Hughes calls himself “a guard, period. Just let me play. I’ve learned to take fewer bad shots, to recognize situations, so just put me out there and I’ll try to make the good play. If it’s from the two-guard, what’s the difference?”

Full article here.

I’ve read all of your feedback, I’ve considered many of the options, and here’s what I’m going to do:
___________________________________________________ 

Keep the site going for Bulls fans?

There’s no way in hell I’m going to do this because I hate the Bulls! Look, we’re division rivals and I’m still bitter about what Jordan did to us in the 80’s. This site was trying to get Larry to stop taking  bad shots, but now that he’s a Bull, he’s your problem! And besides, Chicago fans should be thanking me for raising the money to buy Larry the Better Shooting DVD - it seems to have helped some.

Verdict: No.
___________________________________________________

Convert the site to HeyBenWallaceBlahBlahBlah.com?

I’ve received hundreds of suggestions that I should rename the site to something mentioning Ben Wallace’s poor shooting. But there are a bunch of reasons why I don’t want to do this:

1) We already know he can’t shoot free throws, and that’s not we’re asking him to do. We need him to play tough defense, get rebounds, and teach Zydrunas Ilgauskas how to become the next Rick Mahorn of the NBA.

2) It’s too early to start ripping on the new guys. Let’s give them a chance to gel and make this thing work. It’s the same reason I waited 2 seasons before complaining about Larry.

3) While the new guys aren’t perfect, I don’t think there’s a single player on our roster who is capable of the profound brickitude that Larry Hughes provided.

Verdict: No.
___________________________________________________

Make it an all-purpose Cleveland Cavaliers site?

I’ve considered this very seriously, but I’m going to pass for now. I wasn’t trying to launch a blogging career, and I wasn’t pursuing this as a money-making venture. I was just a frustrated Clevelander sick and tired of watching one of our “star” players underachieve. 

And I’m not a greedy guy: there are enough fantastic Cleveland sports sites out there to satisfy all of our needs. TheClevelandFan.com is spectacular in its depth and breadth of content, Brian Windhorst does a great job as a beat writer,  WaitingForNextYear.com has been coming on strong lately with great stuff, Mistake By The Lake is always good for humorous and stat-driven content, etc, etc. So does the world really need another Cavs site?

Verdict: No.
___________________________________________________

Make it a site that rips on ALL underachieving NBA players?

It’s another good idea, but it just won’t be the same as All Larry, All The Time. And there are already a few sites that do this, and I’m not interested in following suit. Part of the reason is that it would require that I watch about 10 times more games every night in order to monitor the crappiness across the league and I just don’t have the time (or the cable package).

Verdict: No.
___________________________________________________

Freeze the site as a memento of the Larry Hughes Era in Cleveland?

Of course I’ll keep the site up so you can show it to your grandchildren when they ask about that Larry Hughes Web site guy. But when Larry was traded on February 21st, this mission was complete.  So I won’t be actively updating the content or tracking Larry’s progress anymore.

Verdict: Yes.
___________________________________________________

Channel my creativity into another project of epic importance?

I’ve learned a lot while running this site and it’s time to move on. But I’ve been brainstorming some other Web site ideas that I’m hoping to launch later this year. None of them focus solely on the Cavaliers, nor do I think I’ll do another Cleveland sports blog (never say never). But some of my ideas are sports related and hopefully you’ll see them emerge in the next few months. They will be weird and funny, and I think you’ll like them.

Verdict: Hell Yes.
____________________________________________________

And now some parting words…

To Cleveland fans:

Thanks again for being so supportive. You are the most dedicated fans in the world and you deserve a championship. I’ve been very grateful for the emails and comments you’ve sent me the past few months and I’m still in awe of the response HLHPSTSMBS has generated. I’ll see you at the Cavs games!

___________________________________________________

To Delonte, Ben, Joe, and Wally:

Play hard and live up to your potential. If you guys help us win a championship, you will be loved by Clevelanders for the next eight thousand years.
___________________________________________________

To Larry Hughes:

Sorry if any of this hurt your feelings. As people like to say in professional sports, “it’s just business.” Like when the Cavs charge fans $7 for a beer and $20 for parking, or like the time Boozer swindled the blind guy, or when Modell moved the Browns, or when or when Manny left for more money. If everyone in professional sports wants to be ”all about business”, this is just a reminder that we fans can play that game too. 

Best of luck in Chicago! Hopefully you’re in a system that allows you to play up to your full potential. You can now slash to your heart’s content, you slasher you. And now that you’re in Chicago, it’s totally fine if you want to ignore this site, throw away the shooting DVD, and TAKE AS MANY BAD SHOTS AS YOU WANT.
___________________________________________________

Bye for now.

GO CAVS!

I can’t wipe the smile off my face.

Did that just happen? Danny Ferry convinced another team to take Larry Hughes?! Ponder that for a moment. I’m almost afraid to write about this until the league formally reviews and approves the deal.

Is this a good deal for the Cavs? I think so, but the best way to evaluate a trade like this is to wait a year and see what the hell happens. So I’m holding off on any grades, but I commend Danny Ferry for making a move.

And now the question: What am I going to do with this site?
I’m not sure right now, and I feel like I need a few days to figure it out.

Here’s the plan:
1) Brainstorm my options
This site could go in a number of directions such as: keeping it going for Bulls fans, turning it into a Cavs site, selling the site, or turning it into a general NBA site. I’m also considering shutting it down completely. Or perhaps someone would like me to write for their site.

2) Listen to your ideas
Once I come up with my top 5 options, I’m going to launch a survey on the site and I’m going to let everyone vote. I’ll count the votes and go from there.  UPDATE: I’ve decided against the survey because all of your comments have replaced the need to do one.

So please comment or send me an email (heylarryhughes@gmail.com) if you have any good ideas, and I’ll read every single bit of feedback. Thanks to everyone for all of your participation, comments, and Cleveland sports loyalty. It’s been a lot of fun.

In the meantime, I’m gonna get off the couch and try to do some good for the community.

7-16         .437        2-5        .400          3-5      .600

Larry had a pretty decent game tonight. He shot well in the first half and then went into the tank in the 3rd quarter (with the rest of the team). Overall, 19 points on 44% shooting is something I can’t complain about!

Boobie suffered a nasty ankle sprain in the third quarter when Pacer guard Travis Diener slammed into him. The initial report is that the x-rays were negative and the team would reevaluate the injury on Thursday. But it looked pretty bad, so cross your fingers it wasn’t too serious.

Now onto the fun stuff! Brian Windhorst is teasing the hell out of Cavs fans with this mid-game blog post:

Folks, I have not watched a second of the first half as I pursue some hot trade rumors with the Cavs. They are being very active and are in talks over a blockbuster that has not been reported yet. It does not involve Mike Miller. More to come later.

The suspense is killing me! Is it possible that Larry Hughes could be part of the deal??? I don’t know about you, but I’m glad we didn’t mortgage the future of the franchise for Mike Bibby or Jason Kidd.

5-15         .333        1-4        .250          5-6      .833

Psst…. Hey Larry, the trade deadline is February 21st. You’re not supposed to shoot crappy until AFTER the trade deadline passes. Danny Ferry is actively working on a new trade with the Dallas Mavericks. According to my sources, it would be a two player deal as outlined below:

Cavaliers get: Keith Van Horn plus the Mavs first round draft pick from 1993.

. 

Mavericks get: Larry Hughes plus an appearance from Bizarro Larry Hughes once every 12 games. And if the Mavericks are willing to do the deal in the next 12 hours, they will also receive Dajuan Wagner’s colon as a special bonus!

.

Mark Cuban, don’t let tonight’s game deter you from making this trade! The Cavs were just a little rusty after the All-Star layoff. And yes, Larry shot poorly tonight, but so did everyone on the Cavs team!

Larry: 33%
LeBron: 39%
Gooden: 30%
Boobie: 20%
Donyell: 33%
Devin: 33%

Give Larry a break. He had to travel back from New Orleans on Monday and this was after finding out at the last minute that he was snubbed from the All-Star team. We’ve already proven that Larry Hughes is better than Jason Kidd, so if you can pull the trigger on this trade, you’d effectively land TWO Jason Kidds for the Mavericks.

David Stern is always blabbing about how global the NBA is, but I wasn’t expecting that to hold true for a niche NBA site. Well, I was wrong! The numbers really surprised me, so I thought you might be interested in seeing seeing how global Larry Hughes’ bad shooting really is!

Some of my site stats for the last 30 days:

• Visitors came from 119 countries on 6 continents.
• 78% of visitors were from the US (I’m not disclosing the actual US traffic numbers).
• Several thousand visitors from Germany where there is a huge NBA following and even German sites dedicated to the Cavs.
• 1,935 visitors from South Korea. There are some great NBA sites in Korea and while I’m not entirely familiar with Korean emoticons, judging from this page, I think they dig this site. 
• 1,623 visitors from Poland. This is a great Polish NBA site that linked to me last month.
• 1,585 visitors from Australia, and several of my active commenters are Aussies.
• 1,491 visitors from the Philippines, a HUGE basketball country. You gotta love any league that has a team named ”Purefoods Tender Juicy Giants“.
• 597 visitors from Lithuania, birthplace of our our own Zydrunas Ilgauskas, plus NBA greats such as Arvydas Sabonis and Sarunas Marciulionis.
• 101 visitors from Israel

In addition to a lot of mainstream NBA markets, check out some of the other countries I’ve had traffic from. It’s both reassuring and baffling as to why people from these countries would be interested in Larry Hughes, but I love it.

• 79 visitors from Iceland 
• 28 visitors from Saudi Arabia
• 23 visitors from Fiji. (Get off the internet, you are in Fiji!)
• 10 visitors from Mongolia. I freaking love that someone in Mongolia might be reading this!
• 3 visitors from Algeria
• 2 visitors from Ghana
• 1 visitor from Malawi
• 1 visitor from Ethiopia
• 1 visitor from Uzbekistan

Update: Thanks to my global readers for posting links in the comments section. I love checking out Cavs and NBA sites from around the world.

11-19        .578        4-7        .571           0-1      .000

Bizarro Larry Hughes=very good game last night
26 points, 58% shooting, 6 rebounds, 3 assists, 0 steals, 0 turnovers

Manu Ginobili=GREAT game last night
46 points, 75% shooting, 5 rebounds, 8 assists, 3 steals, 1 turnover

Damn you Ginobili! How dare you steal Bizarro Larry’s thunder!!!

But if that’s what it takes to beat us, fine. I think it’s way more important to see guys like Larry play well than it is to win every game. Larry shot the ball with so much confidence, I was actually pissed they didn’t get him the ball in the last few minutes of the 2nd quarter. 

Wait, did I just type that sentence?

And I can ignore the fact that Larry had the worst plus/minus of anyone on the Cavaliers team. This was mainly the result of him playing during two of the Spurs best stretches (end of the 2nd quarter and the end of the 4th quarter).

Random thoughts:

• Fans around the NBA: If you have an underperforming player, I highly recommend the Better Shooting DVD we gave to Larry for his birthday. The best $29.95 you’ll ever spend. 
• What’s up with Larry having ZERO shot attempts in the 4th quarter? Was he trying to preserve that box score? Makes you wonder if there’s a deal in the works…
• Speaking of deals, I’d love to have Jason Kidd, but not at that price! The deal is on hold, but the Mavs agreed to trade Devin Harris, DeSagana Diop, Devean George, Jerry Stackhouse, $3 million, AND two first round draft picks! What would the Cavs have offered to compete with that? And that’s for a guy who is older, has fewer tattoos, is shorter, and weighs more than Larry Hughes.
• We have a new Hughes conspiracy theory! Turbo thinks he’s been replaced by the Larry Hughes 3000MAX robot…

Larry Hughes had a fantastic shooting night on Monday and was the main reason we beat the Magic. As I watched the game, I remarked at how easy it is for this team to win when someone besides LeBron James can make a shot. Sure, it helps when LeBron kicks in 29 pts, 7 rebounds, 10 assists, and 3 steals. But if a guy like Larry gets hot, this team becomes very dangerous.

Was Monday a Sign of the Apocalypse?
Maybe… Larry Hughes has shot 50% or better in 7 of the 37 games he’s played this season (including Monday night). Yep, just 7 times.

What are the odds of an encore performance?
Not so good… Because Larry has played like total garbage in every game following a 50% or better shooting night: 

• In those 6 games, he’s a combined 15-60, or 25% from the field.
• He’s averaging 6 points, 2.3 assists, and 2 rebounds.
• 63% from the FT line.
• 17% on three pointers.

Don’t take this the wrong way Cleveland fans. I’m encouraged that Larry has taken the time to watch the shooting DVD we got him for his birthday. And yes, he’s trending in the right direction. But let’s put away the All-Star petitions until he can play well 2 games in a row. Bring on the Spurs!

(Note to Rod Thorn: Did you see how Larry Hughes has brought the Cleveland fans together? Can you feel the love? Don’t you want this in New Jersey?)

12-19        .631        4-5       .800        12-13      .923

Dear Rod Thorn,

The NBA trade deadline is on February 21st, which leaves you just 9 days to make a deal. I know you normally don’t answer phone calls from Danny Ferry, but I urge you to take his next call. It might just change the future of the Nets franchise and the World as we know it.

Let’s face it, your Nets are a rebuilding team. With a record of 22-29, you’re barely in the playoff hunt and nobody thinks you have a chance to advance past the first round. Your stars are getting old, the chemistry is a mess, and this team is going nowhere. 

But Danny Ferry could change all of that.

If you watched the Cavs-Magic game tonight, you witnessed the future of the Nets franchise. The future’s name is Laura Larry Hughes. Larry is 40-point-scorer. He’s a slasher. He even has tattoos - very cool tattoos of tough things that give him street-cred. And 3 years ago, when he played for the Wizards, Larry had a lot of steals. THOUSANDS OF STEALS. More steals than any player every recorded in the history of the NBA. You like steals, don’t you Rod?

It’s time to admit that Jason Kidd is a bad shooter. How bad? He’s only shooting 37% from the field this season. Yes, 37%! And if the season ended today, Jason Kidd would have the lowest shooting percentage of any player in the history of the NBA. That’s a fact - look it up.

And what do you pay this guy who is the worst shooter in the history of the NBA? $20 million a year? Are you crazy? It must be hard to show your face in public. But Danny Ferry could change all of that. Because if you ask nicely, Danny might give you the young and talented Larry Hughes for the crappy old guy you call Jason Kidd. And because Larry is so affordable, you get him PLUS another player!

Think I’m crazy? Fine. But before you click away, check out the head-to-head statistics for Larry versus Jason Kidd:

AGE
Jason Kidd: 34
Larry Hughes: 29
Advantage: LARRY HUGHES
At 34 years old, Kidd is older than Robert Parish when he was 33. And we all know that Robert Parish sucked.

TATTOOS
Jason Kidd: unknown
Larry Hughes: More than 15, including ones with skulls and bad-ass religious passages.
Advantage: LARRY HUGHES

WEIGHT
Jason Kidd: 210
Larry Hughes: 184
Advantage: LARRY HUGHES
This is basketball, not Sumo wrestling! And all of that extra weight means more jet fuel for the team’s charter. Larry is not only skinnier, he’ll save you gas money. Think about the total cost of ownership!

POLICE RECORD
Jason Kidd: Yes. (see mug shot above)
Larry Hughes: unknown
Advantage: LARRY HUGHES

NICKNAME
Jason Kidd: Mr. Triple Double
Larry Hughes: Smooth
Advantage: LARRY HUGHES
WTF is a triple double? I have no clue, but that nickname is way too long. Smooth is easier to pronounce and it will cost less to get it as a tattoo.

STEALS
Jason Kidd: Occasionally
Larry Hughes: 3 years ago in Washington, Larry broke the all time steal record for planet Earth by averaging 12 steals a game. That’s right, 12. You don’t need to look it up - just ask any Cavs fan about Larry Hughes’ defense. And he broke the record while playing one-handed. And halfway through the season, he stopped trying to get steals because it was just too easy. This record will never be broken. Ever.  
Advantage: LARRY HUGHES 

OLYMPIC GOLD MEDALS
Jason Kidd: 1
Larry Hughes: unknown
Advantage: Not Applicable.
Rod, are you the GM of the Team USA or the New Jersey Nets? That’s what I thought. Kidd needs to stop re-living the past and realize that gold medals don’t mean a damn!

POINTS SCORED ON FEBRUARY 11, 2008
Jason Kidd: Zero, zilch, none. That just shows you how far Jason Kidd has fallen. He scored zero points tonight!
Larry Hughes: 40
Advantage: LARRY HUGHES 

HEROIC COMEBACKS FROM INJURY THIS SEASON
Jason Kidd: Zero
Larry Hughes: 2+. Larry has overcome a bone bruise, a stubbed toe, and many other maladies. These comebacks build character. And when Larry gets injured in the playoffs, you can bet your ass he will make a heroic comeback after he is healed! 
Advantage: LARRY HUGHES

HEIGHT
Jason Kidd: 6-4
Larry Hughes: 6-5
Advantage: LARRY HUGHES
Have you ever heard the expression “you can’t teach height?” Well you can’t! And Jason Kidd will never learn to be 6-5!

FINAL SCORE
Jason Kidd: 0
Larry Hughes: 9
Winner: LARRY HUGHES

Rod, it’s simple. Jason Kidd sucks. Larry Hughes is awesome. Are you going to save the franchise, or are you going to sit back and watch Larry Hughes lead the Cleveland Cavaliers to 10 consecutive championships?

Sincerely,

That Guy With The Larry Hughes Web Site

Feb 10, 2008: Denver 113 at Cleveland 83 (loss)

FG          FG%         3P         3P%       FT       FT%   

6-15        .400        1-7       .142        1-2      .500

1st Quarter Highlights:
9:07  Larry Hughes makes 19-foot jumper
8:07  Larry Hughes misses 25-foot three point jumper
5:07  Larry Hughes misses 23-foot jumper
4:16  Larry Hughes bad pass (Allen Iverson steals)
4:11  Allen Iverson makes layup
2:30  Larry Hughes makes 23-foot three point jumper
1:13   Larry Hughes misses free throw 1 of 2
1:13   Larry Hughes makes free throw 2 of 2
0:00  Larry Hughes misses 24-foot three point jumper (Mike Brown, why set up a play for Larry to shoot a three at the end of the quarter? Why??? Why????)

2nd Quarter Highlights:
5:48   Larry Hughes makes layup
0:00   Larry Hughes misses 58-foot three point jumper

3rd Quarter Highlights:
10:22 Larry Hughes misses 20-foot jumper
8:15   Larry Hughes misses 23-foot three point jumper
7:20   Larry Hughes makes 16-foot jumper
7:11    Larry Hughes personal foul (Allen Iverson draws the foul)
5:35   Larry Hughes misses 25-foot three point jumper
5:09   Larry Hughes makes driving layup
4:28   Larry Hughes makes 16-foot jumper
3:08   Larry Hughes misses 23-foot three point jumper

4th Quarter Highlights:
NONE