Recently, there have been reports that a trade for Stephen Jackson is on the horizon. This comes from both Marc Stein and Chris Broussard of ESPN. According to Stein, executives around the league believe that the Cleveland Cavs are the favorites to land Jackson. I believe this to be true for a few reasons:
1. Of the known teams that are interested in Jackson (Nuggets, Spurs, and Hornets), the Cavs can probably offer the best deal to the Warriors. The Nuggets have a trade exception they can use, but it is too small to acquire Jackson. The Warriors want Manu Ginobili for Jackson, which won't happen. The Hornets have no expiring contracts to offer. The Cavs can offer Z's expiring deal, which offers immediate cap relief to the Warriors. Jackson's trade value is low right now because teams know that he wants out. Think about it, Z for Stephen Jackson. Z for Stephen Jackson. Wait, I'll say it again, Z for Stephen Jackson. Did you see Z play at the end of last year and these first two games? He can no longer score in the post, and if he isn't shooting well, he provides little aside from tip in's on offense. On defense he is too slow on pick and rolls, and he can't play with Shaq due to their lack of speed. Against athletic bigmen (Raptors last night), the Cavs were killed on D when these two were on the floor. Z can't guard the pick and roll, and he is too slow to close out on his man. When we play Orlando, they will have Rashard Lewis, and Ryan Anderson who can stretch the floor, and one of the most athletic bigmen in Dwight Howard.
Now people say, "We can't trade Z, he has been here forever!" Well guess what people, if the Cavs walk away from a deal because of this reasoning and it costs us a championship, then I really won't care about Z or anyone on this team aside from LeBron. If LeBron walks because we wanted to show our loyalty to Z, then I can never forgive Danny Ferry and Co. No one will talk about how we kept Z if LeBron walks. My point is, a championship ring is the most important piece on our agenda. There is too much riding on this season to worry about feelings....
2. According to these reports, both LeBron and Shaq are open to trading for Stephen Jackson. I'm not saying these guys demand Jackson, but its nice know that they are open to a trade with him. They obviously believe it wouldn't hurt our chemistry to much (we really don't have much chemistry right now anyways). Jackson could either start, or play with our 2nd unit and provide much scoring spark. If you saw our 2nd unit play versus Boston, you can see that we need someone who can create their own shot, and with Jackson he does that. Even in the Orlando series, our bench was outscored by Mickael Pietrus himself. As I stated in my last blog, Jackson is an ok shooter, good scorer, and good defender. He can guard Ray Allen, Paul Pierce, Kobe Bryant, and Vince Carter. This will allow LeBron to catch his breath on defense, and roam around with his great speed. Also, Jackson played while Mike Brown was an assistant at Indiana, and his game grew under Brown. We need someone who can come in with our 2nd unit, and keep a lead or stay in a game while LeBron is resting.
3. Where there is smoke, there is fire. Aside from the reports Stein and Broussard have written, Plain Dealer Cavs beat writer Brian Windhorst reported a week ago that the Cavs are having internal discussions about acquiring Jackson. These rumors don't seem to be going away, and if executives around the league believe the Cavs are the favorite to land Jackson, shows that the Cavs have a legitimate interest in Jackson. Aside from an increase in scoring with our 2nd unit, discussions for Jackson lead me to believe that the Delonte situation is really in the air. We don't know when he is going to come back, and if he doesn't stay on his medication, he could really hurt his mental health. The Cavs can't go very long without getting West back. He is so important to our team with his defense, shooting, and ballhandling.
While I don't think we will acquire Jackson tomorrow, if the Cavs continue to struggle, especially the 2nd unit, I could definitely see the Cavs pulling the trigger down the road, contingent on the Cavs finding another team to supplement us with a bigman. The only way the Cavs make a deal for Jackson is if we find a 3rd team to give us a bigman, and in return we trade Daniel Gibson (he becomes expendable because Jackson plays SG too), or Darnell Jackson. The Cavs won't trade a bigman for a guard, they need a backup to Shaq.
Some of the reasons for not doing this deal are that Jackson is 31, and still has 3 years on his deal after this year. The Cavs are going to be paying the luxary tax as long as LeBron is here, and I am sure Dan Gilbert won't mind paying for Jackson. It is early in the season, and while the Cavs are 0-2, they do need time to gel and play together. Also, if/when Delonte comes back, he or Anthony Parker will help our 2nd unit, but it still won't make it as good as if we had Jackson. Also, the Cavs need to find themselves a solid backup bigman if they do trade Z, because they will have a real thin frontcourt. To me, finding a 3rd team willing to bigman is the biggest sticking point in the trade.
Well thats about it for now. I think a lot of people are against this trade, but I think this situation will re-visited in a few weeks. If the Cavs continue to struggle, especially with Z's declining play, our 2nd unit struggles, or if Delonte doesn't come back, then I definitely think you will hear the Cavs in a lot of trade conversations. Remember, LeBron can become a free agent on July 1st 2010.........
-Raz
No comments:
Post a Comment