The four biggest mistakes committed by the Cleveland Cavaliers since winning the 2016 NBA championship over the Golden State Warriors.
In keeping pace with the Cleveland Browns, the Cleveland Cavaliers fired their 10th head coach since 1999 with the organization and John Beilein parting ways after a a horrific first half to the 2019-2020 season.
This setback is just another embarrassment for the Cavaliers, as those four-straight appearances in the Finals seem like a decade ago.
In parting ways with Beilein, the Cavs are making history-and not the kind to be proud of. Firing, or parting ways with Beilein marks the first time in 16 years a team changed coaches midseason in back-to-back campaigns. The Knicks did so in 2003 and 2004, but even they didn’t have four coaches in that span. The Cavs have had four: Ty Lue, Larry Drew, Beilein and now JB Bickerstaff.
So the Cavs go into the midseason having just added a center in Andrew Drummond during a time in which the the position isn’t valued any longer. Kevin Love‘s still on the roster and seems unhappy. Tristan Thompson will probably leave via free agency.
Forget contenting for a title in the next few years, the Cavs will be lucky if they can compete for lower seed in the Eastern Conference Playoffs.
Forget the 26-game losing streak during the 2010-2011 season. This is as low as its ever been for the Cavaliers, and these are the four mistakes that got them to this point.
1. Trading Kyrie
It was the summer of 2017 when the Cleveland Cavaliers traded Kyrie Irving to the Boston Celtics for a future first-round draft pick, Isaiah Thomas Jae Crowder and Ante Zizic.
Cavs Country tried to talk themselves into the deal. Thomas was coming off a major injury, but Mighty Mouse was an All-Star caliber player. Jae Crowder? A very good role player…exactly the type of guy the Cavs would need to compete with the Warriors.
When Thomas got healthy midway through the season, he lasted all of 15 games before being shipped to the Lakers in the deal that brought on Larry Nance Jr., Jordan Clarkson and George Hill.
Crowder looked like a guy who forgot to play, not the tough, gritty wing that had given the Cavs’ fits when he was a member of the Celtics.
The Cavs, who possessed a once-in-a-generation talent in LeBron James, willingly took the loss on a trade while still trying to contend for a world championship. The best asset Koby Altman acquired in that deal was the Brooklyn pick, and that didn’t help in June when the Cavs were swept in the Finals.
In Boston, Irving looked stellar until suffering a knee injury. Now, he’s one of the most injury-prone players in the NBA, who’s hurt again after re-aggravating a shoulder injury.
Would it have worked out? We’ll never know, but with that said, the Cavs voluntarily got worse heading into the final year of James’ contract when they should’ve been going all out to win their second title in three years.
2. Not trading the Brooklyn pick
The Cavs’ were rumored to be in all kinds of trade discussions leading up to the 2018 NBA trade deadline. With the Brooklyn pick in hand, they could’ve easily brought in some talent to help the squad.
Fearing a massive collapse that comes when James goes into his free-agent year, Cleveland held the pick, rather than move it in an effort to win at all costs with LBJ on the roster.
Owner Dan Gilbert and Altman thought they could get ahead of the curve on a rebuild should James leave, while avoiding the losses that came during the Jamario Moon era.
Hindsight says trading the pick was wrong, but there was a healthy sect of the fan base that favored the decision to keep the Brooklyn pick. History shows us that Irving was the best player in the deal, so there’s no debate about it: The Cavs lost the trade.
And despite all the planning to keep the roster afloat even with James’ move to the Lakers, luck cursed the Cavs. The lottery balls didn’t come up for Cleveland, as the Brooklyn pick resulted in the eighth selection.
Luka Doncic went third to the Hawks, and was traded to the Mavs. If Cleveland comes out of the night with Doncic on the roster, everyone feels different about the direction of the franchise.
3. Paying Love
Re-signing Love was another piece of welcomed news among the Cleveland fan base mostly because he’s a player who can put up stats, plus, he’s a key link to the 2016 championship squad.
We’re fans, though. We’re blinded by bias. We didn’t want to see the embarrassment of losing 26 in a row. We believed the Cavs’ spin, that they were going to be a competitive playoff team.
We were wrong, and they were wrong, and in being so wrong, Cleveland overpaid Love, by signing him to a four-year, $120 million extension.
When healthy, Love’s been a really good player for the Cavs, but he was always the third wheel in the big three. He’s never proved the ability to carry franchise on his own, dating back to his time in Minnesota.
We saw the harsh reality of how the Cavs view Love, and how the rest of the league views him at this past trade deadline. It was speculated that Cleveland believes Love is an elite player, and when the Cavs’ weren’t getting “elite” offers, such as a first-round pick, the organization opted to keep him.
If a guy is an elite talent, you pay him whatever it takes. If a guy isn’t the player he used to be, you don’t want to take on his over-inflated contract.
He’s only in the first year of his extension and he’s been grumpy. Really grumpy. It’s been speculated that he was one of the Cavs’ bashing Beilein earlier in the season. Hopefully he can trend his trade value in the right direction under Bickerstaff.
4. The Small Guards
Instead of trading the Brooklyn pick to help a team with LeBron on it, the Cavs held onto it and selected Collin Sexton. Sexton started off slowly, and was snubbed for the Rising Stars game in his rookie season.
After the dis, Sexton went to work, finishing the 2018-2019 campaign by playing some stellar ball.
Sexton’s stats have dropped from last year’s second half, but he’s still a good scorer. He still doesn’t look to pass, and that’s visibly aggravated his teammates on the floor.
To complicate things, the Cavs took Darius Garland fifth overall in last summer’s draft. Garland is a another small guard. With back-to-back lottery picks, the Cavs took similar players in their backcourt.
Duplication of skills can be problematic. Remember when LeBron went to Miami? They ultimately won two titles in four Finals’ appearances, but it took a little big for James and D-Wade to click. Both were ball dominant players, and they just had to find the right fit.
These guys are legends of the game–not 19 and 20 looking to establish themselves in NBA.
It’s still early in their careers to make a judgement, but Sexton might be best suited as sixth-man. Meanwhile, Garland is coming off a serious injury suffered in his lone year at Vanderbilt. If he comes out blazin’ next season, the Cavs will have taken a step in the right direction.
Right now though, it looks like two average drafts in back-to-back years.