Batman has his next Robin, and his name is Mo Williams. Is this a case of one player single-handedly killing a team to the point that they trade for him? Probably.
After the Larry Hughes debacle, I think we need to pace ourselves before going out and declaring the things yet to come.
...
Have I waited long enough?
...
CHAMPIONSHIP! In the bag. Mo Williams will be perfect on the Cavs. Delonte can be our combo guard. Sasha or (pre-trade) Wally can be our big guard. Boobie can be a specialist. And Lebron James can actually play off the ball against a real defense. Hallelujah for that!
If you've read Tom Ziller's Ballad for a Combo Guard, you already know Mo is as combo as they come, damn near a "perfect balance". With Lebron, the Cavs need a pure point like they need back to back road games. What they need is somebody who is not one dimensional, not a specialist. They needed an athlete, a scorer and a ballhandler, and they got one.
Mo is only 25 and he's improved every year he's been in the league, up to his latest line of 17.2 PPG on 48% from the field, 39% from deep, and 86% from the line, 6.3 assists to 2.8 TOs, 3.5 boards and 1.2 steals.
Honestly, I'm trying to temper my excitement by finding reasons not to like him, and here's what I got:
He's owned the Cavs ... but that doesn't matter anymore!
He doesn't get to the line much, which tells me he likes to settle and could go cold without the touches he's used to. He's more of a pull up-floater than twisting layup kinda guy, though, not a house-built-from-18-footers Larry Hughes type.
His PER against last year was higher than his PER. So he's not the best defender. But who on the Cavs is? Yet they continually turn in solid team D. At least he's quick. With some coaching and some winning, he'll be good enough.
The contract. Mo Money is getting at least $8.5mm for the next 4 years, with his option for a 5th. I've seen some people say that's bad, but those people are idiots. He's 25, he keeps getting better, and we have him locked up for a long, long time. Already people are saying he's definitely taking that option. I'm saying that barring a huge change in salary structure, he'll opt out at 12:01 am and sign a long term worth 8 figures per.
If there is anything I can hold against Mo Championships, it's that he's injury prone. He logged 80 games he's second year in and hasn't hit 70 since. He's small, so he's fragile, I guess. The only way this can go wrong is if Mo doesn't get to play enough, because mo' Mo means mo' wins.
And what did we give up to get him? Only the greatest shooter on the planet to not get minutes and a solid veteran big. We're either signing 47 year old Charles Oakley or thinking JJ Hickson is his 2nd coming, since the rookie is now getting penciled in for 15 per from the start.
I'm a little worried that this means the door for Delonte, but we're keeping him at least another year or getting something back right now in a sign and trade, since we'd be fools to let him walk, even with Mo in the fold. I'd sign up Delonte for 5 mil per right now and slot him in at the 2.
Wednesday, August 13, 2008
Let me repeat: 82 and Mo!
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6 comments:
Unless the 'mo' is coming from the mouth of Moses Malone, its probably worthwhile drinking some Kool Aid and understanding that the Cavs aren't going to win the championship because of Mo Williams.
Thunder Dan.
dan@dansmovies.com
No, the Cavs are going to win a championship because of Lebron James. Mo Williams just helps.
I still love this acquisition.
I'm still cautious only because everything that Danny Ferry does ends up being a disappointment. I'm taking a wait and see approach here. I'm not liking how thin our frontline is now but maybe we plan on playing small a lot.
I think Hickson is the first enforced we've had since... Bill Laimbeer? Damn.
Despite leading Team USA in rebounding, I doubt we see much Lebron at the 4 (unfortunately), so it'll be good to get Hickson experience early so he can drop some hatchets come playoff time.
We're champions right now if last year's squad had a single player that would've dropped Paul Pierce.
^ Defending champions, if we'd have had a guy make Tony Parker eat floor.
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