Here’s the pull quote:
“Golden State is likewise scoffing at the suggestion — and rightfully so — that they should have taken Cleveland’s trade offer instead of Charlotte’s. The Cavs not only tried to extract a first-round pick from the Warriors as a sweetener for taking on Jackson’s three-year contract extension worth nearly $28 million, according to sources close to the situation, but it’s believed they also would have asked the Warriors to release Delonte West after completing the trade.
“Had Golden State done that deal, even assuming it would have rejected any suggestion of including draft compensation, its only return for Jackson would have been payroll relief in the form of a signed-and-traded Wally Szczerbiak (to a three-year deal with only one season guaranteed) and the long-term savings from waiving West immediately. League rules would have then enabled Cleveland to re-sign West after a 30-day wait, as seen last season when Antonio McDyess went back to Detroit after the Pistons dealt him to Denver in the Allen Iverson deal.”
To me, this says that the Cavs really do care about Delonte as a person and as a player. The moral implications of dealing a bi-polar individual away from the doctors and support system in place are something I’ve considered but haven’t written about. This is basketball, so it is about winning - because it’s also about money and the two are tied together - but it’s good to know that the Cavs weren’t ready to throw my admitted favorite player to the Don Nelson controlled wolves.
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