I suppose there is a lot I could say about Danny Ferry, General Manager of our Cleveland Cavaliers. But instead of 1000 words on why Ferry has been disappointing — and why he’s shown no signs of improving — I’ll just allow his work to speak for itself (more or less).
In order of how much longer these players are under contracts Ferry gave them:
2010
Zydrunas Ilgauskas (b. 1975) is under contract until 2010. He’s still owed $32.4 million on his $55 million contract (none of the follow contract figures include this season). Due to a string of unfortunate injuries he plays older than he is and his current injury-free run is one of the more surprising and not-talked-about sports stories in recent Cleveland sports memory. He’s tall with a nice touch, but he’s one of the slowest players in the league, which makes him the perfect running mate for LeBron James, who is the type of player you want to surround with plodding big men.
Larry Hughes, despite being about a foot shorter and 80 pounds lighter, is an awful lot like Ilgauskas, with one glaring exception: Ilguaskas can shoot a jumper. Here is how they are alike: Hughes is still owed $38.5 million on his $60 million contract; Hughes’s career has been marred by injuries; both were overpaid by Danny Ferry. Hughes’s saving grace is that he’s a much better defender than is Ilgauskas. Then again, that’s not saying much.
2009
Donyell Marshall will come off the books in 2009. Until then the Cavs must pay him $11.6 million dollars (again, these figures don’t include the 2006/07 salaries), which is a pretty nice chunk of change for a power forward whose on-court comfort grows the farther he’s away from the basket. Unfortunately, his comfort is often at odds with his productivity. Oh, and he was born in 1973 and he can’t play defense.
Damon Jones is still owed $8.3 million, which is a pretty nice chunk of change for a shooting guard who has the height of a point guard minus all the necessary point guard skills. Or wait! He’s a point guard who is capable of knocking down a three pointer but incapable of running an offense. It’s one of the two, or both.
Miscellany
LeBron James didn’t sign a max deal this summer. That’s certainly reassuring. As a fan you always want to see your franchise player leave money and years on the table. That said, he did sign Drew Gooden, but the delay before signing him is indicative. Gooden could have signed with another team; for a while, that certainly seemed to be where things were heading. As it is he’s been the second-best player on the team this year. He’s still incredibly young and this will be the first time in his career that he’s had the same coach for two seasons in a row. Signing Gooden should never have been an issue. Now that he’s signed I must give kudos to Ferry: the Gooden contract is a great contract for the organization. Right now Gooden is the only player (other than LBJ, of course) with trade value higher than what he’s owed by the team. That he is the only such player is really unfortunate and reflects poorly on Ferry. Trading away every other player of substance (and I use that word as a joke) would result in the team taking a hit, financial or otherwise, unless Isiah Thomas is really feeling generous. Ferry was hamstrung by inheriting Eric Snow. This is worth noting. Ferry’s best — and only decent — move as a GM was trading for Flip Murry last season. When your best move is trading for a below-average shooting guard you know you have problems.
Final Note
The Cavs have $64.3 million locked up in salaries for 2007/08, $62.1 million for 2008/09, and $40.3 million for 2009/10.
Eric Snow counts for $14 million of that $166.7 million. Drew Gooden counts for $13.5 million. LBJ counts for $41.2 million.
That leaves $98 million owed to the rest of the players currently on the roster (excluding Varejao, Pollard, and Pavolvic, who all come off the books after this season).
Quick: Name me any combination of players on the team — again, excluding Varejao, Pollard, and Pavolvic — worth that much money.
…….
Times up.
Hope you enjoyed the game. On your way out, please be sure to give a warm round of applause to your host, Danny Ferry, your Cleveland Cavaliers GM!
