Cleveland Cavaliers Help LeBron James with Four New Players

Fans of the Cleveland Cavaliers have been wondering if their favorite team would find anyone to help LeBron James to win another Eastern Conference title.

Shaquille O'Neal, Jason Kidd and Mike Bibby were all traded before the deadline, but not to the Cleveland Cavaliers. Finally, help arrived - literally at the last minute.

At 2:59 p.m. on Feb. 21, Cavaliers general manager Danny Ferry pulled off the biggest deal in team history, trading six players to the Chicago Bulls and Seattle Sonics. In return, the Cavs got four players who should improve on all of their weaknesses.

Ben Wallace has championship experience with the Detroit Pistons, and he will give the Cavaliers the tough inside presence that the team has lacked since the days of Larry Nance. The Cavaliers were victimized in the NBA Finals by the San Antonio Spurs' Tony Parker, who drove down the lane at will. If the Spurs and Cavaliers meet in a rematch, Wallace will be waiting for him.

Wally Szczerbiak has the outside shooting range that will make opponents pay when they double-team LeBron. His three-point shooting percentage has improved in each of the last three years. He will also help Sasha Pavlovic, who has had a miserable season after starting late due to a holdout.

Delonte West will address the Cavaliers' biggest need at point guard. Eric Snow is near the end of his career, and Larry Hughes and Daniel Gibson are better suited to be shooting guards than point guards.

Joe Smith hasn't lived up to his status as a No. 1 overall draft pick, but he is a solid big man who will give the Cavaliers depth behind Wallace and Zydrunas Ilgauskas.

Wallace and Smith will more than make up for the loss of Drew Gooden to the Bulls, and the loss of Hughes is addition by subtraction in every way. Hughes was not happy playing second fiddle to LeBron James, and he was often injured and ineffective.

The Cavaliers also dealt Ira Newble, Cedric Simmons, Donyell Marshall and Shannon Brown to the Bulls and Sonics, who also swapped Adrian Griffin and draft picks.

The first game with the new players went well. Wallace, Smith and Szczerbiak all scored in double figures, while West passed out six assists in a 20-point Cavaliers win. Sure, the opponent was the Memphis Grizzlies, but a good start is a good start.

It will take a few weeks for the new Cavaliers to gel, but the chances of Cleveland beating Boston or Detroit for the Eastern Conference title just got a lot better. In the post-trade press conference, Ferry openly stated that the Cavaliers weren't good enough to win a championship before the trade.

As the Pistons learned last season, a team with LeBron James always has a chance.