HoopsHype.com Columns

Re-shaping the Cavs
by Bruce Meyer / January 22, 2004

When the Cavs sent small forward Darius Miles to the Blazers for point guard Jeff McInnis and throw-in center Ruben Boumtje Boumtje, Cleveland made the next step in its transformation from an athletic, up-tempo squad that couldn't play team ball to one that clearly is shaped by the philosophy of coach Paul Silas.

They see McInnis as a veteran starting point guard, a move that will allow first-year phenom LeBron James to move to his natural shooting guard spot. The team also sees McInnis as a better outside shooting threat than backup point guard Kevin Ollie, though by no means the outside threat the Cavs need to keep defenses honest.

The Blazers, meanwhile, looked at McInnis as an expendable player and Miles as the 22-year-old player who still can reach stardom.

In Cleveland, the Cavs want the team to be like Silas: tough defensive-minded players, who think team-first, win-first and individual stats last. With the departure first of Ricky Davis to Boston and now Miles, the Cavs have gone from being an athletic team to a team with one superstar (James); one potential star who is Silas' type of player (Carlos Boozer); an All-Star center (Zydrunas Ilgauskas) who isn't as tough inside on the defensive end as Silas would like; and a bunch of role players.

Not that the Cavs can't get up the floor and score in the open court, but the team will now be focused around James and players who will play how Silas wants to play. Silas and GM Jim Paxson feel the team can begin to win this year -- possibly even eke out a playoff spot in the weak Eastern Conference, and then make big strides toward being a championship team in coming years.

They also wanted the ball out of LeBron's hands. While he leads the team in assists (even averaging more assists than McInnis has in Portland), he also was among the league leaders in turnovers. By putting King James out on the wing, Silas and Paxson feel their young superstar will have more of a chance to create. Even before the trade, Ollie often played point guard down the stretch of games, so LeBron wouldn't have to deal with bringing the ball upcourt against pressure defenses. The one thing the team will have to guard against, however, is that LeBron doesn't get bored out on the wing if he doesn't get the ball enough. And make no mistake, for the Cavs to be successful, the ball must be in LeBron's hands often.

Silas may also have a tough time juggling minutes. His starting lineup once James returns from a sprained ankle likely will be Ilgauskas at center; Boozer and Eric Williams at forward; and McInnis and LeBron in that backcourt. They have capable backups in DeSagana Diop and Tony Battie at center and power forward; Ira Newble at small forward; Ollie at point guard; and Dajuan Wagner and Kedrick Brown at shooting guard.

It's clear that Boozer and LeBron will play 35-40 minutes most nights. And the Cavs have indicated that they need Wagner as an added scoring threat, so some of the other players likely will be seeing more bench time than they'd like. And don't rule out another trade, as Ilgauskas' name has been on the rumor block most of the year.

As for Miles' tenure in Cleveland, it's not that Darius was a bad guy -- the team even kind of laughed off him sleeping through practice earlier this week. Last year, though, was a waste for him. He was shocked when the Clippers traded him, and he clearly was out of sorts not playing with best friend Quentin Richardson. But while Darius is a good athlete, he didn't mature into the type of basketball player Silas wants on his team. At times, the fourth-year player could be dominating. He'd run the court, throw down monster slams. He'd come from nowhere to get huge blocks on defense that would throw the crowd into a frenzy.

But he lacked elsewhere in terms of his basketball skills. He wasn't able to develop his jump shot; his free-throw shooting was horrendous; his overall defensive skills were lacking; and his ballhandling ability was such that an experiment last year at point guard was a disaster (as much John Lucas' fault for trying such a dumb idea as Miles' for not being able to execute it).

Darius worked hard for Silas this year. He practiced with the new coach over the summer trying unsuccessfully to develop a dependable jump shot. He was a good citizen when benched for four games. For the most part, he played hard. But Darius is one player who, by coming into the league straight from high school, never had the chance to develop his proper skills as a basketball player. And it became apparent as this season played out that he just wasn't going to fit with what Silas wanted to do with the Cavs. While Miles -- LeBron's best friend on the team -- was shocked when traded from the Clippers, he wasn't surprised this time. He had been rumored to be on the block for several weeks, and seemed to take the move in stride.

In Portland, the Blazers will be looking for Miles to play small forward, where they already have Ruben Patterson and Rasheed Wallace. Coach Maurice Cheeks also said he may try Darius some at backup point guard, a plan that should be pointed out to him was tried and failed in Cleveland. They also look at Miles as an athletic player of "unrealized potential" who still may have a high ceiling in the NBA, and one more likely to feel at home back in the more up-tempo style of play in the Western Conference. If the new Blazer fails in what amounts to a half-year audition, the team will have lost little, as Miles is not under contract after this year.

Just as the Cavs have been reshaping their roster, so too are the Blazers trying to sport a new look. The team made a 25-point pledge to the fans that included the following criteria they would be looking for in making deals: the team would be fiscally responsible; players brought in would be of strong character; and yet the Blazers would not sacrifice talent.

From their perspective, McInnis was a serviceable player at best who had become a malcontent in recent weeks when he lost minutes after Derek Anderson returned from an injury. He follows Bonzi Wells, the player sent packing after publicly clashing with Cheeks on several occasions.

Blazers GM John Nash also has made no bones that he will be on the phone talking up deals right up to the Feb. 19 deadline. Of course, moving Rasheed Wallace remains the ultimate goal for Nash. If he can do that, then the Cavs won't be the only team in the deal with a totally new look from the start of the season.

Bruce Meyer is a regular contributor to HoopsHype.com

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