Fixing the Cavs
It all starts with a King Sized Question
You could spend a whole lifetime, and you’ll be hard pressed to find a person as important to a city as LeBron James is to the city of Cleveland, and probably as the city of Cleveland is to LeBron James. So as we approach not only the ten year anniversary of LeBron returning back to Cleveland (and eventually delivering a title), we are also on the verge of LeBron becoming a free agent once again. And for the first time since he left Cleveland back in 2018, there seem to at least be some serious questions on what the king of basketball’s next move is.
Happening at the exact same time is this crossroads The Cleveland Cavaliers find themselves at. They find themselves at the point in the upward trajectory that they have been on, where some tough choices will have to be made. And that started today when they fired (former) head coach J.B Bickerstaff. Seemed like a good dude, and did some good things with The Cavs, but sometimes things just run its course and it’s time to move on. So while I write a lot about movies and the entertainment business, I also love the NBA and Cleveland sports, so thought it would be a fun exercise to right about this crossroad The Cavs are at, and moves I think could get them back to championship level.
First thing is first, and that is if you have a chance to get LeBron James to come back one more time, you do it. No ifs, ands, or buts about it. A few weeks ago he attended The Cavs playoff game, and a lot of people, myself included have no idea what his motivation behind that was. Was he scouting players on The Cavs for The Lakers to pick, or was he scouting The Cavs to look for his potential fit with the team. I’m an optimistic guy, so I’m gonna just choose to believe it is the latter. So full steam ahead on the bring LeBron home option.
That starts with the head coach pick. If you rewind 10 years ago, The Cavs were also looking for a head coach as LeBron approached free agency, and they picked David Blatt. LeBron came back anyways and Blatt was fired a year or so later. Don’t even mess around with it this time, if LeBron wants The Lakers to hire JJ Reddick, just beat them to the punch and make JJ an offer he can’t refuse. If LeBron really doesn't care as some say, then hire the person you think would be the best for the job, personally I think it would be Sam Cassell.
Next up is you would have to sort of have a behind the scenes deal with LeBron, because unless he is taking the minimum, then you’ll probably have to get him to opt in and request a trade to The Cavs. So just for salary matching purposes you can trade like Caris LeVert and Darius Garland for LeBron. Is it a smart idea to trade valuable assets for a 39 year old and pander to him so much? No, it probably isn’t, but LeBron is no average 39 year old. Just the morale boost he would bring not just to that team the second he walks through the door, but the entire city is second to none.
Now that we’ve reached the part of the offseason with the draft I think you can see where this is headed, you draft Bronny. It would make LeBron happy to play with his son in his hometown. It also probably makes Bronny happy to play in a place he has called home, and without the pressure of playing for an organization like The Lakers.
Even though The Cavs would roll out the red carpet to bring The King home, it won’t be quite the same as last time. They traded a lot of their young guys to get players like JR Smith or Kevin Love, and the results were there, but I don’t see The Cavs doing that this time with guys like Evan Mobley. So you keep and extend both Mobley and Donovan Mitchell and look to trade guys like Jarret Allen to build the ideal team around your new three stars (LeBron, Mitchell, Mobley). Maybe you can trade Allen to a young, up and coming team like The Rockets and get back some interesting pieces. Then of course since LeBron is back, you’ll have your pick of most veteran free agents looking to get a ring, potentially like Chris Paul for example. So this in my mind is the perfect offseason for The Cavs, which puts them up there with The Celtics to get out of the East in 2025.
Unfortunately we don’t live in a perfect world though. So if LeBron spurns a 3rd comeback with The Cavs, then what are the moves. Sam Cassell is a solid coaching option no matter what happens, so I don’t think you can go wrong there. You get back Garland and LeVert from that hypothetical trade to use to get pieces to re-tinker the current team. Because you just can’t run it back with Garland and Mitchell again, and I think at this point you just have to pick Mitchell, assuming he signs the extension. So you can look to trade Garland and look for a team that needs a point guard, maybe it is the Lakers if they keep LeBron. Get back some shooters around Mitchell like Austin Reaves and some picks. Still probably need to trade Jarret Allen as well to let Mobley flourish, so keep that same trade to The Rockets for a backup big like Steven Adams and an intriguing young guy like Tari Eason or Cam Whitmore. Got a few more guys like LeVert and Georges Niang to move around for similar pieces.
But then when you get to the draft you don’t have to pick someone like Bronny with your first rounder, you can go a little more ready to impact player. I personally really like Jared McCain so let's say him at 20. That’s got you rocking with a McCain, Mitchell, Reaves, (insert F here), and Mobley lineup if you miss out on LeBron and a CP3, Mitchell, LeBron, (insert F here), and Mobley lineup if you can convince The King to come home. Obviously one lineup is a lot more exciting than the other, but regardless I think both would be a much improved upon Cavs team with something to prove. But as most things in The NBA, everything starts and ends with what LeBron James is going to do. And there really isn’t a wrong choice, unless he picks Space Jam 3, just one that would be a punch to the gut for the good people of Cleveland.