There was a time when NBA executives thought Danny Ferry would be the next great general manager. After all, basketball was in his genome. His father, Bob, was general manager of the then-Washington Bullets for almost two decades.
As a kid, Danny hung out with legendary big man Wes Unseld. Danny went to NBA games and practices, absorbing X's and O's as other kids his age were learning about George Washington.
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| This could mean happy days again for Danny Ferry and the Cavaliers. (Getty Images) |
That is where the storybook was supposed to continue. The young kid makes good, wins a few titles, considered one of the best at what he does. Yada, yada, so on and so forth. Only that never occurred. The Cavaliers may have gone to the NBA Finals last year, but it had nothing to do with Ferry. It was because of LeBron James.
Ferry, 41, has been a pedestrian general manager at best, a potted plant. He has been able to dodge criticism that would critically injure most personnel men because of his location in the laid-back media town of Cleveland. He let Jason Kidd and others slip through his fingers. If Ferry was located in a larger market, he would have been beaten as a do-nothing pretty boy.
Ferry has almost been a bust.
Until now.
The explosive, course-changing trade Ferry made Thursday was simply brilliant. Not solely because the Cavaliers can now legitimately compete with Boston and again swap elbows with Detroit, but because the trade Ferry made might -- just might -- do something even more significant. It might keep LeBron James in a Cavaliers uniform for many years to come.
Finally. Ferry got off his frightened, paralyzed bottom and did something to make the Cavaliers much better. Took you long enough, Danny. As Gunnery Sgt. Hartmann might say: Ferry makes trades like old people ----.
Not any more. Ferry is in the running for GM of the Year with this deal.
They basically gave up some dead wood, scrubs and James sycophants for mainly Ben "Super-Fro" Wallace and Wally Szczerbiak. The real heart of this deal is, of course, Wallace. He's still a big star and impact talent despite what happened in Chicago. He gives Cleveland something they desperately need -- guts and stones.
With that kind of power, combined with the electric James (who has six triple-doubles this year), and the shooting of Szczerbiak, one of the more underrated long-range scorers in basketball, the Cavaliers can hang with the best of the conference.
There are people who will say the Cavaliers truly didn't improve at all and Wallace is one of the more disappointing players in the league. Those people couldn't be more wrong. This trade will energize both James and Wallace. Szczerbiak does get traded every 18 seconds, but he still shoots 42 percent from three-point range.
