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He was traded to Cleveland for Damon Jones and Joe Smith. Cleveland is also trying to keep Delonte and use him as the starting SG to replace Wally.

Good acquisition, that makes them better.

yikes.

glad to see Joe Smith gone

Cavs clearly got the best player in the deal, so, good on em.

I am not sure it would help Cleveland? Joe Smith handled KG well in the playoffs.

greenbeans wrote:glad to see Joe Smith gone

I know, he would not miss against us. For Cleveland its a great acquisition and gives them a real second option behind King James. No idea why Bucks did this trade though.

Good, less touches for LeBronze

Good move for the Cavs. Damon Jones is a spare part, and while Joe Smith is a nice player, he can only play limited minutes and is getting pretty old. Mo Williams is young and can get to the rim. Next to Lebron, provided good health, he should score in bunches. I certainly like this more than when they got Larry Hughes at least, since they gave very little IMO.

Why on earth would Milwaukee do this though? They gave up Mo Williams AND Desmond Mason and got back a trio of scrubs in Jones, Griffin, and Ridnour. Just dumb, dumb, dumb.

Another big move by the Cavs, and again I'm not sure I understand if it improves them.

Williams at PG and West at SG, each are about 3" smaller than West at PG, Wally/Pavolic at SG. Smith was pretty key as first big off the bench, and I'm not sure they have any option other than to have Varejao be first off now. Ilgauskas I like although he's 33, but with the removal of Smith they've lost their secondary offensive threat for bigs (with Wallace and Varejao being terrible offensively). Williams will be a good 2'nd scorer, but I don't believe defense is his strongest suit, and downsizing at SG and removing Smith isn't going to help their defense either.

I actually think the Celtics match up better against the new Cavs, than they did the old ones.

Perhaps the Cavs aren't finished yet though with their moves. Wallyworld must be prime to be moved if they can find a taker.

Gomes3PC wrote:G
Why on earth would Milwaukee do this though? They gave up Mo Williams AND Desmond Mason and got back a trio of scrubs in Jones, Griffin, and Ridnour. Just dumb, dumb, dumb.

expiring, expiring, expiring.
that's what they got. cap space in 2009 for a big FA haul.
not sure it's a great move, but they certainly weren't going anywhere with Mo Williams.

I actually like this deal for Milwaukee. They get rid of Mason who they don't really need with Richard Jefferson there. They get rid of Mo Williams a guy that they regretted resigning to such a big contract. So they clear contracts and pick up a decent PG in Luke Ridnour. Not too bad. Plus, I think outside of Damon Jones they get guys that fit with Scott Skiles. Don't really get it for OKC though.

Suck's for the Cavs to lose Joe Smith but he's getting old and can only play limited minutes. Also they recieve the best player in the deal so I like it for the Cavs.

Uh oh Delonte...

I like this for Milwaukee, as I don't recall Mo Williams being a good distributor and/or winner.

I don't know, looks to me that OKC get the best of this one.

Mo Williams is such a poor fit with Lebron, no defense/ subpar passer/ volume shooter. And now that they are void of any offense from the paint, they will be forced into watching Lebron and Mo jack up long jumpers in isolation all day. The East is full of all-star PFs, and they now have a paper thin front line. They better have something in place to get a real Big for Wally, or they will be very beatable next year.

As for OKC, they end up saving $$ and getting the two best players in a 2-2 swap. Nice work on their part. Joe Smith is gonna really help solidify that team, great guy to bring into a young locker room like OKC.

After watching the East get stronger over the last month, I was actually kind of stoked on this one as it makes the Celts main EC rival weaker defensively, and more predictable offensively.

^^^ Mo shot .480 from the field last year and .385 from 3. Those numbers are far better then a guy like Delonte put up. It's a big upgrade for them. West shot .440 from the field and .367 from 3 - had far less production and is better suited to play the off-guard with his poor ball handling..

Pete

i keep thinking OKC is the hornets and not the former sonics.... anyone else having this problem.

Gomes3PC wrote:Good move for the Cavs. Damon Jones is a spare part, and while Joe Smith is a nice player, he can only play limited minutes and is getting pretty old. Mo Williams is young and can get to the rim. Next to Lebron, provided good health, he should score in bunches. I certainly like this more than when they got Larry Hughes at least, since they gave very little IMO.

Why on earth would Milwaukee do this though? They gave up Mo Williams AND Desmond Mason and got back a trio of scrubs in Jones, Griffin, and Ridnour. Just dumb, dumb, dumb.

...cap management baby...as much as fans don't like this type of thing, the players that Milwaukee gave up weren't going to be difference makers in a title run...without the core for a title team in place, Milwaukee is re-shapping their roster around Bogut/Jefferson/Redd....they need a better PF than Charlie V and they're not sure what they have with Sessions yet, so they are pairing down salary to be in a position to make a move of their choosing.

ddubb wrote:I don't know, looks to me that OKC get the best of this one.

Mo Williams is such a poor fit with Lebron, no defense/ subpar passer/ volume shooter. And now that they are void of any offense from the paint, they will be forced into watching Lebron and Mo jack up long jumpers in isolation all day. The East is full of all-star PFs, and they now have a paper thin front line. They better have something in place to get a real Big for Wally, or they will be very beatable next year.

As for OKC, they end up saving $$ and getting the two best players in a 2-2 swap. Nice work on their part. Joe Smith is gonna really help solidify that team, great guy to bring into a young locker room like OKC.

After watching the East get stronger over the last month, I was actually kind of stoked on this one as it makes the Celts main EC rival weaker defensively, and more predictable offensively.

Mo Williams is an excellent fit for Lebron actually...Williams isn't a pure PG, but he is a player that can make plays with the ball in his hands-something Lebron has been DYING to have next to him...most teams have at least 2 ball-handling playmakers, so I see no problems there. This move diversifies their offense substantially.

Secondly, Mo Williams is a pretty damn efficient scorer to boot. He hits perimeter shots at a high percentage and gets to the lane and the line quite well-not a volume shooter at all, unless you mean he takes a lot of shots-which is fine if he's making them.

Joe Smith was a solid role player, but a Big Z/Wallace/Verajao/Hickson rotation of 4 bigs is still one of the best groups in the league defensively and on the boards...Hickson has a TON of potential offensively as well, so ridding themselves of Smith was a vote of confidence for Hickson getting some minutes without having to rely on him. Verajao is going to get a chance to earn big minute as well...

West at the 2-guard could be very intersting as well, but they are not compelled to do it as they can put Gibson and Wally in where needed...they also have good expiring contracts to look and make a move if they so desire. There will be options for them before the deadline...

I think Cleveland has put themselves into a position to make the "one more move" that would make them a true contender...if they could get a Shawn Marion or a Lamar Odom...even a Chris Wilcox type...this team, with LeBron, would have the offensive fire power to complement their defense and James' greatness...

The above poster said it best.

Mo Williams is not a volume-shooter at all. He has a career FG% of about 45% and the last few years he has shot higher than that. The last 2 years he was about 48% from the field and 38% from 3. That is pretty good.

Williams is also a better ball-handler/distributor than West. He averaged 6+ assists per game the last 2 years in Milwaukee. Mo's strength isn't his ability to run an offense, but he does provide a big upgrade in that area. Mo can also get into the lane....and that is HUGE for Cleveland because LeBron was literally the only person that could do that before Mo. This will give the 3-point shooters like Boobie/Wally/Delonte even more open-looks.

This move also allows Cleveland to start Delonte at the 2. Granted, he is a little shorter than Wally (3 inches actually) but I HAVE to imagine that he is a better defender than Wally so that shouldn't matter. Delonte is also a solid perimeter shooter and he can handle the ball as well.

Then Cleveland can come off the bench with Wally and Boobie....2 great spot-shooters to really space the floor when Mo or LeBron penetrate.

Losing Smith hurts a little, but it wouldn't shock me if Cleveland eventually gets someone like him near the trade-deadline. Cleveland also still has Varejao/Wally's expiring/Future Firsts to make a big deal near the trade deadline for a player that is un-happy.

Needless to say the Cavs are still behind Boston after this trade, but they gave up nothing for a highly talented offensive player. Mo Williams is a step in the right direction and the Cavs aren't done dealing yet. Before the playoffs start it's possible for the Cavs to put together a formidable roster.

Boston is in a class by themselves in the East.

The rest of the East is behind Boston. Detroit, Orlando, Philly, Toronto, Washington and Cleveland should all be battling it out for position. As of right now Philly is the only team I think might be able to hang with Boston.