Cavs Still Doing Their Best Not to Help LeBron

For a second I thought I was reading Dan Shanoff.

Seems to me that early last season West was a third string point guard for one of the worst teams in the NBA.

It’s possible that players play themselves into better or worse (see: Iguodala, Andre) contracts based on their performance in the playoffs. But it is also possible that the Cavs don’t want to bloat their payroll with another heavy contract for a player who might not perform as well as advertised (see: Marshall, Donyell; Jones, Damon; Hughes, Laura) and could be upgraded with nearly $30M in expiring contracts (see Szczerbiak, Wally ($13M); Snow, Eric ($7M); Smith, Joe ($5M); Jones, Damon ($4.5M)) before the trade deadline.

Shoals, I normally love your insight, but you’ve just missed the mark entirely here. Everyone (yourself included) seems to complain that the Cavs have surrounded LBJ with role players and no legit second star. What is D-West? A role player. I mostly liked how he played last year, but his shooting and ball handling are incredibly inconsistent. And this whole ‘he should get starters money’ thing is ridiculous. West was a starting point guard (kinda; more like a combo guard) on a team that had…um…Eric Snow…oh wait, he was hurt…as their backup. Gibson battled injuries most of the year, but when he played shot 44% from 3-point. Boobie may not handle the rock as well as West, but he’s a better shooter and a far more consistent player; he also destroyed the Pistons in the 2006 East Finals.

West could be a great fit with a team in need of backcourt depth; at PG, he’s a spot starter at best. Like jkads said, the Cavs are far better off letting West go and stocking assets to bring in a true #2 scorer. West simply doesn’t fit in with this plan.

Confession: I think West still hasn’t quite found himself as a player, and could if given a stable role. Don’t forget, he was jerked around in Boston and then on a non-team in Seattle. As for the contract, he’s not even necessarily asking for the full MLE. He can handle the ball, create his own shot, has some PG instincts, and provides some movement in the offense other than LeBron. Boobie is a great pure shooter, but it’s not like he’s Reggie Miller, or fills as many holes as Delonte. What’s more (this is for the numbers dude) look at the rest of the article: Is Louis Williams really a better option than West, if the contracts are only like a million apart per year? Also, I know that the Cavs have some cap room next summer, but they can use a little bit of it. $30 million coming off the book, and they can’t spare $5 million for a player who clearly works well with this team? IF NOT NOW, WHEN? Summer 2010?

I think he belongs in Russia with those tattoos anyway..

Delonte is a nice player. I think with some consistent minutes he could prove to a valuable asset. And unless they are going after Barbosa, Jason Terry, Jamal Tinsley, or Marbury, what other PG’s are out there? The Cavs have to understand that salary inflation happens sometimes and so what we all see as overpaying has clearly become a trend. This is what happens when you give scrubs large contracts. The Cavs are just as guilty as the Knicks in doing this. I think at this point, the Cavs would be in a good position to make a trade at the deadline. But will they pull the trigger? And who will they trade for? This hasn’t been the strength of this organization so I’m almost afraid for them to try to make a deal midseason (see 2007-2008 Ben Wallace, Szerbiak, and Joe Smith???)