The State Of the Cleveland Cavaliers

After a record setting regular season, the Cleveland Cavaliers were eliminated Saturday in Game Six of the Eastern Conference Finals by the Orlando Magic. Numerous storylines surrounding the Cavaliers unfolded in the days after.

LeBron James is receiving much criticism regarding his decision to not congratulate the Magic players for advancing to the NBA Finals. Plus, James chose not to address the media immediately after the game. He will not be fined by the NBA, however.

The reason his postgame actions are receiving so much publicity is because of the unlikelihood of these decisions. Throughout his career, James has been the NBA's most accessible superstar. He's been a model for sportsmanship and respect for both his teammates and opponents.

In defense of his postgame actions, James said Sunday, "It's hard for me to congratulate somebody after you just lost to them." 

"I'm a winner. It's not being a poor sport or anything like that. If somebody beats you up, you're not going to congratulate them. That doesn't make sense to me. I'm a competitor. That's what I do. It doesn't make sense for me to go over and shake somebody's hand," he said.

This is a non-issue. James simply has done so many things right in his NBA career that the media are overplaying something he did "wrong" after Saturday's loss to the Magic.

The second major storyline concerns comments Cavaliers center Ben Wallace made. The former four-time NBA Defensive Player of the Year announced he is contemplating retirement.

After an injury-plagued season, the 34-year-old Wallace said Saturday, "I'm going to sit down and talk with my family, weigh my options, and come up with a decision. Nothing's definite, but there's a strong possibility that this was my last season."

Wallace is under contract for one more year with Cleveland and is scheduled to earn $14 million next season. A buyout of his contract is possible, perhaps somewhere in the neighborhood of $8 million.

Should Wallace retire, Cleveland would suffer another blow to its frontcourt, as big men Zydrunas Ilgauskas, Anderson Varejao, and Joe Smith could all conceivably leave Cleveland since they are free agents this summer.

The third major storyline concerns exactly that: the Cavaliers' activity in free agency this summer.

The Cleveland Plain Dealer reported Monday that Varejao intends to opt out of his contract to become a free agent Jul 1.

Ilgauskas and Smith will likely re-sign, perhaps for less than they deserve in order to free cap space to sign a notable free agent, so they can make a couple more title runs before they retire.

Veterans Wally Szczerbiak and Lorenzen Wright are unrestricted free agents in addition to the trio of big men listed above.

Brian Windhorst of the Cleveland Plain Dealer cites three team needs as the Cavaliers head into the offseason. Even if Cleveland re-signs all of its free agents, filling these needs is still crucial if Cleveland is going to win a championship soon.

The first need is a skilled big man. Presumably this means a young, athletic shot blocker with developed offensive skills.

So who is available that resembles part if not all of this mold?

Lamar Odom, David Lee, Paul Millsap, Marcin Gortat, Chris Andersen, and Leon Powe.

Lee and Powe would be better and cheaper replacements for Varejao. Millsap would be a terrific addition; he would be an immediate upgrade over Wallace or Smith off of the bench. Andersen and Gortat would be quiet glue guys to rebuild Cleveland's interior defense.

The second need is a tall wing defender. Here is where the Cavaliers need to spend the most time and money in free agency this summer. Here's who is available to suit the Cavaliers:

Marvin Williams, Ron Artest, Trevor Ariza, Matt Barnes, Linas Kleiza, and Shawn Marion.

Ariza would be the best fit of these six players. Signing Artest would move Delonte West to the bench. Kleiza, Marion, and Barnes all would be solid additions to the Cavaliers' lineup. Williams is probably too big to play shooting guard and thus too good to ask to come off of the bench.

The third need is a backup point guard. The Cavaliers will probably have the least difficultly in signing one should they pursue one. The only problem is whether this point guard needs to be a scorer in case the Cavaliers can't add another scorer. So does Cleveland simply insert a veteran to manage the offense when James is not on the floor or does it go with a scorer just in case?

Potential candidates include: veterans Brevin Knight, Jacque Vaughn, Bobby Jackson, Kevin Ollie, Lindsey Hunter, Anthony Carter, and Stephon Marbury; scorers Ramon Sessions, Jamal Crawford, and Raymond Felton; and veteran scorers Andre Miller, Jason Kidd, and Mike Bibby.

Any of the above veterans would be suitable if that's what Cleveland feels its best course of action is. The three scorers listed above would be outstanding additions to the Cavaliers' backcourt, as would the three veteran scorers.

So in review, James' postgame actions should subside in the near future.

Wallace could hurt the Cavaliers by retiring, especially if Varejao opts out and if Ilgauskas and Smith want more money than the Cavaliers would like to give them.

Numerous free agents are suitable to the Cavaliers. The degree to which Cleveland is aggressive in free agency depends on which of its big men return next season. Note that Cleveland has two picks in this month's NBA Draft.

If I were the Cavaliers general manager Danny Ferry, here is what I would like the 2009-10 team to look like:

Starting Five: PG Mo Williams, SG Trevor Ariza, SF LeBron James, PF David Lee, C Zydrunas Ilgauskas

Bench: PG Ramon Sessions, SG Daniel Gibson, SG Delonte West, SF Sam Young, PF Joe Smith, PF Darnell Jackson, PF J.J. Hickson, C Ben Wallace

Basically, let Varejao and Szczerbiak go. Trade Pavlovic and his contract for draft picks. Either welcome Wallace back for the same role he had this season, or buyout his contract if he retires. Draft Pittsburgh small forward Sam Young.

Keep in mind the Cavaliers have improved in key ways since making the playoffs four seasons ago. Sure, they were swept by San Antonio in the 2007 NBA Finals. However, the year after, they battled the eventual-Finals winner Boston to seven games with a team which played only half of a season together.

This season, the same team won a franchise-high 66 games and faced an Orlando team which posed matchup problems too difficult to overcome. One could argue the Cavaliers overachieved in the regular season anyway and that an Eastern Conference Finals appearance was more than most expected.

So Cleveland needs to retain its core, address issues that will help it matchup better with Orlando, and add depth in some areas to become a more well-rounded team.

Cleveland fans don't need to be frustrated about losing to Orlando. This summer afford Cleveland numerous opportunities to make that next step to the NBA Finals.