Get Zach Randolph?

[enivel]

Forewarning: I am a Knicks fan and am approaching it from their point of view. I'd like to think that I'm even-handed enough to come up with a deal that works for both sides. I guess you'll all be the judge of that.

This general idea comes in three flavors:

A) Zach Randolph for Ben Wallace -- Cavs trade redundant, aging defense for offense. Wallace's deal is a year shorter.

B) Randolph for Wally Szczerbiak -- Cavs trade redundant, aging offense for better offense. Wally's deal is entering its final year.

C) Randolph and Stephon Marbury for one of the above plus Eric Snow and Delonte West (s&t) -- Cavs trade redundant, (half-)aging backup guards for better offense. Marbury and Snow both expiring, West accepts a sign-and-trade (that has a contract length of two years and fits inside the financial parameters of this exercise).

*Mix and match cash and/or future picks as you deem appropriate. It's not that I don't think that they belong, it's just that the point of this post isn't to think about petty differences, and I hope the argument doesn't devolve into that nonsense. I'm thinking big picture stuff here.

It's entirely possible that these ideas or ones like it have already been brought up a lot, but I think they bear repeating now that the Cavs have made their first big deal of the offseason -- the Mo Williams acquisition -- and unveiled their strategy in the long-anticipated LeBron James sweepstakes.

Essentially, that plan appears to be to add pieces between now and July 2010 in the hopes of improving the supporting cast dramatically enough to compete for championships, keep LBJ happy and keep him locked up.

An alternative route Cleveland could have gone was to save a lot of money for the summer of 2010 and give LeBron the chance to pick a free agent teammate like Wade or Bosh to run with for half a decade. It would have been risky, but who knows what would have happened.

Trading expiring deals for the five years and $43.5 million left on Williams' deal shows that they are be willing to improve the team in the short-term at the expense of their long-term cap flexibility. While it's conceivable that they'll let Wallace, Szczerbiak, Ilgauskas, Snow, Varejao, Pavlovic and West all walk in the next two summers and still go the free-agent route, I don't think that'll be the case.

So if the Cavs are confident in their plan, and LeBron has given them assurances that if they improve the team enough, he'll consisder extending his contract, then they should look at all possible trades to do that and make him happy. And any list of available assets should include Randolph.

Randolph has his reputation and his baggage, but LeBron isn't an impressionable rookie anymore, and I don't think Randolph is quite as bad a knucklehead as was Ricky Davis. Time to take of the kid gloves with James. Jordan was able to deal with Dennis Freaking Rodman and win three championships. This is a playoff team, and we've seen no evidence of Randolph dismantling good teams, only of his contributing to bad situations. Those are two completely different personality types.

LeBron could get him in line, right? We've seen Lamar Odom turn things around in the right situation, and that was in the same damn city where the bad reputation was built. Randolph just turned 27, his final story hasn't been written yet. And he fills a serious need for them, right? He makes the Williams-Pavlovic-James-Randolph-Ilgauskas Cavs instantly credible.

In return, the Knicks would unload a player who doesn't really fit into their short-term or long-term plans. On the court, his presence stunts the growth of Eddy Curry, who's only 25 and one lousy season removed from a pretty loud, if unrealistic, campaign to make the All-Star team.

Any of the packages that the Knicks got back would have some use in the next two years. Wallace does everything Curry does not, Wally can still shoot the rock a bit and sell tickets, Snow gets paid to attend the Mike D'Antoni Academy for Assistant Coaches and West fights for minutes in an already crowded backcourt.

Most importantly, they'd save a big chunk of money for the 2010-11 season, clearing their own path to try to steal LeBron. Cleveland could have a hand in its own demise, and if he were to leave, it would be one of those unsolvable riddles and people will always wonder if the Cavs ever had a chance. And that's a great Catch 22.

[cavshats]

please just lock this one before i go off.... for some reason theres like 30 randolph threads and noone in cleveland wants him how sick is that

[TheOUTLAW]

All of those trades stink for Cleveland of course, I'd be hard pressed to think any deal that brought Randolph didn't stink

[cavsfan_osiris]

I wouldn't have minded acquiring Randolph from Portland last off-season. Replacing Drew Gooden with Z.Randolph would have made sense, but the Cavs surely don't want him now. With the acquisition of Mo Williams the Cavs don't need a big who is a chucker and doesn't play defense. Randolph is a very good chucker, but he's not what the Cavs need right now.

Mo Williams' acquisition was a step in the right direction. Acquiring Z.Randolph now would be an equal step in the wrong direction.

[rjgraca]

As long as the Knicks front office is operating under the delusion that they don't have to trade a 1st round pick or Lee with Randolph then he remains a Knick.

There is more to the game of basketball than raw offensive stats which some fans get fixated on.

The CAVs are NOT going to mess up their cap flexiblity in 2010 for Randolph and his questionable character which could make your organization look foolish at any time. His defensive liabilities and black whole on offense negates those raw offensive stat numbers some are fixated on. The CAVs don't have any questionable character guys on their roster and they are not going to unless they get a big premium in a deal and even then they would have to think about where acceptance isn't guarenteed.


A Summary of Randolph's rap sheet for the last 5 years:

2003 - broke Ruben Patterson's eye socket in fight
2003 - arrested for driving under the influence
2004 - initially lied to police about a shooting his brother did in a club
2006 - accused of sexually assaulting a woman
2008 - accused of being in an argument that started a club fight
2008 - allegedly got into another club fight after an argument with a drug dealer

[B Mac]

NO KNICKS@$##@!%!#@!%!#@!!!!

[Gordon Bombay]

hell no

[L&H_05]

You take down the No Knicks thread and this is what you're bound to get...

It's no different than parks and other working areas when they take down their No Skateboarding signs...

[TheOUTLAW]

Now that was unexpected. I definitely didnt think that this would become my fault.

[enivel]

I guess that's an emphatic no. Just trying to gauge Randolph's value. Sorry fellas.

[bcortell]

10 baseball bats.
Bag of Salt and Vinegar potato chips.
Bag of Plain potato chips.












Zbo's trade value.

[TheOUTLAW]

I guess that's an emphatic no. Just trying to gauge Randolph's value. Sorry fellas.

Yeah, get out of here. You're getting me in trouble with my guys here. LOL

[B Mac]

I guess that's an emphatic no. Just trying to gauge Randolph's value. Sorry fellas.

No need to apologize.... if anything we were too harsh on you, Im sure you didnt realize you were going to get this type of response. You have to understand though that we have seen probably close to 75-100 "Randolph to the Cavs" threads on our boards started by Knicks fans looking to dump him on us. It was so bad that we sticked a thread titled "No Knicks" so that the trade proposals would stop.

[L&H_05]

I guess that's an emphatic no. Just trying to gauge Randolph's value. Sorry fellas.

No need to apologize.... if anything we were too harsh on you, Im sure you didnt realize you were going to get this type of response. You have to understand though that we have seen probably close to 75-100 "Randolph to the Cavs" threads on our boards started by Knicks fans looking to dump him on us. It was so bad that we sticked a thread titled "No Knicks" so that the trade proposals would stop.

Remember when they were trying to give us Steve Francis...

[Rise Against]

I guess that's an emphatic no. Just trying to gauge Randolph's value. Sorry fellas.

No need to apologize.... if anything we were too harsh on you, Im sure you didnt realize you were going to get this type of response. You have to understand though that we have seen probably close to 75-100 "Randolph to the Cavs" threads on our boards started by Knicks fans looking to dump him on us. It was so bad that we sticked a thread titled "No Knicks" so that the trade proposals would stop.

Remember when they were trying to give us Steve Francis...

And Marbury..

[mg]

Apparently Finnan has a blurb in his column today about the Cavs talking to the Knicks about a bigman...

Let the onslaught of Knick trades continue..

[bigballajohn]

idk the first trade would be the best cuz the knicks need a defensive big man to complement curry. but idk if ben wallace would fit in d'antoini's offense. the second would be the one that d'antoini would push for cuz he would get another shooter in szczerbiak. the third would nvr happen cuz the cavs just got mo williams

[cavshats]

none of them would ever happen bcuz they all involve the cavs losing value for someone we definately do not want and period.

[TheOUTLAW]

Apparently Finnan has a blurb in his column today about the Cavs talking to the Knicks about a bigman...

Let the onslaught of Knick trades continue..

The blurb is that they "could be" talking to the Knicks. That's about as speculative as any comment I've ever seen.

[B Mac]

W&G mentioned this last week but also said that the big they are talking to the Knicks about is NOT Randolph.