The Wrong Guy Got the Axe (Sort of)

I’ve been so pre-occupied by the possibly the greatest NCAA Tournament in the history of mankind, I forgot to even mention the fact that Cleveland Cavaliers Coach Paul Silas got fired about 2 weeks ago.

I was kind of surprised, since there wasn’t much left in the season. Then again, there are a number of reasons why I wasn’t surprised.

1) Silas is so old-school, he refuses to even contemplate teaching his players how to play zone. Well, they weren’t allowed to do that when Silas was playing, so it just isn’t right obviously.

2) Silas is so old-school, that if you do something wrong, you get benched for multiple games. Unless you are lucky enough to be named Lebron or Zydrunas, at any moment you could be benched. The main reason the Cavs were so successful the first half of the season was that PG Jeff McInnis was playing fantastic – shooting 3s and running the offense better than he did when he was back at UNC with Stackhouse & Rasheed. BUT, McInnis hit the wall at the All-Star break, started to not shoot as well, and Silas just benched him.

3) Silas is so old-school, that when he gets frustrated during a game, he throws one hand up, throws it down in disgusts, and then just stares at his freshly shined shoes.
4) Lebron probably hated Silas.

But, it is important to note, that the person who REALLY deserved the blame for Lebron’s lack of support is GM John Paxson. As a member of the Paxson family, there is a certain amount of arrogance. I hate to reiterate Paxson’s track record, but it deserves repeating.

He traded a 1st round pick this year for Jiri Welsch who was shooting a blister 33% from 3-point land.
He traded a 1st round pick last summer for Sasha Pavolovic. I actually don’t mind Sasha except for some reason he doesn’t understand anything about playing defense.
Carlos “gave me his word” Boozer.
Trajan Langdon.
DeSagna Diop.

So, it’s only a matter of time until Paxson’s head rolls. The new Cavs ownership will not take this. In the words of the Cavs' new 1.2% owner, Usher: “Yeeah!”

Personally, I only wish the Cavs could have been a reality show this year. High hopes. Rookie Luke Jackson has back surgery. Benching Drew Gooden at random times. 2 All-stars. Trading for Jiri Welsch, who I’m sure is not friends with anyone on the team. New ownership group. Secret alliance by Paxson to have the coach fired. It would be sensational television!

In the end, Paxson will get fired, the new ownership will install a scouting department (the same fix will work for the Browns I hope), Lebron will get a supporting cast, and everyone will live happily ever after with a championship. I can dream. “Yeeah!”