By week’s end it will be a month since the trade that shook the foundation of the Cleveland Cavaliers. Gone and almost forgotten are Drew Gooden’s stretches of offensive inactivity and Larry Hughes’ remarkably sensitive skeletal system.
Gone and completely forgotten are Shannon Brown’s high-flying dunks (followed by unexplainable lapses in basic basketball judgment), Donyell’s Marshall’s dog-like ability to age on a basketball court, Ira’s Newblehood and the Invisible Man some called Cedric Simmons.
In return, the Cavs have to feel happy with all the players they got in return. Joe Smith is the team’s most consistent scorer off the bench, Delonte West leads the league in weird tattoos, and Ben Wallace, when healthy, has been a solid defensive contributor and a favorite of the bumbling broadcast team of Fred McLeod and Austin Carr. Yep, everyone is happy with every piece of the trade. Nothing to do but say we got good players at a reasonable price….
Oh yeah, there’s also Wally Szczerbiak.
I have to admit that while I could talk about the basketball logic of the trade – I predicted Joe Smith would be the best piece of the trade overall and Wallace’s presence would equal 12 rebounds whenever he and Z could take the floor together – I was most excited about the Cavs acquiring Wally. Growing up a MAC basketball fan, Wally was the bar for successful MAC players in my generation. He was, and to some extent still is, an Ohio legend. While I understood that his better days were behind him, I waited for his first 24-point explosion to espouse about how he still had some long three balls in the tank.
Thus far, he’s shown none of that. In fact, the only thing worse than his drive-killing missed jump shots has been his awkwardly slow perimeter defense. I’m not here to kill the guy, but have a look at his numbers since he became a Cavalier: 11 games played, 9.8 ppg, 34.9 percent 3-pt field goals. In that time, he’s yet to have even a 20-point game, and his season scoring average has dipped by almost a full point.
11 games is a small sample, but it’s nearly 14 percent of an NBA season. What’s worse, he’s regressing instead of progressing. Surely the return of Sasha Pavlovic to the lineup has had an effect on the rotation and his minutes, but look at his March numbers: 24.3 min/pg, 9.1 ppg, 33.3 percent 3-pt. fg.
As a result of Pavlovic’s return, and Wally’s slow learning curve, his minutes have been cut the last two games – he played only 10 minutes against the Bobcats on Sunday – which will only hurt his ego and make his shot worse.
There are plenty of reasons to give Wally a free pass, and I have already used all of them in my circle of friends who have taken to calling him Larry Yell for his exemplary ability to shank a big shot. Remember, in a matter of one month Wally has been traded from a team where he could shoot whatever shot he wanted to a team where he is only asked to shoot a certain shot at a certain time. Moreover, his former team put about as much emphasis on defense as Shaq does on his low-carb diet, and now Wally is being asked to play on a team that believes grinding defense is the cure-all. Finally, while making this transition, Wally has moved back to Ohio, where there is additional pressure on him, and his wife recently had a baby.
While all that has turned the empathy machine on full blast, the time has come to ask how long we forgive and hope. The fact of the matter is Wally was brought in because he’s supposed to be able to create his own scoring opportunities off the bench and make big threes. Those are niche responsibilities, and the reason he’s earning roughly $12.3 million this season.
To date, I have held back any anger when he fails at these somewhat meager tasks. I hear myself channeling my inner Austin Carr whenever he misses a big jump shot – ‘he’s a shooter,’ I’ll say, ‘he has to do some other things on the floor and take the time to get his shot back.’ Consequently, I have given Wally a longer leash than most Cleveland fans, who are already including his contract as part of the mathematical equation to bring Michael Redd to Cleveland in the next two years.
I won’t go that far, but my patience is wearing thin. 11 games is a small sample, I understand that. But there are only 15 games left, and the Cavs need all of them. Wally is an old hero in my book, but he’s only got about four more games to figure this out before he just becomes old.
-MoneyMike is S*KM’s senior alarm sounder, constantly pushing the panic button for things like sprained ankles and bad haircuts. Send him an e-mail at Cottrill.m@gmail.com
All Wally needs to do is develop that patented push-off fade-away jumper and he’ll be fine.
Joe, as you noted, that move is already patented. I would sue him if he used that move.
That move is illegal. I should know, as it was used against me in an unfair way in many games at the Charles J. Ping Center.
Ah good times. The days of MoneyMike and Chuck going tooth-and-nail on the hardwood are sorely missed. I’m not sure which one would qualify as Wally but there is no doubt that I was the LeBron of the Ping Center.
At last check though, I believe MoneyMike’s classic move would move him ahead of Chuck’s level of talent. I could be mistaken but if I were, I wouldn’t be the LeBron of Ping Center.
I rest my case.
In case you forget, I made it rain in there.