Cleveland Cavaliers: Why it is now Cedi Osman’s team

Now that LeBron James is gone, the Cleveland Cavaliers are looking for their new leader. Enter Cedi Osman.

Cedi Osman isn’t a known name around the league but he’s put the NBA on notice in Las Vegas, NV. Osman has been straight balling out in the NBA’s Summer League and has been leading the Cleveland Cavs to victories throughout the tournament.

With James gone, there is clearly a void in leadership now on the roster. According to Sam Amico of Amico Hoops, the Cavs are “actively” shopping George Hill and Kyle Korver who constitute the majority of the leadership in the backcourt.

On opening night of the previous season, the Cavs roster featured veterans such as James, Channing Frye, Jeff Green and Jose Calderon. Now all of these players are gone and it seems like the young guns are ready to take over.

Osman and Collin Sexton are ready to take the reins of the team. Meanwhile, the veterans on the team are not fitted to lead a team. Tristan Thompson is an off-court distraction and J.R. Smith doesn’t know the score of the game.

People may argue that the team is in the hands of Kevin Love but there’s a reason to question this. According to an SBNation.com article, Ricky Rubio had questioned Love’s leadership abilities when they both played together in Minnesota.

With questions regarding Love’s leadership qualities, it’s obvious that the coaching staff will not look to Love for leadership on the court as he isn’t a very vocal player on the hardwood.

Osman has proven that he can be vocal on the court, having shared some of the information that he’s retained from playing with James. There aren’t many vocal players left on the roster but Osman has emerged as one.

When mic’d up earlier this summer, Osman showed some of that information through his leadership qualities as he called out plays and helped players adjust on defense.

https://twitter.com/NBA/status/1017094920761368576

With what will be a probably completely revamped Cavs team, the focus should be on the future. In addition, the keys to the team should be put in the younger players’ hands.

The past couple of games for Osman has truly shown how much information he’s soaked in within the last year. For example, ViceSports’ Justin Jett’s video shows how Osman’s shooting has mirrored Korver’s.

Osman is one of the few players returning next season that will have an increased amount of playing time. Osman has strengthened his playing ability quite a bit going into next season and he looks to be a starter.

Ty Lue barely played Osman during the playoffs and that can be attributed to his poor shooting. According to Basketball-Reference, Osman shot only 33 percent from the field and a horrid 14 percent from beyond the arc during the playoffs.

Next: 4 Cavs who will be better with LBJ gone

The next season should be filled with uncertainty which is a change from the last four seasons. It will be interesting to observe how Osman responds to the possibility of added responsibility at 23 years old.