This is a phenomenal trade for the Bucks. I hate it. They became quite deep at the thinnest position in the league, which is something we should have done.
Everyone just needs to shut up about pre-rankings. Talent is not an issue now with the records. Chemistry is. Nearly every team in the East has improved talent-wise, but it is team chemistry that will separate the contenders from those that will be watching from home in April. And whoever makes the playoffs, regardless of the seed, will be a strong contender to make the second round, unless you're unfortunate enough to be from the Atlantic division.
There are large question marks for both the Bucks and Cavs.
For the Bucks, TJ Ford is the X factor that may put them on top.
For the Cavs, LeBron James is the obvious factor that makes the cream rise.
To say Gadzuric is better than AV/Henderson is a folly. To say the inverse is equally foolish. But you have the advantage now because AV is injured until February.
Joe Smith better than Marshall? They bring different things to the table. Joe Smith will eventually be relegated to the bench. Marshall can accept that. Can Smith?
Gooden and Magloire both have the big Q's looming over them. They will both overperform this year: Magloire will be happy on a winning team, Gooden will be in his contract year. Both bring the needed rebounding. Gooden is a better post scorer, while Magloire has 2 more inches, enabling him to play center. Don't give me All-Star appearance crap, the past is more situational than indicational. Magloire being a center and 2nd option, while Gooden being a PF and being snubbed. Put Gooden in a starting position and 2nd option and he'd average 20/12.
Bobby Simmons can improve, stay the same, or do a little worse. His most important trait will not be his offense, but his defense. Same can be said for Larry Hughes, but Hughes brings more to the table offensively, but has more durability issues.
Jiri Welsch is not better than Ira Newble. He has no leadership skills on the defensive end, something that many people underrate. His shooting will be inconsistent, because that's his nature. I do feel he'll do better this season because he'll have much less pressure on him to be a savior. However he won't be anything close to the 6th man of your team. To expect that of him is also foolish. He won't do any better than Luke Jackson or Sasha Pavlovic or Ira Newble will do.
Charlie Bell? Mo Williams? I suppose they're decent backups. The combination of impact of TJ Ford/Williams and Jones/Snow will be equal. Bell will be alright, I suppose.
Star power: LeBron and Redd are the faces of their franchise. LeBron is the obvious #1 option for the Cavs. Redd is getting paid the most, but is he the impact player? Not in my opinion, TJ Ford is the impact player that will be the one to have the prowess to win games. How will Mikey react to that? Redd is merely a role-player, a shooter. Damon Jones anybody? At least we're not paying Damon 70 mil.
Then it comes down to defense. LeBron James and Michael Redd were criticized for their defensive shortcomings last season. Who has been working on their game? I heard LeBron has, but nothing yet from the Redd camp. Regardless of individual skills, whoever comes out on top really comes down to:
Coaching. Who has the better coach? Who's working hard with their team to forge chemistry? Who's preaching the right things and is working on a better system? Mike Brown, or Terry Stotts? We'll never really know for sure until we see how things go in the season. But ask anyone in the NBA... I'd say more would pick Mike Brown with Hang Egan to lead their team over Terry Stotts and... who's your assistants?
Both are teams that vastly re-vamped their starting lineups. Milwaukee has so far made more changes. But it's not numbers that count here. Regardless, both teams are very different from what they were in the past. We'll see how they meld together using all of these factors.
