Future Power Rankings: Where do the Cavs land?
Every so often, Chad Ford and John Hollinger release their Future Power Rankings, which examine how well a franchise is positioned for future success.
Before LeBacle, the Cavs were ranked #8, but fell twenty spots to #28. Here’s why:
In his open letter condemning LeBron, owner Dan Gilbert guaranteed the Cavs would win a championship without their former star, but that’s easier said than done. Cleveland traditionally has not been a top free-agent destination. Now, the team has another problem: Gilbert’s heat-of-the-moment diatribe against LeBron was read by players around the league, and a number of player agents have told us their clients don’t want to play there after seeing how Gilbert treated a guy who made him hundreds of millions during the past several years. In any case, as we’ve seen this summer, players just won’t flock to Cleveland without the lure of LeBron.
The roster itself is another weak point. Mo Williams, Ramon Sessions, Anderson Varejao and J.J. Hickson are good pieces but not the kind of young talent that could carry the franchise forward in future seasons. The Cavs lack trade assets as well.
Cleveland did get a bounty of draft picks from Miami in the LeBron sign-and-trade. But given how stacked the Heat are right now, those picks likely will be the worst in the first round — and the Cavs aren’t going to replace LeBron with a series of No. 30 draft picks.
With LeBron, the Cavs had a shot at signing free agents who wanted to play with him for a chance at a title. Without LeBron, the Cavs are just another small-market, cold weather city and will face the same challenges that Milwaukee, Minnesota, Utah, Indiana and Detroit face when they attempt to woo free agents.
In fact, the Cavs will have an even tougher time after Gilbert’s open letter to Cavs fans blasting LeBron. He may have emboldened the fan base, but like the piece says, generally-speaking, free agents won’t want to play for him.
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Interesting analysis, but I don’t agree with the conclusion as a biased Cavs fan
First, the evidence on players not wanting to play for Gilbert is purely anecdotal. Many Cavs players backed him up, and Sessions was thrilled to go to Cleveland. He cares about the system Byron Scott will be running, not the owner. Some players will not want to come, but other players will want to play for a passionate owner who is willing to do what it takes to win.
2 – Gilbert’s willingness to spend millions is a huge asset. In a league where many owners are dumping salary, that’s an advantage.
3 – LeBron did NOT attract free agents. He has done more recruiting in the last several weeks than he did in the past 3 years. The guy had one foot out the door. Players saw he wouldn’t commit to Cleveland long-term, so that hurt the Cavs. Areza made that clear last year.
I do agree with this statement:
“Without LeBron, the Cavs are just another small-market, cold weather city and will face the same challenges that Milwaukee, Minnesota, Utah, Indiana and Detroit face when they attempt to woo free agents.”
The difference is Gilbert – he will spend the money. Also, as you pointed out in a previous post about the Bucks, a team in this situation can stay competitive, and then hope to catch some breaks with their own players or setbacks to the big teams in order to get to the finals.
alot of the cav’s problems is the player’s were not playing toward there strength before. With Byron Scott they will be able to. If they can make a trade for a B level small forward like a gerald wallace, and keep most of there team intact they might attract some mid level talent and be a good blue collar team. I am not saying they could win it all. But maybe become an interesting team.