Well, when Danny Ferry does something, he goes all out. Today’s blockbuster 11 player trade totally revamped the wine and gold roster. In one fell swoop; the Cavs added another defensive big man, a pure shooter, a young combo guard, and a serviceable veteran big man. LeBron James has to be smiling today, as his general manager did something. Whether this move gets the team back to the NBA Finals remains to be seen.
Replacing Drew Gooden with Ben Wallace gives the Cavs exactly what Mike Brown wants out of his power forwards. When healthy, Anderson Varajao played the majority of time in the fourth quarter. Why? Defense and rebounding. That what the coach loves, and he will get plenty of that from Wallace, a former NBA defensive player of the year. Plus, adding Joe Smith gives the team a fourth big man who can be effective. Donyell Marshall couldn’t guard a bigger player anymore, so with four guys up front, Brown can keep all of his big men fresh.
Replacing Larry Hughes with Wally Szczerbiak gives the squad a more consistent outside shooting threat, which will open up the lane for James. It does, however, weaken the defense. No one has ever mentioned the former Miami (OH) standout with the great defenders of the game. My guess is that Delonte West will also move into the starting lineup along side Wally. West is not a pure point guard, but with LBJ really running the show, the Cavs don’t need one.
The Cavs will struggle in the short term because of the adjustment period that goes along with a trade like this, and because of the injuries to Varajao and Daniel Gibson. Even if the newcomers can play against the Wizards, the bench will still be short because of the injuries. It wouldn’t be a surprise if Ferry dips into the NBDL to fill out the roster.
Giving up Shannon Brown and Cedric Simmons doesn’t really affect anything. Even if one of them develops into a player, both were out and out disappointments in Cleveland. Brown has all kinds of physical talent, but doesn’t grasp the game, spending much of his time with the Cavs jacking up as many shots as he could in garbage time. That doesn’t impress guys like Mike Brown and Ferry. Simmons just wasn’t healthy enough to contribute here.
With the moves made today, Danny Ferry is putting it all on the line. He made moves he believes will bring the franchise a title. He did it with out giving up a lot of the cap flexibility he will need in the future. At least the Cavs weren’t idle. Surrounding LeBron James with shooters is a good and sound offensive strategy.
JK
Cleveland Sports Perspective 
talk about going from one extreme to the other. ferry went from being mr. inertia to e=mc2 in one fell swoop. the only thing that would make this deal go south is, god forbid, if one of the new guys falls prey to the dreaded cavs injury bug that has plagued them incessantly this year. hopefully they can all stay healthy and the other cavs walking wounded return to their wanted health and strength just in time for the stretch run going into the playoffs. needles to say, i like their chances.