Cavaliers Re-Sign Delonte West With the Awesome Power of Leverage

Say what you want about Danny Ferry and his incredible inability to put a superstar next to LeBron James, he's protecting his 2010 money no matter what.

Today's mini-coup comes in the form of re-signing a player they wanted but were unwilling to break the bank on. The Cavaliers re-signed guard Delonte West today according to Brian Windhorst of the Akron Beacon Journal.

"West has agreed to a two-year contract with a team option for the 2011-12 season. According to league sources, the deal is worth between $4 million and $5 million per season.

Now, I'm assuming that's a typo and the option is for 2010-2011, since two years from now is 2010-2011 and I'm smart like that. If it's not, this could be clumsy. If it is a typo and the extension is for 2010, this is a pretty nifty deal. Not only did the Cavaliers nab a legit point guard (if an underwhelming "big name") in Mo Williams via trade, but in the same stroke they managed to neutralized the leverage Delonte West was using with fictitious offers from Europe. So they get their guy, they pay him a reasonable sum for his services, even though West has considerable upside and played very well with LeBron in the playoffs, exhibiting a chemistry the Cavs haven't seen between a point guard and the franchise player since ... well, ever, and the best part?

The team can get rid of it in 2010. So if West is part of a championship club that cements LeBron's position in Cleveland, they can activate their option to keep him around. If they need the money to pour gold into LeBron's vault so he can swim in it like Scrooge McDuck? They can do that. All in all, if it's not a homerun for Danny Ferry, it's at least a two-run RBI double.

The question now becomes where does West fit in? He's got great acceleration to the basket and can get out and run with the King. His turnover numbers were reasonable. But he's traditionally a tweener. Is he the backup point guard? What about Daniel Gibson? Is he the backup small guard? What about Kinsey and well, Gibson? What about Wally Szcerbiak? Is West the starting small guard? Mo Williams and West with Gibson and Szczerbiak off the bench is actually a pretty attractive backcourt. Lot of questions in Cleveland as to how this shakes out and how the minutes get bumped around.

(HT: Waiting For Next Year)