I tend to over-value character guys. I know that, and I admit that up front. It seems too often that most people don’t want a guy on their squad unless he can score at will. It’s just that not everyone needs to score at will for a team to win. Sometimes you need a guy who is a solid player in all aspects of the game. Someone who won’t complain about touches, and who brings focus and intensity regardless of their box score outcome. I know I’m preaching to the choir here.

Anyway, Joe Smith is that guy. Of course, so is Leon Powe. I like that acquisition for the Cavs. If you have Powe, you don’t need Smith. I get that.

Joe seemed to like being here in OKC. Joe is the kind of guy who would say good things about his time here if OKC were located in Antarctica and inhabited by cannibals, but nonetheless, we felt appreciated. And he did a great job leading by example, teaching the young guys how to be a class act in the League. I don’t know if there are measurables for such a thing, but I would like to know the monetary value a mentorship from Joe Smith would be worth over a guy like Zach Randolph or Stephon Marbury.

But even with all that, Joe didn’t fit here. He’s the guy that a contender needs to fill that one spot on the roster right behind their star. We’re not contenders, and don’t have that star ahead of him. Plus we asked him to play the 5, and he’s more built to play the 4.

I don’t see the Hawks as contenders, but in any case, I hope he enjoys his time there.

Joe Smith…. he’s basically a guy that is going to bring a lot to the table, and take very little off it. You know he’s going to get you some rebounds, play solid D, and knock down the 15 foot jumper. He fell out of favor in the ECF last year and hardly played, and I know a lot of Cavs fans who were calling for him a few times during that series. I liked Joe. I think if you are a team that needs one more role player to compete for a title, he’s the type of guy you look for. Similar to PJ Brown in that respect. However, I was not in favor of bringing him back (a lot of people were, so I was in the minority).

Like I said, Joe is a solid player. The problem is, all the Cavs bigs after Shaq are “solid” players. None of them (Varejao, Z, Smith) have the potential to spring for 25-10 on any given night. And, even though Shaq is still capable of doing that, he is getting up there in age. The Cavs needed someone else in the front court who could have a huge game every now and then. That’s why the team went with Powe. I am a huge fan of Powe, and I think it was a steal of a signing by Ferry.

At the same time, the Cavs have another big man by the name of JJ Hickson. JJ showed flashes of brilliance last year, but his season was ultimately cut short by a back injury. He has ridiculous athleticism (you’ve probably seen the dunk of Okafor, but he did that quite a lot last year), an improving jumper, and a developing post game. The problem last year, was that Hickson was not great defensively. The Cavs rely heavily on quick defensive rotations, and JJ had a tendency to get lost on defense. However, that is something that can be fixed with more practice. It is entirely possible that Hickson is the most talented big man LeBron has played with (before Shaq, obviously).

I guess if I had to sum it all up, my thoughts on Joe would be that he is a great glue guy, the type of player you want to bring in to be the 4th big, but not the player the Cavs needed because he has reached his ceiling. I always liked Joe in his short time with Cleveland, and I hope he does well in Atlanta.

(Sorry for the long post…. I wasn’t even expecting to write all that, haha).

Thanks for the visit Collin. What are your thoughts on Joe Smith. I always liked watching him play for us, and was pleased when he was able to sign with the Cavs. I hear he’s been picked up by the Hawks. I was hoping you guys would get him back. What are your thoughts?

1. Ensured that I’m keeping my cable subscription, after considering cutting back; and
2. Ensured that I will spend a ludicrous amount of time in front of the TV well into the spring. Thanks, Cox.

And of course, I assume this doesn’t include the 20-25 playoff games that will be in HD, too? :)

Anyway, per the top SF article… Ron Artest?!? LeBron’s a given, and Melo and Pierce, at this point, are just ahead of Durant, but Artest?! Am I the only one that saw Shane Battier get the tougher assignments last year? I’m sorry, but the one thing Artest had on Durant was his defense, and that has gotten significantly worse the last couple of years.

The Thunder won’t be great until Green is the sixth man coming off the bench at the 3 and 4 positions, or until they land a serious center who doesn’t need help on D or in the post.