LeBron James' Supporting Cast Remains in Flux After Iman Shumpert Injury
The Cleveland Cavaliers are ready to embark upon a title-or-bust campaign. The problem is that the supporting cast set to surround LeBron James during the NBA's 2015-16 campaign is anything but ready.
Typically, the preseason is a time when optimism reigns supreme. Platitudes are spouted off into microphones during media day and the weeks thereafter, and every player seems to have vastly improved and be in the best shape of his life.
But for the Cavs, there's no such luxury.
Instead of reports featuring plenty of young contributors adding muscle and cutting fat, the headlines during the hottest months of the year have focused on injuries and failed contract negotiations. Now, in the wake of news that Iman Shumpert will miss a significant portion of his first full season in a Cleveland uniform, the circumstances feel even more dire.
All the Uncertainty
As the Cavaliers revealed Tuesday in an official release, the flat-topped swingman won't return to the court for a minimum of three months:
"Cavaliers guard Iman Shumpert recently suffered a ruptured Extensor Carpi Ulnaris sheath in his right wrist. The extent of the injury was confirmed by MRI at Cleveland Clinic Sports Health yesterday by Dr. Thomas Graham and Dr. Richard Parker. Shumpert will have surgery to repair his wrist Wednesday at Cleveland Clinic. His return to play is currently projected to be 12 to 14 weeks.
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Unfortunately, this is only the latest blow for the Cavaliers, and it's a significant one. Kyrie Irving and Kevin Love are still on the shelf for the injuries they suffered during the team's run through the Eastern Conference Finals, and the organization isn't exactly in a hurry to rush them back.
"You're going to see us bring those guys along very slowly, very intentionally," Cleveland general manager David Griffin explained on media day, via Jeff Zillgitt of USA Today. "I would not reach too much into the appearances that those guys make or don’t make in the preseason. This is not something we have an aggressive timetable for any of our guys who are returning."
That's potentially three starters who could be shelved and treated with caution at the beginning of the year, keeping in mind that Shumpert moved into the opening lineup by the start of the Chicago Bulls series in the 2015 playoffs. Even Timofey Mozgov is a bit questionable, though he expects to be ready for the opener, according to the Northeast Ohio Media Group's Chris Fedor.
And what's particularly terrifying is how much better the Cavs were when any member of this trio played. In fact, even though Shumpert spent part of the year with the New York Knicks, he was still one of the most valuable players on the team, according to my FATS model (based on historical comparisons and explained in full here):
| LeBron James | 51.3 | 26.2 | 25.1 | 15.9 |
| Kevin Love | 48.8 | 29.8 | 19 | 12.22 |
| Kyrie Irving | 49.5 | 38.4 | 11.1 | 7.7 |
| Timofey Mozgov | 54.3 | 42 | 12.3 | 3.59 |
| Iman Shumpert | 56.2 | 41.6 | 14.6 | 3.41 |
| Tristan Thompson | 48 | 44 | 4 | 2.23 |
Beginning the campaign with three crucial roster members injured isn't exactly a positive, and it's not like they're the only ones missing. Tristan Thompson still hasn't come to terms with the organization, and the latest reports indicate that the two sides remain $14 million apart in the negotiations, as ESPN.com's Brian Windhorst noted.
With players strutting for the cameras and speaking in front of plenty of reporters at media day, Thompson's absence was particularly conspicuous. It was glaring enough, in fact, that James felt the need to speak on it, as Jason Lloyd of the Akron Beacon Journal relayed:
"I'm very optimistic something will get done on both sides long term.
I love Tristan, I think we all love Tristan, we know what he's capable of doing for our team and he's a huge piece to the puzzle, to our success. Not having him here today, not having him here possibly tomorrow or however long it is, it's going to be a missing piece. But I believe that the organization and Tristan, they're going to get something done because we all know how important he is to our success.
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Without Thompson, four of the six most valuable Cavs might not play on opening night. And that's particularly troublesome for James, who admitted Monday that he wishes he could take a few more months off.
The NBA season is grueling enough with a full roster of healthy bodies; it's even more tiring when a star is tasked with carrying an inordinately large load, especially coming off a season in which he already required a two-week hiatus for rest and recovery.
If Shumpert (who eventually needs to catch a break, because he's been injured far too often during his young NBA career), Love, Irving and Thompson are all unavailable, how many teammates can James truly count on? Even if Thompson is back, the answer won't change by much.
Beyond Mozgov, Anderson Varejao and Sasha Kaun are the only other big men on the roster, and the former is returning from a torn Achilles for his age-33 season. J.R. Smith is a perpetual wild card. Mo Williams (32) and Richard Jefferson (35) are both question marks at these advanced stages of their respective careers. At the very least, they were signed to fill smaller roles than the ones the widespread injuries may force them to occupy.
As the maladies and absences pile up, the worst-case scenario is converging with reality. Shield your eyes if you must, but that could involve James trotting out next to Williams, Smith, Jefferson and Varejao for the opening tip against the Chicago Bulls on Oct. 27.
Still Time to Relax
The silver lining of this situation is that the Cavs don't have to panic. It may seem as if Chicken Little is running down the street screaming, but the sky still isn't falling.
So what if there's another slow start? So what if the losses pile up early?
The Cavs still play in the weaker half of the NBA. They can afford to take note of what Gregg Popovich has done so often with the San Antonio Spurs, resting stars throughout the season and playing for the title rather than the No. 1 seed.
"We're about playing into the postseason, and what we're going to do is utilize the depth the best we can to bring everybody along and the timing that works best for them long-term," Griffin told Zillgitt on Monday. That's the exact mentality this team must employ.
Lest we forget, Cleveland was below .500 after 39 games of the 2014-15 season had come and gone, and it still bounced back to earn the No. 2 seed in the Eastern Conference, as well as an eventual spot in the NBA Finals. If anything, this team looks as if it could be even more talented when operating at full strength. The younger players have more experience, and there's more continuity.
Even while valuing the long con over the immediate future, the Cavs still very well might emerge with a better record than the Bulls, Atlanta Hawks or any other top contenders in the East.
As Shaun Powell wrote for NBA.com, "The Cavs finished with 53 wins after a sluggish start and backhanded the Hawks with a rude four-game sweep during the East finals. Assuming good health, the East is Cleveland's to lose once again because they bring the best player in the game that is still in his prime."
While James is intact, the Cavaliers have nothing to worry about.
It's not like Cleveland is in any serious danger of failing to finish with more victories than blemishes, which is all it takes to make the playoffs in their half of the Association. What's far more important is ensuring that they're healthy enough to make another deep run, even if that requires some rest at the beginning of the year.
They can be reasonably concerned for the time being, but if a banner is lifted up to the rafters before the start of the 2016-17 campaign, no one is going to remember whether this franchise started out slowly while ending its remarkably long title drought.
All stats, unless otherwise indicated, come from Basketball-Reference.com.
Adam Fromal covers the NBA for Bleacher Report. Follow him on Twitter:@fromal09.
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