After more than a month's worth of negotiations, the LA Clippers finally acquired the point guard they needed, sending Darius Miles and Harold Jamison to Cleveland for Andre Miller and Bryant Stith.  Somewhere, Clippers forward Elton Brand must be celebrating.

Last season's point guard, Jeff McInnis, for some strange reason took 111 more shots than Brand, who is one of the league's most efficient and effective low post scorers.  This is the same McInnis who shot just 41.3 percent from the floor.  Brand shot 52.7 percent.  Yet somehow, head coach Alvin Gentry kept his job.

In Miller, the Clippers have acquired a pass-first point guard who led the league in assists last season despite playing with a Cleveland team devoid of elite scorers.  With the Clippers, he'll be able to concentrate on delivering the ball to quality scoring threats like Brand, Lamar Odom, and Quentin Richardson.

It won't surprise me to see Brand suddenly tabbed as next year's hot player.  With McInnis, he took fewer than 13 shots per game.  I expect him to get 15-16 shots per game with Miller.  Considering his high shooting percentage, Brand will once again be a 20-10 player.  He'd already stepped up his defensive efforts, evidenced by increased steals and blocks.

For the Clippers, acquiring Miller is a potential coup.  It remains potential, though, until owner Donald Sterling opens up the checkbook.  Their collection of young talent is enviable ? Miller and Richardson make a dynamic backcourt; Brand, Olowokandi, and Odom could be a great frontline.  Corey Maggette, Chris Wilcox, Melvin Ely, Keyon Dooling, and Marko Jaric comprise what could be a formidable bench.

Unfortunately for Clippers fans, Sterling historically has sought to give new definition to "cheapskate."  He has refused consistently to pay talented players on his team, preferring to let them leave and turn profits with less expensive rookies and free agents.  Recently, Sterling told reporters that he'll pay top dollar to elite players.  He has at least two such players in Brand and Miller, and we'll soon learn whether Sterling's word is any good.

For Cleveland, it's clear that the deal is about losing as much as possible in the short term with hopes of being better in the future.  The master plan appears to be landing the top pick in next year's draft, which they'd presumably use on high school standout Lebron James.  Equally obvious is that the Cavaliers decision-makers don't think Miller is worth the maximum contract he wants.  This trade moves him before contract demands can begin in earnest.

Still, I wonder if this was the best deal Cleveland.  While Miles is a promising youngster long on the ability to run and jump, but short on basketball skills like shooting, dribbling and passing.  He had a solid rookie year for a kid straight out of high school, but didn't improve much last season.  He is an All-Star caliber athlete, but whether he ever attains that level depends on how much work he does in learning the fundamentals.

Miller is one of the game's top point guards, and I am convinced they could've gotten more than a single youngster with potential in exchange for him.  The Cavaliers are betting a lot on the potential of kids like Miles and DaJuan Wagner.  They're gambling even more heavily in their hopes of landing James.  In 18 draft lotteries, the team with the worst record has ended up with the top pick just twice. The last team to do it was New Jersey in 1990.

If the gamble pays off, Cleveland has a chance to be good in a few years.  If not, the team will lose for a very long time.