Cavs Regretting the Ben Wallace Trade?

We can't know for sure if the Cavs' organization is regretting the trade that brought them Ben Wallace and friends, but one thing's pretty clear: LeBron is pissed.

I watched two of Cleveland's losses this week (New Jersey, Washington) and I could feel the tension in LeBron's play. He spent the entire first quarter of the New Jersey game trying to pump up his lethargic teammates, and spent the whole Washington game jarring with DeShawn Stevenson and playing sloppy one-on-one. King James is in a tough spot right now because his new teammates are underachieving, and even with a monster individual performance -- 42 points, 11 rebounds, seven assists -- he was unable to lead his team to victory against a sub-par Nets team.

Let's look closer at his "new teammates":

1. Wallace-the headliner of the trade has already missed a few games due to injury. When he has appeared, his numbers have been OK, but he looks a step slow and doesn't have that contagious bounce in his step. Big Ben makes his share of ugly-looking shots around the rim that probably shouldn't go in, but he's still a major liability at the foul line -- particularly in late-game situations.

2. Wally Szczerbiak-certainly the second-biggest name in the deal, Wally has been absolutely horrific from the perimeter since joining the Cavs. He shot a very solid 46 percent from the floor with Seattle, and yet he's somehow shooting a measly 33 percent with Cleveland. Perhaps I shouldn't say "somehow," because there appear to be some serious deficiencies in Wally's game. Almost every time he attempts a three from a corner, whether it be right or left, he clangs it off the short side of the rim and the backboard. This type of miss comes from a rushed shot in which Wally fails to set his feet and square-up sufficiently. He's probably feeling the pressure of playing with the most-hyped athlete in the universe.

Also, Wally's knees seem to be bothering him and he looks out of shape. I'm sure all of the time off due to injuries limits his ability to maintain the proper playing weight. Regardless, LeBron is definitely missing Daniel Gibson, who (prior to his ankle injury) was making all of the open shots that Wally is missing.

3. Delonte West-I believe he's been starting at point guard for Cleveland since his first game on the active roster, but he's not doing much. Delonte basically just brings the ball over halfcourt and then dumps it off to LeBron so he can run the offense or take it to the rack and tear the rim down. Delonte's an OK defender, but he has a lean frame and bigger point guards will manhandle him. Since West's arrival, I actually think Damon Jones has outplayed him. Jones has been lighting it up from beyond the arc and he uses the threat of the three-ball to open up passing lanes to cutting teammates (which basically means LeBron cutting to the hoop).

4. Joe Smith-the man who I thought would be the biggest help to the Cavs, really hasn't contributed much. He hasn't shown the same confidence in his game that he was showing in Chicago, and maybe that's because LeBron is so good that it makes him feel talentless in comparison. No, I don't really believe that -- but it would be sad if true. I have to admit, LeBron hasn't been looking to get his teammates involved as much as he was earlier in the season, so that may be stunting Smith's output as well.

Of course the Cavs are also suffering through injuries. What the hell are they gonna do about the rotation when Gibson and Zydrunas Ilgauskas return? It's pretty sad, but I don't think any of the four players who came over from the Bulls deserve a spot in Cleveland's primary starting lineup. I'd go with:

PG-D.Jones, SG-Gibson, SF-LeBron, PF-Varejao, C-Ilgauskas.

They'd never do that though, because then they'd look quite stupid for giving away Drew Gooden (who has been a beast for the Bulls) and Larry Hughes. So, Mike Brown will probably go with:

PG-Delonte, SG-Sasha Pavlovic, SF-LeBron, PF-Big Ben, C-Ilgauskas.

That lineup makes me gag. But there is too much pride in the world of professional sports, Brown wouldn't want to hurt GM Danny Ferry's feelings by benching all of the players he just brought in, and playing guys who were already there. If I were calling the shots I'd say to hell with that -- let's play the guys who have earned the minutes. That's Damon Jones, Varejao and lately, swingman Devin Brown.

All I can say to the Cavs' organization is -- good luck cleaning up the mess you made.