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With Daniel Gibson, locked up (5 years, $20.8 million), the focus turns to Delonte West, the versatile guard acquired by the Cavs last year in a trade deadline maneuver. At the time of the trade, most of the press focused on Wally Szczerbiak and Ben Wallace, but the player with the most on-court impact actually proved to be West.

The 6′4″ guard finished the season strong, having a solid showing in the playoffs. After joining the Cavs, West averaged a respectable 10 points, 5 assists, and 4 rebounds per game. He’s the closest thing to a point guard the Cavs have on the roster, and during the playoffs, he showed his grit, scoring 20 or more points three different occasions while raising his 3-point percentage rose from 37% to 43%. While the numbers don’t paint the whole picture, what did stand out was that when the game was close, West did not shrink from the opportunity to have the ball in his hands. Much like Gibson, the Cavs like this characteristic.

Following the signing of Daniel Gibson, Danny Ferry commented on the West negotiations in his conference call:

Danny Ferry on West Negotiations

Some sites, like Hoopsworld, seem to have missed the point on the Cavs summer priorities in comparing Gibson to West, and suggesting that signing both players is redundant:

This commitment to Gibson could have an impact on Delonte West. The Cavs still have the right to match offers for their other restricted free agent point guard, acquired from Seattle with Wally Szczerbiak at the trade deadline, but how much money and time are they willing to commit to two point guards who have not shown they are definite starters in the NBA?

Both West and Gibson are solid shooters. West is a better defender, Gibson better in the open floor, but neither one is a true floor leader. In Cleveland LeBron James handles most of that so perhaps it’s not a big deal, but it will definitely play into what happens with West.

First off, West is better in the open floor then Gibson. But I digress. Any notion the Cavs had of using Gibson as a ball-handling point guard was abandoned after his rookie season. The Cavs primarily utilize Gibson as a small shooting guard. He rarely initiates the offense. While many hope Gibson becomes more aggressive taking the ball to the hoop (similar to his Detroit ECF series in ‘07), that would still likely be from an off-the-ball role. Lebron handles the ball extensively and while many would like to see this happen less, nobody on the Cavs roster is capable of handling the burden of a true NBA calibur starting point guard. That includes West.

The Cavs, nor the fan base, believe that West or Gibson is the answer at point guard. That’s why the West negotiations have proceeded slowly. Despite not being a true point guard, West is a solid combo guard who the Cavs would like to keep around. Various media reports have suggested West and his agent are seeking to be paid commensurate with what many lower-tier starting point guards are making. The Cavs want West back, but at a price and length that they could stomach if they eventually find a more suitable starting replacement via the draft, trades, or free agency. Paying him more 4-5 million per season and locking him up for a long deal would be a tough pill to swallow if at some point during that contract he is relegated to the bench competing with Gibson for playing time.

The best guess for Delonte is that he’ll end up trying to force the Cavs hands with an offer from another team. But since most of the money has dried up and very few teams look to be actively pursuing any of the restricted free agents out there (Josh Smith, Andre Igoudala, Andris Biedrins, Emeka Okafor, Luol Deng), Delonte will likely remain a Cavalier. One interesting idea came from Boston-based blog Green Bandwagon who discussed a Celtic reunion, but even they were skeptical as they had this to say about signing West as a possible replacement for James Posey:

1. West is a restricted free agent. He worked his way into the starting point guard role in Cleveland, showing some promise in the process. One can assume he would be even more comfortable after a full training camp. Meanwhile, I can’t imagine the Cavaliers would let him walk to a conference rival unless the offer sheet were too ridiculous to match. And given Boston’s aforementioned financial obligations that is unlikely. In fact this point alone probably renders the rest of this post meaningless. And yet I will forge ahead.

2. Why would West go from being a starting point guard, with LeBron James no less, to Rajon Rondo’s back up? In fact word on the street is that West wants to return to Cleveland:

“The qualifying offer to West is worth $2.76 million. West also wants to return to the team. His agent, Noah Croom, said the Cavs have indicated to him that they want to re-sign West.” - Bob Finnan

3. He hates the Mass. Pike and I don’t blame him. The tolls are ridiculous.

4. Boston’s owners don’t like controversy. Remember how quickly they acted after Sebastian Telfair was arrested? And even though this was not West behaving badly and it was not a major story, it could hurt his cause

It’s any one’s guess as to when these negotiations will conclude, but it seems initially at least, the two sides probably came in with far different agendas. West finished the season strong, and wants to be paid as a starter right now. The Cavs liked what they saw, but would rather give West a reasonable contract that allows him to grow with the team (which he only played with for half a season). During that contract, he’d be assured considerable floor time on a guard-thin Cavalier roster which would allow him to earn a bigger deal down the road.

My prediction; As a restricted free agent, West is between a rock and a hard place. He could play out his one-year tender, but the free agent crop gets bigger and better the next two years and teams have gone away from overpaying role players these last two summers. From the Cavs vantage point, they are already the third highest payroll in the league, and I don’t think you’ll see a whole lot of flexibility to overpay for a player of West’s stature. They want him back, without question, but in a way that aligns with Cleveland’s number one priority. That is to keep Lebron happy.

Less teams use their full mid-level, and taking a 3 year, $12-$15 million dollar contract might be a good compromise for both parties. West would get security and a sizable raise while cashing in during the “honeymoon” period. 25 right now, West could sign a three-year deal (perhaps a four year deal with a team option) which would allow him to showcase his abilities with a contender while still entering free agency at 28, putting him in line to sign another big contract. In a dream scenario, the Cavs could sign West to a guaranteed two-year deal with a team option on the third-year similar to that of Sasha Pavlovic (3 years, 12 million, T/O on the 3rd year). Ultimately if I had to pick a firm number to predict, I project a 3 year deal worth approximately $14.5 million.

What do you think?

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