Michael Reghi: Cavaliers still covet Gerald Wallace

[Mr2400]

http://www.charlotteobserver.com/bobcats/story/465253.html

"Brown wasn't so complimentary toward Wallace, who didn't play after leaving the game with just under nine minutes left in the third quarter and the Bobcats down eight. Wallace totaled 20 minutes, finishing with five rebounds, one assists, no points and no shot attempts.

“I didn't think he had any energy,” Brown said of Wallace. “I didn't think he was running. When Adam (Morrison, 11 points and three assists) came in, he gave us a lot of energy.”

Wallace said he was “very surprised” by the benching: “I was never told why he took me out.”

Told Brown said it was about energy, Wallace replied, “Everybody has their own opinion. I guess he felt I wasn't playing up to par.”

please let this get blown out of proportion between brown and wallace so he demands a trade

 

[Thunder]

please let this get blown out of proportion between brown and wallace so he demands and trade

Who knows if G-Wall would be a good fit then, he might complain here too if that happened. Let's hope he sits quiet instead and plays his heart out no matter what and is still traded.

 

[MDLT]

I agree with Maximus...Wallace's maturity is something to be concerned about. It's been the knock on him throughout his time in the NBA. I'm not saying I'm opposed to bringing him in, just that its a red flag, esp. if you're gonna be stuck with that contract.

 

["MVP"]

Sorry if this was already posted...

Making a case for Gerald Wallace
By Dan Labbe

Not too long ago (well, it's been a while since I've posted, so I guess it was a while ago) I wrote about a certain Charlotte Bobcat the Cavaliers should target with Wally Szczerbiak's contract. Since then that Bobcat has become a Phoenix Sun and is off my radar.
But, much like Michael Redd, I was eyeballing the right team but the wrong player all along. Of all the players I'm trying to convince myself about, the one that makes the most sense is Gerald Wallace.

When I look at Gerald Wallace, I think Cavaliers. He's exactly the type of player Danny Ferry loves. He's athletic. He's versatile. He plays defense.

He's Larry Hughes if Larry Hughes were good at basketball.

There are so many question marks with the names being thrown around in regards to the Cavaliers. Brad Miller's nice, but are you going to use your best trade asset in years to get a fourth big man? Vince Carter's tempting, but he's expensive and on the wrong side of 30. Plus, he's not exactly known for his winning attitude. Mike Miller is intriguing, but his numbers are down this year and I just don't think he's right for the Cavaliers.

When I look at this team, I still think they could use a player that can get to the basket and score consistently. I'll get to that in a minute. Just know that adding Gerald Wallace does a number of things.

First, your defense is significantly better. Not only does Wallace add size to the backcourt, he allows Delonte West to come off the bench, which upgrades that unit defensively. Remember when LeBron James went to the bench in the fourth quarter against Boston and Paul Pierce suddenly found his game against Szczerbiak? That doesn't happen if Mike Brown has the option of using Gerald Wallace instead.

Second, it gives the Cavaliers another player that can attack the rim. That's the problem with the second unit right now (and I'm referring to the group when LeBron is on the bench and Mo Williams is on the floor). Williams can penetrate, but a guy who's 6'1" can only do so much. With Wallace, Mike Brown could realistically pull LeBron James and Mo Williams together and let Wallace run at the three with Daniel Gibson and West.

Gerald Wallace makes the Cavaliers better on both ends and makes them more versatile. That's the type of player the Cavaliers need with Wally's contract.

There's a downside, though. Wallace has had his injury problems. He played just 55 games in '05-'06 and just 62 last year. He's started 34 of the Bobcats' 38 games this season, though. In reality, his record is no less spotty than that of Mo Williams.

He's also not a particularly strong three-point shooter. He's never shot higher than 32% and is at 25% this season. Still, his career field goal percentage is 47%. He's at 46% this year and hasn't shot below 44% since '03-'04. Of his 388 field goal attempts this season, only 16% have been three-point attempts. In other words, he's not exactly a gunner. (By the way, Wally Szczerbiak is shooting 32% on threes this season, and 42% of his shots have come from behind the three-point line.)

Then there's that contract. It runs through 2011 at around $10 million per year. (He makes $8.2 million this year, however.) That would give the Cavaliers six players under contract (assuming they pick up JJ Hickson's option) at $20.3 million in 2010. LeBron James would come in at about $20 million. Anderson Varejao will likely opt out this offseason and could be in the $8-10 million range if the Cavaliers re-sign him. That could leave the Cavaliers with about $10-20 million to fill out their roster. In other words, Gerald Wallace becomes the major acquisition with all that cap money in 2010.

(Note: The Cavaliers have LeBron James' "Bird rights," meaning they can go over the cap to sign him. However, a team's free agents count against the team's cap. In other words, even if he doesn't officially sign, LeBron's salary is still counted on the cap unless he signs with another team.)

Also, Szczerbiak's and Wallace's salaries don't match. So you're going to have to do the Bobcats a favor and take a big contract back. Nazr Mohammed, anyone? An expiring deal doesn't perform miracles for the Bobcats, but you take $15 million of that payroll for them and they might be on to something.

My opinion: Gerald Wallace makes the Cavs better. I picked the Cavs to win the title back in September and Wallace only solidifies that pick. Win a title this year and next, and you don't need a big free agent signing in 2010 to convince LeBron to stay. Plus, you'll still have that core of Wallace, Williams and LeBron, none of whom will even be 30 yet.

Of course, actually making the deal happen is another story.

SOURCE

He makes good points, and seems to know a lot about Gerald.

 

[Maximus]

He's Larry Hughes if Larry Hughes were good at basketball.

Perhaps the worse sales pitch ever. :chuckles:

 

[abuC]

Perhaps the worse sales pitch ever. :chuckles:

LOL, true, but Hughes really wouldnt be that bad on the Cavs right now, if he were smart enough not to take bad shots and wasnt always injured.

 

[sam_slam911]

As I keep sayin, he would make us dangerous as hell on both sides of the floor. No attitude risks or style clashes. Even the 3 opint shooting (which isnt actually as bad as the stats say seeing as though most of his3s are contested) dont matter since he provide another bull going to the rim.

Only risk is the injuries, which Id love to say would go down considerably playing on a contender where hes the 2nd or 3rd or sometimes 4th option, but noone can guarantee that.

Whereas someone like Mike Miller or Brad Miller just gives us a bit more depth.

Only thing I disagree with in that article is the fact that hed start. Id be willing to bet hed come off the bench. Heard Windhorst say that before too I think.

 

[Mr2400]

the writer of that article thinks wallace would start at the 2 for the cavs? i must strongly disagree. west and his shooting spread the floor properly for lebron. if you insert wallace into that spot, the driving lanes and paint will just be too crowded and Mo would be the only 3 point shooter on the floor for the cavs. If anything, wallace would come off the bench and help keep the offense going in the second unit as well as play defense on a lot of perimeter guys that can take advantage of Delonte (Kobe, Carter, Johnson, McGrady, etc.). Starting him would be a mistake. Obtaining him would not be

 

[lem_baccin]

I think G-Force doesn't need to be able to shoot threes if he's on the floor with a second unit of West and Boobie. Drive and dish, baby! :chuckles:

 

[Zone]

LOL, true, but Hughes really wouldnt be that bad on the Cavs right now, if he were smart enough not to take bad shots and wasnt always injured.

don't forget about the part that we'd also need Hughes to care about winning, make $35 per season and to not b!tch to the media about how he needed to get his numbers...

but outside of that, he'd be awesome :chuckles:

 

[Chris]

I'm a huge advocate of getting this guy, even if he has attitude issues. Everyone told us Mo Williams was a chucker with attitude problems before he came here and now he's a model citizen and the heart of our team and a fan favorite.

 

[Sir Charles Barkley]

I'm a huge advocate of getting this guy, even if he has attitude issues. Everyone told us Mo Williams was a chucker with attitude problems before he came here and now he's a model citizen and the heart of our team and a fan favorite.

Yeah i remember all the bucks fans saying that stuff...Makes them look dumb now.

 

[Chris]

Yeah i remember all the bucks fans saying that stuff...Makes them look dumb now.

What do you expect? They're Bucks fans. :thumbdown

 

[Mr2400]

I think G-Force doesn't need to be able to shoot threes if he's on the floor with a second unit of West and Boobie. Drive and dish, baby! :chuckles:

i agree, which is part of the reason why he shouldn't start if he does go to cleveland.

 

[Rimage]

I don't think we take West out of the starting lineup if Wallace is acquired. Our starting five has been great all year. I don't care about the Wallace/L. Brown drama. Brown is infamous for alienating his players. He has long track record of handling situation terribly. Our Brown is a diplomat and Wallace is a hard worker. There won't be any issue between the two.

As far as G. Wallace's injury history, most of that has been concussions (acquired by playing TOO hard). Doctors have said if he suffers another suffer head injury, he shouldn't play anymore...which is basically saying he isn't medically able to play unless, in which the man comes off the books.

My case for Wallace is pretty simple. We don't have another overpowering slasher on this team past Lebron. Wallace drives hard and throws down hard. With the way Lebron is playing D, you bring Wallace in and you can where the other teams stars out. There is very little drop off. What Pierce and Posey were able to do to Lebron last year...Lebron and Wallace could do that to Kobe. Plus with our defensive bigs and our solid defensive scheme.....whew....tough as fuggin' nails.