Were we a better team with Hughes and Gooden

[Baseline Runner]

It seems apparent now that we were better with Hughes and Gooden. We miss Gooden's rebounding which Wallace and Smith hasn't replaced. And we miss Hughes backcourt defense, with players like Boobie and Wallie on the court at times. Even though both players often made bad decisions, they were more skilled and talented than any of the players that we have aquired. Hughes had been playing very well the last 3 weeks and was a completely different player than the scrub that started the season.

Delonte West has been a positive acquisition but he's not a top 20 PG in the NBA. He's just another average player that Lebron is surrounded with. He's still young and might become a very good PG but that will take time.

There is no doubt this deal should turn out good in the long run. Neither Hughes nor Gooden were in our long term plans and we have massive cap flexibility in the upcoming years. But I'm afraid the trade might have cost us a trip to the finals again this year.

[CzBoobie]

Well, it seems like that. We play like trash right now, not being able to string two wins together, not being able to win on the road and sucking in back-to-back games. Having those bloody injuries all the time doesn't help it either.

I don't think we would have gone the Finals with Hughes and Gooden again, now it seems like we will have hard time to go past the first round.

Let's just hope next year will be much better.

[kiwibrindle]

Watching closely, I thing the Cavs are "now" out of sink. We are deeper no doubt but there are issues with that:

- Brown has a difficult time finding a rotation and roles for these guys and being deeper does not help if the new guys don't know their roles.

- Gooden never had plays drawn for him and seldom did Hughes. The offensive replacements are only know getting to see the ball at times and know about it. Funny thing, Wally is the one getting the plays not Joe Smith.

- Andy is not a starter and not someone who should touch the ball on purpose. Z's pick and fade offense has no place with AV on the court. Smith should set the picks for LBJ on the second team and fade for shots not AV.

- Bron is difficult to play with. He demands lots of touches and needs you to get out of his way alot. I wonder if his game will evolve like Jordan's did. Jordan as a young player drove all the time. Later he worked on his shot and was sick. When he worked in that pushoff move and shot he was unstoppable. Bron still has his youth and health. When one of those go he will have to modify his game to account for the lack of coaching on this team if he is still here.

Finally, the answer to your question is, "Wait until next year". Too many changes now to mesh.

[TheOUTLAW]

While disfunctional, our offense is way better than it used to be when we are full strength. However our defense is absolute garbage. Our defense was worse even when we had Hughes and Gooden however. One of the biggest issues with yesterdays game was the fact that the ball was not in LeBrons hand to close the game out. We had way too many times when LeBron didn't even touch the ball and we ended up with Wally or whomever taking a shot. Those guys are 1/10th as clutch or able to draw a foul as LeBron is.

[L&H_05]

I agree.. Didn't think it was possible, but it seems to be the case... This team has zero chemistry.. Funny part about it is that Ben Wallace seems to fit in, but the others don't...

It's weird because I like this team better.. I like Delonte and Ben, and even Wally and Joe off the bench, but for whatever reason, it doesn't fit ?? The thing is, our offense is so pathetic and LeBron dominated, that it makes for a real difficult transition for virtually anyone... It's the Philly- Iverson syndrome all over again...

There's no coincidence even with the new guys that we have stretches throughout games where we go 2-15 or 7-25 for a quarter... Two totally different teams we have had this year, and it's the same old, same old with both... Mike Brown = problem in that regard...

[calibanPK]

How about we go a full season with everyone healthy before I can judge. I cant grade the trade this season, so as of right now its incomplete. We've had Hughes and Gooden mixed in with the offense for 3+ years, and knowing MB, he'll probably take few more years to get them enveloped in the offense and by that time everyone will be traded. Grade: Incomplete.

[cisco]

Did you guys make the trade just to get rid of Hughes, or did your GM think this trade actually made the team better? When I first heard of the trade, I didn't like for you (but loved it from a Celtics perspective) because it appeared you gave up defense for offense and some bench depth, and you don't win championships with poor defense. I thought the main reason (aside from Lebron, of course) that you guys made the finals was your excellent defense.

Personally, I thought Hughes played bad because he wasn't fully healthy and that the Cavs should have held onto him and the team that got them to the finals last year. But hey, what do I know? Maybe this trade will actually work out in the long run.

I do wish you guys good luck though, except against the Celtics.

[B Mac]

It was a combination of a lot of things. We wanted to get rid of both Larry and Drew. Larry wanted out and never played hard, Gooden is a complete moron on the court. I still think the trade had the potential to make us A TON better, but for numerous reasons (mostly injuries) the guys just havent clicked. Regardless, I still think it makes us better in the long run so I too will reserve my judgement on this trade until I see the full results of what it did or did not accomplish. I havent given up on this year's team yet though.

[INKtastic]

it's too early to tell. Last night was teh first time all season we had our whole rotation and Gibson still isn't himself. It takes time together to develop chemistry. The problem we have is that we only have 2 more weeks to get ready for the playoffs.

I'm sure that we'd look much better right now had we been healthy since the trade instead of having a different lineup just about every night.

[Icness]

The team is still figuring it all out. The injuries have really thrown a monkeywrench into the whole rotation and chemistry.

This trade might make the Cavs more vulnerable to not making at least the ECF this year, but IMO it also raised the ceiling for how far they can go. This group has the potential to win the NBA Finals in either of the next two seasons. Last year's team was good enough to get there but the crushing loss to the Spurs was not an aberration; no way was that group ever going to beat the West champ in a series. With Wally finding his way, Boobie back healthy, Z and Big Ben learning to play together and the deeper, more talented bench, this unit has the ability to win any series against any team. You could not say that before the trade. Does that mean they will--maybe, maybe not.

[Benedict_Boozer]

I feel like the upside of the current team is better on both sides of the ball. Delonte is better than Hughes, the other 3 guys are solid and contribute in different ways.

On paper this team should be alot better than they have shown. Especially defensively. Not sure what the deal is, as has been said maybe chemistry?

All I do know is coach Brown's saving grace was defense, and the new group isn't playing any = we suck.

[Super Bad]

Great Post Baseline Runner I was discussing this same topic with my one friend the other day. I think that this trade was the classic example of addition by subtraction, Larry didn't want to be here and Drew had a bad basketball IQ. I think that the only player that the Cavs are going to keep is West, maybe Joe (a capable veteran big man). I hate to admit it though I miss Larry's premier defense, I don't see Ben being the defender that he once ones. All in all i think that this trade was probably a good move.

[omarvelous]

yes. simple. as. that.

[Smooth32]

HA! Saying that Hughes and Gooden were better for this team is laughable... There is no single reason or single argument that could make me believe that we were a better team... It was addition by subtraction...

[stlboy]

The Cavs were a better team with Hughes, and Gooden. That trade shouldn't have been made, they should've traded for Kidd. Kidd would've brought a championship to Clev, because he woulda made lebron, larry, and gooden game better. You don't trade to make a trade, you only trade if it makes the team better. The Cavs probably could've gotten Kidd for boobie, sasha, Z, and marshall. You people treat boobie like he's the next superstar.

[Benedict_Boozer]

The Cavs were a better team with Hughes, and Gooden. That trade shouldn't have been made, they should've traded for Kidd. Kidd would've brought a championship to Clev, because he woulda made lebron, larry, and gooden game better. You don't trade to make a trade, you only trade if it makes the team better. The Cavs probably could've gotten Kidd for boobie, sasha, Z, and marshall. You people treat boobie like he's the next superstar.

If the Cavs lost Z, we would suck horribly.

He is the most important player on this team other than Lebron. We'd have no inside presence

[TheOUTLAW]

The most idiotic thing I've heard in some time is that the Cavs could possibly be better without Z

I really don't see where anyone has treated Gibson like he's a superstar either. He's a darn good shooter on a team that had very few shooters. So he had more worth to the Cavs than he had for other teams

[B Mac]

A lot of good Kidd is doing the Mavs.

[Tommy Udo 6]

Larry Hughes probably figures that his days with the Bulls are numbered. Otherwise, why would he say this:

Bulls guard Larry Hughes previously played with Arenas at Washington and Golden State.

"I would love to play with him again," Hughes said. "He is one of my closest friends in basketball and outside of basketball. We understand each other. It definitely would be a great thing to play together."

http://www.chicagotribune.com/sports/ba...7811.story

[Tommy Udo 6]

A lot of good Kidd is doing the Mavs.

The 1-11 record against teams over .500 since Kidd joined was probably NOT the result the Mavs expected when they made that trade. Fortunately, the 2008 draft pick which was part of deal was Lotto Protected