Cool Down Folks: Cavs Must Be Smart In Free Agent Bonanza

The Cleveland Cavaliers made a huge first splash in the off season landing Shaquille O'Neal from the Phoenix Suns the night before the NBA Draft.

Since then, other teams have made moves of their own to counter what Cleveland has done.

Probably the most significant transactions have been the Vince Carter and Ron Artest trade going to L.A. in free agency.

Now, with these moves, some Cavalier fans are starting to panic. It's not the time to panic, especially when Cleveland still has a chance to land some important players.

Don't forget that not only was Cleveland maybe a few clutch misses away from the NBA Finals, but a good portion of their starters are still young and will develop into more talented players.

The Orlando Magic did expose a lack of bench scoring, which Cleveland hopes to provide in this off season in any capacity.

The problem for the team is that since they are over the salary cap, they are reduced to signing free agents to the mid-level exception (MLE) at about $5.8 million, and the bi-annual exception (BAE) which is at around $1.8 million for the upcoming season.

This reduces the amount of talent they can acquire through the free agent market, but there is still some solid talent left over that they can add to this roster.

Among these players is guard, Anthony Parker, a guard who can provide great three-point shooting and solid defense. Parker has a long wingspan and a very high basketball IQ, things that can make him a good contributor wherever he goes.

Another is F Linas Kleiza, who has tremendous shooting ability and is not afraid to drive to the basket and slam the ball down with authority.

Either of these players would be great for coming off the bench to complement Zydrunas Ilgauskas to provide quick scoring and give relief to the starters.

One player still left that is very intriguing is G/F Shawn Marion. One of the stars of the Suns teams from years back, Marion is an athletic slasher with versatility and can play and defend multiple positions.

He may not be the best outside shooter, but he is an aggressive offensive player who loves to go to the hoop.

The major criticism of Marion is that because he has usually played in a full-court, uptempo system, it inflates his scoring averages and that he doesn't play defense.

With Artest going to L.A., Marion could provide another athletic defender to take pressure off of LeBron James, thereby providing two talented perimeter defenders on the floor.

But Marion is going to demand big money, something very few teams have right now.

With the current state of the American economy and the incredible free-agent class of 2010, teams are less eager to spend big money this off season.

Marion may have to take a pay cut to play this year in the NBA in order to get big money in the following off season.

Even if Cleveland does not sign an impact free agent, Danny Ferry will try to work out a trade to improve the roster, something which he has quickly become renown for.

Ferry has grown a reputation for getting high value players while giving up very little. He has been able to get Mo Williams, Delonte West, and Shaq all by pulling trades.

In short, the off season is still young. There is still time for Cleveland to surround James and Shaq with talent to make another title run.

Give them time to make a move, and it might just be another move that catches the NBA by surprise.