The Ghost of Seasons Past (2010 Free Agency Now Included)
“’Tis just a flesh wound!” Black Knight from Monty Python, and the Holy Grail
The Cavs had an offseason worthy of the Black Knight. Coming off a combined 127 wins over the past two seasons, Cleveland lost their best rebounder/right arm (LeBron), best playmaker/left arm (LeBron), go-to scorer/right leg (LeBron), best defender/left leg (LeBron) and a gigantic rear end/gigantic rear end (Shaq). Unfazed by the swift crippling of the Cavalier brand and franchise, Dan Gilbert proclaimed that Cleveland would win an NBA championship before LeBron and his Legion of Doom in a comical letter to the public. To be fair to Gilbert, the Cavaliers have good role players and are perhaps one superstar away from contention. Now that I think about it, I know the perfect player for Cleveland’s system. LeBron James! Ouch. Sorry, Cleveland. Especially unfortunate for the Cavaliers is the fact that they often looked to have the best team over the past two seasons. An unfavorable matchup with Orlando in 2009 derailed a potential (and more favorable) matchup with the Lakers in the Finals. And Cleveland looked dominant through game three of the 2010 series against Boston. Then LeBron became something other than a one-man wrecking crew and the best player in the league. Was his elbow that big of an issue? Did he find out that Delonte West was sleeping with his mom? Was he already thinking ahead to the summer and possible ways of turning millions against him? I don’t know. But it’s very possible that Cleveland did not win a title because of simple bad luck or an unfortunate injury to their most important player. Despite a natural inclination to point to a single result as a definitive statement on a team or player and come to the conclusion that LeBron could never win a ring without Dwyane Wade or that the recent Cleveland teams were fundamentally flawed, perhaps it just came down to random chance. I feel confident in saying that had he stayed, LeBron would have eventually won multiple rings in Cleveland. But that doesn’t make for a good story. And barring a miraculous turnaround, this year’s Cavs team won’t make for many good stories, either. Things are quite different now. With LeBron gone, it’s J.J. Hickson’s world and we’re just living in it.
The Ghost of Seasons Present
This is going to be fascinating. It might be terribly depressing, but it will definitely be interesting. The Orlando Magic lost 15 wins after Shaq left in free agency (was replaced by the respectable Rony Seikaly) and could not win a playoff series after previously advancing to the Eastern Conference Finals. The Bulls only lost 2 wins after Jordan went to play minor league baseball in 1994 but they came up well short of a championship, losing in the Eastern Conference Semifinals. What will be the fallout from losing LeBron and having Jamario Moon occupy his spot in the starting lineup? And who gets announced last at Cleveland home games? Mo Williams? That can't be good. Even without any star power, Cleveland has enough balanced talent and a good rebuilding coach (Byron Scott) to be respectably mediocre. But this time, Scott’s curent rebuilding effort doesn’t have Chris Paul or Jason Kidd running the point so I’m not anticipating any 50 win seasons in the near future. The Cavaliers have excellent point guard depth (Williams, Sessions, Gibson), an able frontcourt (Jamison, Varejao, Hickson) and absolutely nothing on the wings. Jamario Moon finished in 3rd place in the 2008 Slam Dunk Conteset. Anthony Parker is less famous than his sister. Joey Graham is better than his twin brother…but he is still not very good. Actually, I am somewhat shocked that he is still gainfully employed by an NBA team that isn’t the Minnesota Timberwolves. Another bad sign.
The Ghost of Seasons Yet To Come
On the plus side, owner Dan Gilbert is willing to spend money and the front office has a gigantic trade exception to work with over the next year. On the minus side, Gilbert made enticing free agents to the Cleveland market an even more difficult task by vilifying LeBron James after “The Decision” and seems to be angling for a more active role in the front office. The latter of those should be far more disturbing for Cavs fans. Gilbert may be on his way to becoming the next James Dolan and there is a clear negative effect when basketball owners become too involved in personnel matters (Warriors, Grizzlies, Knicks, Suns, Clippers far outweigh Cuban’s success with the Mavs). Cleveland’s best option may be to start rebuilding immediately but after Gilbert’s outlandish promises of an NBA championship that doesn’t seem particularly likely. The veterans on the Cavs will be just good enough to make a high pick in upcoming NBA drafts a (very) long shot but not good enough to make the playoffs. It’s the NBA version of purgatory but it will probably feel more like Hell.
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