Breaking Down Cleveland Cavaliers' Small Forward Position for 2014-15 Season
Yes, signing LeBron James in free agency will single-handedly turn the weakest position on your roster into the strongest.
It's that simple.
James signed a two-year, $42.1 million contract with the Cleveland Cavaliers and returned home to Ohio back in July, instantly changing the dynamic at small forward.
No longer would the team have to experiment with underwhelming rookies and role players. James solidified the position.
But he also brought some help.
According to ESPN, the Cavs currently have newcomers Shawn Marion and James Jones (and the now-departed Keith Bogans) backing up James. Mike Miller is slotted at shooting guard, where he will earn most of his minutes, but the 6'8" 34-year-old will spend some time relieving his buddy James as well.
All of those veteran players weren't on the Cleveland roster last season.
It's a complete transformation on the perimeter for a team which finished 33-49 and missed the playoffs for the fourth consecutive season—every year since James departed for South Beach.
Let's take a look back at what the Cavs got out of the position last year and what the new faces—and the best player in the world—will mean to the position going forward.
Last Year's Overall Grade: D
According to Basketball-Reference.com, the Cavs had five players log minutes at the 3 last season: Sergey Karasev, Alonzo Gee, Shane Edwards, Luol Deng and Anthony Bennett.
Karasev, the Cavs' 19th overall pick in the 2013 NBA draft, is an intriguing prospect among those who follow the league closely.
At just 19 years old when the Cavs selected him, he already had loads of professional experience in Russia, including a trip to the 2012 London Olympics. Karasev was arguably the top international prospect in his draft class.
Despite being a bit of a tweener at 6'7" and 200 pounds with a 6'9" wingspan, his .590 true shooting percentage was eye-opening for scouts and general managers. He could instantly stretch the floor and provide spacing.
However, he shot just 34 percent from the field as a rookie, thanks in large part to his putrid 21 percent from three-point range. His 7.1 minutes per game in 22 appearances ranked him 17th out of 21 players who dressed for the Cavs last season. It was a rookie year to forget.
Gee was a regular contributor for Cleveland since arriving in the 2010-11 season. His best years came during his first two full seasons with the Cavs, where he hit career highs of 10.6 points and 5.1 rebounds a game in 2011-12.
He played all 82 games for the Cavs last season in a rotation role, never fully taking hold of the small forward position.
Edwards, the 6'7" forward from University of Arkansas at Little Rock, appeared in just two games and scored two points last season.
Deng is the sole reason why the grade for this position is a D and not a stone-cold F. The longtime Chicago Bull was traded to the Cavs midseason.
Although he didn't quite play up to his normal standards—point, rebound and assist totals all dropped after the trade—he brought a level of legitimacy to the small forward spot.
The two-time All Star finished second on the team in minutes and third in points per game.
However, the Cavs probably would have never had to trade for Deng if Bennett, the 2013 No. 1 overall pick, would have played up to his lofty draft status.
He forged through knee issues and other nagging injuries during the course of the year while seemingly never becoming comfortable with his role as a potential franchise cornerstone.
Bennett played just 12.8 minutes per game in 22 appearances, all in a reserve role. He logged the lowest player efficiency rating (6.9) and true shooting percentage (.425) of anyone on the team who played at least 200 minutes.
Overhauling the Position
There is perhaps no position on any team in the NBA that has gone through an overhaul as dramatic as the small forward spot in Cleveland.
All five of those players from last season will be playing ball elsewhere in 2014-15.
Karasev was shipped to Brooklyn along with Jarrett Jack in what was a cost-cutting move to free up space for the Cavaliers' eventual pursuit of star forward Kevin Love.
Gee was traded to the Charlotte Hornets for Brendan Haywood and Dwight Powell. He was then traded two more times and waived once, all in the same summer.
Deng signed a two-year, $19.86 million free-agent contract with the Miami Heat in the offseason to help fill the cavernous void left by James.
Edwards was waived by the Cavaliers back in March after playing out his 10-day contract. He re-signed with Cleveland on Sunday, per the team website, but terms were not disclosed. Don't expect to see him on the opening day roster.
Bennett was one of the key pieces in the monster trade that netted Love for the Cavs along with 2014 No. 1 overall pick Andrew Wiggins. Bennett will have to tap into that unfulfilled potential in the Twin Cities now.
Wiggins was supposed to be the heir apparent but became expendable once James was brought in. He was the centerpiece of the Love deal, and rightfully so.
Wiggins is exceptional athletically and has an enormous ceiling talent-wise.
But he and Bennett are understandable casualties when you bring in a talent like James. He's arguably the best player in the entire world depending on whom you talk to, and he brings instant credibility to any team, especially when flanked by fellow All-Stars Kyrie Irving and Love.
Signing James sent shockwaves throughout the NBA and began a trickle-down effect on the Cavs' once-young roster. The mindset shifted to veterans who can contribute immediately, and the Cavs became a top free-agent destination.
Playing for a championship rather than a drawn-out rebuild became priority No. 1. Trading young assets for a known commodity in Love was a necessary sacrifice.
Former teammates Miller, Jones and defensive stalwart Marion all took their talents to "The Land," as James affectionately calls it, signing as free agents in the offseason.
All three will see some time backing up the King, particularly Jones and Marion. While Miller will potentially see minutes at the 3, he's projected to be the top backup behind Dion Waiters at the 2-guard spot.
Not only is he thrilled to be reuniting with James, Miller sees big potential for himself and the rest of Cleveland's new players in head coach David Blatt's offensive scheme, per The Cleveland Plain Dealer:
"His offensive stuff is borderline genius. It takes a little time, but you see why he's done such a good job leading teams to championships. He's a good coach."
It's a complete lineup change for the Cavs on the wing.
Season Outlook
James is obviously the team's top priority and will dominate playing time at the position. He's finished top two in terms of player efficiency rating for the past six seasons.
He had the fourth-highest usage percentage in the league last year (31.0). It's his show, and it will remain that way until his No. 23 jersey is hanging in the rafters at Quicken Loans Arena.
I envision Marion getting the lion's share of minutes behind James, as well as—hopefully—playing alongside James when he inevitably switches to point forward or when they elect to play him at the 4.
James will move around on the court position-wise, picking and choosing his spots to dominate.
Marion is the best on-ball defender the Cavs deploy other than James. Even at 36 years old, he's still excellent in that regard, and playing alongside James could make for some suffocating perimeter play.
Offensively, he's never needed the ball in his hands to be successful, so James should have zero problem finding him open in the corner or cutting to the hoop.
While Marion will certainly be coming off the bench, almost always to give James a blow, the two of them will still have ample opportunities to play alongside each other, particularly late in games.
Jones and Miller are the lone dead-eye shooters on the roster. That is their sole role: to stretch the floor and knock down shots. Both are 40 percent shooters from beyond the arc for their respective careers with a penchant for big-game magic.
Miller will have more of a role assuming he stays healthy throughout the season. James trusts him in clutch moments.
Jones will serve purely as a deep rotation guy. He's comfortable with his role and is excited about the opportunity to rejoin James, via ESPN.com:
"It's great. I relish the opportunity to play with LeBron once again and the chance to play with Kyrie, because as a shooter that's what you want, you want good looks. Sometimes the looks can be too open, it gives you too much time to think, but we'll live with those problems.
"
These guys all came to Cleveland to get in one more championship run with James. They will contribute and become big pieces, especially in the playoffs, where their new Cavs teammates will find themselves in unfamiliar territory.
But make no mistake, this is still very much the King's court, and he's single-handedly taking over this position and team.
All statistics courtesy of Basketball-Reference. Contract information courtesy of ShamSports.com. Follow Stephen on Twitter for more hoops discussion.
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