Written by Demetri Inembolidis

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The off-season is wrapping up and the Cavs have made minimal roster moves.  Some people are on board with this approach and others are eager for the team to improve.  The main personnel moves Cleveland made in the off-season are drafting Dion Waiters, moving up to draft Tyler Zeller and signing C.J. Miles.  There were other minor transactions that took place such as trading for Jeremy Pargo, re-signing Luke Harangody and picking up Jon Leuer off of waivers, but overall this has been a quiet summer for the Cavs.     

The Cavs were not very good last year.  In fact, they will not be very good next season.  This may not sit well with the side of the table that was tired of losing games and obsessing over lottery standings.  The issue is that this bad team lost two starters.  As frustrating as Antawn Jamison and Anthony Parker were, they were shooters that had to be accounted for.  This allowed for Kyrie Irving to operate and keep the defense honest.  Defending Irving is not easy when the opposition does not know if he will drive, shoot a jump shot or pass to a shooter.  The Cavs have effectively replaced to players who had a reputation for being shooters with Tristan Thompson and Dion Waiters.  The sophomore big man only shot 43.9% from the field last year and is likely to start at the power forward position.  On the other hand, Waiters is more of a slasher than a shooter and could complicate matters for Irving and the Cavaliers offense.  Hopefully I am wrong about Waiters and his offensive aptitude will translate to a better offense for the Cavaliers.

Speaking of offense, the Cavs have been offensive since the rebuilding project began in 2010.  Kyrie Irving is a special player and his offensive abilities are unheard of for a rookie.  The fact that he was so clutch and shot as effectively as he did despite only playing 11 games at Duke and the lockout shortened season is mind-blowing.  Having said that, the team overall was awful on the offensive end of the court.  The Cavs shot 42.2% from the field.  The only team worse on offense than the Cavs was the lowly Charlotte Bobcats, who literally set a record for futility by only winning 7 games in 59 tries.  Another area that the Cavs struggled in was point differential.  On average they were outscored by 7.2 points.  Once again, the only worse team was the Bobcats. 

The Cavs need a lot of help on offense, defense, rebounding and everything in-between.  This team and roster are beyond signing a free agent or making a trade from contending for a playoff berth.  The Cavs could have made more of an effort to throw big money at Nicolas Batum or Roy Hibbert, but they likely would have done the bidding for the Portland Trailblazers and Indiana Pacers and been left where they currently sit today.  There are players such as Batum, Ilyasova and Luis Scola that would have been nice to make a run at, but none of these players would have turned the Cavs into a good team.  Any one of these guys would have been a piece to help the team inch towards competency, but it would have come at the cost of cap space and less ping pong balls in the draft lottery. 

The Cavs could have attempted to make a big trade.  It is impossible to ascertain which players were available via trade.  The fact that the popular narrative is that the Cavs refused to part ways with J.J. Hickson for Amar'e Stoudemire in 2010 should make that point.  Steve Kerr was not comfortable with any trade offers that Cleveland made and the Suns decided to retain Stoudemire and they made a run to the Western Conference Finals that year.  That trade deadline is considered one of the biggest blunders in franchise history and it turns out that Stoudemire was not even available to the team.  The only people who are aware of what players are actually available from trades are members of the front office.  Not only is it unclear which players were available through trades, but the Cavs would have had to give up assets to make any trades.  The modus operandi for the Cavs is to gather assets and use them when the time is right.  As the roster currently stands, the time is not right.  Cleveland fans should brace for another long season with many losses and the constant debate over tanking. 

The reason that the draft is such a big topic of discussion in Cleveland is because it is the only realistic way to get an elite level player in Cleveland.  The Cavs were fortunate to have LeBron James for 7 years.  The only way that this was possible was because of the draft and a lot of lucky bounces.  A player of James' caliber is not going to play in Cleveland when there are other suitors.  The plan for the Cavs should be to make a roster so perfect that elite players wouldn't even consider leaving for bigger cities and brighter lights.  The Cavs hitched their cart to Dion Waiters and Tristan Thompson.  Both of these athletes have skills that could become elite, but they also both have limitations.  It is probably too early to panic and worry about Kyrie Irving leaving in free agency, but the risk of it is there if the Cavs failed to maximize on two consecutive high lottery picks.  Hopefully the Cavs are right about their scouting and drafting and both of these players help lead the Cavs into the playoffs.  Having unnecessary concerns over these two is something that every concerned Cavs fan would love to have happen. 

Watching other teams improve is frustrating.  I look forward to the day when the Cavs are in a position to make a splash in free agency or pull the trigger on a big trade.  Unfortunately for Cavs fans, the franchise is not there yet.  This rebuild is going to take a long time and it is best for Cavs fans to exercise patience with the team.  The last thing the team needs is for Cleveland fans to show the same amount of impatience and hostility that is directed towards the Cleveland Indians.  Things can turn very ugly when something like that happens.  I hope the Cavs can stear clear of it.