Cleveland Browns, Indians Step Aside, It’s Time For The Cavaliers

Sep 28, 2015; Cleveland, OH, USA; Cleveland Cavaliers forward LeBron James (23), Cleveland Cavaliers forward Kevin Love (0) and Cleveland Cavaliers guard Kyrie Irving (2) during Cleveland Cavaliers media day at Cleveland Clinic Courts. Mandatory Credit: Ken Blaze-USA TODAY Sports

Down The Factory Lines With The Cleveland Cavaliers…

The Pre-Season is Fun. Lets face it, in Browns’ preseason games, everything matters. We critique everything from how the quarterback plays, how the defense looks, and who got cut vs who should have made the team. It’s serious business.

For the Cavaliers? It’s the complete opposite. We have LeBron James taking selfies with fans during the game, turnovers and defensive lapses are abundant, yet we don’t care. The preseason is fun because we’ve got James. When you have the best player in the game, the preseason isn’t so trivial. The record doesn’t matter, the high scorer doesn’t matter, nor does the effort. The only expectation? Stay healthy.

This team is built for April-July, and what happens then is what matters. Enjoy Jared Cunningham scoring 27, or Mo Williams splashing 3’s for the Wine & Gold again. Have fun Cavs fans, remember that preseasons weren’t always this fun. It feels good, Cleveland is a Cavs Town now.

Jun 9, 2015; Cleveland, OH, USA; Cleveland Cavaliers guard Iman Shumpert (4) before game three of the NBA Finals against the Golden State Warriors at Quicken Loans Arena. Mandatory Credit: Bob Donnan-USA TODAY Sports

Another Injury Doesn’t deter Championship Aspirations

The news of Iman Shumpert‘s wrist injury is another injury in a long list for the young shooting guard. After suffering two shoulder injuries last season, Shumpert along with Cavs fans hoped he would enter 2015-2016 with better luck. However it took all of one day after training camp opened for Shumpert to realize something wasn’t right with his wrist. After having an MRI done, it was revealed he needed surgery and faced 12-14 weeks of recovery time.

He joins Kyrie Irving and perhaps Kevin Love, as key starters on this team who will miss valuable time early on in the season. For most squads, three injured starters would probably mean the end of a season. For the Cleveland Cavaliers, it’s just another temporary detour. Crazy to think about isn’t it? It’s great to be Cavaliers fan right now!

Tristan Thompson Has His Best Shot

As each day goes by, Tristan Thompson’s contract leverage with the Cleveland Cavaliers begins to weaken. He along with agent Rich Paul let the deadline of Oct. 1 pass without a deal, and his camp opted not to sign the $6.9 million qualifying offer.

This means Thompson remains a restricted free agent if he holds out all season, and would find himself in the same situation next summer. Teams can still offer Tristan a contract, but right now few teams have the salary cap space to offer deals that compare or exceed the Cavaliers rumored offer of five years, $80 million.

Related Article: Analytics: Thompson Not Worth Max Deal

So I’m asking myself what’s Tristan’s endgame? Is he hoping that David Griffin will come around and offer him a better contract? Or someone else? I think Tristan Thompson needs to wake up and smell the money. The Cavaliers are waving $80 million or $16 million per year at a player who doesn’t even average 10 points or 10 rebounds. The reason no one else has signed him to an offer sheet to push the Cavaliers to make a decision? Teams don’t see Tristan’s value in the same dollar signs that Tristan and his camp see themselves in. He’s still raw.

His best move? Sign the 5-year $80 million dollar deal, help the Cavaliers win a title, keep improving, and make your max deal move in 2020.

Next: Browns: Losing Gets Never Gets Old