LeBron James

[tonyn]

I hope this comes out somewhat coherent.
Not this is some grand plan to fix the current state of the Cavs or fix our title hopes.
Also I'm sure it's been expressed before.

It occurs to me that at least in my opinion that we one of the main problems for the Cavs is we build around lebron.
It may sound stupid but I think we would have been better off playing the long game than "going all in" every year.

Cause to go a bit further with the poker theme, even if you have a bigger pot going all in over and over his gonna catch up in a bad way if you keep losing.

In hindsight what we should have been doing all these years was building the team as if we didn't have lebron on the team.

Just do trades and drafts like we don't have lebron. Get a starting caliber or star caliber sf as LeBron's back up so we don't fall apart whenever he is on the floor.

Trade role players who suit LeBron's play style best for simple talent upgrades.

What our front office should have done is look at our roster and pretend lebron wasn't on it and do it's best to build a contender.

That way we would have a actual team that's capable of winning actual games without lebron.

I don't know if I'm getting my point out in a way that makes sense the way I want to.

Basically I think we would be a much better team if we would not have constructed our roster soley around lebron but instead let him be the cherry on top of a well constructed team.

 

[MirORich]

I hope this comes out somewhat coherent.
Not this is some grand plan to fix the current state of the Cavs or fix our title hopes.
Also I'm sure it's been expressed before.

It occurs to me that at least in my opinion that we one of the main problems for the Cavs is we build around lebron.
It may sound stupid but I think we would have been better off playing the long game than "going all in" every year.

Cause to go a bit further with the poker theme, even if you have a bigger pot going all in over and over his gonna catch up in a bad way if you keep losing.

In hindsight what we should have been doing all these years was building the team as if we didn't have lebron on the team.

Just do trades and drafts like we don't have lebron. Get a starting caliber or star caliber sf as LeBron's back up so we don't fall apart whenever he is on the floor.

Trade role players who suit LeBron's play style best for simple talent upgrades.

What our front office should have done is look at our roster and pretend lebron wasn't on it and do it's best to build a contender.

That way we would have a actual team that's capable of winning actual games without lebron.

I don't know if I'm getting my point out in a way that makes sense the way I want to.

Basically I think we would be a much better team if we would not have constructed our roster soley around lebron but instead let him be the cherry on top of a well constructed team.

If fully healthy, this current roster with the Nets pick added or used in a trade, and a solid MLE signing, that’s a great foundation for LeBron to be on top of.

Regardless of whether we get a better coach or not, people are misjudging two key things:

-Kevin Love is not equal to Hill or Hood or Clarkson or even Nance. He’s well above them on overall skill and impact. Acting like him being out is a minor thing is negligent thought.

-integrating 5 new pieces(Cedi to the rotation + the trade 4 Musketeers) is not something that just magically clicks in 10-15 games, especially while the team’s second best player is also not playing with them.

Ultimately, LeBron is the judge of if that’s enough for him or what his true motivators and factors are for his next contract and team, but what we’re seeing in the past two weeks is not indicative of the full potential this team has over the next 2-3 years if LeBron decides to stay.

 

[tonyn]

If fully healthy, this current roster with the Nets pick added or used in a trade, and a solid MLE signing, that’s a great foundation for LeBron to be on top of.

Regardless of whether we get a better coach or not, people are misjudging two key things:

-Kevin Love is not equal to Hill or Hood or Clarkson or even Nance. He’s well above them on overall skill and impact. Acting like him being out is a minor thing is negligent thought.

-integrating 5 new pieces(Cedi to the rotation + the trade 4 Musketeers) is not something that just magically clicks in 10-15 games, especially while the team’s second best player is also not playing with them.

Ultimately, LeBron is the judge of if that’s enough for him or what his true motivators and factors are for his next contract and team, but what we’re seeing in the past two weeks is not indicative of the full potential this team has over the next 2-3 years if LeBron decides to stay.

That's a good point. I was thinking about love being hurt and how huge a factor it was. Then as I started writing that post he completely slipped my mind.

 

[MirORich]

That's a good point. I was thinking about love being hurt and how huge a factor it was. Then as I started writing that post he completely slipped my mind.

I mean, it’s been a pretty brutal season all around for a variety of reasons. And it’s hard to project fixing every ring and being legit title contenders in 2 months.

But for the following 2-3 seasons, of LeBron wants to stay and either work with the stability of all the pieces that are now here(inc the Nets pick) or go for broke by trading for another star, I think the overall set up is much better than what the past two weeks(or the season as a whole) has led us to believe.

For any teams though, GSW and HOU will be an uphill battle. And the tide is rising in the East as well with PHI, BOS, and TOR.

 

[Stark]

LeBron isn't winning MVP.

He looks jaded, lazy and disinterested.

With all the injuries we have now, its pointless playing him in the next 10 odd days and further increase the load and mins. Just make up some stupidass injury like back injury or something and give him 10 odd days off.

Give LeBron 10 odd days off and we’ll be 3 games back of the 8 seed in the blink of an eye.

We’re not coasting to the playoffs like a lot of people think we are. We’re the 4th seed, and only 4 games out of being outside the top 8. LeBron simply can’t rest.

 

[King_LebronJames23]

He is playing his ass off, nearly every game near triple double or triple double. With lot of scoring. We badly need Love to take some load off him.

 

[Flight479]

Love's annual injuries are becoming annoying and frustrating. He misses a month or two every season it seems. I know he can't help that but I'm sure it will be one of the things LeBron takes in consideration when deciding his future.

 

[BrutX15]

An incompetent coach and coaching staff as a whole. A slightly above average NBA roster. No cap space. Only way to improve the roster is via trade, with no trade chips outside of what is likely a 7-9 pick. The likelihood of trying to compete with a 18-19 year old rookie needing to be a significant piece. Your next "star" is a constant injury concern as he enters his 30s. Rocky relationship with the owner... Need I go on?

I truly think LeBron would prefer to stay, but this organization is a total mess. If LeBron "only" cares about winning. He will bolt no doubt in my mind. A max contract to finish out your career, while making $40 mil per past your prime would be enough to entice most anyone else to stay. The problem is, money isn't a concern for LeBron.

 

[CTownSportsFan]

Love's annual injuries are becoming annoying and frustrating. He misses a month or two every season it seems. I know he can't help that but I'm sure it will be one of the things LeBron takes in consideration when deciding his future.

These aren’t chronic injury’s like a bum knee or back. Dude had his arm ripped out of his socket and this time his hand busted . Come on now , LeBron isn’t taking Loved injury’s in to consideration if he stays or goes. Silly talk .

 

[Chris]

Going to be a swift exit this year.

 

[inliner311]

An incompetent coach and coaching staff as a whole. A slightly above average NBA roster. No cap space. Only way to improve the roster is via trade, with no trade chips outside of what is likely a 7-9 pick. The likelihood of trying to compete with a 18-19 year old rookie needing to be a significant piece. Your next "star" is a constant injury concern as he enters his 30s. Rocky relationship with the owner... Need I go on?

I truly think LeBron would prefer to stay, but this organization is a total mess. If LeBron "only" cares about winning. He will bolt no doubt in my mind. A max contract to finish out your career, while making $40 mil per past your prime would be enough to entice most anyone else to stay. The problem is, money isn't a concern for LeBron.

I don't think we actually know how good this roster is. The coaching staff is so bad that we are nowhere close to the tapping the potential of this team. Lue's "system" was built around LeBron and Kyrie ISOing with spacing around them. His defensive scheme was also to cover for Kyrie and save Lebron in the regular season.

Lue can't adjust to building a new system around the players he has now. He is just asking Clarkson and Hill to be like Kyrie instead of building plays that take advantage of their strengths. I think Lue is just use to stumbling into finding proper ways to use his players. He stumbled into using Frye as a 3 point shooter at center. He stumbled into Wade running the second unit. He stumbled into Nance as our starting center.

All these things Nance has been doing well are a blend of plays Lue has been using with Love and trying to, with alot of failure, to run with TT.

I'm hoping he stumbles into figuring out that a Clarkson and Hill backcourt is the only way he will stabilize the second unit.

 

[CTownSportsFan]

An incompetent coach and coaching staff as a whole. A slightly above average NBA roster. No cap space. Only way to improve the roster is via trade, with no trade chips outside of what is likely a 7-9 pick. The likelihood of trying to compete with a 18-19 year old rookie needing to be a significant piece. Your next "star" is a constant injury concern as he enters his 30s. Rocky relationship with the owner... Need I go on?

I truly think LeBron would prefer to stay, but this organization is a total mess. If LeBron "only" cares about winning. He will bolt no doubt in my mind. A max contract to finish out your career, while making $40 mil per past your prime would be enough to entice most anyone else to stay. The problem is, money isn't a concern for LeBron.

This organization is not a total mess. Goat and an owner willing to spend more than anyone. Nice young talent and some assets as well. Coaching change and a 2nd or 3rd banana . Hood , Nance, Cedi , Zizic and maybe Clarkson all have untapped talent . Think positive .

 

[BrutX15]

This organization is not a total mess. Goat and an owner willing to spend more than anyone. Nice young talent and some assets as well. Coaching change and a 2nd or 3rd banana . Hood , Nance, Cedi , Zizic and maybe Clarkson all have untapped talent . Think positive .

They have talent for a mid playoff seed with the Goat on their team in the East. Without the Goat, it is a non-playoff team, and probably a top 3 pick. And a VERY good chance that even with the Goat, we miss the playoffs in the West. I do think positively, but at the same time I'm not just going to gloss over the reality that none of them are anything more than rotational players or worse.

I'm not high on Cedi, Zizic, or Clarkson at all. On any of the other title contenders, they probably wouldn't see any minutes. Hood has shown nothing more than mediocrity thus far as well. We can blame Lue all we want, and yes he deserves a lot of the blame, but most of these guys played elsewhere for several years now, and they were the same thing they are here. Rotational players.

If we are to make it to another Finals. It will take 2015 NBA finals LeBron in the first round and beyond. Anything less from him, and it will be a quick exit. Does he really want to continue exerting that much energy at now age 33 (34 next year), when he can get far more help elsewhere unless massive changes are made this off-season?

 

[CTownSportsFan]

They have talent for a mid playoff seed with the Goat on their team in the East. Without the Goat, it is a non-playoff team, and probably a top 3 pick. And a VERY good chance that even with the Goat, we miss the playoffs in the West. I do think positively, but at the same time I'm not just going to gloss over the reality that none of them are anything more than rotational players or worse.

I'm not high on Cedi, Zizic, or Clarkson at all. On any of the other title contenders, they probably wouldn't see any minutes. Hood has shown nothing more than mediocrity thus far as well. We can blame Lue all we want, and yes he deserves a lot of the blame, but most of these guys played elsewhere for several years now, and they were the same thing they are here. Rotational players.

If we are to make it to another Finals. It will take NBA finals LeBron in the first round and beyond. Anything less from him, and it will be a quick exit.

I think your way off with this post . I did mention we need a 2nd or 3rd banana to go with LeBron and Love. As far as the rest of the guys , they equal or better than most contending teams. You ever watch Houston , GS , Boston I can go on 2nd unit ? I’m fairly certain our 2nd unit would destroy most teams .

 

[BrutX15]

I think your way off with this post . I did mention we need a 2nd or 3rd banana to go with LeBron and Love. As far as the rest of the guys , they equal or better than most contending teams. You ever watch Houston , GS , Boston I can go on 2nd unit ? I’m fairly certain our 2nd unit would destroy most teams .

We clearly go on different paths here... The other teams don't need solid 2nd units when playoff rotations are cut down to 8 players in most cases. (and as I mentioned several of our 2nd unit players you clearly think higher of then I do) With that being said, their starters are sooooo much better than ours, that anything after is moot. What good is a second unit, when you can name 4-5 players from another contending team before you would select our 2nd best player without Love currently? And when Love comes back, it's still debatable that you can name 3-4 players before the mentioning of Love.

I get it, it's the Cavs, and such thinking belittles our favorite team. But I'm a realist. This roster just isn't very good. And no I'm not stating this on hindsight. You can go back to my old posts where I was disagreed to oblivion when I said the rebuild has begun after the plethora of deadline deals. I didn't think much of the players we added, and it has proven to be the case so far. Nance is the only one to exceed expectations, but even then he is still a rotational piece (hopefully serviceable starter when TT is back but you know, Lue) that we need to rely on heavily to succeed. While other contending teams have all-stars or potential all-stars to rely upon.