Cleveland Cavaliers: Approaching the Post Lebron James Era in the Right Way
In an era of professional basketball that is dealing with player power and the rise of the free agent, the Cleveland Cavaliers have taken a somewhat overt approach that contradicts what is seemingly the norm nowadays.
After the Miami Heat carved a NBA Finals team out of a slab of marble acquired through free agency, the New York Knicks brought in the first of it's eventual two so called superstars when Amar'e Stoudemire landed in Madison Square Garden. Stoudemire was later joined by Carmelo Anthony in a trade that he forced from the Denver Nuggets.
The knock-on-effect of that move saw the New Jersey Nets make a deal with the Utah Jazz to acquire all-star point guard Deron Williams. The Nuggets and Knicks—as well as the Heat—sacrificed numerous draft picks in favor of picking up proven players in the league.
This prerogative is generally more of a short term fix rather than a long term plan. More and more teams are becoming happier to sacrifice their long term plans as many are now focused on attracting Chris Paul or Dwight Howard to their franchise in free agency.
Very few teams are looking to emulate the Oklahoma City Thunder's route to the playoffs. Of the 14 players that finished the season with the Thunder, eight were acquired by the team on draft day. Included in those eight are the team's biggest stars in Russell Westbrook and Kevin Durant, as well as impressive sixth man James Harden and emerging big man Serge Ibaka.
The Thunder do not need to make an unfavorable attempt at attracting a big name to their roster. Through the draft they have acquired their superstar—Kevin Durant—while also adding depth to the roster with numerous draft choices over the years.
Through this approach of adding youngsters and developing them, the team does not have to give up other pieces while also not risking getting players when they were past their prime.
Developing a team together looks to be what the Cavaliers are hoping to do.
The Cavaliers were lucky in the draft lottery. Of course luck is a necessity to succeed in all sports, no matter the area. However, the Cavaliers' aggressive approach to this offseason makes them deserving of that luck.
The No. 1 overall selection was not the team's original draft choice. The No. 1 selection was acquired through trade with the Los Angeles Clippers when the team agreed to take on the huge contract of Baron Davis.
The team's original draft choice became the fourth overall pick. This gives the Cavaliers two of the top five picks in this year's draft to add to their already youthful roster.
While Davis is somewhat a piece of dead wood weighing down the franchise, the Cavaliers attempts to move him and garner the second overall pick in the draft would be a very impressive move. Getting rid of Davis and adding the Timberwolves' draft choice would allow the team to bring in both a replacement point guard—most likely Kyrie Irving—and the draft's best big man—most likely Derrick Williams.
Whether the Cavaliers are able to pull this off or not, they are approaching the post Lebron James era in the right way. The Cavaliers fell apart this past season after the loss of Lebron. Their reliance on one player really hurt the team.
It is true that most NBA teams will have a go-to-guy. However, most successful teams will not fall apart as drastically as the Cavaliers did last season. The Cavaliers could have panicked and tried to bring in another superstar to attempt to replace James.
Instead, they have changed the culture of the front office by looking towards the future and bringing in younger players. The Cavaliers already have nine players who are 25 or younger on their roster after bringing in Luke Harangody (23), Alonzo Gee (24) and Semi Erden (24) last season.
Those players join the impressive JJ Hickson and Ramon Sessions—who averaged 13.3 points and 5.2 assists last season—to give the team a young base to build with. Sessions may be leaving to allow Kyrie Irving to become the starter, but he should be a good piece to use in a trade as well as Antawn Jamison and the aforementioned Baron Davis.
If the Cavaliers manage to bring in two of the most talented players from this season's draft class, this young team will have every chance to gel. It is much easier for a group of youngsters to come together, as they will have more tim, and create team chemistry towards becoming a championship team, opposed to throwing a few all star free agents into one team.
While the Cavaliers obviously won't be competing for an NBA title any time soon, they could look to replicate the Dallas Mavericks in the future and prevent Lebron James and his Heat from winning one of those six or seven titles that they hope for.
This patient—but aggressive—attitude towards returning to the NBA Playoffs may not ever pay off for the Cavaliers. Such is sports and I don't need to tell Cleveland fans that.
However, the team is definitely approaching the post Lebron James era in the right way, which isn't something I thought I'd ever write after Dan Gilbert's infamous email last summer.
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