Why this Cavs trade is absolutely terrible

LeBron James is going to rue the day he went to management and demanded a trade, because what he got in return does not push Cleveland into title consideration.

First off -- and hopefully this is inarguable -- this trade is a failure simply because they didn't get an All-Star scorer. When you give up seven people like the Cavs did, you should get Ray Allen, or Pau Gasol, or Kevin Garnett, or even Ron Artest. I'm sure that when LeBron James went to management for a trade, he wasn't asking for Ben Wallace, Wally Szczerbiak, Joe Smith, and Delonte West.

What LeBron really wanted was another scorer, a Jason Kidd or a Mike Bibby who could take some of the pressure off of him. Now that Larry Hughes and Drew Gooden are gone, LeBron has to do even more scoring. People are making Wally Szczerbiak out to be the next Vinny Johnson, that he takes the scoring load away. Aren't we forgetting what Szczerbiak accomplished when he was in Minnesota with Kevin Garnett? I don't remember people referring to the T'Wolves as "the dinamic duo of Garnett and Szczerbiak," I remember them being called "a one-man team."

Some people are saying that this deal might "re-energize" LeBron. Really? The guy just had back-to-back triple-doubles, I don't think a lack of motivation is the problem.

And then there's Ben Wallace, the most overpaid, under-performing player in the entire league. He's going to help LeBron? If Wallace was such a dynamic player, why is it that the Pistons haven't collapsed without him? Why did the Bulls decide that they'd rather have rookie and Joakim Noah at center instead of Ben Wallace? Cleveland already has Anderson Varejao, they didn't need another hustle guy on the floor. At least Donyell Marshall could hit an outside shot.

If you think the Cleveland Cavaliers can challenge the Detroit Pistons or Boston Celtics, look yourself in the mirror and ask yourself why you think Wally Szczerbiak is a prolific scorer. They will still make the playoffs, and they might even win an early round, but they are still the LeBron James 5. They can only go as far as LeBron can carry them.