A fan was screaming his name, adding to the rising maelstrom of muddied sounds in the arena. The King stepped backward a few paces as the referees began the jump-ball process. JaVale McGee was eyeing his opponent, Cleveland Cavaliers’ center Tristan Thompson.
A night off. After LeBron had left, the Cleveland Cavaliers had been one of the worst teams in the league. Although they were missing Anthony Davis, LeBron was certain his Lakers would come out on top again.
Someone stirred from across the halfcourt line, stepping up to stand behind Thompson. Trussed in the familiar and suffocating black and wine, an impeccably trimmed beard framed his pale and weary face. LeBron felt the breath go out of him in a rushing hiss. His bleak eyes found LeBron’s own, rooting him in place until those lifeless windows moved away again. His lips never moved, but LeBron understood the message all the same. Save me.
Kevin Love, with the Cleveland Cavaliers, was stuck in NBA purgatory.
Everything Wrong
Okay, so maybe that didn’t actually happen. Kevin Love probably didn’t actually scare the heebie-jeebies out of LeBron James. JaVale McGee was eyeing the ref, not Tristan Thompson before the jump ball on this particular night. One part is true, however, and it’s that Love is stuck in the NBA’s version of hell. James’ departure dropped a burning match into a barn doused with alcohol (probably J.R. Smith) and it lit up fast (also like J.R. Smith).
Let’s start with their decision to hire John Beilein last summer, a 67-year-old college coach who’s been working with kids unable to legally drink the last 44 years. The Cavs thought it was smart to start him off with a bunch of disgruntled vets who didn’t appreciate being treated like 19-year-olds again? College coaches rarely make a successful transition to the NBA, and the only two with any success right now are Brad Stevens and Billy Donovan. It especially doesn’t work for college coaches who’ve been in the college system for 44 years and are on the brink of retiring. Did the Cavs really think Beilein was going to change his entire coaching style now?
Sure, they probably didn’t expect him to call his team a bunch of “thugs” (or slugs, whatever), but whose idea was this? Especially when you consider Beilein was one of the most successful coaches in college basketball. How does it make any sense to give him one of the worse rosters in the NBA? Most bad teams try to find the next up-and-coming coach, like the Hornets with James Borrego or the Timberwolves with Ryan Saunders. Of course, the Cavaliers go for the 67-year-old who’s definitely not in it for the long haul.
Drafting Collin Sexton, Darius Garland, and Kevin Porter Jr. haven’t been objectively poor decisions. Porter Jr.’s actually looking really good over the last few games. The future wasn’t exactly bright, but hey, at least you’re not the Knicks, right? But, then the Cavs Knick-ed up by trading for Andre Drummond. Sure, you gave up just Brandon Knight, John Henson, and a second-round pick for him, but what’s the point? Now, Cleveland has Thompson, Love, Larry Nance Jr., and Drummond. What exactly is the plan here? Rebound the other team to death while being putrid on offense and giving your malleable young pieces headaches?
Recent reports state that Drummond has already decided this situation is much worse than the Pistons’. He’s played two games, and he already hates it. What does that say about the Cavs as an organization?
According to rumors, the Cavs are thinking about trading Drummond away this summer. That’s smart since he’s either about to opt into his $29 million player option or demand a hefty long-term contract. Except, if all Detroit could get for Drummond was a bag of potato chips and LeBron’s used toothbrush, what makes Cleveland think they can get anything better?
Then there’s Cleveland holding Kevin Love hostage the entire year. He’s 31 and hasn’t played over 60 games in a season the last three years. Love’s done everything besides kicking down Koby Altman’s door and pointing a gun at his head to get himself traded. He walks up and down the court like a zombie and nearly took out Cedi Osman’s kneecap with a 90 mph fastball last month. His trade value’s not getting any higher as he ages and there’s clear evidence that teams are interested. If anything, trading Love for the pure purpose of cap relief would be good enough in a deal.
Does Cleveland seriously think they’re going to get real value for an injury-prone 31-year-old with three years and $90 million left on his contract? Love’s a great player, but a first-round pick in return would be the best-case scenario this summer. Portland was reportedly willing to trade Hassan Whiteside’s (Drummond Lite) and Kent Bazemore’s expiring contracts for Love in a glorified salary dump at the deadline. That might’ve been worth it just to clear the toxic energy in the locker room for the young guys.
Now, if Love actually wanted to play in Cleveland, this wouldn’t be a problem. It’s nice having someone who’s actually good to bring along the youngsters. Sexton, Garland, and Porter Jr. wouldn’t be forced to do everything. Love’s a great pick-and-roll partner, and his shooting makes life easier. But, we’ve literally seen Love hurling passes like it’s dodgeball at his own teammates. Does it seem like a good idea to have surly malcontents in a locker room full of impressionable young players?
The Way Forward
Cleveland is desperately pinning their hopes on Garland, Sexton, Porter Jr., and whatever poor soul they draft this year moving forward. Garland, well, he’s something at least. He hasn’t played much basketball over the last two years due to knee surgery, but at least his jump-shot is falling. He shoots 35.3% from three on 5.2 attempts, which is a decent start for a 20-year-old.
The problem with Garland is that he can’t make anything around the basket. He’s averaging 12.2 PPG and 3.8 AST this year on 39.4 FG%. He shoots just 44.5% at the rim, and at 6’1″ with average athleticism, Garland would need to develop some serious layup packages to be a consistent finisher. His path forward in the league will be his shooting ability, but that can only get a player so far when they can’t play defense or make layups.
The bright side is Garland’s only missed one game all year, which is great considering he had meniscus surgery just last year. Garland’s also adjusting from high school directly to the NBA, as he played just five games in college, which is never easy. A smooth transition would’ve been impossible anyway, so maybe this is good enough.
Sexton and Porter Jr. provide the same thing: scoring. Sexton is 6’1″ and can’t do anything besides score the ball. His ceiling is as a sixth man. His decision-making isn’t good enough to run an NBA offense, so he’s stuck playing shooting guard. You can’t start a 6’1″ shooting guard in today’s NBA, especially not next to another 6’1″ defensive liability. He’s an interesting guy to have coming off the bench, but Sexton isn’t a building block.
Props to him though for being an iron man throughout his career. He hasn’t missed a game yet. He’s also been a lot more efficient this year, slashing 46/37/86. If anything, he ends up as this generation’s Lou Williams who can at least guard opposing point guards fairly well. That’s not bad for the eighth pick in the draft. However, if Cleveland is going to stick with Garland as their point guard, they should start Porter Jr. next to him.
Porter’s 6’4″ with a 6’9″ wingspan, giving him more than enough size and defensive potential to warrant trying him out at shooting guard. Like Sexton, his IQ is questionable, but at least he can be a plus defender. He’s averaged 17.5 PPG in the last two weeks on 60.0 FG% too. With a 6’9″ wingspan, he’ll be big enough to shoot over a lot of smaller defenders. 34.7% from three on 3.0 attempts a game is promising enough for a rookie, especially considering he plays just 22 minutes a game. Long-term, Porter might be a 20 PPG scorer who can provide good defense and space the floor.
Aside from these three, however, everyone else on the roster is decidedly unexciting. Love is on his way out (hopefully), Drummond sticks out like a sore thumb, and Thompson is Thompson. Osman used to be kind of intriguing, but he hasn’t really done much, and Nance Jr. exists. Everybody else is either a borderline NBA player fighting for their professional lives or washed up.
Perhaps Cleveland can do what the Kings do and sign vets to big contracts, wait for them to get unhappy because they suck, and then trade them away for a second-round pick. They’re not getting anything else in free agency anyways. They can also pull another Kings’ tactic by offering every marginally promising restricted free agent way too much money (like Malik Beasley). That’s never really worked for any team in the NBA, however.
The only way forward happens to be through the draft, which Cleveland is infamously terrible at. In the last twenty years, the Cleveland Cavaliers have drafted just three All-Stars. Carlos Boozer only played two years for the Cavs before bolting, and the other two are Lebron James and Kyrie Irving. This is the team that was gifted three number first-overall picks and two number fourth-overall picks in four years, and somehow came away with just one All-Star. That’s a serious eye for talent right there.
So, the Cavs are stuck with three somewhat promising youngsters and a bunch of unhappy vets. Their front office might be on crack, and Love might accidentally (or purposefully) kill somebody in practice. If this isn’t hell, the Cleveland Cavaliers sure are making their best go at it.
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