Asking the Tough Questions

This weekly post will delve into the most important NBA questions I have asked myself in the past week.  They may be irrelevant and ridiculous, but hopefully they will be entertaining.


Has Dan Gilbert sabotaged the best the NBA has to offer from 2010-2015?

I started thinking about this question as I watched the Heat play this past week with Dwyane Wade on the bench with an injury.  As I watched Lebron take over the game night after night I couldn't help but to think of a simpler time when Lebron played for the Cavaliers and had the ball in his hands at all times.  He won MVPs and was one of the most amazing basketball players I had ever seen.  During this time, Lebron was never really given much of a supporting cast though.  Gilbert was never able to find him a legitimate running mate and when it was time for Lebron to become a free agent he fled to go play basketball in Miami with his friends Dwyane Wade and Chris Bosh.

While Lebron was playing with terrible teammates in Cleveland, Wade enjoyed his first three seasons in Miami playing with the likes of Caron Butler, Lamar Odom, and an in-shape and determined Shaquille O'Neal.  After winning the NBA Finals in 2006, much like Lebron, Wade suffered through some pretty terrible supporting casts as Shaq's age started to take a toll on his physical condition and the Heat were unable to restock their roster.

And I know this is starting to make it seem like I'm trying to say what Wade and Lebron did was the right thing to do.  It wasn't.  Obviously, you want to see the best players in the world play against each other rather than play with each other, but when you take a look at the teams those two played with from 2007-2010, I'm not really sure you can blame them for wanting to team up and ensure a good supporting cast.

This is where I believe it comes down to Dan Gilbert's decision making.  After being drafted by GM Jim Paxson, Gilbert decided to move in a different direction after Lebron's second season and hired Danny Ferry as the new GM.  To understand the terible decision making made while Lebron was in Cleveland, let's take a look at the major moves made in Cleveland from 2003 to 2010.

July 23, 2004 - Traded Tony Battie, a 2005 2nd round draft pick (Martynas Andriuskevicius) and a 2007 2nd round draft pick (Brad Newley) to the Orlando Magic for Drew Gooden, Steven Hunter and Anderson Varejao.

This was actually a good trade.  Gooden became the Cavaliers' second best player and Varejao is one of the best high-energy, hustle players in the league.  (This trade was made by Jim Paxson.)

August 2, 2005 - Signed Larry Hughes as a free agent.  Signed Donyell Marshall as a free agent.

This is where it starts to get ugly.  Gilbert signed Larry Hughes to a five year, 70 million dollar contract and told anyone who would listen that Hughes would be the running mate James needed.  While in Cleveland, Hughes averaged 14 points per game and didn't really add much to the Cavaliers.  Donyell Marshall sat in the corners and shot three pointers while adding absolutely nothing else to the team.

February 21, 2008 - As part of a 3-team trade, the Cleveland Cavaliers traded Donyell Marshall and Ira Newble to the Seattle SuperSonics; the Cleveland Cavaliers traded Shannon Brown, Drew Gooden, Larry Hughes and Cedric Simmons to the Chicago Bulls; the Chicago Bulls traded Joe Smith, Ben Wallace and a 2009 2nd round draft pick (Danny Green) to the Cleveland Cavaliers; the Chicago Bulls traded Adrian Griffin to the Seattle SuperSonics; and the Seattle SuperSonics traded Wally Szczerbiak and Delonte West to the Cleveland Cavaliers.


Wow.  That's a lot of text.  The Cavaliers gave up Donyell Marshall, Ira Newble, Shannon Brown, Drew Gooden, and Cedric Simmons for Joe Smith, Ben Wallace, Wally Szcerbizak, Delonte West, and a 2009 2nd round pick.

I mean when you can give up on your two biggest free agent signings and your 26 year-old starting power forward as a GM to bring in a 32 year-old power forward, a 34 year-old center coming off two of his worst seasons, a 31 year-old shooting guard in the twilight of his career, and Delonte West, you just have to!  Right? 

Wait a second.  WHAT DID I JUST SAY?!?  That seems completely illogical. 

And I know what you're saying to yourself, "Eric, Why did you analyze that trade in such depth?  Why didn't you just say the Cavaliers traded one pile of feces for a slightly differently looking pile of feces?"  When I hypothetically analyze your response to this piece, it all becomes much clearer to me.  Danny Ferry is an awful GM, but let's continue this fun exercise.  I'm having fun.

August 13, 2008 - As part of a 3-team trade, the Cleveland Cavaliers traded Joe Smith to the Oklahoma City Thunder; the Cleveland Cavaliers traded Damon Jones to the Milwaukee Bucks; the Milwaukee Bucks traded Mo Williams to the Cleveland Cavaliers; the Milwaukee Bucks traded Desmond Mason to the Oklahoma City Thunder; and the Oklahoma City Thunder traded Adrian Griffin and Luke Ridnour to the Milwaukee Bucks.

Now we're talking!  Joe Smith and Damon Jones for a shoot-first point guard in Mo Williams!  I love it!  Just what the Cavaliers needed.  A guy that wants to take a lot of shots and keep the ball out of Lebron James' hands?  Perffffectttt.

June 26, 2009 - Traded Sasha Pavlovic, Ben Wallace, cash and a 2010 2nd round draft pick (Dwayne Collins) to the Phoenix Suns for Shaquille O'Neal.

BLOCKBUSTER!  You were able to trade for an over-the-hill and injury prone Shaquille O'Neal!  I'm sure a slow and old Shaq will be able to keep up with the greatest physical specimen to ever play basketball.  Great trade, Danny Ferry!

February 17, 2010 - As part of a 3-team trade, the Cleveland Cavaliers traded Zydrunas Ilgauskas, Emir Preldzic and a 2010 1st round draft pick (Lazar Hayward) to the Washington Wizards; the Los Angeles Clippers traded Sebastian Telfair to the Cleveland Cavaliers; the Los Angeles Clippers traded Al Thornton to the Washington Wizards; the Washington Wizards traded Antawn Jamison to the Cleveland Cavaliers; and the Washington Wizards traded Drew Gooden to the Los Angeles Clippers.

And your last ditch effort to keep Lebron James in Cleveland is...drum roll please...Antawn Jamison!  Wait...Antawn Jamison?  When Kobe complains about playing with awful players in Los Angeles, Mitch Kupchak gets him the most dominant player of all-time, Shaquille O'Neal.  And then after Shaq left Los Angeles and the Lakers started to surround Kobe with terrible players, Kupchak again brought in one of the best centers in the league in Pau Gasol.  Kupchak clearly understands how to keep a superstar in his city. 

And I know that Kupchak is the GM in Los Angeles and Jerry Buss is the owner, but you have to give Buss credit for bringing in someone that can actually get the job done.  Gilbert, on the other hand, did almost nothing to keep to Lebron in Cleveland even though he would make you believe otherwise.  He would make you believe that Lebron committed the biggest travesty of all-time.  That he betrayed the city of Cleveland.  That he was a terrible person.  All the while not mentioning that Cleveland did almost nothing to keep Lebron in Cleveland, but who really cares about that?

Now back to the original question.  Has Dan Gilbert sabotaged the best the NBA has to offer from 2010-2015?

I say yes.  If the Cavaliers give Lebron a legitimate second option during his time in Cleveland, he would have likely resigned.  I tend to believe that even without Lebron in Miami, Bosh would still have likely gone to the Heat.  So now instead of the Heat and Bulls contending in the East every year, the Cavaliers would also be in the mix adding to the overall strength of the Eastern Conference.  Along with another contending team in the East, basketball fans would also have been able to watch Lebron and Wade put together unbelievable individual seasons on their respective teams.  Both players would have battled year in and year out for scoring titles and MVPs.  It's certainly a shame that we were never able to see it, but I don't think you can really blame either player for joining forces.

(And don't even get me started about the travesty that is Kyrie Irving only playing 27 minutes a game in his rookie season on an awful Cavaliers team this year.)

Is Kobe Bryant certifiably insane?

This has been on my mind since the beginning of this season.  Kobe Bryant is averaging 30.5 points per game and putting together a MVP season.  He had four consecutive 40 point games this season and is scoring nearly at will.

While discussing the Lakers win over the Suns in which Bryant scored 48 points,Bryant said, "Not bad for the seventh-best player in the league."

This quote seemed a little unneccesary.  In this quote, Kobe was referring to the #NBArank poll ESPN held this past offseason in which they asked 91 experts to rank the best players in the league.  Kobe ended up finishing seventh in the rankings behind Kevin Durant, Dirk Nowitzki, Chris Paul, Dwyane Wade, Dwight Howard, and Lebron James.  Is Kobe Bryant the seventh best player in the league?  Maybe.  Maybe not.  Is it worth getting upset over?  I would think not, but not in Kobe's mind.

Not only did this upset Kobe, it upset him to such an extent that after having his best game of the season he felt it necessary to comment on the ranking.  This would tend to make me believe that he used this insignificant slight to motivate himself during the offseason and before each and every game.  And honestly, I envy this about Kobe.  I know it may sound crazy, but I really do envy that ability.  Being able to turn the most insignificant and irrelevant comment into the motivation you need to work harder than you ever have before is what seperates the good players from the great players.  Some players would react to a slight like this in a much different way (cough***Lebron***cough) and would cower or fear becoming the villain.  Instead of attempting to get people to like him, Kobe has always used the hate from his critics to motivate himself to become a better player and that is something that should be envied in a sports culture where the modern athlete is more consumed with their media image than actual performance.

How long must I wait to see Sam Cassell prancing around on the sidelines of an NBA court after drawing up the play that won his team the game?



Too long.

How can you not make him the coach of your team?  I can't believe the Wizards screwed this one up.  Nevermind.  I thought for a second that the Wizards were a well-run NBA organization.  My mistake.