Next up in the OKC Thunder trade deadline series T.I. looks at the Cleveland Cavaliers who are in full rebuild and feature a fire sale of several overpriced assets.
When considering how quickly a franchise can shift gears the Cleveland Cavaliers offer the best example of how to plummet downward from dominance.
After four consecutive trips to the NBA Finals Cleveland lost their superstar and with his exit are headed back to the lottery.
There are a few pluses the Cavaliers have in hand, but also numerous issues to address. This is the cost of competing yearly and seldom developing youthful assets. In a bit of a knee jerk response last year at this time Cleveland brought in numerous youngsters (Larry Nance, Rodney Hood and Jordan Clarkson) along with veterans George Hill and Kyle Korver who were expected to fulfill specific needs.
Yet, the departure of LeBron James only served to showcase how dysfunctional the makeup of the squad was and pointed to be a heavy salary burden. GM Koby Altman has made some smart moves adding youngster Collin Sexton to the mix, trading George Hill, Kyle Korver, and Rodney Hood to bring in assets and told JR Smith to stay away.
Still, there are multiple flaws to fix and a long rebuild seems destined. Could the Cavs luck out once more by getting the top draft pick to land Zion Williamson who is the first College player to draw comparison’s to LBJ (in terms of size at least although the potential is said to be highly intriguing).
It wouldn’t be unprecedented give the Cavaliers moved from eighth in 2011 and ninth in 2014 to claim the top lottery pick. Let’s ignore who they selected in those drafts though as those selections could fuel an entire article.