-  The Cavs have traded for Mo Williams of the Bucks, sending Damon Jones to Milwaukee and Joe Smith to Oklahoma City in a 3-team trade.  (Of note, this marks Brian Windhorst's first story after returning from a long illness.  Way to come back, Brian, and well done.)

-  I love this trade for the Cavaliers.  It is exactly what they needed, and they were able to make the deal without sacrificing any youth or Wally's expiring contract.  My only problem is that most Cavs fans have never heard of Mo Williams, but I'm pretty sure that will change quickly.
 
-  We know the Cavs can defend, especially in the playoffs.  What they lacked was an offensive instigator not named LeBron.  Williams fits the bill perfectly.  He can score (17.2ppg in 07-08), he has solid range (38% from 3 last year), and is an above average passer (6.3 assists per game).  He can really kick-start the moribund Cavalier offense, and that should translate into very exciting basketball early in the season.
 
-  Pairing a point guard with LeBron has always been a priority, and for good reason.  With Larry Hughes, defenses knew that once the ball was in Hughes' hands, they were in good shape.  He wasn't going to penetrate, he wasn't going to pass, and most likely, he wasn't going to make his jumper.  While there are plenty of wing players better than Hughes, the problem is essentially the same: when the ball is in the hands of a Michael Redd or a Vince Carter, odds are they are going to shoot it.  And every defense feels better when they know that the ball isn't going to end up in LeBron's hands.
 
-  Williams is the complete opposite.  He is very good at getting to the hoop (not Tony Parker or Chris Paul quality, but above average), and he can hit the open jumper if the defense drops back.  But, most importantly, he is willing to pass the ball.  Mo Williams' scoring ability forces you to pay attention to him, but as soon as you do, he's going to find LeBron James in great position, and LeBron is going to kill you.  LeBron might not like it, but running a pick and roll with Williams and LeBron would be very hard to defend.
 
-  Still, there are some (rather big) question marks.  First, he's small at 6-1, 185.  Yes, I know that Mark Price was (slightly) smaller, but the league is really hard on small guards right now, even without Rick Mahorn elbowing them in the temple.  Second, Williams has only averaged 66 games a season in his five-year career.  Last season showed how much injuries can disrupt the flow of a season, and a guy who is almost guaranteed to miss 15 games isn't going to help that.  Finally, his averages, especially his points per game, are inflated from playing on a no-defense team in Milwaukee for the last 2 years.  And while I have faith in Mike Brown's ability to make Williams into at least an average defender, he's still below average in that regard.
 
-  Despite all those concerns, this is still a great move for the Cavs.  They pick up a legitimate offensive weapon in Williams, and they manage to get him for Joe Smith and Damon Jones.
 
-  The Cavs are going to miss Joe Smith.  I know that everyone is excited about J.J. Hickson, but he's still a long way from being a consistent contributor, and Mike Brown isn't going to give him serious minutes until he learns to play defense.  Smith gave them a solid mid-range weapon on offense, and he was usually adequate on defense (a particularly humbling loss to New Orleans last year notwithstanding).  The frontcourt has been a strength for this team in the last three seasons, and the Cavs need it to be again if they want to contend.  Ilgauskas and Wallace are old, and they are inevitably going to miss games to injury.  The Cavs are going to need quality support from their backup bigs, and the trading of Smith weakens that line.
 
-  The Cavs will not miss Damon Jones.  Damon had a bad rap here in Cleveland, mostly because of his over-inflated ego and his mediocre performance.  For some reason fans expected a guy who talked that much to back it up, failing to recognize that this was a guy who had been on 10 NBA teams, and wasn't exactly making $20 Million.  He was never as good as he thought he was, but he was never as bad as most fans thought he was either.
 
-  This was a three-team trade with the Bucks and the OKC "Thunder", sending Williams to the Cavs, Joe Smith and Desmond Mason to Oklahoma City, and Damon Jones, Luke Ridnour and Adrian Griffin to the Bucks.  But it seems clear to me that, at least in the short term, Danny Ferry was the big winner.
 
-  The Bucks, who made a major move on draft day trading Yi Jianlian to the Nets for Richard Jefferson, looked like they were trying to make a run.  Now they've dumped their starting point guard, choosing to turn the reins over to Ramon Sessions.  Sessions started in the D-League last year, only to come up at the end of the year and play well, even having a 24-assist game against Chicago (albeit in a game that ended at 151-135...in regulation).  Mason was unnecessary with the addition of Jefferson, but given the lousy players they got back for Williams, I have to call the Bucks losers on this one.
 
-  The To-Be-Named-Laters seemed to make a lateral move, but definitely ended up better than the Bucks.  Ridnour and Griffin had no place on the team, and the addition of Joe Smith should benefit the young OKC team by adding experience and stability to their front line.
 
-  I have to give Danny Ferry credit on this one.  In considering moves for this offseason, acquiring Mo Williams never warranted serious consideration.  He has a long contract, but it's very reasonable given his production, and he's just about to enter the prime of his career.  While the Bucks were high on Sessions, there was no reason for them to move Williams in the offseason after the acquisition of Jefferson.  A three-pronged attack of Williams, Redd and Jefferson would have been a solid compliment to new Head Coach Scott Skiles' defensive mindset.  Now, the Bucks have essentially traded Williams for a little roster flexibility.  They didn't even get a Draft Pick.  I have to think that the Bucks fans (are there still more than one?) will be pretty put off by this.  Which means that Danny Ferry must be doing something right.
 
-  But most importantly, the Cavs have added a weapon that gets them closer to a Championship.  This was a very, very good trade for the Wine and Gold.
 
Go Cavs. 
 
Mike C.