Looks Like I Picked the Wrong Day to Follow the Trade Deadline

I sat on my bed Thursday afternoon, television tuned to ESPN and computer open to ESPN.com, ohio.com, and hoopshype.com. My lap was slowly burning because these damn Macintosh computers get freaking hot. But I was not going to let that deter me. Because today was one of the most anxious days, besides the NBA lottery in 2003, I as a Cavs fan have experienced. It was the day of the trade deadline and the entire city of Cleveland, although they may not want to admit it, all knew deep inside that to have any shot at making the NBA Finals again Danny Ferry needed to make a move. But would he pull the trigger? Would the deal actually help this team? I could Tarentino this post and start at the end, but that would completely ruin everything, so I won’t, in fact I do not know why I even suggested it. So, I will start at the beginning.

It began Wednesday night. I was watching Shaq make his debut with the Suns on ESPN and following the Cavs on Gamecast as they took on the Indiana Pacers. One of my favorite sportswriters, who also happens to cover the Cavs and I have had the pleasure of shadowing last year, the Akron Beacon Journal’s own Brian Windhorst, blogs during every Cavs game. Since I am all the way out here in Missouri and cannot watch most Cavs games, I rely on Brian’s insight to get me through until I return home. Brian usually puts up a blog post at halftime, so when halftime hit I logged onto ohio.com and went straight to his blog to see how he thought the Cavs were playing. What I saw there would pretty much ruin any chance I had of studying or doing anything productive that night. Under the header of ‘Halftime”, his blog read something along the lines of this: I have not watched much of the first halftime because I am pursuing a potential blockbuster trade that the Cavaliers are involved in. More info to come.” The adrenaline started pumping right then and there. A blockbuster trade? With who? Brian also said the deal was not for Mike Miller, which was pretty much the only trade I had heard the Cavs were looking into. I spent the rest of the night browsing the Internet to find some information on what it could be until Brian updated his blog. I could find no information anywhere, which frustrated me because I knew that between choosing to study for Microecon and waiting to see what the Cavs were up to that Microecon was going down in a five second K.O. I began reading Cavalier’s forums online, which is an awful idea because you either end up getting extremely angry at the comments certain people post, such as, ‘Chris Bosh may be coming to the Cavs!’ which gets you really excited for a second before you realize that in no way would that trade ever go down. So you leave an angry post saying something along the lines of calling the guy a loser who is in his mom’s basement and has nothing better to do until you realize you are sitting in your dorm room at 1:30 in the morning and you have been refreshing hoopshype.com every 10 seconds, so are you really any better? No, you aren’t at all. But I digress.
Finally, Brian updates his blog a few hours later. His post not only made things even more stressful for me, it could possibly make me lose sleep. I was tempted to go on a search for some Nyquil for the rough night ahead. Brian told us a big trade was going down but that he could not tell us the team or players involved in order to protect his sources. Well thank you Brian. Really. I appreciate that excellent information you left us. Now I have thoughts of Michael Redd running through my head like sugar plums in that line in ‘T’Was A Night Before Christmas.” Who could the Cavs be after? I spoke to many a Cleveland friend, throwing around names like Sam Cassel, which would only be considered a blockbuster because the Cavs would be trading for a player who is not actually human, and anyone else we though warranted blockbuster status. But there was really no one out there who fit that profile. As I climbed into bed that night I knew I would be dreaming of Ric Bucher and Marc Stein, which isn’t weird at all ok so don’t judge me. The night would be a long one for us Cavs fans, but I was ready to wake up at the break of dawn…or 9 o clock because that is when my first class is, and go right back at it again.

Waking up Thursday morning, I could not wait to open up my computer and see the big headline…Cavs Trade Entire Team For Kobe Bryant….on the home page of ESPN.com. Alas, it was not the case as I surfed the net 5 minutes before my philosophy class was to start. No new information was up, Mr. Windhorst could still not update us and I was readying myself to listen to my philosophy teacher drone on about whether or not we actually know we have hands. I was dismayed with my findings on the Internet. Cleveland has always been the sports city that has never pulled the big deals or signed the big free agent when we need to. Last year, Danny Ferry had a trade lined up for Mike Bibby at the trade deadline that fell through. I got that familiar feeling in my stomach that this trade, whatever it may be, was going to fall through as well. So as I trudged back from class in the sleet/snow/hail, whatever the hell they call this shit that falls from the sky in Missouri, I was ready to accept defeat and watch the Cavs move on with the same guys they had when the day started.

Maybe I just wanted the Cavs to make a move for the sake of making a move. With all of this hype surrounding this mystery trade, not finishing the deal would be like a bad case of blue balls. The more I looked at the Cavaliers roster though, the more I knew something had to be done to have a legimate chance to raise another Eastern Conference Champiosnhip banner to the rafters of The Q. No way LeBron can carry this team by himself in a seven game series against the Celtics or Pistons this year, although never say never with this kid. We tire so much in Cleveland of hearing the Cavs being called a one man team. We know that with one good shooter, one decent point guard, the Cavs would be world above anyone in the East. So as I turn on ESPN at 1 o clock to tune into their deadline special, I pray that something happens. That is when I also entered Chad Ford’s chat on ESPN.com where he was reporting the Cavs were in talks with the Chicago Bulls for Ben Wallace. I started to freak. Ben Wallace? Why would the Cavs want the guy? I stared at Ric Bucher on the television wishing his shiny gold hair would tell me something, but nothing came. My heart rate was skyrocketing, I am sure of it. Damn this computer is hot, I thought to myself. More details came in. Larry Hughes and Drew Gooden to the Bulls for Chris Duhon, Wallace, and Joe Smith. Finally, at just past 3 o clock, ESPN News reported the final deal. The Cavaliers receive Joe Smith, Ben Wallace, Wally Szczerbiak, and Delonte West while giving up Larry Hughes, Drew Gooden, Donyell Marshall, Ira Newble, and Mark Price. Could it be? The Cavaliers pulled of a huge trade? Am I dreaming?
As my phone began to rang off the hook like a PBS telethon, I took in the trade. And this is what I think.

I really like the deal. Goodbye Larry “I complain about playing PG but wouldn’t really play well at any position you put me in” Hughes, and hello Wally Szczerbiak and your 42% shooting from point land. LeBron James driving and kicking it out to either Wally World or Boobie Gibson, both who shoot over 40% from three? It will be nice not hearing the rim clank as much. Is Larry Hughes going to replace our rims as part of this deal? Hope so. Goodbye Donyell “ I think after my first year in Cleveland I will stop working for rebounds and just stand outside the three point line” Marshall, hello Delonte West. West, a pg, will bring better shooting, better dribbling, and the ability to really let LeBron play off the ball. Goodbye Ira “Everyone calls me a great defensive player, for what reason I will never know, I usually defend the Gatorade cooler” Newble, hello Big Ben! Wallace will be able to just focus on defense in Cleveland, and add to something the Cavs do better than anyone, rebound. Goodbye Drew “I still don’t know how to play defense after four years in the same system” Gooden. Although I will miss his 13 ppg and his ridiculous facial/neck hair. Sometime I think Common just comes into the locker room at halftime and asks Drew if he can play the second half. Hello, Joe Smith. A great veteran who can shoot it and play much better defense. Yes we give up Larry Hughes and Drew Gooden, a core part of this team’s coming of age the past two years. But Larry was never the player we needed him to be, and we will no longer have to worry about replacing Drew on the court in the fourth quarter. How Ben Wallace performs is huge, but when you play with LeBron, it makes you want to work harder. It as a great day for Cavs fans today, and a great day for a college student to skip class to watch his team make a big move. GO CAVS!