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?

No Luck, Neither Good Nor Bad, Involved In Lottery For Cavs

The NBA’s Draft Lottery was Tuesday night, and this year, for the Cleveland Cavaliers, there wasn’t any luck involved, neither good or bad.

The biggest percentage chance for Cleveland to end up was fifth, and that’s exactly where they wound up.

So, save the gripes about how the Cavs got screwed. In fact, we laughed all spring at media folks who said the wine and gold had to get the first pick, when the percentages said it was a 14% chance.

Now, by consensus, the first three picks in the draft will be Zion Williamson, who was the prize of the lottery, and will no doubt be the choice of the New Orleans Pelicans. And most agree the next two picks will be Ja Morant of Murray State, and another Dukie, R.J. Barrett.

That would seem to leave GM Koby Altman with a choice of Texas Tech guard Jarrett Culver, Duke shooter Cam Reddish, Vanderbilt point guard Darius Garland, and Virginia swingman De’Andre Hunter at the 5th spot.

And don’t forget, the Cavs have a second first round pick, the 26th selection, obtained from Houston in the deal where Cleveland took Brandon Knight’s high salary off the Rockets’ hands.

The biggest need for Altman and new coach, John Beilein is talent. Right now, the Cavs have one All Star caliber player in Kevin Love, and some other “nice pieces” in Collin Sexton, Larry Nance Jr., Cedi Osman, and Ante Zizic.

Sexton could develop into an all star type, and perhaps Osman can too, but if those two wind up being solid starters, that would be fine. There will always be a place on a team for someone with Nance’s skill set, and Zizic is still raw, but has ability.

Former Cavs’ GM Chris Grant used to say there are a few very good players in every draft, and his job was to find one of those players each year.

For what it’s worth, based on what we’ve seen and read about each of the prospects listed above, we would lean toward Culver, who is a student of the game, played in a great defensive scheme at Texas Tech, and whose weaknesses could be overcome with work, and he seems willing to do that.

The 26th overall pick could be important too, because don’t forget Altman could package that choice with a player, probably an expiring contract to move up from that spot.

Remember, the JR Smith contract is a very large asset as a trade chip. Maybe he brings back a higher pick and maybe even a third first rounder this season.

More likely though, Altman would be looking for another first round pick in the 2020 draft, to give him two next year.

Regardless, the Cavaliers have a very good chance to get a good piece this summer. And Altman will be moving at least one or two higher priced veterans (Tristan Thompson?) to accumulate more assets.

Remember, the best players on three of the remaining teams in the NBA playoffs were drafted 15th (Kawhi Leonard and Giannis Antetokounmpo), 6th (Damian Lillard) and Stephen Curry was picked 7th overall.

We will read a lot about the players who will be taken with the 5th pick between now and the draft at the end of June.

There is talent available in the draft, it’s up to Altman to find someone who can help.

Drew Deserves Credit For A Job Well Done

More than likely, the Cleveland Cavaliers will be looking for a new head coach after the season ending loss to the Charlotte Hornets.

Our guess is Koby Altman will want a head coach who will work side by side with him for several years, meaning someone younger and with a strong player development background.

That’s not to say Larry Drew didn’t do a good job though. With Kevin Love missing more than 50 games, let alone taking over the squad after six games into the season, Drew held the team together and had them playing hard all year long.

We have said through much of the season the front office deserves credit for this as well. There were no knuckleheads on this roster. All of the losing can lead to players wanting to better their statistics, but the Cavs pulled together and played as a team.

That’s the legacy of the players remaining from the LeBron James era, guys like Love, Tristan Thompson, and Channing Frye, who is a first class person, and we wish him well for the future.

Besides creating a good atmosphere on the floor and in the locker room, Drew developed the team’s young players. particularly rookie first round pick Collin Sexton.

Look at these numbers–

Sexton (Pre All Star Game): 15.1 PPG, 2.9 assists, 40.8% from the floor, 39.2% from three
Sexton (After the ASG): 20.8 PPG, 3.2 assists, 47.7% from the floor, 41.3% from three.

Sexton will regarded by people not in the know as a bust before the All Star contest, but showed you can’t judge most 19-20 year olds by how they start their career.

Cedi Osman: (Pre ASG): 12.6 PPG, 4.6 boards, 2.3 assists, 32.7% from three
(Post ASG): 14.0 PPG, 4.8 boards, 3.2 assists, 38.8% from three

Larry Nance Jr: (Pre ASG): 9.1 PPG, 8.3 rebounds, 3.0 assists, 51% from the floor
(Post ASG): 10.1 PPG, 8. 2 rebounds, 3.6 assists, 54.2% from the floor.

Ante Zizic: (Pre ASG): 6.7 PPG, 5.0 rebounds, 51.9% from the floor.
(Post ASG): 10.2 PPG, 6.3 rebounds, 61.2% from the floor.

Granted, some of this extra production came as a result of more playing time because of injuries to Thompson and Love, but all four of these young players (Nance is the oldest, turning 26 on New Year’s Day) progressed as the season went on.

And we would think this quartet, along with Love and David Nwaba, who is interested in staying long term, and the Cavs should make this happen, make up a good starting point for the future.

Yes, we understand Love is 30, but he seems to embrace the leadership role here and as we all saw when he returned, he can make a big impact on this basketball team.

Ending the season with a ten game losing streak guaranteed the Cavs have a better than 50% chance of picking in the top four of the draft, where they should get another very good player to add to this group.

While it would be great to get Zion Williamson, there are some others available who will turn out being solid NBA players.

Credit goes to Drew for turning what could of been a disaster into a learning environment for the young players. We know, a 19-63 record isn’t anything to be thrilled about, but seeing guys getting better within the season is something to grab onto.

This should be a big summer for the Cleveland Cavaliers. It is likely a player or two who has been here a while will be moved before training camp starts.

Regardless of whether he stays or goes, Larry Drew should get credit for a job well done.

Tank Or Not To Tank For Cleveland Teams?

After it was announced that Manny Machado signed a $300 million contract with the San Diego Padres, the conversation around town quickly turned to Francisco Lindor, and the possibility of the Cleveland Indians keeping him after he can become a free agent following the 2021 season.

Being Cleveland, we heard many fans saying if the Indians weren’t going to try to sign the star shortstop, then they should trade him now and start rebuilding for the future.

Which brings us to the question of the day: Tank or not to Tank?

With the Indians having the starting rotation they have along with two of the best position players (Lindor and Jose Ramirez) in baseball, a total rebuild is the last thing on the minds of the front office.

Especially with Lindor still here for three more seasons.

Now, if prior to the ’21 campaign, Lindor’s agents make it clear he will not re-sign with the Tribe and the team gets off to a poor start, dropping out of contention, you might see a deal for the guy who is arguably the best position player in team history.

However, no team is going to give up a chance to win a championship, and if the Indians win the AL Central they will have that shot, to start rebuilding.

Let’s look at two instances of rebuilding jobs in our own town–

The Cavaliers didn’t intend to tank this season, but when you lose LeBron James, drop your first six contests, and then lose your best remaining player for basically the entire first half of the season, you change your way of thinking.

Once you hit the end of November with one of the NBA’s worst records and Love is still going to be out until February, GM Koby Altman had to try and get one of the first picks in the June draft, and hopefully you get Zion Williamson with the first choice.

The Browns were stuck in mediocrity for most of the last 15 seasons, when then GM Sashi Brown decided to gut the roster, purging it of veterans and trying to go with young players who can hit their prime together.

We don’t believe he envisioned 1-31 over two seasons, but Hue Jackson’s guidance took care of that, and earned the Browns a franchise quarterback, and a franchise pass rusher.

In both cases, the circumstances (poor start and Love’s injury for the Cavs, an extended period of crap football for the Browns) dictated the tank.

Tanking isn’t guaranteed to work. While people point to the Cubs and Astros in baseball, both of those teams drafted very well, with Chicago getting Kris Bryant and Kyle Schwarber, and the Astros drafted George Springer, Carlos Correa, and Alex Bregman in the first round in a three year span.

Let’s say the Cavs wind up with the worst record and the fourth overall pick, do they subject their fan base to another year like this? It’s also tough for the front office/ownership to sit through.

And for the Browns, they tried a whole bunch of things. They tried helping young players by supplementing them with veterans. They tried getting veteran quarterbacks, getting players with local ties.

None of it worked.

Why not try what the Dallas Cowboys did when Jerry Jones bought the team and hired Jimmy Johnson. Gut the roster, accumulate draft picks, and see if that works.

We started to see the fruits of this plan, aided by hiring a good talent evaluator in John Dorsey, this past year.

If you decide to tank, here is the difficult question no one wants to ask–What happens when you don’t get the first overall pick?

You have to have a back up plan. If you don’t, you lose your job. That’s why more teams don’t do it.

Cavs Get More Picks, And Gamble On A Young Big Man.

The Cleveland Cavaliers had a busy week before the NBA trading deadline, but some wish they’d have done more.

Yes, they moved their two most tradable commodities in Rodney Hood and Alec Burks, and they did gamble on some young players, but they didn’t make the big splash many hoped for.

Don’t get us wrong, we are happy with what GM Koby Altman did. He accumulated more assets. Cleveland added another first round pick in this year’s draft (from Houston) and more second rounders, which can be used to sweeten the pot in some other deals.

We have heard folks be critical of the Hood deal, but the player had approval over where he could have gone, and quite frankly, the way Hood played in the wine and gold didn’t have other GMs beating down the Cavs’ doors.

Hood is 6’8″, athletic, with a decent shooting touch. He visually looks like he should be a very good NBA player. However, he disappears when he’s on the floor a lot. He had an opportunity in Cleveland to be a primary scorer, but never embraced the role.

Perhaps he’d be a better player if he had the attitude of Jordan Clarkson, who comes in and wants to be a scorer. But that kind of aggressiveness can’t be taught.

Burks was destined to be moved as soon as he arrived, because of his expiring contract. And really, he was part of the Hood deal, because the two players received for Hood (Nik Stauskas and Wade Baldwin) were sent to Houston in the deal that moved Burks to Sacramento.

In addition to the first round pick acquired in the deal, Altman did want we wanted him to do in picking up a young player who had been a disappointment to his current team in the deal.

He did that in getting Marquese Chriss, a 21 year old, who is 6’10”, something needed for the height challenged Cavaliers.

Chriss was the 8th overall pick in 2016 by Phoenix, and played every game as a rookie, starting 75 of them. He averaged 9.2 points and 4.2 rebounds on 45% shooting.

Last year, he lost time due to the drafting of Josh Jackson, and started the year coming off the bench. When he did start (he started 49 games), he averaged 8.6 points and 5.9 rebounds per game on 44% shooting. He was traded to Houston, with Brandon Knight (familiar?) for Ryan Anderson and De’Anthony Melton.

Is Chriss a future star? Who knows, but again, he’s only 21 years old. He should be a senior in college.

The Cavaliers have 28 games to evaluate him. And he did have 13 points and 8 rebounds in his debut.

Knight, who came to Cleveland in the deal, isn’t a bad get either, and he’s an expiring contract next season, which is a valuable trade piece at the very least.

He was the 8th overall pick the year the Cavs took Kyrie Irving and Tristan Thompson, and averaged 18 points and five assists in his third year in the league with Milwaukee, who was being coached by Larry Drew.

He was traded three times in his first four years in the league, and we believe mostly because he’s more of a Mike Conley-style point guard than an Irving-style player.

He’s battled injuries throughout his career, but he’s only 27 years old. Perhaps if he gets healthy, he can carve out a niche in the NBA.

The rest of this season should be about auditions for Chriss, Ante Zizic, Knight, and others to see if they have a place in the Cavs’ future.

However, it is easier to accumulate assets than it is to cash them in. That’s the challenge for Altman going forward.

Cavs Making The Right Moves For A Bad Season.

The winds of change continue to blow through Cleveland Clinic Courts and Quicken Loans Arena, as the Cleveland Cavaliers made their second deal in two weeks, moving another veteran piece to a playoff contender.

Two weeks ago, it was Kyle Korver going to Utah for Alec Burks, who based on his week and a half with the wine and gold can play.

Friday night, it was George Hill who was moved to Milwaukee, in exchange for veteran big man John Henson, fan favorite Matthew Dellavedova, and most importantly, a first round pick, which based on the Bucks have Giannis Antetokounmpo, should be conveyed in 2021.

Hill missed a lot of time this season with a shoulder injury, and when he returned, he really didn’t seem very engaged. In his last game with the Cavs, he played 25 minutes, didn’t score and had three assists.

He may have helped rookie Collin Sexton in practice, but in games, it was clear that he wanted out, much like it was evident he wanted out in Sacramento a year ago before the Cavs traded for him.

Henson, 6’11”, will turn 28 before the end of the calendar year, and is currently out with after wrist surgery, with reports that he can return after the All Star Game. He averages 7.8 points and 5.4 rebounds for his career, and is a solid defender.

He adds some needed size to the roster, a roster that has ignored size over the past few years. He can be a free agent after the ’19-’20 season, making him an expiring contract next year.

Dellavedova will, of course, bring grit and energy, and a good locker room presence. His game and shooting have declined since he left the Cavs after the championship season. Whether he can regain it will be something to watch.

Burks has been a great addition, averaging 14.3 points, 5.8 rebounds, and 3.2 assists in his half dozen games with Cleveland. Don’t fall in love with him though, he has an expiring contract, and will likely be moved for more assets before the trading deadline.

That said, he may be playing his best basketball since the ’15-’16 campaign.

Cleveland also moved Sam Dekker in the deal. Dekker has decent analytical numbers, but in watching him play, we just couldn’t see him as a piece down the road.

GM Koby Altman is in what former GM Chris Grant called “asset acquisition mode”, dealing off veterans for younger players, some on expiring contracts, and draft picks.

It’s a no brainer, really, when your team in 6-20 and lost the best player in the game in the off-season, and you started the year 0-6, that’s what you should be doing.

There is no doubt, the next guy they are trying to move is JR Smith, which may be Altman’s biggest challenge. Korver can still shoot, and Hill was a starter in the second half of the season last year.

Smith’s game has been declining for the past two years, and currently, the team is paying him to stay home.

His contract is an asset though, but it has to be hard for Altman to find a taker for Smith. If he can get something useful in return, then you have to tip your hat to the GM.

Before going all crazy about the front office though, remember, it is easier to deconstruct a roster and collect assets than it is the build a contending team.

A lot of people can collect draft picks, it takes a keen eye to bring in talent. With every passing game, Sexton looks like he can play, be a contributing player for a contender.

That’s a feather in Altman’s cap. If the Cavs have a top three pick in next year’s draft, Altman must convert that into a franchise cornerstone.

Cavs Real Problem? Lack Of Communication Internally.

It was a week ago that the Cleveland Cavaliers decided to fire head coach Tyronn Lue, and the reaction nationally wasn’t favorable, particularly in regards to owner Dan Gilbert.

Gilbert is viewed by the media as the NBA’s version of Dallas Cowboys’ owner Jerry Jones, a man who makes moves like he knows the sport, but if really just a bit more than a fan. And a fan who acts impetuously, someone who is looking for a change after a couple of losses.

The movement away from Lue wasn’t a problem for us, but the lack of a plan from the top of the organization down to GM Koby Altman is.

Firing a coach six games into a season shows a lack of communication throughout the organization.

It is pretty apparent that the Cavs wanted to get younger after LeBron James announced he was signing with the Lakers.

Didn’t Lue and Altman (and we guess, Gilbert) sit down at that point and talk about the direction for the future? Maybe they did, and then Lue decided that winning games immediately was the way to go, so that’s when the wheels were put into motion to make a change on the bench.

If Lue wasn’t going to make a commitment to playing guys like David Nwaba, Ante Zizic, and Sam Dekker, then couldn’t a joint decision have been made at that time for Lue to walk away?

Put out a statement thanking the coach for guiding a championship team, taking the franchise to two other Finals, and saying there is a change in direction for the squad.

That’s how it should have been handled.

Then, you have the whole Larry Drew as the new head coach, or interim head coach, or “new voice”, or whatever the heck he is right now.

When Altman and Gilbert decided Lue was out, didn’t they reach out to Drew to see if he wanted the full time gig, and negotiate a contract at that time?

It seems like there was no communication at all. It seems like they fired Lue, and called Drew and said, by the way, you are the new head coach.

And Drew said not so fast.

Look, we get why Drew wants security. He is 60 years old and was basically screwed out of his last two jobs because a new management team came in.

And we get why the Cavaliers wouldn’t want to be tied in with Drew through the 2019-20 season. They want the opportunity to go out and find their version of Brad Stevens in the off-season.

To fans and media alike, the whole thing looks like it was not very well thought out. A well run organization would have thought these things out ahead of time and saved themselves the embarrassment.

A new coach could’ve came in during the summer, put together their plan, especially from a defensive standpoint, and started the season developing rookie Collin Sexton, and getting the most out of the younger players on the roster.

Instead, we have one of the worst teams in the NBA playing a style to which it is poorly suited.

All because it doesn’t look like the front office (including the owner) and the head coach didn’t communicate very well over the summer.

Cavs Focusing On Youth and Athleticism

The rebuild of the Cleveland Cavaliers continued in the past week with the acquisition of two more young players. And they also continue to add wing players, which should make for great competition during training camp.

Last week, they signed David Nwaba, who played for the Chicago Bulls a year ago, as a free agent.

Nwaba is 6’4″ and will start the season at 25 years old. He averaged 7.9 points per game playing 23.5 minutes a night, including 21 starts. He also gathered almost five rebounds per game, and was one of the Bulls’ better defenders.

On Sunday, GM Koby Altman traded a trade exemption to the Los Angeles Clippers for former first round draft pick Sam Dekker, who is 6’9″ and just 24 years old.

Dekker, who played the first two years of his career in Houston, saw a loss of playing time with LA, dropping from 18 minutes per game with the Rockets, to just 12 with the Clips.

His three point percentage also dropped from 32% in 2016-17, to just 16% last season.

He is certainly worth a gamble, especially because the Cavs gave up nothing to take a look at him.

These pick ups are just an example of the wine and gold collecting a bunch of young players and hoping at least a few of them will become the core of the next playoff team in Cleveland.

They have surrounded Kevin Love with a bunch of athletic players in their mid-twenties. In addition to Nwaba and Dekker, you also have rookie first round pick Collin Sexton (19), Larry Nance Jr (25), Cedi Osman (23), Ante Zizic (21), Rodney Hood (26 at the start of the season), and Jordan Clarkson (26).

And don’t forget another rookie in Billy Preston (21 shortly after the season starts).

Coach Tyronn Lue has always talked about playing faster, but the Cavaliers ranked 12th in pace this past season and they were 15th the previous season. When your roster is headed by a superstar in his early 30’s, and he is surrounded by veterans, it is tough to play fast.

That will no longer be a factor in this season. Our guess is that this season’s edition of the Cavs will feature pushing the ball at all times, looking for easy baskets.

It will be a season of learning and judgment for the coach and GM, trying to figure out who has a future with the Cavs and who won’t be able to fit in with Lue and Altman’s vision.

Make no mistake, there are more roster moves coming. There are rumors that Altman is shopping two more veterans. Kyle Korver, still a threat from long distance, but now 37 years old, is rumored to be heading to Philadelphia, and JR Smith, who will turned 33 years old next month, has been talked about in a deal with Houston.

We also would not be surprised if Tristan Thompson is elsewhere when the season opens in mid October, but only if another big man comes in return.

Don’t forget, they have Love, Frye, Nance, and Preston who can play the four, and we are sure they want to get Zizic more time at the five.

On the other hand, they may pair Thompson with Love/Frye, and team up Zizic with Nance. Our guess is Preston plays a lot in Canton.

If nothing else, this year’s Cavs will be interesting to watch at the start of the season. The question is, will they win enough early on to stay interesting.

Building Around Love…Kevin, That Is

Most basketball observers figured that after LeBron James departed the Cavaliers for the Lakers, the next logical move for the wine and gold would be trading Kevin Love for young players and/or draft picks.

So, it was a surprise Tuesday that Love was offered and accepted a four year extension with the team, making him the centerpiece of the retooling of the franchise.

Love is surrounded by a group of young players, notably rookie first round pick Collin Sexton, Larry Nance Jr., Rodney Hood, Cedi Osman, and Ante Zizic.

While it is not the direction we would have went in, we wouldn’t rebuild around a 30 year old player, we can understand GM Koby Altman and coach Tyronn Lue wanting to see what the 2018-19 edition of the Cavs would look like with a five time all-star as the cornerstone.

We do feel that Love will put up better numbers as the primary scoring option, getting back to the 20-24 points per game level in addition to his usual outstanding rebounding total.

Remember, no player sacrificed more of their game with James on the roster than Love. That’s not a criticism, it’s a compliment. And Love has a championship ring for being a great teammate.

It made more sense to strip the franchise down when James left following the 2010 season, because of who remained on the roster. The best players remaining then were Anderson Varejao, Mo Williams, and an aging Antawn Jamison.

The only young players who people thought had potential were J.J. Hickson, Danny Green, and Boobie Gibson. And the team cut Green prior to the next season.

We have said it before and nothing has changed our opinion, this team is set up far better to deal with the loss of James than they were in 2010, because of the young talent currently on the roster.

Will all of those players become all stars? Of course not. Could they become serviceable NBA players? We see the potential in most of them that they could be, and they can be more than good players on a bad team.

And why not give them an opportunity to find out while playing with an all star player. Remember, Love was second team All-NBA twice in his career with Minnesota.

As for criticism of those Timberwolves teams not being very good, that’s not entirely fair.

In Love’s first breakout season with Minnesota, the second best player on the team were either Luke Ridnour or Anthony Tolliver. Not a surprise the Wolves were not a very good basketball team.

The following season was the strike shortened season, and Minnesota’s winning percentage would have equated to 32 wins (+15) in an 82 game schedule.

Love missed most of the year the following season, but Ricky Rubio was developing and the Timberwolves won 31 games, and the next year finished just short of .500 at 40-42. That squad had Love, Rubio, Corey Brewer, and bruising big man Nikola Pekovic.

They were showing steady improvement, but Love came to the Cavs after the season.

So, when they had some talent, Love and the Wolves weren’t a terrible basketball team.

As for trading Love and bottoming out? That doesn’t always work either. Look at franchises like Sacramento, Orlando, and the Knicks.

Why not try to see how good you can be and reassess things? As for being “stuck in the middle?”, it’s only a bad thing if you stay in that spot for a few years. Making the playoffs and being ousted in the first round three straight seasons is bad, doing it once isn’t.

We still think the Cavs are trying to move veterans like Kyle Korver, JR Smith, and perhaps Tristan Thompson and George Hill too. They will continue to try and bring in younger, more athletic players.

It’s tough to argue with the cornerstone being a five time all star.