RealGM

I was reading this news link and I know that Barbosa is available and IMO I think he would make an interesting addition to the CAVs. Varejao for Barbosa works cap wise and since the Suns are a contender, I don't believe that Varejao or his agent would have a problem with this deal.

Well, here it is.

The Cavaliers are looking for someone who can open things up for LeBron James, create shots for himself and open teammates, and drill open threes. There's not a player on the market who's better at all of those things than Barbosa. Spelling Steve Nash was one part of Barbosa's duties in Phoenix, but more importantly he was tasked with sustaining the Suns' breakneck offense when the second unit took the floor. Nicknamed "The Brazilian Blur," Barbosa excelled at providing instant offense. He can push the tempo, connect on 40% of his threes, and likely score 15-20 points per game. He was effective next to Nash and Amare Stoudemire . . .and he made them more effective.

The Suns, for their part, are looking for another veteran big. They know all too well that Shaquille O'Neal can't carry the entire load any more, and if he were to get injured . . or when he gets injured . . .they don't want rookie Robin Lopez to be their lone replacement. Joe Smith is expendable in Cleveland, and would be a nice veteran leader for Lopez to learn under. Add one more small piece and this deal gets done.

It's not splashy, and certainly not the homerun the Cavaliers need to get back into elite status in an Eastern Conference that has improved radically this summer, but it would be a good place to start.

http://www.hoopsworld.com/Story.asp?story_id=9602

Yea i was just talking about this on the other cavs forums and i also mentioned varejao for barbosa straight up, i would even do it if we had to throw in a future pick. If we cant get something done with west then why not get barbosa as his replacement. Him and west are both similar players, but barbosa is obviously better. They are pretty much combo guards, barbosa is a better ball handler than west and is a better scorer. Maybe we can work out a sign and trade for west and get a decent sg in return.

Barbosa is basically a better version of Boobie, so if the Cavs did acquire him, they'd need to get rid of Boobie. They can't play two 6' guys with SG skills at the same time, and they need a PG to platoon with one of them.

Well boobe isnt going anywhere, and west/barbosa are basically the same height (6'3-6'4). I dont see a problem with a barbosa/gibson platoon at pg when we had a west/gibson platoon.

I think Barbosa would be a great fit, with his quickness, shooting ability, and his handle he would be better than Delonte imo. However, he is very effective with an uptempo system as was obvious in Phoenix, i wonder if our "system" here would allow him to be as effective.

Its a shame that we have to judge players and how they would fit here rather than just being able to judge them on their talent alone. On talent alone Barbosa would elevate this team to an equal level with Boston in the east if we were able to acquire him, provided we could come up with a suitable replacement for Andy.

I agree with M Brown that the team needs to be able to grind out low scoring games in the playoffs, but this team plays to the level of inferior teams too often during the regular season with this his style of play, thus meaning our starters have to log more minutes than necessary at times. This of course hurts the team later on, and in the playoffs. Sorry, I didnt meant to go on an anti M Brown rant here, I am just frustrated, and I believe his style of play often hurts the team's ability to lure players here.

I think it would be a great fit offensively but it leaves the backcourt really small with Gibson and Barbosa. If we could keep Sasha for that big guard it would be great.

I think the Cavs desperately need another scorer but unfortunately my opinion is the FO feels their bigger need is for a perimeter defender which is why they were pursuing Posey.

PHX needs a backup PG for Nash and another big man until Robin Lopez is ready for prime time. I could see a sign and trade with Delonte/Joe Smith/filler for Barbosa/filler trade possibly working for the Suns. That would leave Barbosa and Boobie as the backcourt for the Cavs and that would be horrible defensively. Ferry would have to go out and get a defensive minded PG like Earl Watson and maybe start Watson/Barbosa and bring Boobie/Pavs off the bench. That might be a decent rotation in the backcourt.

I can't see anything based around Delonte/Joe for Barbosa if Delonte were re-signed. He'd be making 4-5 million, so him and Joe would add up to about 9-10 million. Barbosa is making 6 million, and the only guy between 2 million and 9 million for Phoenix is Raja Bell, who I don't see Phoenix giving up. They'd have to add in 3-4 guys like Hill, Barnes, Tucker, etc. to make it work, and I don't see them doing that either.

So perhaps we just have Delonte come back with the QO. We could do Delonte + Joe for Barbosa + Alando Tucker or DJ Strawberry. Would we do this? Would Phoenix?

Why do they need Barbosa? I hear Eric Snow is working on his 3 pointer.

I want to keep West. I am not giving him up unless we get obviously get better or we are in the works of getting another defensive point like Watson or Hinrich, who may be upgrades over West due to pure ballhandling skills.

And I like Barbosa but I think his contract doesnt make him the best value. Can he do the same thing on other teams that he does on the Suns? In FIBA last year he was phenomonal but was shut down by the USA team, would that happen against starting defenses in the NBA plus he is not the number 1 option like he was on the FIBA team?

I think Ferry is waiting to see if Pavs can get back to his 06-07 season. I think if Pavs is back on top of his defense and offense he beats out Wally to start and then use him in a bigger deal at the deadline.

And from the Suns it would be a toss up between Barbosa and Diaw because Diaw solves a lot of problems and I think he could earn his paycheck in the right situation and Phoenix isnt that.

I like west but at the same time if we cant work something out for him then we have to look at other options. I wouldnt do that sign and trade deal though involving west/joe smith, and if anyone thinks that barbosa would be a huge down grade defensively from west you are wrong imo. West's defense is not that great imo, he had a couple of nice blocks last season but i didnt really see nothing special about his defense. He is not a bad defender but he isnt strong like an eric snow to where he doesnt get bullied down low. So i dont think barbosa is a huge down grade defensively.....

Another possibility i was thinking about is av for barbosa straight up(already mentioned) but then in a side deal send them dj because they have an 8m tpe. DJ would be a good fit for them in a back up role imo, plus he would flourish with all the good looks he can get from 3 with amare/shaq down low.

If we can pull something off then shop west to a team who has a decent sg to spare. The timberwolves come to mind, they have quite a few perimeters guys and can use west. Foye is obviously better suited for the sg position even though he is under-sized. Their only pgs if they view foye as one is himself/telfair. So i was thinking west(s&t 5m)/pavs for mike miller......

They would then still have mccants, foye, pavs, carney, brewer and gomes as guys who can play sg, sf, or even both...

If West and his agent insist on bigger bucks contract, maybe a S&T with the Suns for Barbosa could work. Aren't the Suns the ones who gave Banks that over sized contract a couple of seasons ago?