NBA Trade Deadline: Cleveland’s assets

The Cleveland Cavaliers are in the enviable position of being among the elite teams in the league, and having enough expiring contracts to make a significant move at the trading deadline. But with the trading deadline only weeks away, and no easy player to snatch up like  last season when the Los Angeles Lakers fleeced Memphis out of Pau Gasol, the Cavs have to weigh their options carefully.

The untouchables

Lebron James, Daniel Gibson, Delonte West, Mo Williams, Zydrunas Ilgauskas, J.J. Hickson

Lebron is a no brainer, Z, before injuring his foot, was having his best season in years, and may be the best jump baller in the NBA. Gibson, West and Williams make up the solid guard play that Lebron has never had before this season. Meanwhile, JJ Hickson is precisely the type of player the Cavs need on their team. He’s a good, young post scorer with shot-blocking skills, and barring injury, those types of players always pan out.

The trading pieces:

Wally Szczerbiak

“Wally World” may have ended years ago, but his$13 million salary comes off the books at the end of this season. Due to the economic crash, several teams will be looking to trim long term dollars from their ledgers at the cost of winning in the short term. But aside from saving millions of dollars, expiring contracts are essential to a quick rebuilding process, and the freed salary cap space could be filled again as early as this summer.

Eric Snow

An aging knee has forced Mr. Snow to unofficially retire. Cleveland is currently in the process of filing for an injury insurance exemption in order to remove the $7.3 million currently owed to Snow from Cleveland’s payroll, so it’s very possible that Cleveland will hold on to Snow, as opposed to taking on a player earning a similar paycheck.  But $7.3 million is enough to pay for a solid player, should Cleveland pursue a trade.

Ben Wallace

Ben Wallace’s contract expires in 2010, but his value on the Cavs is likely higher than what they could get in return. He’s a good, if no longer elite, rebounder and defender, and has little to no fear of Kevin Garnett, all traits desired by a contender, not a rebuilding team.

Sasha Pavlovic

Pavlovic is a big guard who lacks the confidence to consistently play well. He’s a below average ballhandler, and despite solid form, is a mediocre jumpshooter. But he’s solid on defense, and has found a niche covering players who are able to back down Cleveland’s undersized guards. Pavlovic’s size, youth and reasonable contract would come in handy as part of a larger trade for a perimeter player.

Anderson Varejao

Varejao chose the right year to show off his developing offensive game.  He’s in a contract year, but is averaging career highs in every offensive category, while remaining an outstanding post defender. Teams may not like Varejao defending them, but they would love it if he were playing with them. In all liklihood, the Cavs want to lock in Varejao to a long-term contract, but that process could get ugly, very fast. GM Danny Ferry, a notoriously stingy negotiator, got into a clash last summer with Varejao’s agent, Dan Fegan, who continuously demanded a 6 year/$60 million deal for his client; a negotiation process that resulted in Varejao holding out from training camp, and having a subpar 2007-2008 season. And as his other clients, Nene and Shawn Marion can attest, Fegan is notable for disregarding team success if it gets in the way of landing his players as much money as possible.

Darnell Jackson

During the meager amount of minutes he’s been given, Jackson has shown himself to be a decent ballplayer. He’s a solid rebounder, strong post defender, and a respectable jumpshooter. Jackson’s ceiling is rather low, but considering how incompetant the average young big man is in the NBA, Jackson could eventually make a team’s big man rotation, if given the chance.

Draft Picks

Assuming their roster stays mostly intact, the Cavs don’t need a first round pick in both 2009 and 2010. Considering the Cavs record,  the pick is likely to be very late in the first round, but any team will likely ask for a draft pick as part of any package.