The Future is Unwritten

Well the Cavs season came to a quick end last week, and I don't know what to say about it. I am extremely disappointed in the team, and it is sad how everything just vanished so quickly. I put most of the blame on LeBron James as he just did not play well in the series, sans game 3. Everyone keeps talking about what he is going to do this summer, and I don't think LeBron even knows what he is going to do this summer. I think he will stay for a few reasons. One, this is his hometown and he has to know how important it is to build a legacy with one team. Two, he can get more money by re-signing in Cleveland. Three, the Cavs have one of the best owners in the NBA in Dan Gilbert and he has shown LeBron that he will do whatever it takes to bring an NBA Championship to Cleveland. Four, it seems that LeBron no longer has a want for Mike Brown as his head coach anymore and there is little doubt that Brown will be gone in the next few days.

Watching ESPN and other major news media outlets, you would have thought LeBron had already signed with the Chicago Bulls or the New York Knicks. Its funny how bad they want him out of here and they are making it a foregone conclusion that he has already left. Everyone makes it seem like he would do better in New York or New Jersey, but he won't as their teams lack serious depth (Knicks can sign 2 max free agents, but they would have to fill the rest of the roster with min. contracts) and the Nets don't move to Brooklyn for another 2-3 years. Chicago is the toughest player of all in this because they have two young pieces in Derek Rose and Joakim Noah. Would he be willing to play in Jordan's shadow? Would he take a risk of going to a front office that has historically fought with their coaches (physically and verbally)? Would he risk leaving money on the table to become public enemy #1 forever in Ohio? LeBron always talks about how important loyalty is to him and the Cavs have been nothing but that to him. Anything he ever asked for they gave him. After the Celtics series in 2008 he said we need to get better, we got him Mo Williams and JJ Hickson. After we lost to the Magic in 2009, we got Shaq, Jamario Moon, Anthony Parker, Danny Green, and Antawn Jamison in a midseason trade. The Cavs have tried their hardest and will continue to try to make the Cavs the best team they can possibly be. Finally, I find it very hard for LeBron to make the argument that he tried his best and couldn't get it done here, because he didn't. It is obvious that he either was hurt or just didn't try hard enough in this series. Had he dropped 40 a game, and we lost the series, then he would be packing his bags now. The reason we lost was mostly on LeBron and his lackluster effort. As Brian Windhorst put it, "The blood of this series is solely on LeBron"...

What do the Cavs do from here? Well I am not going to write my offseason preview here, but I will give you a little taste of what the Cavs SHOULD do.

Hire a new coach
-It is obvious MB lost most of the locker room and that LeBron was longer in his corner. MB's inability to make in-game adjustments killed this team. Playing JJ Hickson zero minutes in game 6 was horrible (in the 108-88 Cavs win in Boston in Feb. Hickson played 23 minutes, had 8 points and a +27 +/-), and playing Jamario Moon 9 minutes was also a dumb move as he should have had more minutes. The strategy to beating the Celtics was pretty simple, run. Shaq can start the quarters playing 4-5 minutes, then you put in Andy, Hickson, Moon, and West. Andy should have been guarding KG, not a combination of Z, Shaq, and Jamison. It was tactical errors like this during games that cost the Cavs. Also, MB has not been an expert at developing talent as Shannon Brown is now a rotation player on the champion LA Lakers. While I thought MB was a great defensive coach and an overall solid coach, I think his inability to make adjustments in games really hurt the Cavs. I think the newest coach will have a great impact on whether LeBron stays or goes. If the Cavs can get themselves a big name who LeBron will respect, then I think it only helps out chances. Later, I will write who I believe should coach the Cavs next year.

Buy a draft pick
-This team needs to continue to get younger and surround itself with young talent. The Minnesota Timberwolves have 3 first round picks, The OKC Thunder have 2 first round picks, and the Atlanta Hawks have expressed interest in selling their first round pick as well. Dan Gilbert has deep pockets and must be willing to spend $2-3 million on a first round pick.

Keep GM Danny Ferry
-Ferry's contract is up after this year, but I would love to have him back. He turned around as a GM after his horrible signings of Larry Hughes, Donyell Marshall, and Damon Jones. He drafted Shannon Brown, Daniel Gibson, JJ Hickson, and Danny Green. He got Mo Williams for Damon Jones, Jamison for a first round pick, Shaq for nothing, and signed Parker and Moon to small cheap contracts. He re-signed Andy at a reasonable price and put team options on the last years of Andy's, Boobie's, and Moon's contracts. He did a great job of taking advantage of other teams financial hardships by acquiring talent for pennies on the dollar.

Use the expirings of West/Parker/Moon/Telfair
-The Cavs have about $13 million worth of expirings between these 4 guys. Moon's deal goes until next year, but it is a team option so a team can decline the option and not pay his salary. West' deal is a super expiring contract as he is due $4.6 million but a team can buy him out for $500,000 and not pay the rest of his salary. West could be hard to trade as his mental issues took a toll on him this past year and his pending legal case (will probably be settled). Use these expirings to acquire some young talent, draft picks, or as a package with JJ Hickson. Expiring deals are very valuable in the NBA now a days.

Put everyone on the trade market
-Make everyone on the Cavs available. Seriously, the Cavs need to find a trust #2 guy, and they must find a way to do so. By putting the expirings of the 4 players listed above, a high energy bigman Andy, a young developing big man in Hickson, a solid PG in Mo, one of the best 3 point shooters in the NBA Daniel Gibson on the market, the Cavs could get some interesting offers.

Bring Sasha Kaun and Christian Eyenga to the Cavs
-I think it is quite obvious that Shaq will not be back here next year as he feuded with MB over minutes. Z is basically finished and the Cavs need a legit C. Sasha Kaun has improved greatly overseas and he could provide the team with a solid backup C. He has size (7'0) and solid rebounding and defensive abilities. Eyenga would be brought over because he his minutes overseas have been spotty, and there will probably be an opportunity for him to play here. With a new coach coming in he will probably get more minutes than if MB was our coach and I don't think your going to see a combination of Parker/West/Gibson here next year. Eyenga has amazing athleticism, solid size (6'5), and a good defender. He still has a shaky jumper. If he could develop a solid shot, I see a lot of Mickael Pietrus in him.

Well, I think this just about does it. I say all this assuming LeBron re-signs. If he doesn't I have no idea what should happen. My next blog will get into specifics about how we should use our Mid Level Exception and what coaches to bring in. It is going to be a wild couple months and we're going to hear a lot of crazy rumors. The key is to decipher the ones who come from solid sources (Brian Windhorst) from bad ones (New York Daily News). Keep your head up and go Cleveland!

-Raz