{mosimage}Two weeks ago the Cavs made a blockbuster trade. They brought Ben Wallace, Joe Smith, Wally Szczerbiak, and Delonte West into the mix to shake a stagnant team.

In the two weeks since the trade, the Cavs are 4-2, but the newcomers have had varying impacts on the team. The centerpiece of the deal, Ben Wallace, has provided a badly needed defensive presence down low and has combined with Zydrunas Ilgauskus to provide an excellent offensive rebounding tandem. Big Ben is averaging 7 points and 8 boards so far in his short stint with the Fighting LeBrons. My favorite part about Wallace? The fact that he is a career 42% free throw shooter.

Now, if you're a professional basketball player, your life revolves around that orange sphere. How can you be in the league 10+ years and not have any touch with the thing that makes you $15 million a year? It's mind boggling. He makes Shaq look like Mark Price at the line.

Delonte West has provided good defense at the point guard position, and the more he passes to LeBron, the better his numbers will be. He's averaging over 10 points and 4 assists in his six games as a Cavalier. He's starting to find his shot after a rough start to his Cleveland career. He's a true point guard and should combine with Daniel Gibson to make a nice backcourt tandem when Gibson returns from injury. In his six games in C-town, he's already destroyed two defenders with sick behind the back moves en route to a layup or a dunk. West is a very good depth player who could blossom into a solid starter playing with LeBron. He has surprising leaping ability and can throw down a big dunk or go up over bigger players for a few rebounds a game.

Joe Smith is the most underrated part of this trade for the Cavs. Smith offers Drew Gooden like production with consistency and at a discounted price. Smith lives to hit the 15 foot baseline jumper, and LeBron is one of the best in the league at creating the space he needs to knock it down. He's had plenty of practice hitting wannabe shooting guard Zydrunas Ilgauskus for that same shot his entire career. His numbers are down a bit since coming to Cleveland (9 points, 6 boards a game), but that is to be expected playing with new teammates.

To me, the most important part of this deal was Wally Szczerbiak. Szczerbiak is an Ohio product who is a legend at Miami University. Wally's World is known for his deadeye shooting. Unfortunately, that shooting touch seems to have disappeared since he came to town. For $12 million, I expect better than 38% shooting from a 49% field goal shooter. I know he's adjusting to a new team and just had a baby, but come on Wally. The hoop is still the same height and three pointers are still the same distance away.

Oh ya, you also have LeBron providing you with more wide open jumpers than you've ever seen in your life. So unless your baby is a shooting coach, you better focus on your stroke for the playoff run.The biggest addition in this trade was the subtraction of Larry Hughes. I would have traded Larry for a bag of basketballs, but to get back four rotation guys for him, Drew "pube beard" Gooden, and Donyell "the zero tool player" Marshall should be illegal. It can't be overstated how awful Larry Hughes was. He shoots like Eric Snow, only he puts up about 15 more shots a game. This guy came in as the missing piece, and some are quick to point out that the Cavs went to the Finals last year. That was in spite of Larry Hughes. Having Hughes on offense was like having a sixth defender on the floor. Put the ball in his hands, and even if he passes, it is infected with his suckitude. And to think, all that cost Cleveland was $12 million a year! I wanted to like Larry, and when he would have a couple good games I, like all the other idiot Cavs fans, thought he was finally getting comfortable. But in truth, he was just as bad as ever.

How hard is it to be LeBron's Scottie Pippen? All you have to do is give the ball to King James, let him do what he wants, and when he gets you the open look with nobody on your half of the court, hit the shot. This was too much for Larry to handle. And the best part? The Cavs are so unafraid of his ability to hurt them, they traded him to a division rival that they play four times in the final quarter of the season. Hilarious! Good riddance Larry. Enjoy rotting in Chicago. You managed to hold back a LeBron led team for almost three years. Your contribution to the team was less than nothing. Then again, you've got 30 million reasons not to give a damn.

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Lloyds Apple said:

	Dude-- You had my ass cracking up. Hughes was brought in as a plan B guy when they failed to sign Michael Redd. And yes, it was a waste.
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March 07, 2008
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