Written by Demetri Inembolidis

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The Cavs held their annual media day on Monday in Independence.  Many questions were answered by the players and coaching staff, but there are many more left unanswered.  Media Day appears to be a bigger deal every year with the growth of social media platforms such as Twitter.  In fact, a simple search for #Cavs on Twitter brings up a slew of quotes from team personnel, articles, pictures and anecdotes. 

Media day and the beginning of training camp are a time where things are optimistic for most teams.  Every player spent all summer supposedly working on their weaknesses, each team had a great offseason and most rosters are healthy.  For example, concerns of Dion Waiters' conditioning were (for the moment) put to rest on Monday when it was apparent that he lost about ten pounds.  We won't really know for sure how Waiters' conditioning and work ethic will be until he actually gets a season or two under his belt.  Every year, teams and the local media are known to overstate the positives at media day.  Spin does not solely exist in news media.  It happens quite regularly in the sports world and it is quite amusing

Despite the fact that the Cavs spent all day answering questions from media and bloggers, there are still a lot of questions needing to be answered heading into the season. 

Is Dion Waiters worthy of a being taken fourth overall?  Much was made of the Cavs selecting Dion Waiters fourth overall in the June draft.  Playoff games are not won in July, but Waiters did not help matters when he proceeded to come to the Las Vegas Summer League overweight and shoot at a lackluster 30% from the field.  In fact, Waiters' 12.3 points per game made him the 51st highest scorer in the Summer League.  Short of a long-lasting injury, it is difficult to envision a Summer League performance scenario worse than what unfolded for Waiters.  Having said that, judgement should be withheld on Waiters and the use of the fourth pick on him until he actually plays in the real NBA. 

Is Kyrie Irving going to be healthy this year?  Cavs fans were very close to seeing the young core of Kyrie Irving, Tristan Thompson, Dion Waiters and Tyler Zeller play together for the first time this past summer.  When news broke that Irving fractured his hand during a Team USA scrimmage, it felt like the wind was taken out of the proverbial sail.  This came almost immediately after news broke that Irving not only held his own in scrimmages against the best basketball players in the world, but also right after video was released of him challenging Kobe Bryant to a game of one-on-one.  Personally, I feel as if Irving's injuries so far into his career are not the type that can be attributed to being prone to missing games due to genetics, but more of freak accidents.  Irving famously missed all but eleven games in his freshman year at Duke due to a toe injury and then proceeded to miss fifteen games with the Cavaliers.  So far in his NBA career, he has missed games due to a concussion, injured shoulder and a fractured hand.  Kyrie Irving appears to be well on his way to greatness, but it is imperative that he stays healthy in order for his career to pan out as well as we hope.

Is Tristan Thompson going to show improvement on the offensive end of the court?  Like Dion Waiters, Tristan Thompson was considered a reach at the fourth overall pick.  It is unknown which player will ultimately be the better value that high in the lottery.  If Thompson wants to be remembered as anything but the raw athlete that the Cavs reached to draft, he is going to have to make massive changes to his offensive game.  Thompson had a subpar rookie season on the offensive end of the court by shooting only 43.9% from the field and looking awkward in the process.  Thompson had the 13th worst true shooting percentage among forwards who played 20 minutes or more per game.  Antawn Jamison, who is more of a perimeter big man who has lost his shot, managed to be more efficient than Thompson.  Tristan Thompson has legitimate NBA skills, but he needs to not be a liability in other areas if he wants to contribute to a playoff team.  A player taken fourth overall can only hang his hat on being an elite offensive rebounder for so long before he is not held accountable for his major weaknesses. 

Will Anderson Varejao stay healthy?  At this point, it appears to be unlikely.  Varejao has not a relatively healthy season since he played 76 games in 2008-2009.  Since that year, he has only appeared in a possible 37.8% of Cavalier games.  When Varejao returned from his injury that knocked him out of the 2010-2011 season, he put up career numbers and was poised for the best year of his NBA career.  Unfortunately for the team, he broke his right wrist in a one point loss in February against the Milwaukee Bucks.  What was supposed to be a short hiatus from the team resulted in Varejao missing the remainder of the season.

Is Anderson Varejao going to get traded?  Varejao is the the best trade asset that the Cavs own due to his unique skill-set and reasonable contract.  It may be difficult to get good value in return for Varejao due to his injury history, age and the fact that his contributions to the Cavs do not come on the offensive end of the court.  If the Cavs plan on trading Varejao, they need to be certain that they get enough in return for him and that they have somebody who can replace his minutes competently.

How good is Kyrie Irving going to be?  Kyrie Irving posted a fantastic rookie season.  He won the Rookie of the Year award due to his unique combination of scoring 18.5 points per game, efficient shooting, penchant for clutch plays and because he looked like a veteran in the way he played despite his young age and lack of experience.  Irving's Per 36 Minutes stats are 21.6 points, 4.4 rebounds and 6.6 assists per game.  Considering that he only played 30.5 minutes per game in his rookie year, it is not outlandish to expect these numbers out of Irving in his sophomore season.  The Cavs traded Ramon Sessions and have given Irving the keys to the offense.  Seeing what he will do with more playing time and a year under his belt should be exciting for NBA fans. 

Are the Cavs a lottery or playoff team?  If you ask me, they are probably not going to make the playoffs.  On the contrary, they also are probably not the third worst team in the entire league.  The Cavs are now a young team and one thing that young teams do not do a lot of is win games.  Even if this core is finished being constructed by Chris Grant, the Cavs will need to learn how to play together and play winning basketball.  Even the Oklahoma City Thunder took a few years to become an elite team.  Cavs fans should exercise patience with the young squad and give them time to figure it out.  It is not likely that the "Tank Vs. Playoffs!" debate will be as heated as it was last year, but it is also silly to put such lofty expectations as making the playoffs on this team.