Delonte West in a Cavalier Uniform

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Delonte West, the 6-foot-4-inches combo guard out of Saint Joseph's University, was acquired by the Cleveland Cavaliers from the Seattle Supersonics in a three-team trade (also involving the Chicago Bulls and also sending Ben Wallace, Wally Szczerbiak, and Joe Smith to Cleveland) ten days ago. West has always been seen as a valuable potential in all of the three teams he's been with (the Boston Celtics drafted him 24th overall in 2004), and was given another opportunity to shine when he was sent to the team led by this season's scoring leader, LeBron James. James' previous running mate, Larry Hughes, was sent to the Bulls in the same trade, and West figures to fill in the role left by the oft-injured Hughes. So far, he's been doing well, especially in pushing the ball down the floor and the tempo to something that suits James well. The King was quoted saying, "Delonte is a push guard. I'm starting to realize that I can just run the floor and get down the lane quicker. That's what I'm good at." Good at? I think that's an understatement; my opinion is that right now, James is the best at what he says he's good at that. No one's more dangerous running the floor with or without the ball and finishing around the basket than James, what with his speed and his strength to beat defenders left, right, and front. West seems to be the key play-maker the Cavaliers have been looking for in their past games, and it's something that will tremendously benefit their team because previous performances showed that Daniel Gibson and Larry Hughes couldn't carry the play-making responsibility they so needed at the point. I believe they got a quality underrated player in West, and if he can turn things around in his career with the Cavaliers and be the play-making shooter that everyone expects him to be, he'll be a great complement to James. I'm not quite sure they're ready for the surging Celtics and the consistent Pistons just yet, but they'll get there.