2015/16 Team Preview: Cleveland Cavaliers

Additions: Jared Cunningham, Austin Daye, Chris Johnson, Richard Jefferson, DJ Stephens, Mo Williams

Mo Williams is back. After LeBron left Cleveland in 2010, Mo was devastated. Like so many in Cleveland, Williams understood what LeBron’s initial departure mean to the city of Cleveland. Since then, while LeBron’s played in five finals, Mo’s played on five different teams—yet still making strong contributions to most. Last year, he dropped 52 on the Pacers and averaged 17.2 PPG in 27 games with the Hornets. Tired of playing on scrub teams, Williams made amends with James this summer and joined the Cavs. With Irving out until what I predict could be January, Williams will be essential for the Cavs. He’s a superior option to Dellavadova at the point, and he’s a more reliable scoring option than J.R. Smith. Williams’ sole All-Star season was with Cleveland in 2008/09, and although he won’t start 81 games and average 17.8 PPG, he should find moderate success leading a stronger cast than Mo has ever played with before—anywhere.

Subtractions: Shawn Marion, Kendrick Perkins, Tristan Thompson

Tristan Thompson wants to get paid. And apparently 5 years/$80 million isn’t enough. I don’t begrudge the man for wanting big money but I certainly don’t blame the Cavs for not giving it to him. Although Thompson’s timely playoff contributions certainly raised his value in the eyes of many, personally I think he’s shooting a little high on this one… I mean, he is a bench player who just switched his shooting hand two years ago. He’s never averaged more than 11.7 PPG and he’s never averaged double-digit rebounds; furthermore, he’s an inept free throw shooter and a subpar shot blocker, and he plays behind Kevin Love, a guy who the Cavs already re-signed to a 5-year/$110 million deal. Add to that, the fact that the contract Thompson is seeking would put the Cavs even further over the cap triggering costly luxury tax penalties. Just a year ago, Kenneth Faried, who has undoubtedly proven to be very bit the player Thompson is in his four years in the league, agreed to a 4-year/$52 million with the Nuggets—do you really think Thompson is owed 5-years/$94 million? I doubt you do and I doubt the Cavs do either. I assume the Cavs will work something out with Tristan but it appears it might be short-term…

Rookies: Quinn Cook, Sasha Kaun, Nick Minnerath

If I’m writing about Quinn Cook, what does that tell you about the Cavs rookie class? There’s not much here. Which is fine because the Cavs used every penny available to re-sign last year’s core (excluding Tristan Thompson). Want further proof the Cavs have no interest in drafting (and paying) a rookie? Look how quickly they dumped off two first-rounders for Timofy Mozgov (a trade that I 100% co-signed by the way). But hey, you gotta fill out your roster with players, and with Cook, Kaun, and Minnerath, the Cavs are trying to find some value in their rookie contracts. Of the three, Cook may have the most potential. A three-year starter at Duke, Cook went undrafted and after playing Summer League ball with the Thunder and the Cavs, he signed with Cleveland. Playing with the likes of Tyus Jones, Austin Rivers, and Seth Curry, Cook has spent the majority of his time playing off the ball. He’s a solid outside shooter but isn’t much of a slasher and doesn’t take many shots in the paint. He also has high basketball I.Q., he’s an excellent passer, and has sneaky quickness. Defensively, he’s a little undersized, but he’s very quick and energetic. Truth be told, this all may be a moot point. Cook could quite possibly be cut from the Cavs or sent to their D-League affiliate this season as he has very little chance to crack Cleveland’s guard rotation.

Guards: After three seasons of never sniffing the playoffs, Kyrie Irving proved that he could be an important cog on a successful team. James has long been credited with making his teammates better and Irving was no exception. Irving increased his scoring (21.7 PPG from 20.8) on less shots (16.5 FGA from 17.4), and raised both his PER (20.1 to 21.5) and win shares (6.7 to 10.4). And although Kyrie certainly plays Robin to LeBron’s Batman, he also showed that he could bear the scoring load when LeBron’s on the bench. When LeBron says he feels that he doesn’t have to carry the Cavs, who do you think is gonna take the pressure off? Obviously, Kyrie. However, Irving isn’t gonna be ready for opening night and could return as late as January. In the meantime, Mo Williams is gonna have to step up. Now I’m not gonna lie, I’m not as big on JR Smith and Iman Shumpert as others are. I understand Shumpert’s a solid “three-and-D” player and those are in vogue right now, but he’s not much of a scorer (7.7 career PPG), has terrible shot selection (41% career FG%), and doesn’t pass (2.1 career APG). That gets you 4-years/$40 million? Crazy. Even crazier was JR Smith opting out of his $6 million option last summer? I know a lot of Cavaliers have inflated self-values right now, but this dude is crazy! Listen, JR is a good player; he’s unbelievably talented and can heat up in a way that only 15-20 players in this league can. But dude is a knucklehead… and super un-clutch. Remember when Smith was knocking threes down in the waning minutes of Finals Game 6 last year? That’s because that’s what he does! He loves hitting shots that don’t count. Dude couldn’t knock a shot down in the first 45 minutes of the game when the Cavs needed it. If his team is up 20 or more, Smith can catch fire; but if there’s two minutes left in an important tie game, there’s no way that ball’s going in—you might not even get a good miss. Perhaps I’m overlooking many of Smith’s contributions, but he just seems immune to hitting big shots. Matthew Dellavadova stepped up big in the playoffs last year, and although he’s a third-string PG, should be able to find some minutes before and after Irving’s return. Joe Harris is a good player but he gets no burn. I want that to change but I don’t think it will.

Forwards: LeBron James is the best player in the NBA right now. Some would argue for Anthony Davis, others might advocate Steph Curry or James Harden. Kevin Durant? Russell Westbrook? Get the fuck out of here. LeBron’s been to the last five Finals, and it wasn’t because of James Jones… He’s the best all-around player in the league; he may go down as the second-best player in NBA history. He’s an 11-time All-Star and two-time champion. Last season, he led a Cavs team without Kevin Love and Anderson Varejao to the Finals. He’s one of the least selfish superstars ever, and always seems to make his teammates better. LBJ can more-or-less guard all five positions on defense and play four of them on offense. If there’s one part of LeBron’s game I could be critical of, it’s his free throw shooting. A 74.5% career shooter from the stripe, James has never shot 80% from the line in any of his 12 seasons—which isn’t awful; it’s just a goal that given his talent, he should achieve. Earlier in the offseason, James commented that he did not feel he needed “to carry the team” just lead it; although I understand LeBron’s putting the emphasis on teamwork, with Irving out until January, he’s gonna need to carry them at least through the first two months of the season. I still feel bad for Kevin Love; I’m not going to bluntly state Kelly Olynyk deliberately tried to hurt him, but if you look at the play, I’m not willing to say Olynyk did everything he could NOT to hurt him… It certainly rode the line between dirty and aggressive. So after six seasons in which Love couldn’t sniff a post-season appearance, he played in two playoff games before his season was over. Love got A LOT of shit last year for his declining production. With career averages of 19.2 PPG and 12.2 RPG with Minnesota, Love’s 16.4 PPG and 9.7 RPG in his first season with the Cavs was disappointing. Many speculated that David Blatt simply didn’t know how to use Love or that James and Irving weren’t sure how to get him the ball. Love seemingly became more reliant on his outside shooting and played a lot less in the post or in the paint. What happened to the guy who had 53 straight double-doubles with the Wolves? I think he’s still in Cleveland. Impressively, Love was able to obtain 38 double-doubles in 75 games with the Cavs last season. But if you’re expecting Kevin Love to “be the player he was in Minnesota,” you’re crazy. Dude posted a 26.9 PER and 10.6 offensive win shares in 2014/15!! But that was on a team with bums like Ricky Rubio and Wayne Ellington. But if one reasonably tempers their expectations, Love can be a winner in Cleveland. The Cavs signed Richard Jefferson to a one-year veteran’s minimum this summer. After barely cracking the rotation in 2012/13, RJ had two solid seasons in a reserve role with Utah and Dallas respectively. Although he’ll again see limited time with the Cavs, he should be a nice complimentary piece. Three point specialist James Jones rounds out the front line while journeyman Austin Daye attempts to reclaim his career with Cleveland.

Centers: As I stated earlier, I was a big fan of the trade that brought Timofy Mozgov in the fold last season. The bottom line was that the Cavs were too small and with Anderson Varejao out for the season, they we’re getting killed on the glass. Mozgov came in and made an immediate impact. In his 46 games with the Cavs, he scored 10.6 PPG, shot 59% from the field, and posted a career high 18.9 PER. The acquisition of he, JR Smith, and Iman Shumpert greatly changed the Cavs’ trajectory last season, and it’s no surprise all three players were re-signed (well, I guess I was kinda surprised JR Smith got re-signed…). Anderson Varejao enters his 12^th NBA season (all with the Cavs) after missing most of the 2014/15 season. Unfortunately, Varejao doesn’t seem to play much any more—he’s played in less than 32 games in four of his last five seasons. But when he’s on the court, he can still be effective… With Tristan Thompson holding out, Varejao may be relied upon to help the frontcourt. I think it’s reasonable to believe that Varejao could average 9 points and 6 rebounds—hopefully he can appear in more 50 games.

Final thoughts: Much like Chicago, Cleveland is more or less returning the same team. Regardless of Irving’s timetable, I expect the Cavs to secure the #1 seed in the Eastern Conference… With Tristan Thompson out of the line-up, expect a healthy Anderson Varejao to pick up the slack. Despite rejecting a qualifying offer, I expect Thompson to re-sign with the Cavs (even if it’s only a one-year deal). I think it’s in the best interest of both parties to reach some sort of understanding… Those who dogged Kevin Love and said, ‘he wasn’t living up to his contract” or ‘he wasn’t part of the big three’ will regret those comments. With a year in Cleveland under his belt, Love will better understand his role… JR Smith is a bum. The Cavs should’ve let him sign with the Kings or the Trailblazers… Don’t believe the hype! Coach Blatt’s job is secure (which shouldn’t need to be stated). He took a team who’s never won a chip to the Finals in his first season. LeBron respects Blatt as does the rest of the team… I’m happy to see Shawn Marion and Kendrick Perkins out of the league. Marion had a borderline HOF career (although he will ultimately fall short) and should enjoy life after basketball. As for Kendrick Perkins, we’ve reached the end of the road. His basketball skills have completely eroded. Over the least two seasons, he’s just become a goon out there. Perhaps Sam Presti and the Thunder should’ve considered moving Perkins during the summer of 2012, not James Harden…

Breakfast Links 6-29-15

76ers :: Philly to seek $3M in compensation for Bynum

Cavs :: LeBron James opts out; Expected to return

Cavs :: Team expected to offer Love 5-year deal

Nets :: BKN and MEM discuss possible Joe Johnson trade

Suns :: Phoenix to agree to 5-yr, $70M extension with Knight

Suns :: Team will look to trade Eric Bledsoe

Recommended film: Fresh (1994)
Highly slept-on hip hop cinema. Sean Nelson kills it and Chuckie says a bunch of funny shit. Plus there’s like three original Wu-Tang songs on the soundtrack.

Wiggins and a Bunch of Other Valuable Shit For Kevin Love? NOOOOO!!!!

Now that LeBron James committed to returning to Cleveland, many around the league are waiting patiently to see if the Cavaliers will attempt to add Minnesota Timberwolves power forward Kevin Love to their roster. Love has been more than vocal about his desire to leave the Timberwolves after his contract expires next summer, so it’s only natural that Wolves’ GM Flip Saunders will attempt to trade Love this season assuring the Wolves at least get something back for their 3-time All-Star.

Undoubtedly, the Cavs have a nice roster filled with young talent, but if they are going to compete with the upper echelon of the NBA in 2014/2015, they’re going to need to add another veteran… And players like Love don’t come cheap. It’s very doubtful that a package centered around Dion Waiters or Anthony Bennett is gonna get it done.

Inevitably, if the Cavs truly want to acquire Love, they’re gonna have to give up their prized possession: The #1 pick in the 2014 NBA draft, Andrew Wiggins. Since landing LeBron (and subsequently making their team infinitely more competitive), many believe the Cavaliers must add Love in order to compete next season. Others believe Andrew Wiggins has simply too much potential to trade him away before he ever plays his first NBA game. Let’s take a look at the reasons for and against this trade.

Should Cavs trade Wiggins for Love?

Obviously Kevin Love is gonna have a better 2014/2015 season than Andrew Wiggins—he could play on Mars and have a bigger impact on his team than Wiggins will. Simply stated, Love is a top three power forward in the NBA (possibly the best) and arguably a top six player in the league. Although most people believe he’s older, Love is only 25 (turns 26 in September). Over his six seasons, K.Love has averaged a double double (19.2 PPG and 12.2) including a particularly impressive streak of 53 games with 10+ points, 10+ rebounds in 2010/11. And by no means is Love’s game limited to cleaning the glass and scoring in the paint. Love has shot an impressive 45.1% from the field over his career and an equally impressive 36.2% from three. In fact, Love’s offensive game is so well rounded that when he tallied 26.1 PPG, 12.5 RPG, and 4.4 APG last season, he became the first player to do so. EVER.

Unarguably, Love is a talented player who brings a skillset to the table that no other player in the league possesses. As most would agree, if the Cavs trade Wiggins in a deal to acquire Love they will be a better team next season and would become an immediate challenger for an NBA championship.

How would LeBron, Love, and Irving stack up?

First of all, I don’t think the Cavs as currently constructed (without Love) are as far away from competing for a chip as others seem to believe. But I would agree that with Love, they will be a much better team next season than without. First, let’s compare this “big three” with the Miami Heat “big three.” Assuming LeBron will be the same player in Cleveland that he was in Miami (yet hopefully playing less minutes and perhaps taking the occasional game off), Miami LBJ and Cleveland LBJ cancel each other out.

Now I love Chris Bosh. When people were taking unfounded shots at him in 2010/11, I thought it was unfair and ill-advised. Some loved to joke that the “big three” was really a “big two” or a “big two and half” and downplayed Bosh’s importance to the Heat. However, by 2014, it became quite apparent that the “big three” is essentially the “big one” and Bosh was Miami’s second best player. Nonetheless, Bosh has averaged an impressive 19.2 PPG over his career (17.3 PPG while he was with the Heat) and 8.7 RPG (7.3 RPG with the Heat). Obviously Bosh made substantial changes in his game coming to Miami from Toronto. With the Raptors, Bosh played far more around the basket and in the paint. He tallied career highs in PPG (24.0 PPG) and RPG (10.8). However, once he joined Wade and LeBron in Miami, the points and rebounds went down but the 3-point shooting went up. But while others may criticize him under the umbrella of declining production, I have to admire the way Bosh contorted his game to fit in with the Miami system.

With that said, Kevin Love is a better player than Chris Bosh. Similar to CB4, Love is a perimeter big who can spread the floor (which is a perfect complement for James) but he’s a better shooter. Love is also a far superior rebounder, and when combined with Tristan Thompson or Anderson Varejao, the Cavs should be an excellent rebounding squad. Neither is a particularly great defender or any type of real shot blocker, so neither player will really wear that crown. Nonetheless, Love is undoubtedly the more effective player right now.

Do we really need to compare Dwyane Wade and Kyrie Irving? Dwyane Wade is one of the best shooting guards in NBA history. Dude has three rings and nothing to prove. With that said, let’s be honest: He’s got nothing left in the tank. In contrast, Irving’s best years are in front of him and he should CERTAINLY benefit greatly from LeBron’s tutelage. However, one statistic I think is interesting is that Kyrie Irving has played in 181 games over the last three seasons while Dwyane Wade has played in 172, only nine less.

Now I’m not willing to go on record and say 2014/2015 James, Love, and Irving is better than 2010/11 James, Bosh, and Wade, but I will say they’re better than 2014/2015 James, Bosh, and Wade would’ve been… And this is the core of a team that went to the last four consecutive Finals. So what makes everyone think that this Cavs team (with Love) couldn’t represent the Eastern Conference in this year’s Finals?

In fact, I believe the Cavs would be the best team in the East. They’re already better than the vastly overrated Pacers (now sans Lance Stephenson, yet still burdened by Roy Hibbert’s albatross-like contract) and a Chicago Bulls team that receives far more credit than they deserve for a team that hasn’t won 50 games in over two years in a horrible Eastern Conference. As much as I like Joakim Noah, I’m not prepared to act like Derrick Rose is the same player he was three years ago the same way others are. So no one can fuck with the Cavs in the East, but how do they stack up with the teams in the West?

No let’s not act like a team filled with mostly players 22 and under who have never played an NBA game together (let alone a season) is going to take out a team like the Spurs who have kept the core of their team together for 10+ seasons and has won four rings. Nor do I believe they can hang with the Oklahoma City Thunder, who have been knocking on that Championship door for almost four years and have really seen their nucleus come together, or the Los Angeles Clippers, who not only have two of the top ten players in the NBA, but an excellent core of role players that round out their squad.

So is the goal of this Cavaliers team to go to the Finals or win a chip? Because I think they can get there, but they’re not winning it all. Does LeBron really want to lose his fourth NBA Finals? Doubtful. Perhaps if the Cavs don’t trade Wiggins, they may be better off in the long term.

Should Cavs just keep Wiggins?

Now of course, one could argue that if the Cavs could somehow nab Love without letting Wiggins depart, they would be the ultimate winners. No disagreement there. And let’s be honest, historically, if any team’s front office has displayed extreme ineptitude over the last eight seasons, it’s been Minnesota. So maybe a combination of Waiters/ Thompson/ another vet and some picks gets it done, but it’s doubtful. Sometimes, it can be difficult to assume what a team like the Wolves values. Johnny Flynn, Derrick Williams, Darko Milicic… All of these players have been seen as potential building blocks by Minnesota’s seemingly clueless front office. But in my mind, there are two prevailing reasons why the Cavs shouldn’t make this trade:

1. No other team has been rumored to be offering much more.
The only other “potential superstar” that we’ve heard about in Love trades is Klay Thompson of the Golden State Warriors. However, the Warriors have steadfastly denied that they would consider packaging Thompson is a deal with Minnesota. So why do the Cavs have to give up Wiggins? To compete with the Celtics’ offer headlined by the Jared Sullinger and Kelly Olynyk? Or the Bulls’ offer of Taj Gibson and Jimmy Butler? I’m almost certain that my aforementioned (and completely ficticious) trade offer highlighted by Waiters, Thompson, and a future first is vastly superior to anything the C’s could offer. Is there something I don’t understand about supply and demand? The Cavs don’t have to offer their best package possible, just the best package available. If the Warriors are offering Thompson with Harrison Barnes and a pick, then Wiggins might have to go. But until the actual threat of another team acquiring Love comes to fruition, I wouldn’t feel the need to include Wiggins.

2. Isn’t this approach the same WRONG approach the Miami Heat took?
Let’s be clear: Whatever your opinions towards the “Big Three Heat” era is, it was not a failure. In four years, they made four consecutive finals and won two. But the team took a huge step backwards last season when they began cost-cutting, shedding veterans and salary to get below the luxury tax threshold. Nevertheless, the real problem was building a team around three players all making close to $20M a year essentially leaving the Heat with no money to spend in the free market. Last season in particular, it became quite evident that the Heat’s lack of depth would not only prevent them from competing with San Antonio, but also teams such as Oklahoma City and the Los Angeles Clippers. Make no mistake, there was more than one reason James left Miami in favor of Cleveland this summer, but undoubtedly the Heat’s lack of salary space played an integral role in his departure.

The Cavs have already went out and signed Mike Miller and James Jones; and they’ve allegedly been courting Ray Allen as well. Are we getting the band back together? The second worst plan the Cavs could follow is the Miami Heat 2010-2014 blueprint, second only to the plans the Cavs laid out from 2003-2010 which included landing second bananas like Mo Williams and Antawn Jamison. How about this? BUILD AROUND YOUR YOUNG, TALENTED, AND MOST IMPORTANTLY, INEXPENSIVE prospects!! You don’t have to give 85% of your money to three players, and divvy the rest up amongst scrubs (no disrespect, Dexter Pittman). You are allowed to make moves in the interest of flexibility. What’s the worst thing that could happen? Dion Waiters signs an offer sheet in the summer of 2016 and leaves? The Cavs will be okay. Listen, you already have LeBron; people will come. Dudes want to play with this guy (including Kevin Love). Some might say, “Well if you don’t trade for Love now, he might go play with the Lakers next summer.” Fine. Kevin Love’s a good player but acquiring him at any cost may not be the best thing for the Cavs’ future.

The Bottom Line

Kevin Love would make the Cavs a better team in 2014/15, and assuming he would sign an extension, he would also make the squad better in 2015/16 than they could ever be without him. However, by 2016/17, a more mature and developed Andrew Wiggins could emerge. Consider the fact that Wiggins would make approximately $6.5M that year in comparison to the $20M Love could be making by that time. Also consider all of the pieces that can remain with Wiggins but would have to depart in a trade for Love. By 2016/17, Tristan Thompson would be entering his sixth season, Waiters his fifth, and Anthony Bennett would be in his fourth. Doesn’t that sound better than just Kevin Love and one of those four guys?
Ultimately, the Cavs are just giving up too much in this proposed trade. Yeah, it makes them better but for how long? If they make this deal, they need to start winning championships tomorrow because if it takes any longer than two years, they’ll certainly regret trading Wiggins, depleting their young core, and erasing any flexibility they may have had through 2020, the year when James turns 36.