index.ssf/2008/08/cavaliers_summertime_deal_most.html

 

[Shakalu M.D.]

I disagree with Pluto when he mentioned the D of Hughes and Pavs. They both played good D here, I also disagree with starting Wally. We should give Sasha the nod if he is back to form in training camp as his D will be essential. Other than that I pretty much agree with everything he said.

 

[CavsRules]

I disagree with Pluto when he mentioned the D of Hughes and Pavs. They both played good D here, I also disagree with starting Wally. We should give Sasha the nod if he is back to form in training camp as his D will be essential. Other than that I pretty much agree with everything he said.

If we can reach terms with Delonte.. I don't see whats wrong with putting Mo at the shooting guard spot. Plus, I don't think we are done.. I doubt Wally is in our future plans, his 13M ending deal is to much to pass up on.

 

[Shakalu M.D.]

If we can reach terms with Delonte.. I don't see whats wrong with putting Mo at the shooting guard spot. Plus, I don't think we are done.. I doubt Wally is in our future plans, his 13M ending deal is to much to pass up on.

I doubt Wally is in our long term future plans, but I think he'll be here up until the deadline.

 

[KU_216]

If we can reach terms with Delonte.. I don't see whats wrong with putting Mo at the shooting guard spot. Plus, I don't think we are done.. I doubt Wally is in our future plans, his 13M ending deal is to much to pass up on.

Delonte is about three inches taller then Mo, and plays better defense. Doesn't matter though. If we do end up starting West and Mo in the backcourt, we could have Delonte run point on offense, freeing up Mo to score more, and then we can just have Delonte play SG on defense, while Mo covers the PG spot. If we keep Delonte, then we'll have three players who all can bring the ball up court, and set the offense up. That's something I don't think we've ever had since LeBron's been here.

 

[Smooth]

Looks like Ferry did the right thing, in this case:

A source said the Cavs could have gotten forward/center Dan Gadzuric from the Bucks in the Williams deal, but declined.

http://www.news-herald.com/articles/2008/08/17/sports/doc48a7ba2652b8a832030630.txt

Then this was interesting:

Swingman Adrian Griffin has been involved in the last two major trades the Cavs have pulled off. He went from Chicago to Seattle in the Feb. 21 blockbuster that brought Ben Wallace, Smith, Szczerbiak and West to the Cavs. Then, Smith and Jones were traded in the Williams deal on Wednesday. To make the trade work, Griffin was sent from Oklahoma City (formerly Seattle) to Milwaukee.

http://www.news-herald.com/articles/2008/08/17/sports/doc48a7ba2652b8a832030630.txt

 

[Pioneer10]

Looking thru Mo's numbers they all look pretty good: his TS% is good (including FT and 3 pts), has a high assist ratio with low TO ratio for a PG. The thing that looks that separates him from being a really elite level guard is that he just doesn't get to the line very often (his FT/FG ratio was only 18). He seemed to penetrate quite a bit against us when we played the Bucks but it looks like to get to the next level he's going to have to figure out how to draw contact instead of settling for jumpers.

 

[PIP]

Ferry could have gotten Gadz in a trade huh ??? mg:

Well I'm just glad to know Ferry wore a condom while he was trading.. Thus not being able to contract the Gadz virus..

Practicing safe trading is very important..

 

[Gordon Bombay]

itd be so huge for mo to average 19/7 (or more ray next season - and thats not really out of the question considering the success he had last season

 

[Randolphkeys]

I doubt Wally is in our long term future plans, but I think he'll be here up until the deadline.

Never say never. He has been working out with the assistant coaches in Cleveland all summer and reportedly loves it here. If and (in all honesty) when he is traded at the deadline, he will be a salary dump for a tream that is rebuilding and shedding a long contract. Just like Ratliff, Donyell, Brent Barry, and many other respected vets with expiring deals, he could be granted his release immediately and end up on a contender at the end of the year. If we treat him right and he feels like he has a role here, we might just get him back for the playoffs.

I like Delonte's perimeter defense and brains at SG, but he can't defend shooting guards and small forwards with size. Wally has the size and hoops IQ, but doesn't have Delonte's foot speed. The Cavs could certainly platoon Wally and Delonte at shooting guard depending on matchups.