Written by Tony Lastoria

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What an interesting season it was for the Cavs.  They underachieved for good portions of the regular season, finishing with the same win total as a year ago, and eeking out the crucial #2 seed.  They met back up with the rival Detroit Pistons in the Eastern Conference Finals, dispatching of them in exhilirating fashion, with games 5 and 6 being games we will always remember.  Then they got destroyed in the franchise's first ever Finals appearance against the Spurs.  In our latest roundtable, we asked our writers to look back on the season, and look ahead to next.

"The Roundtable" is a regular weekly feature that will continue throughout the year covering hot topics surrounding the Browns, Buckeyes, Cavaliers, and Indians. One question. Several different answers from TheClevelandFan.com panel.

The Cavaliers season is over, and while many of us are still basking in the team’s first ever NBA Finals appearance, it is time to start thinking about next year.

It was an interesting season for the Cavaliers, as they were inconsistent for roughly the first three quarters of the season, then turned it up several notches the last quarter of the season and into the playoffs. The Cavaliers averted a potential disaster when they won and the Bulls lost on the final day of the season, giving the Cavaliers the #2 seed and pretty much a two round bye into the Eastern Conference Finals.

While the first two playoff series’ lacked a lot of intense moments, that all changed once the Cavaliers reached the Eastern Conference Finals and matched up with their rival the Detroit Pistons. Every game was a tight contest, we saw many memorable finishes and intense moments, and a performance for the ages by LeBron in Game 5.

The Finals appearance against San Antonio did not live up to what we thought it would be, but it gave the fans and organization a taste of what it will take to be NBA champions. With the offseason now here, there will be lots of talk of what the Cavaliers should do and who they should trade or sign in free agency. The NBA’s cap structure will make it hard for the Cavaliers to improve themselves this offseason, so Ferry is going to earn his money that’s for sure.

With the conclusion of the season and start of the offseason, we polled TheClevelandFan.com panel for some final thoughts on the season and playoffs, and where the Cavaliers go from here…

Tony Lastoria: Well, so much for that. If I didn’t know any better, I would think we never even made The Finals. Are there any memories to take away from The Finals appearance other than we made it there? No memorable plays, games, or moments. What a downer in that regard.

Clearly, this season will mostly be remembered for Game 5 & 6 against Detroit in the Eastern Confernence Finals. The Game 5 where Lebron arguably had the greatest NBA playoff performance ever, and Game 6 when the Cavaliers and Boobie Gibson torched the Pistons in the 4^th quarter and clinched the Eastern Conference Championship at home.

The Spurs brought us all, including the organization, back down to reality. If we were going to lose this series, getting swept may have been just what the doctor ordered to get the front office to make necessary changes to this roster next season. We need a legit starting point guard, and possibly a lowpost scoring threat. Gooden and Z have their moments, but most of their scoring is done 10 feet out from the basket with jumpers. Bottom line, we need a banger down low who can work in the paint, and a distributor to run this offense and set LeBron up for plays.

How the Cavaliers make any roster changes will be one of the most interesting things to follow this offseason. With no draft picks for the upcoming NBA Draft at month’s end, and a capped out roster, the Cavaliers will need to get very creative in finding ways to upgrade their roster. To make a significant addition to the team, they may have to trade one or more of the young group of Sasha, Boobie, Varejao, or Shannon Brown.

There is no guarantee the Cavaliers get back to The Finals. They’ll be a contender to get there from Day One next year, but they likely will not be the beneficiary of such a favorable seeding next year like they were in these playoffs. Plus, I expect the Eastern Conference to improve some next year, and with Wade and Agent Zero healthy, it should be a wide open and exciting race in the regular season and playoffs.

One thing is certain: the honeymoon is over the Cavaliers. In the fans minds it now will pretty much be championship or bust. No one will be happy with just getting to The Finals anymore.

Gary Benz: Anyone who is being completely honest will have to admit that the Cavs winding up in the NBA Finals was one of the most unlikely outcomes you're likely to see in Cleveland sports in a long time. After only winning 50 games during the season, a win total that easily could have been in the high 40s instead except for some decent play late, the most anyone expected was to take Detroit to the wire, again.

Things fell into place for the Cavs, starting with their seeding, followed by the injuries to the Wizards and a Detroit team that picked this year to finally start showing its age. But to the Cavs credit they took advantage of what came their way and as a result gained invaluable experience that should serve them well in the future.

While fans are likely disappointed with the outcome of the Finals, it wasn't a lost cause. If anything, it did highlight the shortcomings on this team in a way that otherwise would not have been available to them. The onus now is on Danny Ferry to find the missing pieces. Since the Cavs already have taken to emulating the Spurs, they need to finish the job. The Spurs proved you don't need a starting five of All Stars. Heck, Fabricio Oberto starts for them. But what they do have is solid role players who consistently play well. The counterparts on the Cavs are streaky and undependable. That has to change if the Cavs want to find their way back to the Finals and become a fixture hoisting up the trophy and putting on the rings.

Erik Cassano: I guess my feelings, if I could sum them up in one word, would be "bittersweet."

The Cavs took us on a great ride for two months. Honestly, I'm emotionally spent and am looking forward to a nice, routine stretch of midseason baseball to help me recover.

Yes, the Washington and New Jersey series were kind of mundane, "take-care-of-business" series, but that's exactly what the Cavs did, with a minimum of dramatics and the thought of an embarrassing early exit never really entering the picture. You can't ask for much more than that. The ride didn't begin for real until the Cavs faced Detroit and dug themselves out of an 0-2 hole.

Those four wins against the Pistons were really the story of what made this playoff run so memorable.

The Finals ... what can you say? San Antonio is the team the Cavs want to become someday. It's like getting clobbered by your older brother in a game of driveway hoops. Hopefully, you learn from the experience.

As far as the offseason is concerned, first of all I'd like to see Danny Ferry trade into the first round of what is supposed to be a fairly deep draft. I've said for a while that the only way the Cavs are going to bridge the gap with teams like the Spurs is if they draft like the Spurs, which means uncovering diamonds in the second half of the first round and in the second round. Boobie Gibson is a start, but it has to continue every year.

Unquestonably, the Cavs' biggest need this summer is to find a point guard, preferably an elite veteran point guard, to run the offense and allow LeBron to move without the ball more often. Having a point guard who can set up a five-man offense would go a long way toward curing the stand-around-and-watch-LeBron-dribble habit the Cavs so often fall into.

Chauncey Billups will be a free agent. So might Mike Bibby. If there is any piece worth going over the luxury tax threshold to sign, Bibby or Billups would be it.

Beyond that, the Cavs need more beef inside and better shooters outside. Ferry might not be able to address all the team's needs in one summer, but he can do enough that, should the Cavs get back to the Finals in '08, they'll have a much better chance of winning it.

Cris Sykes: Good-bye NBA Finals, hardly even got a chance to know ya. Oh well, maybe next year.

Count me in the crowd that really believed this Cavalier team was different. They had LeBron, which I thought would be good enough. I still think they were better than the credit they received. They picked the wrong stage to shoot even worse than they normally do, which I did not think was even possible. Had they shot 40% in games three and four, we are all fired up for Sunday!

As for where to go from here? The drawing board is a good place to start. Then go to the computer to “photoshop” some pictures of league general managers. You have some dead weight that has to be moved. You also have a serious need to upgrade at point guard.

If you can find a taker for Larry Hughes, Sideshow Bob, or Drew Gooden and land a legitimate NBA point guard, you have to do it. I would rather we went into next year with no power forward than no point guard. We tried that this year. It got us swept.

One last thing. Thank you to the Cavalier organization. You gave the city its first shot at a title in 10 years, and you have made the Q into one of the loudest, most energetic places to see a game. It was a good run, and I will see you next year. LeBron, take a couple weeks off and rest. Then get in the gym and work on your free throws!

Jeff Rickel: The Cavs certainly have a long way to go if they want to win a title. We got to see first hand how good the Western Conference elite teams are during the postseason. An Eastern Conference team can win, but it'll take work. For one, the Cavs need better coaching. Mike Brown isn't going anywhere. He's won 100 regular season games in two seasons and got the Cavs to their first ever Finals appearance. Brown has done well with the defense but needs help with the offense. Ferry and Brown need to make a serious effort to find someone to work on the offense. It's been a problem for years and needs to be fixed. We've seen problems shooting, moving the ball, and opening up opportunities all season. Those problems were magnified in the postseason. Someone needs to get into these guys heads how to work together on offense. Brown did it on defense. He needs to find someone who can do it on offense. 

I think the Cavs need to spend a lot of time in the offseason and during the regular season working on their jump shots and free throws. Without the offensive rebounds, this team has a huge problem getting points. San Antonio limited second chance points and exposed the Cavs. I believe that the talent is better than the performance, but these guys need to work on their mechanics. They need a specialist of some kind to work with them. I think Gooden can be more consistent from mid-range just as I think LeBron can be so much better than he was. Defense has been stressed up to this point but defense alone doesn't win titles in the NBA.

Talent is a real problem too. The Cavs have missed having a real PG ever since Miller went away. A true PG will get the offense to move around better. He'll be able to direct the action and utilize the offensive talent better. We also need a real post player. How much of a coup would it be if Ferry can somehow manage to land Mike Bibby and Jermaine O'Neal in trade? I doubt that it'd happen, but both of those pieces are out there to grab and Ferry needs to look into all possibilities. Larry Hughes needs to be dangled out there and I do think he has value. He's been misused in Cleveland. Larry is a slasher. He's not a shooter. The problem has been that the Cavs already had a superior slasher when Larry got here. However, there are teams out there that need a guy to drive to the hole, so I do think there's a market.