Written by Sam Amico

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INDEPENDENCE -- Cavaliers coach Byron Scott took a seat in front of reporters and smiled widely.

“How’s everybody doing?” Scott asked.

Then the new coach returned the same question this way: “I’m doing GREAT.”

Meet the 2010-11 Cavs, where everything that’s happened yesterday or is taking place today doesn’t really matter. Instead, this team is all about tomorrow.

And while LeBron James, Shaquille O’Neal and a few others were missing on this media day, just about everything else remained the same.

 

 The coach and general manager still talked about maintaining a winning culture, the players still seemed excited to get started, and the media still showed up in droves. (Even ESPN paid a visit, which really says something, considering all the action is now said to be in Miami.)

To a man, the Cavs spoke with confidence about moving on following James’ big Decision, stressing that the page has been turned and a new, even exciting season awaits.

“We have a strong culture that’s based on winning,” said new Cavs GM Chris Grant. “We don’t place limits on our guys.”

Cavs forward Leon Powe even insisted the Cavs are a playoff team. “That’s how I feel,” he said.

Added guard Daniel Gibson: “Just because LeBron leaves doesn’t mean success leaves, too.”

Mostly, the Cavs shrugged off being disrespected by everyone from national writers to their own fans, all of whom are predicting a major fall from grace.

Scott even thinks all the naysaying might work in favor of his players, providing extra motivation for a team that has supposedly become a 98-pound weakling just waiting to have sand kicked in its face.

“I hope so,” Scott said. “I hope they’re (ticked) off. I know I would be. All the talk has been about one player, and LeBron is a great player. We all know that. But to be relegated to a team that will win 15 games … if I’m them, and if I were sitting their seats, I would be a little (ticked) off. Hopefully it will carry over into the season.”

Scott even said of all the doubts about the Cavs, “I kinda love that. And in conversations with I’ve had with the players, they feel the same way.”

Scott and Grant also both stressed it’s a new day in more than just attitude alone. Besides a new front office, new coaches, new players and new uniforms, the Cavs will also play a new style. It’s called the Princeton offense, which features a quick tempo and crisp ball movement.

And the Cavs feel it will be the perfect fit for their mostly new team.

“It’s a good system for what we have on the team,” said forward Antawn Jamison, who played in a Princeton-style offense in Washington. “If we do it the right way, it’s gonna be successful.”

Scott and the Cavs realize it will take a little time, and the coach even asked fans to be patient, saying that the team will be extremely well-conditioned and will play hard. And based on Scott’s teams in New Orleans and New Jersey (which reached the Finals in back-to-back seasons), it’s easy to believe him.

He said that New Orleans didn’t have the type of talent the current Cavs have in his first year there, and that New Jersey still needed to learn how to win.

“You have to learn how to win in this league,” Scott said. “This team is used to winning, and we have a lot of good people to work with.”

Scott also expects this to be an ultra-competitive camp, with players battling for starting roles at nearly every wide-open position.

“We have a lot of guys who have an opportunity to come out here and really do something special,” he said.

That’s because, sometimes, having 15 extra motivated and confident guys who like to share the ball can carry you a long way. These Cavs are banking on that.

“We have a new coach and a different style,” Grant reiterated. “We’re not worried about (a James hangover) at all.”

MO SPEAKS

Cavs guard Mo Williams has been all the talk this summer, mostly because he’s been his typical honest self, both on Twitter and in an interview with Yahoo! Sports, in which he hinted at retirement.

Things were no different at media day, as Williams addressed those topics and more, even going as far as to say “the article kind of got blown up.”

More from Williams:

On LeBron leaving: “Just like the average fan that goes to work everyday, I felt the same pain that they felt. My voice will is going to be heard more than theirs will (but) I feel the same love for this team and organization as they do.”

On leadership: “I am a leader. I am not going to be a guy that comes out to try to be a 30 (points), 10 (rebounds) and eight (assists) guy. My role doesn’t change. Maybe vocally, yes, it changes and now you will see more vocal leadership from (Antwan Jamison). We got veteran guys in place that know how to get things done and the sooner we get it rolling, we will be a scary basketball team.”

On the Cavs overall: ““You feel like (everyone outside of Cleveland) put a circle around this city and everyone else doesn’t care about us and they feel no sorrow (for Cleveland). We have to come together as one. The team, players, coaches the organization and from every fan that has supported us when we were selling out every night and knew we were going to beat teams by 20 or had a chance to win a championship. We have to get that same support every single night and we are going to need (the fans) more than ever. That support will carry us over those humps when we go through times that we are down a little bit.”

Sam Amico covers the Cavaliers for NBA.com and is a regular contributor to SportsTime Ohio and The Cleveland Fan. Follow him on Twitter at twitter.com/SamAmicoNBA.