Unbalanced logo

The Cleveland Cavaliers Might Exceed Their Expectations

The Cavs will have their first season Post-LeBron James (again).

By Davion MoorePublished 6 years ago 4 min read
Like

The Eastern Conference will have a new identity come the 2018-2019 season. One free agency signing is responsible for shifting the dynamic of the entire conference. The signing I am referring to is the deal between LeBron James and the Los Angeles Lakers.

Earlier this summer, the Lakers signed superstar forward LeBron James to a four-year, $154 million deal.

For the first time in his 15-year career, LeBron James will play in the Western Conference, which impacts both the Eastern and Western Conferences.

James’ signing affects the West because it makes a tough conference even stronger. The Lakers are potentially playoff bound after a 35-47 season in 2017-2018. They were the 11th seed of the Western Conference. LeBron James puts the Lakers in a position to potentially dethrone the defending champs in the Golden State Warriors.

While the signing impacts the West, the Eastern Conference will be affected more than the West.

Due to James’s departure from the East, the Eastern Conference will change (for better or for worse). The top teams of the Eastern Conference are arguably “set.” In my opinion, the top teams of the East are the Boston Celtics and the Philadelphia 76ers.

Both the Celtics and Sixers are youthful teams that had notable playoff appearances this season. The Celtics made it to the Eastern Conference Finals against LeBron’s former team, the Cleveland Cavaliers. The Celtics were on the verge of making the NBA Finals, but they lost the ECF series in Game 7. The Sixers made the playoffs for the first time in nearly five years. They made it to the second round where they lost the Celtics. When considering the upside of the Celtics and the Sixers, it is fair to say they’ll be the top teams of the East. However, the rest of the conference is up for grabs.

I said all of this (the LeBron James signing, the Conferences, etc.) to say this this: I am a Cavs fan through and through.

It was unfortunate seeing my team getting swept in the Finals. After the Finals, the Cavs lost a one-of-a-kind player in LeBron James. It is more than likely that the Cavs will regress. But, all hope is not lost. The Cavs are in a “rebuilding” stage, but they already have pieces to establish a new, young core.

In the 2018 NBA Draft, the Cavaliers selected University of Alabama guard Collin Sexton. The Cavs selected Sexton with the 8th pick they acquired via the Kyrie Irving/ Isaiah Thomas trade. Isaiah Thomas was traded alongside Jae Crowder, Ante Zizic and the unprotected 2018 first-round draft pick of the Brooklyn Nets (which became Collin Sexton). Thomas, alongside other players the Cavs signed or acquired (Derrick Rose, Dwyane Wade etc.) didn’t work out and several of them were traded to other teams. Jae Crowder and Derrick Rose were traded to the Utah Jazz (Rose was bought out by the Jazz and signed with the Timberwolves.), and Dwyane Wade was traded to the Miami Heat.

The Cavs acquired two young pieces in Jordan Clarkson and Larry Nance Jr. from their trade with the Lakers (involving Isaiah Thomas). I loved the addition of Larry Nance Jr. due to his hustle. Nance is only 25 years old with room to grow. The same applies for Jordan Clarkson. Both Clarkson and Nance will be paired with Collin Sexton.

The Cavs also have players such as Cedi Osman and Sam Dekker (who they traded for this off-season). They acquired Dekker in exchange for the draft rights to Vladimir Veremeenko. But, this youthful group won’t be entirely stranded. Veteran Forward Kevin Love will join them. Love signed a four-year, $120 million extension.

His veteran presence and talent will help this new group.

In my opinion, the Cavs have enough talent to be a lower playoff seed. It will be different from the past few years, but the future still looks bright. Some of my friends/other fans do not the Cavs being any good (this year). However, I disagree. The Cavs will regress but consider the current state of the East. How many of the remaining Eastern terms are currently better than the Cavs? The Pacers (who the Cavs faced in the first round of the playoffs), the Bucks (who have the Greek Freak Giannis Antetoukoumpo) and possibly the Wizards (who were the 8th seed last year) are the only teams potentially better.

The remaining teams (such as the Nets, Hawks, and Bulls) are rebuilding like the Cavaliers.The Hawks had the worst record of the Eastern Conference and received the third pick of this year's draft. They selected Luka Doncic, but traded him to the Dallas Mavericks for Trae Young. The Orlando Magic had the sixth pick of this year's draft. The The Bulls had the seventh pick. The Knicks had the 9th pick. Each of these teams are still rebuilding, although they might be deeper in their rebuild than the Cavs are. Regardless,I believe they are either as good as or worse than the Cavaliers.

While the Cavs won’t be as good as last year, I do believe they will exceed their current expectations. I look forward to seeing them next season.

basketball
Like

About the Creator

Davion Moore

A quiet guy who loves basketball...enough said. While it seems like I do mostly Cavalier articles, I also do more

Reader insights

Be the first to share your insights about this piece.

How does it work?

Add your insights

Comments

There are no comments for this story

Be the first to respond and start the conversation.

Sign in to comment

    Find us on social media

    Miscellaneous links

    • Explore
    • Contact
    • Privacy Policy
    • Terms of Use
    • Support

    © 2024 Creatd, Inc. All Rights Reserved.