New Year's Resolutions for the Cleveland Cavaliers
The Cleveland Cavaliers control their own destiny entering 2014. Despite Andrew Bynum's sulking and a five-game losing streak, the Cavs remain able to amend past mistakes by resolving this New Year's Day to maintain a stoic demeanor moving forward through the regular season, trade deadline and 2014 NBA draft.
2013 revealed Cleveland's willingness to take calculated risks in its accelerated pursuit of a playoff seed. The team rehired Mike Brown in hopes that his defensive acumen would overshadow his obvious deficiencies coaching offense.
Anthony Bennett, once considered the most NBA-ready prospect in his class, became the first Canadian to be selected No. 1 overall in NBA draft history. And after earning the ire of Philadelphia 76ers fans everywhere, Andrew Bynum signed his third NBA contract with the Cavaliers.
While playing in the Eastern Conference always affords postseason hope, the Cavs have seemingly derailed at each juncture with their recent acquisitions. The win-now route is a road lesser traveled for good reason, at least with regard to securing the league's ultimate prize.
That's why the Cavaliers, as part of their New Year's resolutions, must game-plan according to what works. They already possess a smorgasbord of assets. Now they need to develop an identity that best complements how those pieces fit together and preserve that culture from outside noise—be it from ownership, fans or the media. The following seven guidelines should go a long way toward fulfilling that criteria.
Unless otherwise noted, all stats provided by NBA.com and are current through Monday, Dec. 30.
Waive Andrew Bynum
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Andrew Bynum has been upgraded to "paid leave," according to ESPN.com's Brian Windhorst, but the 7', 285-pound center may as well have remained suspended indefinitely. The experiment that brought him to Cleveland has failed.
Even before this latest fiasco, Fear the Sword's Sam Vecenie bore the gory details of Bynum's detrimental play, on both the individual and team levels and on both offense and defense.
While Vecenie's points remain inarguable, it was always tempting to defend the big man on the basis of his steady improvement given rotation minutes, elite rim protection and, of course, the benefit of the doubt that comes with playing offense under Mike Brown.
But now? With the words "detrimental conduct" figuratively sewn into his jersey in scarlet lettering? With a looming Jan. 7 deadline for the Cavs to waive what will otherwise become a $12.25 million commitment? With, according to Fox Sports Ohio's Sam Amico, virtually zero teams interested in a center who could become an unrestricted free agent sooner rather than later?
General manager Chris Grant owes it to himself to one-up Houston GM Daryl Morey by doing what the latter couldn't—cutting ties with an unhappy 7-footer on one's own terms. It's the right move to open the new year.
Keep Anthony Bennett at the 4
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Please bear with me when I say this, because I know you've thought it too: The Cavaliers just don't have any real small forwards. (Don't even bring up Sergey Karasev.)
Earl Clark is not a real small forward. Of his 63 made field goals this season, 34 have been three-pointers, and he only has 7 made free throws on the season in 13 attempts. To call him a stretch 4 would be, well, a stretch.
Alonzo Gee is not a small forward either. While he's given an admirable effort defending the 3, he's been an overall negative—on both sides of the ball—and should never, ever, ever have the ball in his hands.
And Anthony Bennett?
Look, it's time to remove the rose-tinted shades. For all the alleged hope that Bennett could adapt into a legitimate, if unconventional, small forward thanks to his versatile offensive skill set, that evolution is likely not happening this season. And please don't bring up the weight—it's been overstated at this point, and no amount of physical transformation, were it possible, would allow him to cover such athletic freaks as LeBron James, Kevin Durant or even Paul George.
This isn't to say Bennett won't morph into a walking mismatch. But to ask him to play out of his natural position, and to do so while transitioning to the NBA as a questionable No. 1 overall selection, is just too much.
The Cavs' most dynamic, effective lineups involve playing small ball, anyway.
Pick Up the Pace
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Nine of the Cavaliers' 15 players are under 25. Thirteen are under 30, and the two "veterans" of the group, Jarrett Jack and Anderson Varejao, are just 30 and 31, respectively.
This team is, with the exception of the Philadelphia 76ers, the youngest team in the league.
So then, why are the Cavs playing at just the 16th quickest pace in the league, at 96.59 possessions per 48 minutes?
Of the league's top 10 offensive teams as measured by offensive efficiency rating, five also rank within the top 10 for pace. The other teams—the Miami Heat (18th in pace), Portland Trail Blazers (13), Dallas Mavericks (11), New Orleans Pelicans (19) and Atlanta Hawk (12)—are case-by-case outliers.
The Heat, for example, lead the league in field-goal percentage, and it isn't even close. The Blazers, Mavericks and Hawks are also among the top of the league in field-goal percentage (with the Blazers leading the league in three-point percentage), but all three are also at least slightly above average in pace.
In sum, that's almost a third of the league that correlates a whirring offense with running the ball. If Bynum completes his departure sooner than later, the Cavaliers offense will be rid of its sole plodding big. Is there any good reason why the league's 26th-ranked offense shouldn't try to speed things up?
Keep a Fence Around the Court
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I wish I were kidding about this. I am, but not completely.
Twice this season, including once on national television, fans have sneaked onto the hardwood during regulation. A harmless showing of appreciation in lieu of rumors that a certain All-Star small forward may return to the Cavaliers this offseason? Perhaps.
Even so, I'm here to set the record straight. Guys, it's just not a good look to be pulling these kinds of stunts, especially in a sport that carries, at any given moment, the potential risk for a stampede of 6-foot-plus athletes storming in your direction faster than you can say Riggin' for Wiggins.
If your endgame is to create the impression that Cleveland is a premium free-agent destination with rabid fans, then as you wish. But just know that a winning team nurtured by a winning culture and heady front office (and an owner with deep pockets) can do just as much, if not more, to attract premium names.
Shoot More Three-Pointers
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The Cavaliers have been the worst team in the league in scoring at the rim all season long. Conversely, they've been among the league leaders in points just outside the restricted area and from mid-range, ranking fourth in field goals made from both zones.
None of this is novel to anyone, but considering how many mid-range shots they chuck, you'd think it wouldn't be such a hard transition to just take a step or two back, right?
Overall, the Cavs are shooting 42.8 percent from the field and 36.3 percent from three-point land—27th and 13th in the league, respectively. In other words, they're surprisingly adequate from three.
However, they rank just 15th and 22nd in three-pointers from the corners and above the break, with 68 and 149 total makes respectively.
Now, here's the kicker: Considering Cleveland loses a paltry 6.5 percent accuracy, in exchange for a bucket worth 50 percent more, why aren't the Cavs chucking it at world-record rates?
The idea that the team lacks shooters is a farce: Clark, Matthew Dellavedova, Jarrett Jack, Dion Waiters, Kyrie Irving and C.J. Miles all shoot above 35 percent from three and, as a collective, barely above 40 percent overall.
Ditto with the idea that the Cavs simply can't get their shooters open. By design, the mid-range shot is rarely open, but that has yet to be a deterrent.
If the Cavs are unable to play inside-out—and all indications are that they don't have he personnel for it—the next best thing is to go outside-in, a la the Golden State Warriors.
Do Not Panic Trade
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So technically all of the Cavaliers' acquisitions this past offseason were free-agency pickups. That's great, and that's the way things should stay.
Since taking over for previous Cavs GM Danny Ferry in 2010, Grant was fairly quiet in the transaction scene up until this season. Against the backdrop of renewed fervor by ownership to make a push for the postseason, it's always enticing to make a splash as Grant did, inking the trio of Jack, Clark and Bynum.
It's also tempting to swing for the fences at the trade deadline, especially if you feel you're just one move away from where you want to be.
My advice to Grant: Just don't.
Even if Grant pulled off an absolute heist with the dearth of desirable asset at his disposal (apologies to Tristan Thompson and Waiters), any move would be guaranteed to leave the rotation more barren than before, barring a trade for an All-Star quality two-way wing.
No team simply waltzes into the postseason after being hurriedly assembled via trades. This is where the subjective half of basketball plays a role; it requires a full season of chemistry-building and identity-shaping to enter the playoffs and not get outed by a team that has had time to nurture those intangibles. Just ask the Miami Heat in 2011.
Play It Safe in the Draft
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Assuming current projections hold up and the Cavaliers do miss the playoffs despite an abysmal field in the Eastern Conference, they may be looking at another top-10 lottery pick in the 2014 NBA draft.
Quick, pop quiz: How many lottery teams have appeared in the top five in the past three consecutive drafts?
The correct answer was: one! Not even the Charlotte Bobcats, in their perpetual futility, bombed their way into the top five for three straight years. In that span, the Cavs had the fortune of scooping up Irving and Thompson (2011), Waiters (2012) and Bennett (2013).
Hindsight may be 20/20, but not a single pundit these past three years would have paged Thompson, Waiters or Bennett in their respective years as the type of top-flight talent that Grant made them out to be with his selections.
Which is fine. But just know that no one would have batted an eye if, say, Grant picked up Klay Thompson in 2011 and Harrison Barnes in 2012 and effectively recreated today's incarnation of the Golden State Warriors. At least those two players were on the Cavs' public radar.
In the modern world, where the nerd reigns supreme in matters where analytics are applicable, it's chic to try to find an edge, to see something that the competition might not. But that same overzealous hunt can lead down dangerous paths. It can lead to Darko Milicic, who once upon a time impressed Detroit in a private workout to the extent that they chose him over Dwyane Wade, Chris Bosh and Carmelo Anthony.
My point is this: If you have to explain moves that even your more educated fans have to talk themselves into, you may have outsmarted yourself. Keep it simple, Grant.
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