Empty the Bench

And just when we thought the deadline would slip by with nary one big, last-minute maneuver, boom goes the dynamite. And we were right — damn right– for taking the over on Hardwood Paroxysm’s over/under of 2.5 on number of total trades today. And we’re happy to welcome John from the Cleveland Cavaliers’ blog Fear The Sword, who has contributed his thoughts on “the big one” from a Cavs’ perspective — please be sure to read what he has to say after the jump.

The Headline Deal: Ben Wallace to Now Age in Cleveland

Cleveland Gets: C Ben Wallace, F/C Joe Smith, G Delonte West, F Wally Szczerbiak
Chicago Gets: G Larry Hughes, F Drew Gooden, G Shannon Brown, F Cedric Simmons
Seattle Gets: Expiring Contracts (F Ira Newble, F Donyell Marshall, G/F Adrian Griffin)

In almost completely retooling the top of their roster, the Cavs surround LeBron with two new perimeter threats and two new interior presences. The big name here is Big Ben Wallace, who is in the midst of a steep decline in productivity. He’s in single-digits for rebounds and under 2 blocks per game for the first time since 1999-00, when he was with Orlando. In addition to the stats trending downward, he’ll never be the man-defender that he was in Detroit, but Wallace still has a little left in the tank. He can get after loose balls, rebound and play some solid help defense. And maybe leaving that trainwreck in Chicago will rekindle his hard-working spirit.

I think Ben pairs well with the smooth jump-shooting game of Zydrunas Ilgauskas. Big Z is a scoring center who is below average in other facets of the game, while Ben can’t score but does the other things well. At the very least, these two should provide a competent interior for LeBron that can handle most Eastern Conference frontcourts. Joe Smith will be the first one off the bench now, and he’s a hybrid of these two. Not a great defender or rebounder, but not atrocious either. Not a great scorer, but capable of 20-point games here and there. He’s a vet with limited upside who should be steady off the bench.

The Cavs have been starved for a real point guard for years, and now the Larry Hughes-as-point experiment mercifully comes to an end. His 2.4/1.8 assist-to-turnover ratio was eye-gougingly bad. Initial reports had Chris Duhon going to Cleveland, which made a lot of sense since he’s a pure point who plays solid defense, doesn’t shoot a lot and can knock down outside shots. Instead they got Delonte West, a guy with less experience and more upside. And while he isn’t a pure point either, he’s a step in the right direction. Delonte is much more comfortable running an offense, taking care of the ball and being unselfish. West is an ETB guy: we like his toughness, defense and productivity. It was just two years ago in Boston that West posted the impressive line of 12 points, 4.6 assists, 4.1 rebounds, 1.2 steals, 1.2 threes, 0.7 blocks and just 1.9 TOs on 48.7% FGs and 85.2% FTs. That’s what you call a clean, efficient line. If he can reproduce or even improve upon that, Cleveland’s offense will run much more smoothly and LeBron will be freed up to attack the basket more.

The other piece headed to Cleveland is local basketball hero Wally Szczerbiak, a proven outside threat. Like West, Wally is an efficient scorer who won’t pound the rock, but will knock down the open jumpers as they come. He’s struggled with health and poor teammates in recent seasons, but Wally World was an All Star in 2002 and a consistent 50% FGs, 43% threes, 85% FTs guy during his tenure in Minnesota.

We don’t want to sugarcoat it though: Wally is a defensive liability with poor court vision. But he can score. He can help this team, especially late in games when Cleveland is playing from behind (which seems often) or whenever teams decide to collapse on LeBron’s penetration. Who would you rather dish to for an open three: Szczerbiak or Hughes? He’s also the only player in the league I can think of whose last name starts with four consonants.

Bottom Line: Cleveland improved, but with so many new pieces it remains to be seen how they will gel this season.

More thoughts on The Headline Deal, as well as on a smattering of Minor Deals, after the break…

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Say what you will about spoiled, overpaid athletes. The fact of the matter is that these multi-millionaires put butts in seats, eyeballs on TVs, sell jerseys and generate millions more for their franchises than they take in.

Well, at least some of them do. Not these guys though.

No, these kings of overcompensation, these princes of pauperis production, these monuments of wastefulness, they derive their value in another way: you don’t have to pay them the following season. You get to wash your hands clean of them and use that cap space the following offseason to overpay another potential slob who may or may not earn his keep. And the circle of life continues…

And so, with an eye towards next season’s trade-deadline honchos, a look at ten of 2008/2009′s most valuable expiring contracts.

- Introduction by Andrew Thell

Stephon Marbury, PG, New York Knicks – $22 million

And there you have it, Sir Starbury–you’re finally the top dog. The best. The Most Valuable… Expiring Contract of the 2008/2009 NBA season. Everybody is going to want you, Starbury, and everyone’s going to be talking about you and how much they’d love to have you. A lot of people probably think you’ll be bought out by your current employers this summer, that your days as a Knickerbocker are over. But you and I both know something about Isiah, don’t we? We know he rarely makes smart personnel decisions or thinks about team chemistry, and that of course you’ll be back at MSG for at least a few months in the fall.

And as each painful game melts into another, the crowd will chant, chant, chant your name as the trade deadline approaches. “Trade Starrrrr-burrrrrry!” “Trade Starrrrrr-burrrrrry!,” they’ll shout, the impassioned plea reverberating through all corners of the NBA’s premier Den of Sin. And you’ll be the most popular guy in town, Starbury, just like you always wanted to be. Of course, it won’t happen until you and your $22 million contract “come off the books,” as they say, allowing Zeke to re-dedicate that allotment to a young, promising big who can score on the blocks but just needs to work on his 15-foot jumper, his man/help defense, his rebounding, his conditioning, and his teamwork. Oh, the places you will go, Starbury… the places you will go.

Raef Lafrentz, C, Portland Trail Blazers – $12.7 million

In case you were wondering why the young, up-and-coming Blazers are still holding onto the aging, down-and-out Lafrentz, scratch your head no longer: he’s the $12.7 Million Man next season, which also makes him the team’s top earner and most valuable trade asset. It now seems like a distant memory, but Lafrentz was actually the third-overall pick out of Kansas back in 1998 — the top 15 picks also included such memorable greats as Michael Olowokandi, Robert Traylor, Michael Doleac, and Michael Dickerson — and was a solid, if unspectacular contributor until he came to Portland in ’06. Now, he’s simply next season’s Theo Ratliff. And ya know, he’s kind of always been my favorite “Raef.” I’ve heard good things about Dr. Raef H. Hajj Ali of Butler, Pennsylvania, not to mention Dr. Raef M. Elsanadi of Dana Point, California, but let’s be honest: I’ll always side with the loping 6-11 Iowan. Always.

The Great Eight of Expiring NBA Contracts will be revealed after the jump…

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And your charge-taking tactics don’t work in there…

Minnesota pulled off a big win against the red-hot 76ers this evening (five consecutive wins heading into the game), and in that broadcast you might have noticed Randy Foye got his first start of the season. Foye went into the break strong with 18 points, 3 boards, 3 assists, 4 threes and 1 steal in 28 minutes in his last game. In his first start tonight Randy managed 13 points and 5 assists in a season-high 33 minutes. He started with Sebastian Telfair and proved that the two can certainly co-exist in that backcourt. As much as it pains me to admit it, Bassy Telfair is playing pretty good basketball. He’s become a penetrator and facilitator (6.0 assists and just 1.8 TOs on the season), and he’ll be even more effective when he stops forcing his own offense (just 39.3% FGs on 9.6 attempts, while hitting only 25.5% three-pointers). I think it’s clear at this point that Rashad McCants is going to be best used as a 6th man who comes in as instant offense off the bench. McCants still managed nearly 30 minutes tonight and put up a strong 20 points, 5 assists and 3 threes.

This has nothing to do with basketball, but Antoine Walker just embodies the term “Turtle Head.” First, when he retires I expect him to don his turtle shell again and live out his days in a pond. So he looks like a turtle in that way. Second, his head looks like what I’m articulating when I use the euphamism, “I have a turtle head poking out.”

The Trade Mill Grinds On:

The Ron Artest-to-Denver rumors persist, and we at ETB are really hoping there’s some substance to them. According to Johnny Ludden and Adrian Wojnarowski of Yahoo!, after the Kidd deal:

Sacramento Kings forward Ron Artest becomes the NBA’s next big target of interest. Two league sources said Sunday that the Denver Nuggets were in “full pursuit” of Artest and discussing a package involving Linas Kleiza, Eduardo Najera and a first-round pick.

“Denver is the team that needs to do something,” said one West executive. “With everyone loading up, they’re going to have a tough time getting out of the first round.”

Allen Iverson is a great player, but he can’t guard the great SGs and swingmen in the West. While he’s still a pirate in the passing lanes, Iverson is no longer the man defender he once was. Given his stature, AI is also more comfortable guarding points than two guards. Ron Artest is a big, physical defender who can man up against anybody from twos to fours in the West. He can rattle cages, get into stars’ heads and even throw players like Kobe off their games. He would bring a toughness and intensity to the Nuggs that has been lacking. Ron Ron is a talented offensive player as well, especially when he forgoes the three-point shooting and grinds in the post. Artest has indicated that he intends to opt out this summer, so despite what he might say about wanting to stay, Sacramento needs to move him now while they can get value in return.

The holdup here is 2005 first-round pick Linas Kleiza, who has come on strong and proved to be a capable defender and strong scorer in transition. He fits in with Denver, but he isn’t an impact player just yet and Artest is. If The Nuggets are serious about this season, or winning with Iverson at all, they need to make a move and Ron Ron makes a ton of sense.

More rampant trade speculation after the jump…

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We’re not going to spend too much more time on the latest (actually successful) iteration of the Jason Kidd-to-Dallas trade that went down today because we already broke down the earlier, very similar version over the weekend. Check in there for a more detailed analysis. We talked a lot about why we like the move for Jersey and aren’t huge fans of the Mavs’ end. We will say this version is better for Dallas. Even if they are dishing out about $11 million more, they retain Devean George and Jerry Stackhouse. While neither is an impact player, they’re both serviceable bodies, something Dallas is going to be short of going forward.

We also talked about the fact that Devin Harris is being overlooked and that he could be as good as Jason Kidd in a year or two, and that’s become common sentiment around the intra web. What I don’t get in all these discussions is how people can keep talking about the two first-round picks and DeSagana Diop as afterthoughts. First-round picks are valuable commodities, and I don’t care if they’re in the latter stages of the round. Good players can always be found in the first round. Dallas currently has the 24th pick in the draft. In the 2005-07 drafts alone the following players were selected at or below the 24th pick: Monta Ellis, Craig Smith, Daniel Gibson, Paul Millsap, Jason Maxiell, Linas Kleiza, David Lee, Ronny Turiaf, Kyle Lowry, Jordan Farmar, Andray Blatche, Ryan Gomes, Arron Afflalo, Glen Davis, Brandon Bass, and Louis Williams. There is always talent available late in the first round, and first-round picks also have considerable trade value.

Those of you in fantasy leagues will want to make sure Erick Dampier is on a roster because Dallas will be riding him. Hard. They really don’t have much of a choice at this point, because Diop was the only other player on their roster who can keep up with legit centers for any length of time. The Damp Man has never been known for prolonged stretches of effort and/or health though, and relying so heavily on him seems like a risky proposition to me, especially in a revamped West loaded with post players. If injury doesn’t strike, foul trouble will. Often. The bold prediction here is a foot injury for Dampier after a few weeks of 30+ minute efforts, followed by another crushing close to the season for the Mavs. In any event, there’s no question Dallas is going to miss Diop in the playoffs. They’ll miss his interior defense, his minutes and his six fouls.

More scathing trade analysis, baseless Vince Carter speculation and shameless Peter Vecsey bashing after the jump…

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- Here’s an idea: let’s do away with the silly “Shooting Stars” and “Skills Challenge” during NBA All-Star Weekend, and instead roll the highlight-reel heavy Freshman/Sophomore Game into the Saturday night festivities. Lead the evening’s telecast with the Three-Point Shootout, follow with the Slam Dunk Competition, and then let the youngsters run wild. See, I almost missed out on what was likely the best all-around dunk contest in the last decade–anybody who tunes into the Shooting Stars thing cannot realistically be expected to stay awake for another 2 hours until the main event. It’s dull, boring, slightly depressing, and a great way to cure insomnia (let’s please not make anyone watch Eddie Johnson or BJ Armstrong shoot in a televised event ever again). As for the Skills Challenge… meh. Three-point shootout? Eh.

Thankfully, Dwight Howard and Gerald Green were on hand to save All-Star Saturday from itself by putting on one helluva show. Both brandished their insane leaping abilities, creativity, and showmanship (though Green is clearly a bit rougher around the edges in the spotlight). Last year’s dunk champ didn’t disappoint, first pulling off The Birthday Cake then later rocking the rim with a between-the-legs throwdown without shoes on. That last one hasn’t gotten enough credit because it followed Howard’s now-infamous Superman Dunk, theatrics that have instantly put this kid on the fast track to becoming a household name. And don’t tell me “yeah, but it wasn’t a dunk”–dude threw the ball into the basket, and he did it with more force than many players will ever get on a “proper dunk.”

It’s just too bad TNT didn’t televise his warm-up dunk, which is pictured above. In this one, Howard stood at one end of the court, picked up that Orlando Magic dancer, and threw her like a football to the other basket to throw the rock down in his name. It was really something.

- So, the Atlanta Hawks have finally acquired a legitimate point guard to run the show. Good for them, good for Joe Johnson, and good for head coach Mike Woodson. We’ve been touting the run-and-gun Hawks as a team to watch all season long (and Andrew will emphatically tell anyone within earshot that he’s been on the bandwagon for years now), and this move should–should–ensure they make it into the playoffs. After all, we all know how much of a dud the Eastern Conference is once you get past the Pistons, Celtics, Cavaliers, and Magic. You know it and I know it and I probably don’t need any kind of rehash or proof as to the “dudness” in the East, but here’s a little perspective anyway: at 23-30, the New Jersey Nets are currently clinging to the East’s 7th seed. Meanwhile, in the West, the Denver Nuggets went into the All-Star break with a respectable 32-20 record… which is good for a pat on the back and a spot in the lottery. Yep, if the season were to end today, the Nuggs would be left on the outside looking in, sitting at 9th overall in the West.

Anyway, the Hawks–they’re already pretty fun to watch on most nights, and with Mike Bibby in the fold they should be even moreso now. Johnson can now exclusively slide back into his natural shooting guard role and focus on what he does best: score. Bibby’s arrival should also do wonders for Johnson’s mental focus, as in recent months the first-time All Star sounded fatigued and worn down by the rigors of playing for a team that’s been rebuilding since the day Dominique Wilkins left town. And Coach Woodson now has the talent to get this team into the postseason. Right or wrong, he’s faced a lot of criticism during his tenure with Atlanta, and now’s his time to prove he can make it work. Or else.

- Speaking of the Nets, they really scored on the Jason Kidd deal, despite coming to the table with little to no bargaining power on their side. Forget about the spare parts (Trenton Hassell, Maurice Ager, and to a degree Desagna Diop)–this was all about landing one of the best young points in the league that doesn’t get much press, Devin Harris, as well as two future first-round picks and about $3 million in a large, unmarked manila envelope. The Nets were clearly going nowhere with a disgruntled superstar who’ll turn 35 years old in about a month, and were certainly not going to make anything more than a whimper in the playoffs if they somehow got in. By acquiring Harris and some picks, they’ve now publicly acknowledged what many of have been waiting for: it’s time to rebuild.

Sadly, the ludicrous contract they gifted upon Wince Carter last summer will clog those efforts–he’s owed a ridiculous $66.8 million over the next four seasons!!–unless they’re able to find a foolhardy trade partner who’s searching for a mediocre volume scorer (with a significant history of injuries) who plays with passion during 1 of every 8 games. And Richard “Peanut” Jefferson is still under contract for another three seasons and roughly $42 million at the conclusion of this campaign. In our view, Harris, Josh Boone, and Sean Williams are all keepers–the rest of the roster needs to be purged, Lost style. Hey, sounds bleak, but they still have a few years until the move to Brooklyn… and should have the cap space to lure someone named LeBron James.

News and views on Darko Milicic, the Philadelphia 76ers, and more after the jump…

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Including Gerald Green’s infamous Birthday Cake Dunk and Dwight’s Superman heroics…

The hits just keep on coming in one of the busiest NBA trade seasons in years. Atlanta and Sacramento have agreed to a trade that will send Mike Bibby to the Hawks for young big man Shelden Williams and the expiring contracts of Lorenzen Wright, Anthony Johnson and Tyronn Lue. While the swap is still pending league approval, it should go into effect immediately after the All Star break. ETB breaks it down from both sides…

Mike Bibby Photo Credit: Icon SMI

Sac Town Salary Dump:

Sacramento is a team in transition that will be looking to build around a trio of talented swingmen in Kevin Martin, John Salmons and Francisco Garcia in the coming seasons. Mike Bibby has been injured and in decline the last two years, and at 29-years-old he simply didn’t fit into the Kings’ plans any longer. They do acquire an interesting young big man in Shelden Williams, but this trade is all about dumping Bibby’s $14.5 million contract for 2008-09. After this season Anthony Johnson’s $2.86 million, Lorenzen Wright’s $3.24 million and Tyronn Lue’s $3.5 million will come off the books for Sacramento. Shelden Williams, the 5th overall pick from 2006, is still playing out his rookie contract that will pay him $3.17 million this season and $3.39 million next year, with a Sacramento team option for $4.3 million in 2009-10.

Look for Sacramento to give Williams some minutes for the rest of this season and see what they have, but it would be impractical to expect the 6-9 bruiser to be anything more than a role player. Even on draft night we all knew that Williams had an extremely limited upside, but Atlanta was desperate for a strong interior presence on the glass. With the pleasantly surprising play of Al Horford in the middle on both ends, Williams became more than expendable and had only appeared in 6 of the Hawks last 18 games. He’s averaging 2.9 points and 2.9 boards on the season. He will likely improve on those extremely modest totals, but anything north of 8 points and 7 boards per game would surprise.

The main beneficiary of this deal in Sac Town will be Beno Udrih, the fourth-year point guard out of Yugoslavia. Udrih is a capable scorer and passer who will see a major uptick in minutes and shots. When Bibby was sidelined earlier this year Beno played just north of 35 minutes in November and December and put up the best numbers of his career. In 31 games as a starter this season he’s averaged 14.1 points, 4.8 assists, 3.7 boards, 1.2 steals and 1.2 threes on a solid 45.7% FGs and 87.5% FTs. We can expect a similar performance from him down the stretch as he leads an athletic and young Kings squad that will be looking to run. Clearly, Kevin McHale knew what he was doing when he cut Udrih — Minnesota definitely couldn’t use this guy…

More Sacramento analysis and our take on the new Hawks after the jump…

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ETB’s ROY Al Horford gets no love, but his putback at number six has to be right up there with the Sean Williams off-the-top-of-the-backboard ridiculousness…

Al Thornton, F, Los Angeles Clippers

I want this kid to excel, and not only because he was my preseason pick to take home this season’s Rookie of the Year award. Los Angeles’ “other basketball team” has looked directionless for about, oh, a few decades now and they’re desperately in need of an electrifying young player to come along, give the franchise and its fanbase a much-needed jolt, and perhaps soften the blow of Elton Brand’s possible departure this summer or next via free agency. They also need someone to take Tim Thomas’ starting role away (a shame only management has the power to completely eradicate Thomas from the roster, period).

After a very, very slow start to his freshman campaign, Thornton has come on strong lately and just might be the guy to accomplish all of the above. Since January 30, the 6-8 product of Florida State has averaged 18.5 points, 5.6 rebounds, and 44% FG (a number which would be at least a few points higher if not for a 1-15 stinker on February 1 at Minnesota). It’ll be hard for him to maintain that kind of production once Brand returns, but the Clips have a less-than-zero chance of making the playoffs and will no doubt ensure their promising rookie gets plenty of burn. By this time next year, Thornton may have established himself as one of the top five in his draft class.

Hakim Warrick, F, Memphis Grizzlies

It’s true–young players on bad teams frequently put up big stats in the season’s waning months. We saw Walter “Fabio” Hermann do it last year in Charlotte, and it hasn’t done much for him this year beyond landing him a spot near the end of Detroit’s bench and celebrity status for his long, flowing locks. When guys like Hermann or third-year forward Hakim Warrick get starter-type minutes, it’s on them to not only post lots of meaningless points and rebounds, but to also really apply themselves and focus on the bigger picture of improving their in-game awareness, their intangibles, and their overall value. With that in mind, these next few months will comprise a key stretch for the Grizzlies’ 2005 first-round pick.

Athleticism has never been a problem for Warrick, but consistency and defense have. Heading into the season I thought Warrick would take big steps forward, but he’s actually seen his per-game minutes shrink from about 26 to about 16 so far. With Pau Gasol out of the picture, he should average somewhere north of the 26 he got last year, and the (very) early returns have been promising. Warrick was in the starting lineup for the team’s past two contests, averaging about 33 minutes/per with 23.5 points, 10.5 boards, 1 steal, and 63% FG. Those efforts came against the defensively challenged 76ers and Kings, mind you, but it was important for him to make such a good impression on coach Marc Iavaroni. The team needs to figure out if he’s capable of playing a large role in their long-term plans, and at the very least he’ll pair with Rudy Gay to form one of the league’s quickest and potentially dynamic starting SF/PF tandems for the rest of the season.

Eight more players who are bound to improve post-All Star break after the jump…

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