LeBron Can Make Any Trade Seem Like Good One

By Bethlehem Shoals
None of my wishful predictions came true (see a theme developing?), so I guess I’m supposed to eat some crow. But hey, the Cavs got slightly better, the Bulls admitted they have to start over, the Sonics continued to erase themselves, and Gerald Green is free.
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“I’ll never wash this hand again.”
The real question, though, is just what this means for Cleveland. Fine, I’ve refused to give them their on-paper due this season. They win games, defend, rebound, let Gibson hit a few shots, and are somehow effective. But let’s face it: That roster was ugly. The playoff run last year was overachieving; they were the Bad News Bears, if they’d had Jesus throwing fastballs.
Now, here’s the weird part: Most everyone the Cavs got here has been maligned in the recent past. Wallace, Wally, West and Joe Smith aren’t exactly solid and blessed. Yet the Cavs had such issues before, and we’d gotten so used to taking their personnel somewhat seriously, that this seems like they’ve lucked into four All-Stars. It’s all relative.
So it all comes back to LeBron. He makes people better. Not in a super-literal PG way, but he certainly makes their lives easier -- more than Kobe, I’d say. So give him an inch, and, relatively speaking, it’s like he’s found his All-Star running buddies.↵