Crucial Cavs Offseason

Now that some of the dust has settled and we’ve all caught our breath its time to dig into what’s next for the Cavs. Many believed this would be the most important offseason in franchise history and there is even more pressure after getting the #1 pick. Will you know who return? Will Kyrie sign a max extension? Who will lead this team into the future? And now, who do the Cavs take #1? With the likes of Wiggins, Parker, Embiid, Randle, Gordon, and others, most believe this is the deepest draft since James, Wade, Bosh, and other came out over a decade ago. Going into the fifth season since James left many believe this is the year the Cavs have to put up or shut up.

The first order of business is to get a head coach to lead this team. With quite a few vacancies across the league it is going to be tough to get the guy they want. The top 2 guys on most lists are already off the board as Steve Kerr is heading to Golden State and Mark Jackson has gone back to ESPN. Lionel Hollins is speculated to be the Cavs top choice, but nothing is known for sure. David Griffin says that “no interviews have been done yet, and nobody has even been contacted.”

Things get interesting from there. The draft is on June 26th and its all speculation on what the Cavs might do. It would seem that they couldn’t go wrong with either Wiggins, Embiid, or Parker. Wiggins has superstar potential if he can ever develop it. Embiid could be the most tuned big guy since Dwight Howard and Parker seems to have the most maturity and seems to be the safe pick. If this draft were 20 years ago, Embiid would be the sure #1. Unfortunately for Embiid, its 2014. I don’t see him with that pick. Parker would be the #1 if you were to pick off of pure developed talent. The only problem for Parker is that his ceiling doesn’t seem to be as high as Wiggins’. Therefore, I believe the Cavs will take Wiggins with the #1. In a league dominated by guys playing the 3/4 position it would be hard to pass on Wiggins. I did believe if they got the 9th pick they would have tried to trade it, but I just don’t believe you can trade the #1 unless you’re getting a top 10 player in return.

Next comes free agency and trades. This is where it gets interesting. The debate has raged since 2010 when James bolted for Miami. Will he come back one day? Nobody but himself and maybe his family knows for sure. However, it is known he wants his two sons to follow in his steps and go to Akron St. Vincent St. Mary. He is also known to be a good family man and doesn’t want to be away from his family for 8 months a year. And where is the nearest NBA franchise to Akron? That’s right. Cleveland. He’s also known to want to leave a legacy of a legend. Well, legends don’t hop from team to team to team. He may not win 6 rings, but it would surely make him look better to come back and win one for the city he left so despicably. Of course, if Miami wins it all again and has the opportunity for a 4-peat he wont leave this season. While our Cavs may not be in the playoffs, we can certainly cheer against Miami. And for all of the “we don’t ever want him back” fans, have you watched a game since he left? They’re not fun. Fans should always want what’s best for the team and having the best player in the world won’t hurt. If he does come back then cheer for the name on the front of the jersey and not the back.

There has also been talk of trading for Kevin Love in Minnesota. Love has played 6 seasons out of UCLA and has always been one of the better big men in the NBA. He doesn’t get the credit he deserves playing in the far North and feels like its time for him to move on as the Wolves continue to be bottom feeders in the Western Conference. Love has asked for a trade and has told the Minnesota brass he won’t sign an extension next summer. The Wolves say they wont trade him, but you can’t believe they’ll let a player of his caliber walk for nothing. Love says he wants a big market like a LA or NY, but could playing in Cleveland with the likes of Irving, James, and Wiggins change his mind? It won’t be easy to get him if he is traded. The Cavs would most likely need to give up either Irving or Waiters, maybe a Thompson, and probably a first round pick. In my opinion, Love isn’t worth this seasons #1 without knowing if James will come back and if Love will even sign an extension after the year. That whole situation is going to test Griffin in his first season calling the shots with the Cavs.

More importantly is offering Kyrie a max extension. Its almost a sure thing they do that this summer so they can gauge where he feels he wants to be. It is hard to imagine him not signing if James comes back and the Cavs get some more top quality through the draft and free agency and/or trades. If Kyrie denies an extension and James decides to stay in Miami or go elsewhere then this franchise in trouble. Things will certainly get interesting in the next few months.

-Brandon Proy