More Rumors Of Trades That Will Not Happen
I sometimes feel like with the Cavaliers, the only 3 things to talk about are 1) how terrible Larry Hughes is and how he has literally robbed this franchise of millions upon millions of dollars….it’s to the point that the other day I actually wondered if it was possible for the Cavs to sue Hughes for fraud, 2) how amazing LeBron James is….a subject I never really tire of, and 3) trade rumors for superstar PGs like Jason Kidd and Mike Bibby (ok, not a superstar…but a star) even though we all know the odds of either happening are less than 20%.
Well, in the wake of Jason Kidd’s recent trade demands, we find ourselves, naturally, asking out loud if the Cavs can pull a trade off. Well, we’re not the only ones asking out loud. A certain megastar who plays for the Cavaliers is asking the same question….very much out loud. From Brian Windhorst’s article in the Beacon Journal about this topic,
“Following a workout Tuesday on the Nike campus in Beaverton, Ore., LeBron James barely needed to hear the words Jason Kidd to make it very clear how much he’d like the Cavs to attempt to trade for the New Jersey Nets’ disgruntled guard. And he expects the team’s front office will make it a priority.
”I would love to have a guy like Jason Kidd to be a part of this franchise. I think it makes us that much better of a team,” James said. ”Everyone knows how much I love Jason Kidd, just throughout the summertime (when they played for Team USA). It’s not hard to see how much I’d love to have him as part of the team.
”Honestly, when you see Jason Kidd wants to be traded, you shouldn’t have to go to the front office and tell them to get on it. It’s Jason Kidd.”
Then he was asked if being paired with Kidd could bring a championship to Cleveland.
”Yeah,” James said. ”It’s that easy.””
Well, LeBron may think winning a Championship is that easy, but acquiring Jason Kidd is far from being “that easy”. First of all, forget about the Cavs coming up with a straight up trade with New Jersey. Considering the fact that there’s no way the Cavs are giving up LeBron and under the NBA’s restricted free agent trade rule they can’t trade Varejao, that leaves Gibson, Devin Brown, and Gooden as arguably the only players on this team with any real trade value. Rumor has it that Ferry has said any player is available, but come on, we all know that nobody is excited about the prospect of adding guys like Eric Snow, Larry Hughes, Ira Newble, Donyell Marshall, Damon Jones, or Shannon Brown to their team. The Cavs simply cannot match what other teams can offer. For example, Al Iannazzone of the New Jersey Record has a story about one possible deal for Kidd that is supposedly in the works,
“The Nets are discussing a complicated three-team scenario with the Mavericks and Blazers in which Kidd would go to Dallas, league sources said.
In return, the Nets would get back young players (Jarrett Jack and Travis Outlaw), expiring contracts (Devean George, DeSagana Diop), Jerry Stackhouse, draft picks and cash. More players, including other Nets, would be involved.”
The Cavs have no way of matching that kind of offer on their own, so they will have to try to get a 3rd team involved. But even then, what are the Cavs going to give up? They would clearly have to include Daniel Gibson, which would leave the Cavs with no consistent outside shooting threats. Would winning a Championship then still be “that easy”? I’m not sure about that. Obviously, if it really is, then the Cavaliers should do whatever they can to acquire Kidd. But if adding Kidd doesn’t lead to a Championship, it would be one of the most monumental failures in Cleveland Sports history. It would set the franchise back several years (assuming the Cavs would have to take on long term bad contracts in order to make this deal work), leading to a certain LeBron exit when his contract expires.
You can easily appreciate the situation Danny Ferry finds himself in. It’s not an enviable one. How does one weigh the direction to take this team in when you are currently set for some serious flexibility in a year and a half, but a hall of fame PG is currently demanding a trade and your franchise player is begging you to go get him? Making matters even more difficult, how do you get said hall of fame PG for said franchise player when you have no desirable assets? The future of the Cavaliers franchise? It’s in your hands, Mr. Ferry. Good luck with all that.
[print_link]
