Cavs Give Everyone Reason for Extreme Optimism

We realize that the average Cleveland sports fan has no real sense of success, so they don’t understand how to handle it.

This has become particularly evident in regards to the city’s basketball team, the Cleveland Cavaliers.

Since the regular season ended, another non-playoff campaign just like everyone since the departure of LeBron James, nothing but good things have happened to Dan Gilbert’s franchise.

First, despite overwhelming odds, the Cavs got the first pick in the NBA Draft. Cleveland had the ninth worst record in the league, with just a little over 1% chance to get the pick, yet it came up for them.

Unbelievably, the next great thing that occurred was James returning to the franchise, still the best player in the sport, and this made the wine and gold an instant playoff team, and a contender for a title, even if nothing else was done.

Unlike James’ first tenure here, he started actively recruiting for the Cavs, and told all-star forward Kevin Love that they should team up and try to win titles in little ol’ Cleveland, Ohio.

So, GM David Griffin apparently has packaged this year’s first round pick, Andrew Wiggins and last year’s pick, Anthony Bennett sending them to Minnesota to bring Love to the Cavs.

The Cavaliers will now feature their own big three of James, Love, and two-time all-star Kyrie Irving, and are the favorite to win the Eastern Conference and advance to The Finals for the second time in history.

They’ve also added veterans Mike Miller, James Jones, and Shawn Marion, all with championship rings to add support for Cleveland’s all-star trio. And they may also add another well-accomplished veteran in Ray Allen soon.

Still, fans are complaining, worried that the team still needs a big man, someone who can block shots.

Let’s put it this way. If the Cavs suited us up with James, Love, and Irving, along with another member of the Cleveland blogging fraternity, they likely would make the playoffs.

This team is a definite title contender barring injury as currently constituted.

They have Irving and Matthew Dellavedova at point guard. At the wing spots, they can put James, Dion Waiters, Miller, and Marion on the floor. They will have Love at power forward and Anderson Varejao at center, or they can bring the latter off the bench, and use Tristan Thompson, who averaged almost a double double last season as a starter.

It is true that the last move to make would be someone who can block shots, and based on the moves made already, we have no doubt that Griffin will add one to those to the roster.

The Cavs still have several first round picks that can deal as well as some non-guaranteed contracts picked up in the deal that sent Carrick Felix to Utah.

That’s the beauty of the situation that has been created here, not only do the Cavs have James, Love, and Irving, but they aren’t hamstrung in the ability to make moves.

That’s why James structured his deal (two years with an opt out after the first year) the way he did. He saw what happened in Miami, where the Heat management didn’t want to go over the luxury tax threshold, and the Heat couldn’t add some younger pieces to keep the title train going.

If you aren’t optimistic about this basketball season, you would probably complain about the taxes if you won the lottery.

Some fans will still complain though, that’s the Cleveland way.

James is Back, Would You “Love” to Add More?

Now that LeBron James has returned to the Cavaliers, sports fans in Cleveland needed something else to worry about.

They were provided that yesterday when it was revealed that James signed only a two-year deal and can opt out after one. People in social media started the angst rolling shortly after the news broke.

Look, it would be a real shock if LBJ invoked the opt out after the 2014-15 campaign and went to another team after the heart warming essay he issued on SI.com revealing his love for Northeast Ohio.

Unless Dan Gilbert wrote another letter blasting him or new coach David Blatt benched him, what James and his management group did was simply a business move. With a new television contract coming and the salary cap increasing, James put a mechanism in place to ensure he will be the NBA’s highest paid player for the balance of his career.

He stated in his essay that he intended to finish his career as a Cavalier, and all fans of the wine and gold should take him at his word on this.

So relax and enjoy the fact that LeBron James will be wearing the wine and gold of the Cleveland Cavaliers once again.

Where does the organization go from here? First, the rebuilding process is over and the Cavs are now contenders for an NBA title. Although fans want and are projecting that this upcoming season, it really isn’t likely, but certainly David Blatt’s squad will be in the playoffs.

And remember that the Cavs did win 33 games last night despite a poor coaching staff. They probably are much closer to a .500 team than their record would indicate.

The rumors abound that Cleveland is in the mix for free agent to be (after next season) Kevin Love. The power forward’s critics will point out that Love has never appeared in a playoff game.

However, that is merely the luck of the draw. If the Timberwolves were in the Eastern Conference, they would have made the post-season with their 40-42 record.

Love averaged 26.1 points and 12.5 rebounds per game last year, and is a 38% shooter from beyond the three-point line. He also will not turn 26 years old until September. He’s played for the US Olympic team which won the gold medal in 2012 t00, where he played with James.

If GM David Griffin can get him without dealing this year’s top draft pick, Andrew Wiggins, why wouldn’t you make that deal? And if Dion Waiters needs to be included, that shouldn’t be an impediment.

Trading draft picks? So what, the Cleveland roster is still very young and dealing some of the first round picks accumulated by the Cavs’ front office wouldn’t be a hardship to the franchise.

After all, they just moved two former first round picks in Sergey Karasev and Tyler Zeller to create cap space to sign James.

Love’s defense has been questioned, but good coaches can scheme around that and playing defense is mostly about effort and James will make sure his new teammates know that it is worth the work.

Also, wouldn’t it be incredible to see Love fire one of his three-quarter court outlet passes to James streaking down the court?

Even if Cavs do not make another huge move, they should be one of the better teams in the Eastern Conference. One issue is the division which probably has the two other top teams in the conference in Indiana and Chicago.

The Cavs could finish with the second best record in the East and be the fourth seed.

The philosophy of the Cavalier front office changed when James agreed to sign here on Friday. They have a chance to win a title next season. Again, not to say they will, but if they can add an all-star player without giving up Wiggins, who could be a special player in two to three years?

Why not?

The Prodigal LeBron Comes Home

As Al Michaels said in 1980 at the Olympic hockey championship, this impossible dream comes true.

That’s how it feels in Cleveland today with the announcement by basketball’s best player, LeBron James, that he is returning to northeastern Ohio to resume his career with the Cleveland Cavaliers.

While everyone (us included) spewed venom over James’ departure four years ago, we have to explain our feelings this way. We are Cavaliers fans, and we support people who play for the wine and gold.

So, those feelings are set aside today. If Dan Gilbert and James can sit down and set aside the situation that occurred after the latter took his talents to South Beach, then fans can put them aside as well.

Because in basketball, where only five players are on the court at one time, one player makes more of a difference in this sport than in baseball and football, so a talent like James makes the Cavaliers an instant contender for a championship.

Perhaps we are quick to forgive James because it’s been 50 years since a Cleveland professional sports team has won a championship, but remember this: In 2003, when the Cavs drafted James with the first pick in the draft, he had to play here.

This time, he wanted to come home and play for the Cavs.

And because of that, most fans will give LeBron the benefit of the doubt and will welcome him back with open arms. After all, we are a forgiving society.

Even around the country, James has improved and repaired his reputation. Most fans outside of Miami were disappointed with him leaving Cleveland, and his return is being viewed with favor by most of the US.

Even if the Cavs don’t make any more moves (which is doubtful) this off-season, the wine and gold already have a player better than anyone James played with in his first stint with the Cavaliers in Kyrie Irving, a two-time all-star.

That’s no disrespect to all of the players who made the playoffs a yearly event at Quicken Loans Arena prior to 2010. It’s simply the truth.

And since James has always been a gifted passer, he should be a good fit for new coach David Blatt’s offense which features ball movement.

Now, James comes back to the franchise as a championship player, one who can set the tone for a still very young roster. He can show them how difficult it is to win an NBA title.

And it is a much bigger story for him and his “brand” to come back to the area where he grew up, and now he can raise his family here and watch his children go the St.Vincent-St. Mary and play in the gym that bares his name.

Seriously, when was the last time a great player in his prime decided to play in Cleveland, Ohio?

Whatever contempt you had for James when he left should be tempered that the best basketball player in the world, and someone who is known throughout the planet has decided to work in our city.

Coupled with the Republican Convention coming to town in 2016, it’s been a helluva week for northeastern Ohio.

Another Good Week for The Wine and Gold

When the NBA free agency period kicked off on July 1st, the front office of the Cleveland Cavaliers made news immediately, even though they didn’t add a player.

Instead, they kept one of their own, signing Kyrie Irving to a five-year contract extension which will keep him in the wine and gold through the 2019-20 season. No shorter deal like the one inked by LeBron James following his rookie contract.

Thus ends the speculation that Irving was not happy in Cleveland and wanted out as soon as possible.

We believe Irving wasn’t happy during the last season, and his disenchantment had every thing to do with the lack of respect he had for his coach, Mike Brown. The hiring of David Griffin as general manager and David Blatt as coach changed the two-time all-star’s mind. He now has a good feeling for the future of the franchise.

We have said this before, when coaches don’t play the right people, or design plays that do not work, the players lose confidence in them. To be sure, the total focus on defense in training camp which limited the offense early in the year did not sit well with Irving, and we suspect other players as well.

Remember, Irving played at Duke, coached by the legendary Mike Krzyzewski, who has won three national championships while there and is also the coach of the US National team, piloting two gold medal squads at the Olympics.

In short, he’s one of the most accomplished coaches in the history of the sport.

Imagine what the point guard thought when he saw Brown’s simplistic offense with little or no movement and totally designed on Irving’s (or someone else’s) ability to take his defender off the dribble.

You get the picture.

Remember when there were reports shortly after Luol Deng was traded to Cleveland regarding how Deng couldn’t believe the mess here. Deng played for Krzyzewski at Duke and then was coached by Tom Thibidoux in Chicago, two excellent coaches.

This is not to denigrate Brown, who by all accounts is a great guy and has paid his dues in the sport, but he’s not cut out to be a head coach in the NBA, and probably will not get a chance to be a head coach in the association again.

And this criticism of Brown doesn’t excuse the poor roster construction put together by former GM Chris Grant.

His roster was a collection of guards who like to have the ball in their hands (Irving, Dion Waiters, Jarrett Jack) and players more suited to play power forward in the NBA (Anderson Varejao, Tristan Thompson, Anthony Bennett, Earl Clark).

And he seemed reluctant to deal with strength, trading one of those players to fill obvious needs at small forward, shooting guard, and center.

From Irving’s point of view, he now sees a GM willing to make moves to improve the roster. He sees Andrew Wiggins, the first overall pick, who can play the #2 or the #3, and is an athletic freak, a guy who can run the floor with him.

He sees a coach who has won everywhere he’s been, and has a feel for both ends of the floor.

He sees a plan for this franchise going forward and he saw a chance for success.

That’s the reason for his change of heart and the reason he will wear the wine and gold for a long time.

Big Night Looms for Cavs Tomorrow.

Tomorrow night could be a huge new beginning for the Cleveland Cavaliers. They have a new GM in David Griffin making the selections, including the first pick in the draft.

They also introduced a new coach in David Blatt. In his introductory press conference today, he proclaimed himself, not an offensive coach or a defensive coach, but a basketball coach. That is music to the ears of all critics of Mike Brown.

We still remember Brown’s ridiculous comment when the Cavs were struggling on the offensive end early in the year, and he said they didn’t spend any time on offense during training camp.

The new head coach realizes you have to play well on both ends of the court.

We believe the new team of Griffin and Blatt will make wholesale changes to the current roster, with at least 1/3 of the players (that’s at least five guys) being turned over this summer, and it could all start tomorrow night.

Will the wine and gold hold on to the pick or will they make a deal to bring in a proven young player to add to Kyrie Irving.

If they keep the number one choice, we feel they should take Duke forward Jabari Parker.

Parker, listed at 6’8″ and 241 pounds (although it has been reported he weighs 15 more than that) averaged 19.1 points and almost nine rebounds for the Blue Devils last season.

Why take him over Kansas forward Andrew Wiggins? Because although Wiggins is the better athlete, Parker is the better basketball player.

Many experts say Wiggins has a huge upside, but will he reach that vast potential? He shot just 44.1% from the floor for the Jayhawks last season. Parker shot 47% from the floor and has a better mid-range and post up game than his Kansas counterpart.

Of course, if Joel Embiid hadn’t broken his foot, it would be a moot point. Embiid might be the best big man to enter the league in many years, but the injury factor is too much to ignore. He also missed time this season due to a stress fracture in his back.

Still, Embiid may have impressed Griffin enough that he would trade down to the 4th to 6th pick range, pick up another young player and still take the big man later in the first round.

If the Cavs’ brass truly think the injuries are not career threatening, then they may do just that, thus having their cake and eating it too.

One thing the front office needs to ignore is the temptation to make moves on draft day to entice LeBron James to come back to Cleveland, because if he doesn’t sign with the Cavaliers, it could set the franchise back a few more years.

If James wants to come back to the Cavs, and we feel he will either do that or go back to Miami, then that will just be icing on that cake.

Cleveland has several good young players and could move some depth at the power forward and point guard spots to get another big man and a shooting guard. Even if James doesn’t return, they would still be set for the future.

After having the top choice in the draft in three of the last four seasons, here’s hoping we don’t have it again for a long, long time. That is, of course unless James leaves the Heat and we get it again through their first round pick.

On Surface, Choice of Blatt is Outstanding.

The Cleveland Cavaliers made a bold choice yesterday and we love it.

They hired David Blatt as their new head coach despite the fact that he’s never been a head coach on American soil. He has however, been very successful in the European circuit and on the international level.

Now, no one can be totally evaluated until he starts coaching games in the regular season, but there is no question that he is able to handle professional players and he has coached men, not college kids.

And as for the argument that he will have a lot to learn because he’s never coached in the NBA, not many people made that argument when the Celtics hired former Butler University coach Brad Stevens last season, and let’s face it, there isn’t a lot of imagination in the NBA game anyway.

Most teams run isolation and pick-and-roll based offenses in the association, and defending that is something that every basketball coach learns early in their career. It’s more about getting players to want to play on the other end of the floor.

But what has us excited is Blatt’s reputation as a superior offensive mind. The new coach’s system is predicated on ball movement, much like the Spurs, and that is the way the game is supposed to be played.

Many have speculated that his approach will not mesh well with Kyrie Irving, but we disagree. Irving has grown frustrated in the past two years because in his second season, the whole burden was put on him, and last year, there basically was no offense.

It has to be frustrating when there is no movement away from the ball to free players up for good shots. In Blatt’s system there will be constant movement of the ball and players who don’t have it won’t be standing in one place, making it easy to be defended.

If Irving doesn’t love playing in that system, then we know what kind of player he is, and he can be moved on while he still has a tremendous amount of value.

The other reason hiring Blatt is the correct move is that it has everything to do with moving with the future. GM David Griffin hired a coach who is an actual coach, meaning he will try to make everyone better and will develop young talent.

They didn’t try to do anything else with the hire, and by that we mean trying to kiss up to LeBron James, which we think the Mike Brown hire was partially about, and the pursuit of John Calipari was all about.

If James wants to return here, great. But the Cavaliers needed to start moving forward and needed to stop making moves designed to lure the four-time MVP to come back.

We still believe that Blatt’s hire is just the first step in trying to get the wine and gold back to the playoffs. Griffin needs to restructure the roster and get away from the point guard/power forward heavy group assembled by former GM Chris Grant.

That means we will likely see a busy couple of weeks on the basketball front in Cleveland, as we think about one-third of the current 15 man roster will be turned over before training camp opens in October.

That’s because the way Griffin envisions his team and the way Blatt coaches is a match. That’s another thing to like about this hire.

Finally, there is a direction at Quicken Loans Arena.

Three Thoughts on the Cavs

Over the past couple of weeks, since they won the NBA draft lottery, there has been much discussion about the future of the local professional basketball team, the Cleveland Cavaliers.

Some of the discussion has come from national sources and some from the Cleveland media. Here are our thoughts on a few issues regarding the wine and gold…

Kyrie Irving’s contract. Should GM David Griffin offer the former Rookie of the Year a maximum contract extension or not, that is the question?

The problem here is the monumentally horrible decision to bring back Mike Brown as head coach last season. It is almost as if you have to treat last season as a throw away for Irving and several other young Cavaliers.

We don’t know what to think about the MVP of last season’s All-Star Game. Is he selfish? Is he willing to play defense? Can he co-exist with Dion Waiters?

Brown didn’t do anything to help any young players on the Cleveland roster, so we think we need to see how Irving plays under a new coach, one that can put the players in an offensive system where he can thrive.

However, if he doesn’t have any inclination to sign here long-term, then Griffin should look to get what he can for the former first overall pick.

Getting Kevin Love. Love wants out in Minnesota, and the Cavs certainly have the assets to get the all-star forward. However, fans should temper the idea of getting the power forward.

Why? First, because unless Griffin can get Love to agree to a contract extension, it doesn’t make sense to deal a whole bunch of assets for one year of Love, even as good as he is. And we don’t think Love will do that for a couple of reasons.

One, he can probably get more money by going out on the open market as a free agent. Second, this isn’t a basketball decision for Love, it’s a “brand” thing. Love wants to be famous and be someone who can get huge money in endorsements.

He can’t maximize that earning potential in Minnesota, nor can he do it in Cleveland.

If it was strictly a basketball move, why would he be talking about going to the Lakers, a team currently in shambles?

This is the new NBA, which is starting to resemble the WWE. It’s more about other things than basketball.

The Search of a New Coach. It appears Griffin is talking to a lot of people, which is good. The disturbing thing is that their are reports that the GM and owner Dan Gilbert want to be “involved”. That will probably restrict who will accept the job.

George Karl would seem to be a great candidate, with proven success and a great basketball mind, but it is doubtful with that track record that he would want to have the GM and owner quizzing him daily.

The same is likely true for any high-profile coach, and we are putting Lionel Hollins in that category as well.

That means the Cavs are probably looking a current assistants and others who can’t wait to get back in the head coaching gigs in the NBA, like Alvin Gentry and Vinny Del Negro. Do either of those people excite you?

The Cleveland Cavaliers have talent, it just doesn’t fit together. Bringing in the right coach, and trading some talent and/or draft picks that don’t fit for ones that do, and they should be in the playoffs next season.

After a few seasons of moves that don’t make much sense, it’s time to start a new streak of decisions that will work.

Lottery Win Gives Griffin Another Asset

At least the Cleveland Cavaliers have one arena where they are victorious, unfortunately, it is not on the court.

Instead, it happens in the NBA Draft Lottery, where the wine and gold came up with the first overall pick for the third time in the last four seasons.

To this point, those first overall picks haven’t translated into success in the regular season, which is why the Cavs continue to be in the lottery. They haven’t been able to make the playoffs.

The first overall selection does give Cleveland GM David Griffin a valuable commodity, it remains to be seen though, who will make the first pick next month.

Why? Because the Cavs have already been through this before. Is it really best for the team to take another player who will take two, three, or maybe even four years to be able to make a difference in the NBA?

Next year will be the fifth season since LeBron James left for Miami, causing the Cavs to start a rebuilding process. The time for developing players is over, it’s time to start winning games. Will the first overall pick help them get over the hump in 2014-15?

We are all aware of last year’s draft in which the Cavs selected Anthony Bennett with the first choice. The rookie of the year turned out to be Philadelphia’s Michael Carter-Williams, who was the 11th pick. Out of the top ten, only Victor Oladipo (Orlando), Cody Zeller (Charlotte), and Trey Burke (Utah) could be said to be big contributors to their teams as rookies.

The year before, the Cavs selected Dion Waiters with the 4th overall choice. That draft looks to be pretty solid with only Thomas Robinson and Austin Rivers not getting big minutes with their respective teams. Still, only four players, Damian Lillard (Portland), Terence Ross (Toronto), Michael Kidd-Gilchrist (Charlotte), and Bradley Beal (Washington) are playing a significant role of playoff teams.

In 2011, Cleveland selected Kyrie Irving first and Tristan Thompson fourth. Only two players taken in the top ten of that draft, Jonas Valenciunas (Toronto) and Kemba Walker (Charlotte) are getting significant minutes on teams that made the playoffs.

The point is there haven’t been more than a handful of rookies who have made a significant difference in their first couple of years in the league. It is almost like the major league baseball draft, where you are picking players who can help you down the road.

The Cavaliers can’t wait any longer to start winning.

We have said this before, players who can make an immediate impact in the NBA generally play well in the NCAA tournament. They don’t disappear.

Many have Cleveland selecting Anthony Wiggins of Kansas as their choice. His last college game was dreadful, scoring less than 10 points. He also weighs under 200 pounds. Can you see him playing against guys like Paul George, Paul Pierce, and other small forwards who are 6’7″ and weigh 220 pounds?

This isn’t to say Wiggins won’t ever be good, in fact, he may turn into an all-star player. Irving did, but his success hasn’t translated into wins on the floor.

The point is there isn’t a player in this draft who can turn a franchise next season, so if Griffin can turn this pick into a young veteran who is already a quality player, that would be better for the wine and gold.

As for young, we mean mid 20’s, not a player who only has a few years remaining in their career.

To be sure, it was great for the Cavaliers to get the first overall pick. However, they need to look at it as another asset they’ve accumulated to get back to winning. There isn’t a franchise turning player in this draft.

No Emotion Needed From Gilbert Now

There was good news from the Cleveland Cavaliers yesterday as the players cleaned out their lockers and the front office had meetings.

No one got fired.

Yes, we’ve advocated that changes have to come for the organization, which has gone from 19 wins in the first season after LeBron James left for free agency, to 21 in year two (strike shortened), and then 24 in year three, to this year’s disappointing 33-49 record.

However, here’s hoping yesterday’s inactivity was due to everyone in the front office, including owner Dan Gilbert, taking a deep breath and not making any rash decisions.

In Cleveland, and probably Detroit, we all know that Gilbert is an emotional creature. His famous rant after James made his decision is derided throughout the NBA, but was applauded by his fan base. That could be a reason attendance hasn’t dropped off drastically despite four straight seasons of mediocre basketball.

It was reported this past week that Gilbert is irate about the lack of a playoff spot this season, and insiders think major changes are in the work this summer. But as of right now, nothing was announced.

It was just last off-season that former GM Chris Grant, with the owner’s approval, hired back former coach Mike Brown, and didn’t even interview anyone else. That’s the type of emotional decision that needs to be avoided this time.

Now, there have been rumors that the wine and gold want to bring in a president of basketball operations to oversee the front office and decided the fates of interim GM David Griffin and Brown. That’s a solid decision.

However, two frontrunners for the post that have been mentioned are former Pistons Isiah Thomas and Joe Dumars. The Pistons happen to be Gilbert’s boyhood team, so hiring either of them despite questionable records as coaches/executives would be thinking more with your heart than your head.

The owner is the Board of Governors meeting this weekend and should be picking the brains of the other basketball minds there to decide what would be the best course of action for his team. George Karl is another name that has been bandied about for the lead hoops position, and in our opinion would be a tremendous hire, even if he never played for Detroit.

We think Karl is one of the country’s best basketball minds.

Even so, this is a decision that has to be well thought out and not rushed into. There is a long time between now and the NBA draft, when free agency and trades are consummated. It’s a two month window.

As for the coach, Gilbert shouldn’t let the big contract he and Grant gave Brown be any consideration.

While the team did gain nine games in the win column, there is no question it was a disjointed season, filled with many streaks.

Brown thinks the team seemed to improve in the second half of the season, but January had a six game losing streak, followed by a six game winning streak, which was following by a 15 game stretch in which Cleveland won just four games.

Whenever, it appeared the team was “getting it”, playing team basketball, it was followed by a period in which they executed like they just met each other that very afternoon.

We aren’t going to speculate what that means, but it doesn’t show the players were buying in.

If this summer’s decisions are made with a cool, calm, calculated mind, then the future of the Cavaliers may indeed be brighter. Emotional decisions have gotten them to where they are now.

Big Summer for Cavs, Bigger One for Irving

Tomorrow, the Cleveland Cavaliers will conclude a very trying season. On Thursday, the wine and gold will embark on an off-season which be as important as the one since LeBron James left as a free agent in 2010.

The franchise is at a proverbial crossroads for sure, and most of it centers on the team’s best player, Kyrie Irving.

Irving was the first overall pick after the first season without James, arriving after Cleveland suffered through a horrible season.

Unfortunately, they still haven’t made the playoffs with Irving in a Cavs’ uniform and this year, with the young players who the organization has accumulated with a slew of high draft choices supposed to be coming into their own, instead with a loss in the season finale tomorrow night will have a 50 loss season once again.

Is this all on Irving? Of course not, the Cavs waited until this season to appear to want to start winning, and didn’t bring in any quality veteran players to help the now 22-year-old learn the ways of the NBA from dealing Ramon Sessions to getting Luol Deng and Spencer Hawes this season.

They also didn’t hire a head coach with a track record of developing young players either. It is galling that young players like Sergey Karasev and newly acquired Scotty Hopson didn’t get a minute in the past two games, both played after Cleveland was eliminated from the playoffs.

However, you have to wonder about Irving, who seems to not have the ultra-competitive gene. He seems content to get his numbers while his team loses night after night.

That’s not good.

It reminds of Vince Carter, who while in Toronto complained that the team didn’t get better. As the Raptors’ best player, it was his responsibility to make the team better. He didn’t want any part of that.

If that is Irving’s attitude, not only should the Cavs trade the two-time All-Star, they need to do it this summer, and move on.

That’s why this is such a key summer for Dan Gilbert, and whoever will be in the team’s front office, whether it be a president of basketball operations and/or general manager.

They have to make the determination as to whether or not Irving wants to be the best player on a championship team, or if he would like to be famous and make commercials and get endorsements.

And they have to figure out if Irving will do whatever is necessary to be that type of player. Will he play better defense, will he share the basketball, will he take responsibility when the team loses?

Those are the things leaders do for their teams, plus they make all of their teammates better players.

If the Cavs determine Irving can be that type of player, then they should keep him here with a maximum contract extension. He’s that talented of a player.

If he can’t do that for the organization, then they should deal him while he still has a tremendous amount of value around the NBA. The ransom the wine and gold could get for a young player of his caliber would be enormous.

However, another year like this one, and the whispers will start as to whether or not he’s another guy with tremendous skills, but doesn’t play a team game.

There is no question the Cavs have some talented players on the roster. If their supposed best player can’t play with them and raise all of their games, then the franchise will be forced to make a very tough decision, at least from the outside looking in.

From the inside looking out, it would be a smart decision because the losing needs to end right now. Kyrie Irving has to decide if he wants to be part of the solution, starting right after tomorrow’s game.