The Cleveland Cavaliers have a problem. They have pretty much sold out the up coming season because season tickets holders had to renew before the playoffs started.
So, now the organization has to do something before the season starts to keep the people who put up a ton of cash for the 2010-11 season happy. And it probably isn’t the right thing to do.
The most prudent action would be to start dealing off the team’s assets to accumulate young players and draft picks in an effort to get back into the draft lottery in an effort to find a new superstar to build around.
However, all of the tickets sold won’t allow Dan Gilbert to do that. Instead, he feels the need to make a big splash, even though there doesn’t seem to be one available.
Gilbert’s guarantee that his franchise will win a title before his former superstar wins one was made with bravado and machismo, but it was ill conceived. It was made five days ago, and now fans are anxious because nothing has been done to improve the team.
And now, Zydrunas Ilgauskas has decided to leave the team and sign with the Heat as well. This isn’t a huge deal, because the big man doesn’t have much left in the tank, and he has served this franchise well. But still…
By the way, isn’t it odd that all of a sudden, someone has turned into the great recruiter?
Gilbert is going to have a very disgruntled fan base soon if new GM Chris Grant can’t make some kind of move soon to energize this basketball team. He needs to put his money where his mouth is, and the sooner the better.
In the past few days, the team has expressed interest in guys like Rockets’ guard Kyle Lowry and former Hawks’ swingman Josh Childress, and signed Lowry to an offer sheet yesterday. The mention of those guys isn’t making the hair on the back of your neck stand up with anticipation.
They are solid players, but they aren’t guys who could make the team return to the playoffs in the upcoming season.
The fans are expecting getting an all-star type player, one who will at least start on the 2010-11 edition of the Cavaliers, and right now there isn’t any hope on the horizon to get that type of player.
Minnesota’s Al Jefferson would have been that type of guy, but Utah completed a deal for him yesterday.
The point is we all appreciated the owner’s passion in making a statement that captured the feelings of the fans, but they ring hollow right now because it doesn’t appear the wine and gold is close to making an impact move.
So, Dan Gilbert has put himself and his front office on the clock. Sometimes, there is activity behind the scenes, and the media doesn’t pick up on them. A couple of years ago, the Mo Williams trade seemingly came out of nowhere.
After the owner’s letter immediately after the ESPN telecast on Thursday, basketball fans in this area were expecting an impact move from the Cavaliers. Part of that was the position they were put in by someone’s indecision. Still, season ticket holders can’t be happy by what is happening at The Q.
JK
Cleveland Sports Perspective 