Deal or No Deal?

Well folks, the trade deadline came and passed, with no moves being made by the Cavs. It was a crazy week, as the Cavs were linked to Amare Stoudemire, Shaq, Richard Jefferson, Antwan Jamison, Caron Butler, and Marcus Camby. All in all, it mounted to nothing, and the more I think about it, I think it was a good idea. Now I know I said the Cavs were a big man short, and I still think they are, but I did not want them bending over backwards to get someone who was just going to help us this year and next year. I said I would trade Wally and picks for a solid player, and only add Hickson in a deal for a superstar. Here are some positives I see from us not making a move:

Keep draft picks- While the Cavs will be selecting pretty low in the draft, the ability to draft young talent will do us a lot of good. This years NBA draft class is pretty weak, but with 1 pick in the first round, and 1 in the second (we traded 1 second rounder last year, but have the Bulls second rounder for the Ben Wallace trade), the Cavs give themselves a good chance of landing a solid rotation player. Also, the more young talent you surround around LeBron, the better chance he will stay. This is because if one of the young players we draft begin to develop into a good player (JJ Hickson?), the more incentive he will have to stay and build a good team. Also, good players can be found in late parts of a draft, and even in the second round. Carlos Boozer, Monta Ellis, Michael Redd, Daniel Gibson, Ramon Sessions, Paul Milsap, Ronny Turiaf, Chris Duhon, Trevor Ariza, Mo Williams, Matt Barnes, and Luis Scola were all drafted in the second round. David Lee was drafted with the 30th pick in the first round, Kevin Martin was drafted 26th, Josh Howard was drafted 29th, and Leandro Barbosa was drafted 28th. My point is, while you might not find a superstar late in the draft, you can find yourself some formidable players to help build your team.

Team chemistry is kept- While I think this is somewhat overrated, I have come to appreciate it in the past few days. The Cavs bench seems like a close knit group, and after a player does well they all seem to cheer very hard. After seeing the bench go crazy after LeBron's third quarter performance versus Milwaukee, I thought that this team was a very close knit group. In that same game, Z came to the defense of Anderson after Charlie Villanueva knocked him to the ground. In years past this did not happen. I remember when Z gashed his forehead from a Rasheed Wallace elbow, and no one came to his defense. Having a teammates back is something that is evident in this team, and they all get along very well. I noticed this last year with the Celtics. If some of you have seen that commercial where its clips of all the Cavs players talking about the team and winning a championship, you kind of get my idea.

Teams were asking for too much- Earlier, I said that a team was bound to make a stupid move, and none of them did. Phoenix wanted Wally's contract instead of Ben Wallace for Shaq, the Clippers wanted JJ Hickson instead of a first round pick for Camby, and the Suns wanted 2 picks, and Anderson, to go with Hickson for Amare. Camby is not worth Wally and JJ, you would disrupt team chemistry by trading so much for Amare (while gutting all your picks), the Wizards were not trading Antwan Jamison or Caron Butler (this boggles my mind the most, that team is horrible, and they can't even get out of the first round of the playoffs) and Shaq's mammoth contract was not worth it (he would cost us $40 million, $20 million for his salary, and $20 million for luxury tax). I honestly thought a team would give in, and trade a player based on a financial hardship they were having, much like the Hornets did by trading Tyson Chandler for 2 expiring deals. I guess I was wrong.

Salary Cap Space- By not taking on a contract after this from trading Wally, the Cavs were able to create much cap room. They can use this money to help re-sign Anderson Varaejo or bring in a solid free agent with some of our Mid Level Exception money. I don't think he is worth starting money, but he is definitely worth what top bench reserves make. Also, the luxury tax we will pay next year will decrease, as opposed to us taking on a longer contract from a trade.

I was disappointed that we were not able to swing a deal, especially with the assets we had, but teams were demanding too much, and sometimes the best deals are the ones that are not made.

I haven't written about the Browns and Indians lately, so I will write some tidbits quickly.

Browns

-The Browns need linebackers this offseason. Aaron Curry from Wake Forest seems to be a guy we could get with our 5th pick. He is big, tough, and physical. If he is not there at the 5th pick, I suggest trading down, adding some picks (we only have four picks!), and getting USC LB Rey Mealuga. This kid is nasty, and he is very fast in pursuit. He will be available from picks 10-15.

-If the Browns let Sean Jones go (they did not franchise him), then they should look into drafting a safety as well. The Browns really need defense in this draft, especially linebackers and safeties. We need linebackers to put some pressure on the QB's, and take some pressure off our secondary.

-The Browns should draft a RB later in the draft. Good RB's can be found anywhere in the draft. Michael Turner was drafted in the 5th round, Steve Slaton was drafted in the 3rd round, Ryan Grant went undrafted, Brandon Jacobs was drafted in the 4th round, and Brian Westbrook was drafted in the 3rd round. There isn't really a standout RB in this draft. Beanie Wells and Knowshon Moreno are the top two RB's, and I wouldn't touch either of them, defense is a bigger need.

-The Browns should trade Derek Anderson. They should pick up his $5 million roster bonus, then trade him. This is because after he gets his roster bonus, his base salary is very small. Teams will not have to eat up this bonus, as the Browns will have paid it. This will make him much more attractive on the market, and the Browns are in need of draft picks.

-The team needs to hand the team over to Brady Quinn. While he didn't play much, he was much smarter with the ball, and seemed to be more of a leader. Also, we don't need a QB competition, because when you have 2 QB's, you have no QB's. Remember Tim Couch and Kelly Holcomb? Remember Charlie Frye and Derek Anderson?

Indians

-Depending on how their spring training goes, the Indians should give Matt LaPorta or Michael Brantley a shot at cracking the opening day roster. From what I have read from these guys, they project to be good major leaguers, especially LaPorta. I do not want David Delluci trying to split time with Ben Francisco. Francisco is a good fourth outfielder, and a good insurance policy if someone goes down.

-The bullpen might actually be a strength on this team. Rafael Perez, Joe Smith, Kerry Wood, Jensen Lewis are all very solid relievers. If Rafael Betancourt and Kobayashi can get their acts together, we will have 6 solid arms in the bullpen. Add in wildcards Anthony Reyes, and Adam Miller, the Indians could have a good bullpen.

-The Indians season will depend on a few things in my opinion. One, Travis Hafner and Victor Martinez have to come back healthy, and play like they are capable of. If they can do this, the Indians will be a dangerous sleeper team. Two, Fausto Carmona needs to turn around a disappointing 2008 campaign and Cliff Lee needs to continue his excellent pitching. If this happens, then the Indians will have one of the best 1-2 punches in the MLB. Three, Kerry Wood needs to stay healthy, if he can stay injury free, the Indians will have themselves their first reliable closer in a couple years. Four, the rest of the rotation really needs to step up. Scott Lewis, Carl Pavano, Aaron Laffey, Jeremy Sowers, and Zach Jackson all need to step up and take the last 3 spots in the rotation. Add in the fact that Westbrook should be coming back sometime in the middle of the year, the Indians need solid pitching from this group.

-I really think the Indians can win the Central this year. We improved our bullpen, added a solid 3B, and have 2 solid outfielders waiting in the wings. The fact that we have Fausto Carmona, Victor Martinez, and Travis Hafner all coming back from injury helps a lot. Also, none of the teams in the Central did anything, Detroit still has no bullpen arms, Chicago is a year older, Kansas City still sucks, and Minnesota will always be a thorn in our side, but they are beatable.

Well, I know I haven't written in awhile, I will try to keep everyone updated with my thoughts. With NFL Draft coming up, and MLB spring training on the horizon, I will be writing more about the Browns and Indians. Thanks for reading, and go Cleveland!

-Raz