<div class="quote_poster">Quote:</div><div class="quote_post">The New Jersey Devils are celebrating an anniversary that might be of interest to the Cavaliers and their fans. It was 20 seasons ago that Wayne Gretzky, then of the Edmonton Oilers, labeled the New Jersey organization a ``Mickey Mouse operation'' after a 13-4 rout of the hapless Devils. The insult came to mind Thursday when hearing former Cavaliers guard Ricky Davis had called the franchise and the city a ``black hole,'' and disparaged the owner and general manager. Gretzky's reputation is a bit more sterling than that of Davis, who on most nights last season resembled a black hole once he got the ball. Rest assured, the Great One never shot a puck at his own goal in the dying seconds to secure a hat trick. But two decades later Gretzky is still living down his comments. The Devils have won the Stanley Cup three times in the past nine years. They are arguably the most well-run franchise in sports. Last spring, the Devils clinched their third title by defeating the Disney-owned Mighty Ducks of Anaheim. Hey, Wayne, Mickey Mouse this. The Cavaliers are nowhere near ready to spoon-feed Davis his own words. Not after Davis and his new team, the Boston Celtics, humbled the Cavs, 107-82, on Friday night. But let's put the trash talk in a time capsule and reopen the discussion in three years. The Cavaliers have a much greater upside than the disgruntled employee they jettisoned in the six-player trade with Celtics on Dec. 15. Though it's hard to get enthused about a team with an 11-25 record and no shot at postseason, the building blocks are in place. They have a franchise player in LeBron James, a model of consistency in Carlos Boozer, a much-improved center in DeSagana Diop and two defensive-oriented forwards acquired from Boston in Eric Williams and Tony Battie. Williams also has given the club a veteran voice, someone capable of cultivating chemistry, an intangible nonexistent before Davis' departure. How many of these pieces were present last season? None. A year ago, O.J. Simpson had a better chance of regaining his sideline reporting duties than the Cavaliers had of making the playoffs in the foreseeable future. Then came the NBA Draft lottery. Fortunately for general manager Jim Paxson, he did not lose his ticket.</div> Full Story
