With the Cavaliers getting off to a better than expected start this season, the people who want the wine and gold to lose are back out again.
These people insist that the only way to build a championship team is to get in the draft lottery for several years and maybe, just maybe, you will accumulate enough talent to win a professional sports title.
FIrst of all, it is way to early to speculate that Byron Scott’s crew will make the playoffs. But, one thing is for sure. If the Cavs can make the playoffs, Scott will be all for it.
That’s the way coaches are. They want to win.
Sure, Scott took a bullet for the organization last season, enduring a 26 game losing streak, and finishing with just 19 victories for the season. He doesn’t want that to happen again.
Professional athletes do not want to lose. They may not know how to win, but they don’t want to lose. Take, for example, the Washington Wizards. As bad as they are currently, don’t believe for a minute that any one of those players do not want to win each and every game they play.
You can make the argument that they don’t sacrifice on the practice floor, that they don’t play the game in a way to gain more wins, but when the opening tap occurs, they are trying to win the game at hand.
To suggest otherwise to them would likely get you a punch to the head.
The same is true for coaches. They want to win every night. If the season is out of hand, they may play younger players to get them ready to contribute the following season, but they coach each game to outscore the opponent.
And here is something else that is true, if they put players who shouldn’t be out there come crunch time, the other players see that and they lose confidence in the leadership.
Ever wonder why players quit on their coaches? Usually, it’s because they don’t trust the guy in charge.
That’s what fans and media people who think teams should lose to better their chances in a draft lottery, or help their position in the draft do not understand.
Besides, it doesn’t work much of the time.
These “losers” do not even have long memories. Last season, the Cavaliers got the first pick in the NBA draft, but not because they lost often, it was due to the Los Angeles Clippers losing a lot. Remember, Cavs’ GM Chris Grant received the pick as part of the Mo Williams-Baron Davis trade.
So, it wasn’t losing that brought Kyrie Irving to Cleveland, it was shrewd management.
Besides, the wine and gold are a very young team. Only Antawn Jamison and Anderson Varejao are over 25 years old among the key players, so you would have to figure all the rest of the squad will be improving over the next few years, including Irving, who looks right now to be the real deal.
Some claim the draft is the only way to get better because no free agent will come to the Cavs. That’s probably true, but with Jamison and his large contract off the books next season, Grant’s team will be well under the cap.
That means they will be a team that can take on salary to pick up a good player in a trade where another team wants to dump some salary.
When teams are ready to win, they will start winning. As much as others may want to delay or speed up the process, players learn how to win at the professional level, and then begin to triumph.
Wishing a team to lose is okay for fans, although it’s a tough way to follow your favorite club. However, players and coaches do not and will not ever think this way. If they do, they won’t be around very long.
JK
Cleveland Sports Perspective 