The week of the trade deadline was once again a jumbled mess of salary dumps and last-ditch efforts. The Cavs made a move to get Antawn Jamison, not Amare Stoudemire.
I thought Cleveland already made its move to win the Finals in the off-season. The Diesel came to "Win a Ring for the King." Even though they have the best record in the league, Danny Ferry felt he needed to go get another somewhat high-profile player.
Jamison will obviously be more helpful than Zydrunas. He can do a lot of things well, and seems like he's able to accept a role. The Stoudemire idea wasn't going to work (see 08-09 Phoenix Suns.) I like that Ferry didn't give up J.J. Hickson for a quick fix that wouldn't have paid off.
If Jamison's first game as a Cav is any indication of things to come: Uh-oh! I don't care how anxious/nervous/excited he was, 0-12 is horrendous and unacceptable. You don't think he's already feeling the pressure? There's a ton of pressure on Cleveland. Mike Brown and LeBron are feeling it, and now Jamison is, too. Shaq would but he's no longer able to contribute enough to matter.
I'm not convinced the Cavs are the team to beat. Whoever comes out of the West is the favorite. I like the Lakers and Denver over Cleveland. I think Dallas, with its new acquisitions, could beat Cleveland. They should get out of the East, but that means they'll have to beat Orlando, which they haven't proven yet.
Wild Theory: Ferry brought in Jamison to replace LeBron after he leaves this off-season. Jamison is, of course, older and not nearly as good, but is a big swingman who can do a lot of things. He's a solid player. Ferry knows, like I do, that LeBron is leaving Cleveland after this year - win or lose. He needs to have some quality players that he can use to stay afloat after James bolts for a better situation (and better coach.)
The Lakers, Nuggets and Magic all are moving forward with the team they have in place. That's a reason I like those teams more than Cleveland. They already believed they can win a championship. Cleveland told the league, "We still need more help." Now Cleveland must try to incorporate Jamison with 25 games to play.
Tiger Finally Makes a Statement
Tiger came out of the woodwork to make a rehearsed, prepared statement. He said some good things, but he had to. No points for admitting to cheating and being irresponsible. That's been so well-documented it's old news. He's still trying to say it's between him and Elin. No it's not, quit saying it is.
He read that scripted statement so slowly and dramatically that he should be nominated for an Academy Award. The stares into the camera when defending Elin were laughable. The creepiest part: the shade of his skin. I guess his sex addiction rehab-ERRR-"inpatient therapy" must not allow him to get sunlight. He looked like Sammy Sosa.
Bringing up Buddhism was an interesting strategy. Apparently he's a Buddhist. He kept that hidden better than his affairs.
He's sorry, I get it. He's going to change his ways, I hope so. He's heavy into therapy and treatment, whatever. He could have just posted that speech to his Web site. It was similar to the releases he put on tigerwoods.com after the crash. Very controlled and non descriptive.
Here's what Tiger should do: Answer some questions, speak off-the-cuff and get on the golf course.
