A Wild Cavaliers Summer
Is LeBron really just a mastermind?
Just a year removed from an NBA Championship, Cleveland appears to be imploding before our eyes. There is both good and bad that will come from this offseason, but it is certainly looking like more of the latter. But anyway, let’s take some time to reflect on why the Cavaliers are where they are. Plus, one crazy prediction at the end.
No Championship
This is obviously the spark that made the following events happen. However, it wasn’t just the fact that Cleveland lost the Finals, it was how it happened. There was one win, in which the Cavs played their best game of the entire playoffs or regular season, one very close loss (KD’s dagger), and three terrible showings. Nowhere in that span was there any true sign that Cleveland would be able to compete with their current roster.
Early Off-Season Panic
Cavaliers fans everywhere took to the internet in a frenzy, trying to find a way to add every all star player to Cleveland’s roster, all while relentlessly attacking Kevin Durant at every turn.
I truly believe this was part of the problem. Everyone was pushing the Cavaliers front office to do something. David Griffin, former General Manager, who’s definitely smarter than most fans, was being patient, waiting for the right move. When you have millions of fans screaming at you to do something, you tend to panic, which is probably exactly what Dan Gilbert did when firing Griffin because he hadn’t made progress on a trade. That is the only explanation for firing your GM right before free agency and the Draft. That is not to say it wasn’t still an absolutely idiotic move by Gilbert, but it was certainly a panicked one.
Draft Night Comes and Goes
Without a single pick in the draft, all there was to look forward to for Cleveland was a big trade, maybe involving Eric Bledsoe and the Suns pick at #4, as we now know was on the table. We also now know that Kyrie Irving had already requested a trade by the time the Draft took place.
It basically all comes down to one thing though: No General Manager.
That’s like not having a drink in your hand at a party. Not having a laptop in college. Not having a dog at a goddamn dog show.
The Chauncey Billups Situation Just Makes Things Worse
I am not blaming Chauncey Billups at all for turning down the GM job. I would be pretty afraid to take it as well. David Griffin seemingly did a lot of things right, in fact he basically just followed LeBron’s orders, and he was fired after three straight Finals appearances. Not a stable working environment. The longer Billups was indecisive the worse it made Cleveland look and the longer it would be before any significant moves would be made.
The East Clears Out
This was the one single moment where things were good. Paul George went to OKC, Jimmy Butler to Minnesota, Paul Millsap to Denver, and things were set for Cleveland to be able to rest LeBron for 30 games and still make the playoffs if they wanted to.
LeGone?
Any and every rumor about LeBron leaving next summer was made this summer:
He went to see Lonzo. He hasn’t been pushing for Cleveland to make moves. He is just chilling, working out, and making his social media videos all day long. Not your typical LeBron James off-season. It has been strange how he hasn’t seemed bothered by anything. He quickly bounced back from the Finals loss, not dwelling on it for too long, and has had nothing to say about the raised concerns that he will be leaving Cleveland following this season.
Kyrie Stirs the Pot
Just when it seemed Cleveland fans could relax and just get ready for the season, Kyrie Irving said “what do you think y’all are doing?” A demand for a trade to one of four very inconvenient teams. San Antonio, who could give Cleveland LaMarcus Aldridge and that’s about it, Miami, which means the Cavs would lose a superstar to the Heat two times in a single decade (they also don’t have a ton to offer), Minnesota, who can’t even give the Cavs a point guard in return because Jeff Teague was recently signed and can’t be traded until December, and New York, who actually might have the most to offer.
Let’s face it Kyrie, you probably aren’t going to be sent where you want to go.
What is likely to eventually happen is a trade that nobody is expecting, where the Cavs land someone that absolutely nobody saw coming, like Mike Conley, or CJ McCollum, or someone really random like that.
None of it makes sense. Shea Serrano said it best in his piece about Irving potentially landing in San Antonio:
“LEBRON LITERALLY LET KYRIE GO ISO IN THE FINAL MINUTE OF A TIED GAME 7 IN THE NBA FINALS. WHAT ELSE DOES HE HAVE TO DO FOR KYRIE?”
My Ridiculous Prediction
I’m just saying this because it’s a fun way to think about the situation and Cleveland fans need some fun at this point. A truly hot take (I know this is insane).
LeBron is orchestrating all of this. He is not responding to anything to do with Los Angeles because he wants them to think they are going to land him. If Los Angeles appears to be getting LeBron, it could make Russell Westbrook more likely to sign an extension with OKC, assuming that there would not be room for both him and Paul George in LA. One less superteam.
LeBron made Kyrie demand a trade. He’s not going anywhere though. Let the world think the Cavs are collapsing. Let the Celtics offer Isaiah Thomas to the Cavs and let Thomas find out about it, or the Spurs offer their team. Let the Warriors think they are in the clear.
Is this possible though? Probably not. Nobody has ever done anything like this before. You know who does a lot of things that other people have never done before? LeBron James. Maybe we can’t see the end of this scheme yet and how it takes down the Warriors, but if anyone is plotting 15 moves in advance it is LeBron, one of the smartest basketball players ever, and Kyrie Irving, obviously a forward thinker.
If not, well won’t we all miss seeing this?
Yes, yes we will.
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