As the people of northeast Ohio are well aware, the Cleveland Cavaliers made four straight trips to the NBA Finals from 2015-2018.
However, another team from the Eastern Conference did the same thing in the past ten years. Of course we are talking about the Miami Heat, who were also led by LeBron James. The Heat made four consecutive trips from 2011-2014.
We bring this up because the Heat have recovered post-LeBron and will be in the Eastern Conference finals beginning in a few days against either the Boston Celtics or the defending champion Toronto Raptors.
They accomplished this even though they didn’t bottom out or hope for the top pick in the NBA Draft by getting lucky in the lottery.
Maybe the Cavaliers should take a look at how Miami did it, instead of hoping for the Oklahoma City model of hitting it big in the lottery, something that happened just one time.
The year after James left Miami, the Heat dropped from 54 wins to a 37-45 record. They still had Dwyane Wade and Chris Bosh, although he played just 44 games. They signed Luol Deng and Danny Granger as free agents, and signed second year big man Hassan Whiteside as a free agent.
At the trading deadline, they made a move with the Suns, dealing Granger, who played in only 30 games for guard Goran Dragic.
In the next draft, they selected Justice Winslow with the 10th overall pick, and signed Amar’e Stoudemire as a free agent. With Bosh returning for 53 games, they won 48 games (#3 seed) and lost in the conference semi-finals to Toronto.
They took a step back in 2016-17, finishing with a .500 record (41-41), missing the playoffs (9th in the East). Wade and Bosh were both gone, and so was Deng. The roster was now centered around Dragic, Whiteside, Tyler Johnson, and James Johnson, signed from Toronto in the off-season.
And they hung their hat on the defensive end, ranking 5th in the NBA on that end of the floor.
They added to that by drafting Bam Adebayo with the 14th pick in 2017 draft, and added another big man, Kelly Olynyk as a free agent.
A 44-38 record was achieved along with the 6th seed in the East, but they lost their first round match up with the 76ers, four games to one.
They missed the playoffs last season with a 39-43 record, but signed Derrick Jones Jr. and Duncan Robinson as free agents, and drafted Tyler Herro with the 13th overall pick in the 2019 draft.
They also signed Kendrick Nunn as a free agent during the summer and added the final piece they needed to contend trading for Jimmy Butler, with the biggest piece being moved being Whiteside, who lost playing time to Adebayo.
There were no 15 win seasons, no 20 win seasons, no falling to the depths of the NBA gutter. The franchise’s worst record was 37-45. They didn’t even use themselves as a destination place for NBA free agents.
One thing they have is a clear identity for the franchise in Pat Riley and Erik Spoelstra. There’s a hint for Dan Gilbert.
They also have a defensive mindset. After the first year post-LBJ, Miami hasn’t ranked lower than 11th in defensive rating.
They also have a keen eye for talent. Jones Jr. and Robinson have been key contributors this season, and they were found on the basketball scrapheap.
The point is there are many ways to build a team, you don’t have to bottom out, which always seems to be the plan in Cleveland, and unless you sign LeBron James, it hasn’t worked out.
Hopefully, there is a clear cut plan with Koby Altman and JB Bickerstaff and it can work out like it did for Miami. Nothing but admiration here for the job Riley and Spoelstra have done.
More importantly, the constant change at both the GM spot and the head coach has to end. And that comes from ownership. Hire the right people and let them do their jobs. We understand they won’t have the championship pedigree that Riley has, but there are people out there who are capable of building a solid basketball team.
You have to have complementary players and an organizational mindset of defense and toughness. It’s been awhile since the Cavaliers have had that. The time to start is this off-season.
MW
Cleveland Sports Perspective 