Cavs’ New Direction Is Hopefully Forward.

When the Cleveland Cavaliers take the floor Friday night, they will have a new coach in J. B. Bickerstaff.

This is will be the third time the soon to be 41 year old has taken over a team in the middle of a season. He took over for Kevin McHale in Houston during the 2015-16 season, guiding the Rockets to a 37-34 record.

He also assumed the reins in Memphis from David Fizdale in 2017-18 and coached through last season, going 48-97 with the Grizzlies.

Here, he takes over what appears to be a mess. And we say that including the front office, John Beilein’s relationship with the roster, and the players themselves.

Let’s start with the front office. Koby Altman was the first GM to receive a second contract under owner Dan Gilbert, but since LeBron James departed via free agency after the franchise’s fourth consecutive Eastern Conference title, the Cavs have a 33-103 record.

Yes, the wine and gold are rebuilding, but they haven’t stripped the roster bare either. Kevin Love, Tristan Thompson, and Larry Nance Jr. all received a lot of minutes on that 2017-18 team, and they are still here.

So is Cedi Osman, who was considered a youngster with talent on that squad.

However, has Altman put his thumbprint on this organization? It seems here like he is collecting talent, which on the surface would appear to be a good thing, but basketball is a different sport. Collecting talent isn’t everything, collecting complementary talent makes for a winning team.

Getting Andre Drummond for pretty much nothing is a good move. But it seems to clash with the team’s leading scorer, Collin Sexton.

Shouldn’t the current roster be playing inside out, with Drummond and Kevin Love getting the ball around the paint and the guards playing off them when they are double teamed? That doesn’t seem like Sexton’s strong point.

We would guess Bickerstaff has a better relationship with the players than Beilein, because they didn’t seem to like the former college coach, and the assistant would typically be the guy the players complain to about the head guy.

But now Bickerstaff is the boss, and he is setting up the rotations and controlling the playing time. Because of his previous experience, maybe he will grab the players’ attention, and get them to buy in to the way he wants the game played.

The players aren’t immune from criticism either. It’s one thing to complain about a coach trying to teach when you are winning, but when you are losing 3/4ths of the time you take the floor, perhaps you should listen.

We have said this before, but two former players who do Cavs’ telecasts, Austin Carr and Brad Daugherty, use this word all the time…accountability. It is lack among this roster and we fear nothing will improve with the Cavaliers until there is some.

And that goes for the young guys and the veterans. Perhaps this was lost when the coaching staff didn’t hold the newbies to an NBA standard from day one. We don’t know that, but it has to be enforced by both the coaches and the veterans starting now.

The defenders say Cleveland is only a year and a half into the post-LeBron era, so the struggles are understandable.

Our problem is we don’t see a lot of progress in performance particularly in the basics of the game. You can play the right way and lose or play the wrong way and lose. We prefer the former.

The next era starts Friday. Hopefully, the internal strife is behind this organization and they can start to pull in the same direction.

Cavs Need To Adjust Their Style After The Break

The Cleveland Cavaliers enter the NBA All-Star weekend with the worst record in the Eastern Conference and second worst in the entire league.

They did make a splash at the trading deadline, acquiring two time All Star Andre Drummond from Detroit for pretty much a bag of balls and some warmups.

That’s not to disparage John Henson and Brandon Knight, but they were free agents to be at the end of the season, and weren’t coming back to play for the wine and gold.

With their roster set, what does the balance of the NBA schedule hold for the Cavs? What should they be trying to accomplish in the 30 or so games remaining on the slate?

GM Koby Altman was quoted as saying this season, yes, this one, has been a success because of the development of Collin Sexton, Darius Garland, and Kevin Porter Jr.

While we understand where he is coming from, no season in which a team wins just 26% of their games is a good one, particularly when they won only 23% last season, and supposedly added two first round picks.

These last 28 games should be about showing some progress on the court. No, we don’t think the Cavs should or will make the playoffs, but it would be nice if there were no more 41 point losses at home either.

And really, let’s say John Beilein’s group stunned the world and went 20-8 in the remaining schedule. Would people really be upset by that? That would be significant progress, no?

With the addition of Drummond, Cleveland is going against the grain in today’s NBA, going with more size. That’s not a bad thing, just different. But if you are going to go with it, you also have to change your style of play.

When Phoenix started the “small ball” movement, they didn’t line up and play the same style of all the taller teams in the NBA at that time, they started playing with pace and shooting more threes than the rest of the league.

The league average in 2004-05, Mike D’Antoni’s first year with the Suns, was 15.8 three point attempts per game. Phoenix took a league high 24.7.

If Beilein is going to feature Drummond, Kevin Love, Larry Nance Jr., and Tristan Thompson, the strategy should be play fast off of defensive rebounds, take advantage of fast break opportunities.

If that isn’t there, and the team is in a half court situation, the object should be to work inside out. Get the ball to Drummond or Love around the paint and surround them with shooters.

Thus, a greater emphasis should be put on defense, since the best way to fast break is to get stops, grab the rebound, and run.

That may also entail using a different rotation in the backcourt, maybe moving Garland to the bench and getting a little more size at guard by using Sexton and Porter, and occasionally Cedi Osman there.

We have said all season we would like to see Osman, Nance, and Love on the floor at the same time with Thompson at center, just to see if the Cavs can play that way.

This would be a good chance to experiment with that group together.

If you are going to play with size, then you have to use a style that doesn’t allow your bigs to be run off the floor, particularly with the way the game is played.

It’s going to take a new commitment from the coaching staff and the players. Will we see some progress in terms of team goals between now and the middle of April?

Getting Drummond For Virtually Nothing? Why Not?

We have commented for several years that the Cleveland Cavaliers’ organization ignored height in a sport where it matters a lot.

They addressed that yesterday in a huge way, trading impending free agents John Henson and Brandon Knight, and a second round draft pick to the Pistons for one of the best big men in the game, Andre Drummond.

Yes, we understand Drummond can be a free agent at the end of the season by declining his player option, but the Cavs have his “Bird rights”, meaning they can offer him more than any other team.

And even if he leaves via free agency, GM Koby Altman basically gave up the second round pick, because Henson and Knight were leaving anyway.

That’s what you call a win/win. He’s just 26 years old.

Quite frankly, Drummond is one of the game’s best big men. He leads the league in rebounding at 15.8, and has led the NBA in this category in three of the last four seasons. He’s also scoring 17.8 points per game.

Is he a guy who can be the best player on a playoff team? That’s doubtful, but he is a productive big guy and is a deterrent around the basket, averaging 1.7 blocked shots per game.

Does he make the wine and gold significantly better right now? Again, probably not, so any fear of a lengthy winning streak starting soon and putting the Cavs with lower odds of getting a top five pick in this June’s draft are probably unfounded.

However, no one should complain about adding a good player for virtually nothing, and Drummond is a very good player.

He isn’t like the flashy players today’s NBA seem to love, but you still need quality big men to win, even today.

How does he fit in with the current Cavs’ roster? That would be up to the coaching staff and the young backcourt players.

Beilein has talked about ball movement offensively, but we really haven’t seen it. And the young players (Darius Garland, Collin Sexton, and Kevin Porter Jr.) have had issues making entry passes to the low post, which is where you want Drummond to have the basketball.

If they don’t learn quickly how to do that, then the new big man won’t be much of a factor offensively.

On the other hand, Kevin Love and Larry Nance Jr. are very good passers, so perhaps some imagination getting the ball into the high post to either of them, and then playing off Drummond can work.

With Tristan Thompson remaining on the roster, you may be able to give Nance some minutes at the small forward spot, which we have also advocated.

That also makes you stronger defensively, and it goes without saying that is a huge need for this squad.

The point is this is a low risk move for the Cavs. They basically gave up a second round pick for a quality big man.

When in doubt, we are always in favor of adding good players to the team. That’s what Altman did yesterday.

Can’t complain about that.

Will Cavs Roster Be Reshaped This Week?

With the NBA trading deadline coming up on Thursday, this figures to be a pivotal week for the future of the Cleveland Cavaliers.

After a 4-5 start that had many people optimistic about the young roster, the last month to six weeks have been tough to watch. The Cavs have lost 11 home games in a row, and in the past few weeks, have been blown out at Rocket Mortgage Fieldhouse by three of the league’s worst teams: The Knicks, Wizards, and Warriors.

Clearly, there is a problem. While no one expected the wine and gold to make a playoff run this season, winning only nine games out of the last 42 (a half season) wasn’t what the organization was hoping for either.

Things looked a little promising after the “slug/thug” comment right before the Disney On Ice trip with road wins at Detroit and Denver, but since then, they’ve lost 11 of 12, with only four of the losses by less than 10 points.

We know the Cavs have five free agents to be at the end of this season: Tristan Thompson, John Henson, Matthew Dellavedova, Brandon Knight, and Ante Zizic, plus Kevin Love would like to be moved elsewhere.

Will GM Koby Altman be able to move any of these players before Thursday’s deadline? Or will be move one, if not more, of this group with another piece in an effort to revamp the entire roster.

Let’s face it, playing two small guards (Collin Sexton and Darius Garland) isn’t working, particularly on the defensive end, although really, that should have been expected.

Cleveland’s roster compounds this situation by having just one shot blocking threat, Henson, around the basket. It is very noticeable that the defense is better when Henson is in the game, he has the best defensive rating on the team.

Really, this franchise has ignored height for much of the last five seasons. The last move to get a true center (and yes, he know the game is different now) was when David Griffin brought in Timofey Mozgov in 2015.

Even the Steph Curry/Klay Thompson Warriors had big guys like Andrew Bogut, JeVale McGee, and Festus Ezeli to protect the basket. The Cavaliers need to get an inside presence, and we feel doing so would see an instant improvement.

And this isn’t to denigrate Tristan Thompson who works as hard as any player on the floor, but in reality, he’s a defensive minded power forward. At 6’9″, it’s tough for him to handle guys like Andre Drummond and Joel Embiid. He gives up a lot of size and bulk to those players.

So, we would not be surprised if Sexton isn’t included in a deal before the week ends. It wouldn’t be about the second year guard’s effort, he puts a lot of time in working on his game, but it would have to do with the mix with Garland, and can the franchise move forward with the pair getting big minutes.

We look at teams like Oklahoma City, who traded stars Russell Westbrook and Paul George after a 49-33 season, and now they sit at 30-20.

We look at teams like Toronto (who lost Kawhi Leonard) and Utah, who have a system for success at this point. The Cavs need to develop an identity as a franchise that doesn’t include LeBron James.

Bill Fitch did this when he took over the expansion Cavs in 1970. Lenny Wilkens did it in the 80’s, and Mike Fratello the same after the Mark Price/Brad Daugherty era ended. Right now, there is nothing for the organization to hang their hats on.

The rebuild may have started after James left for free agency in 2018, but the first retooling could take place this week. It seems to be badly needed.

Cavs Need To Decide What They Want To Be.

Since the Cleveland Cavaliers lost Game 4 of the NBA Finals on June 8, 2018, LeBron James’ last game with the wine and gold, the Cavs have played 126 games.

Cleveland has won just 31 of those.

And there are only five players who were on the roster then who remain: Kevin Love, Tristan Thompson, Larry Nance Jr., Cedi Osman, and Ante Zizic, and the latter two only played in mop up roles.

By the time the All Star game is played, it would not be surprising to see Love and Thompson both moved for younger players and/or draft picks.

Last summer, GM Koby Altman hired John Beilein, the former University of Michigan coach who had no professional experience as the head coach, presumably to teach the very young Cavs how to play the game.

Still, with a 12-32 record, currently the third worst mark in the NBA, more than one person has wondered what exactly is the Cavaliers plan to get back to the post-season, because right now, only the most optimistic person can see a light at the end of the tunnel.

Right now, it seems like the only plan is to acquire as many young players as they can and have Beilein and his staff get them to improve. While that’s fine in theory, does Beilein have a vision for his team and how do they get there?

The key phrase around town lately has been “alignment”. It’s what the Browns talk about in terms of having the coach and the general manager on the same page.

Is that the case with the Cavaliers? We think it’s a fair question to ask.

We have to assume Beilein and his staff have discussed what kind of style the young Cavs should play, but all we hear is that the coaches want the players to move the ball.

Is that it?

We don’t think basing a team on just athleticism alone seems like something that can be sustained.

Last season, the Cavs were terrible defensively, some experts said they were among the worst defensive teams of the past 20 years. This season, they are just slightly better, ranking 29th (out of 30) in defensive efficiency.

That’s something that should be addressed and quite frankly, should be the foundation for the franchise going forward. All young players know how to put the ball in the basket, heck, that’s how they get to the NBA.

However, learning defensive skills? That’s another matter and it’s also where we would start. Make it a mindset that playing time is based on defensive ability.

The late, great high school coach, Morgan Wooten used to tell his teams he was sure of two starting players: The best defender and the best rebounder. It puts a premium on those talents.

At the end of this season, we will be two full years removed from the beginning of the rebuilding process. It is fair to ask the organization to set a course for the future, identify the types of players you want, players who can fit together to get this team back on the winning track.

It’s easy to build a team when you can draft LeBron, Giannis, or Luka. If you don’t you need to build a culture. That’s what Miami and Utah have. They seek out players that fit their culture, that is to say, a style of play.

That can always be changed if you get the superstar player.

We fear no progress will be made until some sort of identity is established.

The Sexton Dilemma

We all know this was a season of growth and development for the Cleveland Cavaliers. That’s why GM Koby Altman hired John Beilein as the coach, a guy with a reputation for teaching young players how to do it.

Cleveland had three first round picks in 2019, and used them on Darius Garland, Dylan Windler, and Kevin Porter Jr. That trio, along with 2018 lottery pick Collin Sexton, were supposed to be the foundation for future success.

We don’t disagree with the drafting of Sexton and Garland, two smaller guards, in the last two years because we believe in the taking the past available player especially when you are a rebuilding team, and it seemed (at the time!) they were doing just that.

However, Sexton has fallen far short of expectations, and apparently is driving his teammates crazy in the process.

Right now, according to Basketball References’ VORP (Value Over Replacement Player), Sexton is the worst player who was drafted in 2018, just behind Kevin Knox of the Knicks, who was drafted right after him, and was a guy many people in Cleveland wanted the Cavs to pick.

The best players picked after Sexton, who was chosen 8th overall are New York’s Mitchell Robinson (36th), Mikal Bridges (10th), and Shai Gilgeous-Alexander (11th).

First, we think Sexton has some talent, and he certainly has a good work ethic. By all accounts the Cavs’ management had to lock him out of the practice facility or he would not have left.

However, he may have the problem that plagued Michael Jordan’s early career with the Bulls, he feels the best option on every possession is himself. That differs from the way John Beilein has said he wants his team to play.

Beilein preaches ball movement, and too often Sexton falls in love with his dribble and looks for his own shot.

His three point shot percentage has dropped from 40% last season to 30% this season, although his overall percentage has risen to 45% from 43% in 2018-19.

And while he no longer is the primary point guard, he ranks fifth on the team in assists per game, behind a power forward in Kevin Love, and Matthew Dellavedova, who plays 18 minutes less per game.

He also has the second worst defensive rating on the team ahead of only Garland. That speaks to the Cavs being a bad defensive team and also being the smallest team in the NBA.

The biggest issue is the fit. Where does Collin Sexton fit on the Cavaliers, not this season, but for the future. Is he a foundation piece for the organization?

Playing the way he has this season, we would say no. We would rather have the ball in Garland’s hands, as he seems like a willing passer, eager to set up teammates.

Can Sexton change? Of course, he just turned 21 years old, but when is he going to “get it”? Part of Beilein being here is to teach the young guys how to play the game of basketball, right now, it doesn’t appear like Sexton is getting the message.

The emergence of Kevin Porter Jr. plays into this as well. Porter is really a #2 guard, and plays well together with Garland. Is there enough playing time to go around for all three players? Perhaps Sexton fits best as a sixth man.

Does Sexton have a future in Cleveland? It will be interesting to see if Altman would be willing to move him before the trading deadline. Certainly, everyone in the organization needs to start seeing some progress.

Young players are supposed to get better in their second season. We are still waiting to see some improvement.

On The Frustration Of Kevin Love

The Cleveland Cavaliers seemingly have a disconnect within their own roster, and it centers around Kevin Love.

Love was fined for a temper tantrum on New Year’s Eve in Toronto, showing frustration with the way the team was playing during a timeout.

He was fined a reported $1000 (pennies for the all star) for the outburst, and then argued with GM Koby Altman after practice about the situation. Please note for future reference who Love was upset with…

Against Oklahoma City later that night, Love showed his feelings several times during the game, snapping a pass at Cedi Osman’s feet and turning and shaking his head at other times during the contest.

Clearly, he is having a tough time with the way things are going. He wants to be traded, and for him, it can’t come soon enough.

Why is he yelling at Altman though? Shouldn’t his angst be directed at the coaching staff, after all, they are controlling how the team is playing on the floor, right?

Here’s where we will try to connect the dots (at least in our humble opinion).

We think the coaching staff shares Love’s concern about the way the team is playing, but they are getting direction from the front office level.

Altman drafted both Collin Sexton and Darius Garland, two smaller guards in the first round each of the last two years. He obviously would like them to play and to play well. Unfortunately, this makes the team on the floor very small.

This height disadvantage isn’t just limited to the backcourt, the wine and gold are small throughout the roster, statistically the smallest team in the NBA.

The other reason we think Love directed his comments toward the general manager is the vision John Beilein has said he wants for his team. He consistently talks about ball movement, and how he wants the Cavs to move the ball like, say the Boston Celtics do.

But when Sexton gets into his dribbling shows, nothing is done. It would seem that if a player isn’t doing what the coach wants, there would be repercussions.

Unless, of course, the GM is telling the coach to play both of his first round picks.

This whole thing centers around Sexton, who isn’t shooting from distance like he did in the second half of his rookie season, and his assist numbers, while not good a year ago (3.0) have dropped to 2.3 per night.

And yes, we understand he is playing off the ball more than he did a year ago.

Sexton is taking more shots per game than he did a year ago, and this year Love has been available for most games. The second year man is taking four more shots per contest than Love, who by the way, is second on the team in assists (2.9) behind Garland’s 3.2.

We guess is taking his position change to “shooting” guard literally.

Look, Sexton is still a very young player, just turning 21 a few days ago. However, we are guessing by the reactions of Love and Tristan Thompson, the coaching staff is telling him to move the ball more, and yet, he still gets in ruts where he is pounding the ball into the hardwood.

Maybe, the staff wants to cut into his playing time to send a message, but the front office is saying no. And that’s where Love’s frustration comes in. Perhaps he was saying to Altman to let Beilein coach the second year pro.

We aren’t sure you can win in today’s NBA with two smaller guards, and if we are correct, eventually someone, either Garland or Sexton will have to be moved.

That’s the real decision for Koby Altman.

Clarkson Deal First Of Many?

After winning two straight games, the Cleveland Cavaliers took the first step to rebuilding their roster for the 2020-21 season.

They moved Jordan Clarkson to the Utah Jazz in exchange for oft-injured guard Dante Exum and two future second round draft picks.

It may not seem like a big return for the wine and gold’s third leading scorer at 14.6 points per game, but perhaps it was a deal GM Koby Altman thought needed to be made sooner than later.

A few weeks ago, it was reported that several veterans weren’t happy with coach John Beilein’s “rah-rah college” coaching philosophy.

We immediately figured Clarkson was one of those critical, which was merely speculation on our part, mostly because Tristan Thompson and Larry Nance Jr. came out and quickly squashed the comments, and Kevin Love spoke highly of Beilein during training camp.

So, if Clarkson was indeed not happy here, Altman probably figured the sooner, the better to get him out of here.

Plus, Beilein was playing Clarkson at the end of close games because of his scoring ability, especially when his shot was falling, and this generally took one of his young guards, usually Darius Garland and Kevin Porter Jr. off the floor during crunch time.

Porter, in particular, has been earning more time with his recent play, averaging 11.1 points per game on 51.1% shooting in December, and it would figure that he would get first crack at Clarkson’s minutes.

Plus, Clarkson was going to be a free agent after the season, and why not get something back for the veteran who arrived in Cleveland with Nance at the trade deadline in 2017-18.

He also isn’t a “move the ball” type of player than Beilein prefers.

Exum is a wild card because he’s suffered with injuries pretty much since he entered the league as the fifth overall pick in 2014.

First, he’s 6’5″ (an inch taller than Clarkson, which we have said is a must in any deal), and at his heart is a point guard first.

The only year he was relatively healthy was 2016-17, when at 21 years old, he averaged 6.2 points and 1.7 assists per night in 18.6 minutes.

This season, he’s barely played, getting into 11 games and playing just 83 minutes.

However, in the Cavs’ position, why not see if Exum can be an NBA player? It’s not as though Cleveland is making a playoff run, and if he can play up to the potential of his draft status, the wine and gold have a 24-year-old lottery ticket.

As we said before the real reason for the deal is to clear out a potential problem in the locker room, and to open up playing time for Porter, who by the way, when he plays well, the Cavaliers are a much better team.

This is the first of probably a few more moves for Altman before the trade deadline in February.

Besides Love, who has asked to be moved, Cleveland still has free agents (read: Expiring contracts) to be in Tristan Thompson, Brandon Knight, John Henson, Matthew Dellavedova, and Ante Zizic.

The Cavs might be interested in bringing back Thompson and even Dellavedova next year, and Zizic can’t get on the floor right now, but all of these guys could be available for future draft picks plus a bad contract.

Although the return wasn’t great, this was a move Altman felt he needed to make, and right now was the best time.

Cavs Draft A Trio Of First Rounders

The Cleveland Cavaliers went with the best player available theory in last night’s NBA Draft taking Darius Garland, a 6’2″ guard from Vanderbilt.

Many experts had Garland going higher in mock drafts, mostly at #4 to the Los Angeles Lakers, before they dealt the choice to New Orleans in the Anthony Davis proposed transaction.

As it stands, the Cavs will use a very small backcourt when they pair Garland with last year’s first pick, Collin Sexton.

Garland also played just five games for Vandy before injuring his knee, but he probably has more point guard instincts than Sexton, and probably is a better shooter than he was when he came into the league last season.

The problem could be on the defensive end, playing two guards who are both short. And we know the wine and gold have had issues on that end of the floor since winning the championship in 2016.

It’s not a bad pick, because the Cavs went with talent, it’s just difficult to see a fit, particularly when they could’ve chosen Jarrett Culver, a 6’6″ defensive minded guard, or a 6’5″ combo guard in Coby White.

New coach John Beilein is said to be intrigued with playing the duo or Sexton and Garland together, but as we have said before most of the players taken last night can score, where they are drafted comes down often to how they fit in the league defensively.

Contrary to what we thought, the Cavaliers stayed at #26 and selected a pure shooter, 6’7″ Dylan Windler from Belmont.

Windler is 23 years old, so what he is now is what he is, but he has a quick release and can certainly fill it up. He’s a good athlete, but isn’t known for his defensive prowess. He’s one of those guys who is constant movement on offense, hustles for loose balls, and plays off the ball well.

He seemed like a good fit for Golden State, where several mock drafts had him headed.

Then, GM Koby Altman took a bold step in moving four second round picks to Detroit to get back in the first round to take Kevin Porter Jr., who about six weeks ago was projected to be in the lottery.

Porter is a guy who probably should have stayed in college for one more year, because he has a lot to work on, but no question he is talented. If he can connect with Beilein though, and is open to coaching, he could wind up being a very good player.

It’s a great risk because of his upside, and the Cavs didn’t really give up a heck of a lot.

There were two things the Cavaliers didn’t do last night, though.

First, they didn’t cash in the JR Smith chip. Smith has to be moved by the end of the month for other teams to take advantage of his unique contract, so expect another trade by then.

Second, they still ignored height. They drafted a point guard and two wings, and we still feel they have a shortage of big men on the roster. True, they will get John Henson back, but that will give them only three players over 6’10”: Ante Zizic, Kevin Love, and Henson.

The latter two missed considerable time last season.

Let’s hope that is also on Altman’s agenda.

You never know with rookies, but the Cavs picked three players who have skills that are desired in today’s NBA.

Now we will have to see how it plays out when training camp starts in September. At the very least, the Summer League should be exciting.

Cavs’ Approach Is Refreshing

The NBA is unique in the professional sports landscape.

Because there are only five players on the floor at any one time, the great player makes a huge difference. We just witnessed the impact Kawhi Leonard, one might be the best player in the league right now, had on the Toronto Raptors, leading them to their first championship.

The association also gives the most power to the players. Since LeBron James and Chris Bosh joined Dwyane Wade in Miami, the star players have tried to form “super teams” to help them compete for championships, and team executives have tried to put their franchises into positions to attracts the stars.

So, if you didn’t draft a superstar, and you a not a destination for superstars, what do you do?

Obviously, in Cleveland, the Cavaliers benefited from James being from Akron and wanting to bring a championship to the area. It helped that Kyrie Irving was already here for James’ return, and they had assets to deal for another star, Kevin Love, who remains with the team.

But James left after the 2018 season, so GM Koby Altman has to try to rebuild the organization. He is doing things a little differently, and quite frankly, we have no problem with it.

Altman has put his eggs into the player development basket. If you aren’t in a position to draft superstars, then developing them yourself seems to be a good plan.

That why he hired a long time successful college coach in John Beilein, and this past week, hired University of California women’s head coach, Lindsay Gottlieb, as an assistant.

Beilein’s reputation is putting together very successful college teams without the five star recruits that Duke, Kentucky, and North Carolina usually get. He took good high school players and turned them into very good college players, some even became first round picks in the NBA Draft.

No doubt, it’s a gamble hiring a 66-year-old who has never coached in the NBA, and hiring a coach who led a Division I women’s program as an assistant. But why not?

If you are a team playing someone better than you, and you just rely on talent, you most likely aren’t going to win, right?

So, you try something different. Like Cleveland State did when Kevin Mackey became head coach, you full court press for the entire game, using waves of players.

That might be your best chance.

Or maybe Altman is copying the Raptors blue print. Not a lot of high draft choices there, but they developed players like Pascal Siakam (27th overall pick from New Mexico State), Fred VanVleet (undrafted), and Norman Powell (second round pick) into contributing players on a title team.

We have praised the Cavs for not taking on “knuckleheads”, players who can and will be disruptive when things aren’t going well. In addition, it appears they also have guys who aren’t afraid of working to get better.

And that means what Beilein, Gottlieb, and the rest of the organization will be teaching should fall on willing years, and it may just work.

The Cavs’ plan seems to be worth the risk because it isn’t the same old thought process NBA teams use. Why not get good teachers to teach the game?