With 2 weeks left in August, the Cleveland Cavaliers appear to have their 2009-2010 roster set. Danny Ferry did a masterful job this summer improving the team. And make no mistake, the goal was not to make a huge splash or to preserve cap room for some mythical spending spree in 2010 (which likely won’t even materialize, but whatever). The goal was to make the team better; to reload for another run at a championship. If you don’t think Ferry did that, consider the following.

He turned Ben Wallace into Shaq. He turned Space Cadet Sasha Pavlovic into Anthony Parker. He turned Lorenzen Wright into Darryl Watkins. He turned Tarence Kinsey into Jamario Moon. He turned Wally Szczerbiak into Rob Kurz. And he turned Joe Smith into Leon Powe. The only spot in which I’ll even take on an argument that the team isn’t better off is with the Wright to Watkins deal. But really, who’s arguing about the guys in the number 15 spot on the roster? Smith to Powe has its issues too, I’ll admit. Not the least of which is that Powe can’t play until next spring. I like Joe Smith, but the guy has never been on a contender and chose Atlanta over Cleveland. When Powe is healthy, he will be a much more impactful and scary player coming off the bench than Joe Smith ever was or will be. In this way, Ferry hasn’t just top loaded the team with talent, but rather reinvented the entire team and made the bench more powerful.

And that’s my next point. Here’s the way I see the Cavs depth chart as of right now, throwing out any injuries. Just based on pure talent and “fit:”

C = Shaq, Z, Watkins
PF = Andy, Powe, J.J., Darnell
SF = LBJ, Moon, Kurz, Jawad Williams
SG = D-West, Parker
PG = Mo, Gibson

If you don’t think that 15 man roster is better than last year’s, I don’t know what to tell you. For most of the season the three guys from that roster who won’t dress should be Watkins, Powe, and Williams. Once Powe is healthy again and barring other injuries, you’re looking at a situation where you might have to choose between benching Kurz or Jackson. Danny Ferry not only made the starting 5 and the top 10 players better, but also added so much depth that a guy who last year was considered an important bench player (Jackson) could find himself in street clothes for the playoffs. Well done, Mr. Ferry. Well done.

A couple more things jump out at me when I look at the moves Ferry made this summer. The team is incredibly more athletic and quicker. Sure, Shaq isn’t the young dominant force from his days as a Laker. But he’s stronger and quicker than Z with way more presence in the low post. Don’t even get me started on the physical upgrades Shaq presents over Ben Wallace. And suffice it to say that Shaq is better from the free throw line and gets there more often than Ben.

As for the rest of them, when Sasha wasn’t out drinking vodka with his friends the night before games against the Celtics, he was busy plodding slowly up and down the court, falling asleep on defense, and clanking every long distance shot he took. Anthony Parker is considered a quality long range shooter and effective perimeter defender. He’s got the athleticism we were told Sasha had but rarely showed. Kinsey and Moon are similarly gifted athletically, but Moon has more experience and has something extra in the “presence” department. He has the ability to scare a defense. Nobody has ever been scared of Kinsey and I doubt anyone has ever made a YouTube video highlighting his exploits. Kurz is younger and healthier than Wally, so he will always be a more significant athletic presence. Ditto for Powe over Smith. Once Leon is healthy again, everyone will forget that Joe Smith was ever on this team. He is more powerful and commanding that Joe Smith on both ends of the court.

The last thing I’ll note is the increased flexibility in the lineup now. Mike Brown could use the “Tiny Tim” lineup with Andy, LBJ, Moon/Parker, D-West, and Mo. He could have the “Springs In Our Shoes” lineup with Andy, LBJ, Moon, Parker, and D-West. He could have the “Sharpshooter” lineup with Z, LBJ, Kurz, Parker, and Mo. And then he could get REALLY crazy with the Tall Trees lineup of Shaq, Z, LBJ, Moon, and D-West. Who guards that last lineup? Sure, Z is so slow that he’d be a defensive liability, but on offense, wouldn’t he be right at home as the ultimate stretch forward? Shaq kills the paint, Z can shoot 18 footers over even the tallest forwards in the game, LBJ does whatever he wants, while the explosiveness of Moon and D-West drives guards crazy on the perimeter. But the point is that Mike Brown can tinker constantly with this lineup in the regular season, creating the mismatches that killed his team against Orlando.

I think that last point is crucial. Look at the minutes played by some of the bench guys in the Eastern Conference Finals last year. Go-to guys like Joe Smith didn’t play, likely because Brown knew that Orlando could match up with a guy like Joe Smith. He tried to play Sasha and Wally, but they were overmatched. I think this new lineup gives him enough options that he won’t need to shy away from trying new matchups against less orthodox teams. This is especially helpful because Orlando got more conventional by letting Turkoglu go, while the Cavs now have the potential to be less conventional if they want to.

Altogether I like what Danny Ferry did. He was calm and had a plan. Those who think he could have gotten Ron Artest, whom I wanted too, Trevor Ariza, and Charlie Villanueva need to realize that sometimes players go elsewhere for their own reasons. For C.V., it was money, of which the Cavs didn’t have enough. For Artest, he has always wanted to play for Los Angeles. I don’t know what Ariza was thinking, but clearly he just liked the fit in Houston more. Maybe he is one of the MANY NBA players who simply won’t go to a cold weather city (see Odom, Lamar). Ferry did a great job given his constraints. The only thing I wish he could have pulled off is a trade involving Daniel Gibson, a 2nd round pick and a real backup point guard. That, to me, is the only true weak point on this team now. Perhaps they will cover for Gibson’s horribleness by using D-West and/or Parker as Mo’s backup at the one. The nice thing is that the team now has the flexibility to try those things out. (Side note: do you realize Gibson’s stats were almost EXACTLY the same as his career averages? It’s true! And you thought he had a bad year! He was last year what he’s always been, which is, frankly, terrible.)

I’ll be back next month with a season preview. Go Cavs!

PS – Just because I can: “Hot sauce in my baaaaaag!”

Kevin Hignett hawks insurance during the day. He spends the rest of his time being a dad and dreaming of a mid-June parade in downtown Cleveland. You can follow him on Twitter: @KevinHignett