Podcast Episode 178: LeBrexit
2018-07-02https://soundcloud.com/ctb-5/podcast-episode-178-lebrexit
Well… LeBron James is gone. Again.
To process this new reality… Nate, Tom, Eli and EG commiserated in the podcast booth. We discuss why we think it happened, who’s to blame, whether it was a basketball or lifestyle move, if the Lakers are now contenders, what happens now with the future of the Cavs, and how this move affects LeBron’s ultimate legacy. So, all in all a pretty cheery listen. In all seriousness though, here’s hoping listening to us vent a little might help you all with your own venting process… and be a reminder to cherish the good times.
As always, you can catch us above, on Soundcloud, Apple Podcasts or Google Play.
And, as always GO CAVS!
LeBron in three months…
https://twitter.com/TheSteinLine/status/1013900931291901956
I don’t believe this for a hot second…
https://twitter.com/ramonashelburne/status/1013900649224761344
Said the same about Dion Waiters.
https://twitter.com/jadande/status/1013900455120986115
https://twitter.com/ramonashelburne/status/1013899517173776385
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=P10bC0Bxp20
Cavs organization can be a shark show at times, but Lakers are a shining beacon to shark shows everywhere.
Boogie… then Melo… then CHECKMATE! lol
https://twitter.com/daldridgetnt/status/1013899007423283200
Live take of Windy’s head exploding
This is AMAZING!
All of these head cases signing with the Lakers have to make JR feel sad…
Cedi is awesome
https://twitter.com/SInow/status/1013898357385900035
That’s a great picture – one of the best moments in LBJ’s time here as a Cav
LUUUUUUUUUUUEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Why didn’t you play the guy that so clearly worked well with Lebron? Why? Why? Why?
Magic’s Twitter game may be better than his GMing skills.
Maybe Rondo can be a mentor to Lonzo… /s
Lakers actively signing dudes who can’t shoot threes in FA now…
So… LBJ, Lance, JaVale, KCP, Rondo so far… all this team needs now is Melo… lol
https://twitter.com/ShamsCharania/status/1013895897820917763
Yes. This will work out well. 😂
They need Nick Young. Need. And he has Laker DNA.
Knuckleheads…
https://twitter.com/wojespn/status/1013895779512090625
Magic is a genius.
https://twitter.com/wojespn/status/1013894241020514304
Hmmm…
https://twitter.com/ClevTA/status/1013859748993695745
Good point. Lebron is a great player, but he is also an opportunist. As Tom said, it’s not like he was playing for the Cavs for free. He made a crapload of money in Cleveland, people don’t need to kiss his a$$ too.
They should have made the move regardless, because it was a move that gave them a better chance to win a title. They can’t blame Lebron because they stupidly traded Kyrie for Sexton. They could’ve had PG, they didn’t do it, because they were scared. LBJ ain’t a saint, but his job was to play basketball, which he didn’t better than anyone in the League. His job wasn’t GM, wasn’t to make a GM’s job easier, wasn’t to do long term strategy for the organization. That’s what the GM is for. The Cavs have only themselves to blame for their… Read more »
He is partially to blame for essentially holding the franchise hostage and not committing long term. Forces them to only focus on the short term. Also you can’t tell me the Rich Paul Klutch connection doesn’t factor in to JR and TT holding out. They knew they had leverage, likely with LBJ’s blessing and were willing to possibly wreck the cavs chemistry and preparedness in the middle of championship contending. LBJ just shooting himself in the foot. You can’t make moves with your superstar signing one year deals like you could if they commit. Lebron never committed. That undeniably hamstrings… Read more »
One thing I think may not have been on Lebron’s mind (or at least way in the back) is that he may get better reffing by being in the biggest market. I can’t see so many calls going against Lebron and his team as was the case in the Finals if he is in a Laker’s uniform.
No calls will go against LeBron in he finals in a Lakers uniform. No calls will go for him either.
Oh certainly. Even if they get Kwahi, I do not see them getting to the finals. My new question is how far does this Laker team get this year. I would have them definitely behind the Rockets, GSW, and the Jazz and Thunder. With the way things are shaping out, the Nuggets might also be better.
I thought about this too. And I agree.
WTH is this about?
Trade Kevin Love to OKC for Melo, Jeramie Grant and future pick and then stretch Melo’s contract or play him if you want to tank. I am guessing Rockets would trade for Love too, best fit for Love. Not sure what Rockets can offer to Cavs though.
Ryan Anderson…/s
I’ve been discussing this with nate a little, but I think it has to be stated: The blame pointing is on no one but Lebron – period. Short of a miracle championship win this season, I get the sense that Lebron was going to LA no matter what. This has nothing to do with the Cavs being bad, the Lakers being better, Dan Gilbert being difficult, or Bronny being a prep boi. Lebron wants to be in LA – period. And almost entirely for non-basketball reasons. I can’t even believe I thought he’d come back for a second – I… Read more »
I think he would have stayed if Gilbert had a stable organization and wasn’t a meddling a-hole. He is definitely not going to LA for basketball reasons, imo, but if the Cavs retained Griff, kept Kyrie or made a good trade (as opposed to an all time horrible trade), and if Gilbert left the basketball to basketball people, he may well have rode his career out here. Maybe not. But Gilbert did everything he could to alienate LBJ.
Cavs have to have a sit down with Kevin Love and have a frank and honest discussion with his people. Ask him what they he wants. Does he want to be here long term? Would he consider an extension? Is he committed to opting out next year? Would he re-sign? Does he want to be the leader of this team? Depending on what he says, they need to act accordingly. I like the idea of building around Love, but don’t know if Love wants to be a first banana again. I do think pitching Love on being a primary at… Read more »
I don’t think extending Love is smart, even if he wants it. This team will not contend for a championship in the next three years. Boston, Philly, Houston, GS – all are in their windows now and for the next couple years, at least. Love will keep this team mediocre – neither contending nor rebuilding – which, like it or not, is the worst case scenario for a team in the NBA. I’d flip him for everything I could get. Same with TT – anything someone offers I take it. Hill, Korver, and JR – they are expirings and/or useful… Read more »
I’d say they are more likely a good decade away from contending.
Just listened to the podcast. It was indeed both therapeutic and sad. At the end everyone stated the top five reasons that James left for a second time. I am almost tempted to give Dan Gilbert all five slots, or at least the top three, but here are mine. Can’t believe Tom Pestak didn’t include Gilbert in the top five. 1) Dan Gilbert by a long shot. Lots of reasons, but the facts are 11 years of LeBron and one title due to his mismanagement and arrogance. James supported Griff, Gilbert dumps him. James said don’t trade Kyrie, he gets… Read more »
https://twitter.com/vincethepolack/status/1013817094046134273
Yikes. Enjoy the cavs while we have them. Maybe one day LBJ can buy the Seattle Cavaliers.
https://twitter.com/ChrisBHaynes/status/1013872067551289344
Quick question since I always hear this on podcasts,articles, ect. Does using the term “asset” make you smarter in some way? Podcasters says this every other sentence and it makes them sound like they want to be a financial planner.
It’s just the term for the collection of things that can be traded. Do you have a better term for this collection of things: Draft picks, cap space, expiring contracts, veteran players with useful skills, veteran players with bird rights, and trade exemptions?
https://twitter.com/DavidZavac/status/1013861997224525827
I think it had nothing to do with it. I don’t think Kyrie knew, and I think Kyrie is a headcase that couldn’t plan that far out. People saying Kyrie knew what was coming…uh, no. Kyrie heard he might be traded and got butthurt. The dude needs to be told he’s the best, and a team with LBJ meant he wasn’t the best. Luckily for Kyrie, he’s with a coach who isn’t going to tell him how awesome he is (LUE) because he needs to be kept in check or he’ll poison that locker room.
So, starters?
Sexton, Hill, Osman, Love, Nance.
Bench: Clarkson, JR, Korver, Hood, Zizic, TT.
Develop: Mathias, Colson, Preston.
That is 14. Lue will start Hood over Cedi. Though if you bench Hill, both coild start.
Cedi is our new starting Small Forward.
I’d start Hill, Hood, Osman, Love, Nance. Hill and Love are the right Vets to develop those three others. Sexton is not ready to start, but definitely will play. Clarkson at SG, Zizic at C/PF. You can throw in other developing guys. JR, TT, Korver – those guys don’t belong on this team. What skills they have left aren’t useful for a developing team. I mean, TT’s hustle and rebounding is a good example. Korver’s body maintaince and shooting is a good example. But those guys are hopefully going to be traded. Hill, JR, and Korver have partially non-guaranteed deals… Read more »
Good post. I think Sexton will start sooner rather than later.
Agree on the vets. If we re-sign Jeff Green I will be sad.
https://twitter.com/923TheFan/status/1013860899214512128
I’m good.
https://twitter.com/ShamsCharania/status/1013860686223593472
https://twitter.com/ShamsCharania/status/1013858205355728896
Hoping Noel turns it around for the better.
Prepared for it, knew it was coming, still feel like crap. This is what Buddhism calls attachment. (sigh). A few thoughts: 1. The contract thing actually makes sense and those saying its a slap against the Cavs are wrong, imho. LBJ came back to end his career here, and believed that would happen. He did 1 and 1 for the sole reason that the cap was exploding and he wanted to maximize value. Griff operated as if he knew LBJ was staying and it didn’t harm the Cavs. After 2016, LBJ signed a 2 + 1 deal as the best… Read more »
3. The Cavs did everything right for three years. They made mistakes, sure (Varejao contract, not resigning Delly) but basically there are very few moves that, looking back, were wrong to do at the time. They went all in after tanking when LBJ came back. They won a title. The mortgaged the future for a shot at it all, and the did it. They deserve to be commended – both the org. and LBJ. The reckoning was always coming sooner or later. KD’s d-bag decision essentially brought the end much sooner. The cavs went all in for the landscape of… Read more »
5. The most surprising thing, to me, is that he chose LA over Philly. His chance to win more rings was higher in Cleveland than LA, and definitely higher in Philly. He could’ve forced a trade to San Antonio or Houston. His legacy isn’t improved by going to LA. To my eyes, then, it came down to Bronny going to school in LA. Lebron isn’t winning more rings (maybe 1). He is just going to cash check, play the game he loves, and be close to his family. If Bronny makes the NBA, he’ll opt out of his contract and… Read more »
Nice post JoeyB. Share most of your thoughts.
Nice Joey, pretty much agree with your posts. I do hope the Lakers crater, because screw them. Most entitled fans in the game. “Oh, we EARNED Lebron, after 3 years of LOSING!!” Cry more.
It helps to remember that Lakers fans are as dumb as all other fan bases – we just hate them because they for so long they could buy their teams instead of developing them, which they interpreted as being because their city is intrinsically better for sports somehow. My favorite argument with lakers fan: I was told that Lakers should be able to pay more for free agents (i.e., no salary cap) because they have a bigger fan base, and that wasn’t an unfair – just life. That same person got mad, however, when Lebron went to Cleveland a second… Read more »
Time for a new name to celebrate the new era!
who did you used to be?
Mr Green in the library with Jrs Lead Pipe…not anyone special here
Laid Pipe
I disagree. I think you’re awesome.
Great handle
I’m not upset that LeBron left – I saw it coming and, in today’s NBA, it was inevitable. The only thing the guy has left to do is win rings, and at the end of the day, the Cavs were no longer in a position to do so. The 4 year deal with the Lakers hurts, though. Had LeBron committed that long with us, things might be different. But hey, he won us a ring in 2016 and I wish nothing but the best for him. I wish he went anywhere else but LA, but I’ll still root for him… Read more »
How often do you hear Peter Holt’s name? Never. It’s always Buford and Popovich whose names you hear.
That’s how you own and run an organization.
I’ve listened to a fair amount of Griff on Sirius XM radio’s NBA channel, and Griff never has a bad word to say about Dan Gilbert or the Cavs front office guys. For a guy who doesn’t work there any more, his heart is very much still in Cleveland.
as others have said Griff is Mr Positivity. Plus he’s seen what burning bridges can to you…
If there’s one lesson you learn working for Dan Gilbert… it’s that.
https://twitter.com/FearTheSword/status/1013838437730877440
I’m a little wrankled by LeBron’s decision (nowhere near 2010 levels), but I think I’ll be over this soon. There is some relief that I can now watch team develop without the blessing & curse of the LeBron dynamic.
I’m looking forward to following this blog during the rebuild.
https://twitter.com/RuiterWrongFAN/status/1013831534669959168
From our old pal Hetrick…
https://twitter.com/hetrick46/status/1013794893683142658
https://twitter.com/SDinwiddie_25/status/1013825572835741698
Hahahhaha. That is hilarious. Credit to the kid for playing out of his mind last year, but man I wish he hadn’t been on the nets.
https://twitter.com/wojespn/status/1013816787832623106
Really reasonable contract for a year.
One thing we’re not going to do here is argue partisan politics with each other. Not in my beach community.
+1B
Thanks!!!
Thank You!!
So what do we do? Start trading guys now or wait to see how the first part of the season plays out? Any chance we could be a sneaky good team like the Pacers were or is that simply delusion?
Don’t think anything will get done until the trade deadline. No reason to rush. I don’t think the cavs will be very good. Don’t have the defensive capability to keep every game competitive like Indy does. But they should look to unload JR Smith, TT, and maybe Korver’s expirings for teams looking to make a playoff push/championship or teams that want cap space for next year. In return we should be stockpiling a war chest of picks. Love should be shopped but we shouldn’t sell super low. Try to build up his value and then shop him to an up… Read more »
Can’t disagree with any of this. We’re gonna have to suck and stockpile picks like Boston has.
https://twitter.com/JasonLloydNBA/status/1013792559880011778
SUPERBOWL! /s
https://twitter.com/ChrisBHaynes/status/1013820682331774976
Evans would be a tremendous pickup for them. Was great last year.
Dude’s more fragile than Kyrie
Yes he is.
Fair, but if the price is right he provides elite level scoring off the bench. Plus doubt they sign him to more than a year to keep cap space open. Or if they do the contract will probably be very low year to year.
https://twitter.com/KenCarman/status/1013665343942938624
While I do think the Griff thing hurt, let us not lionize him too much. This is a guy who wanted Bennett #1 (yes, Grant was the GM) and traded two firsts for Mozgov.
Not having exit interviews is what cost us. Else we turn Kyrie intp CP3. That IS on Gilbert. As is letting Bron/Klutch run things (JR/TT contracts, Blatt firing). As is the fact he is a flaming MAGA boy.
Would you want to work for Dan Gilbert if you had a choice?
Unfortunately, DG had no choice with letting Bron Kutch run things. Part of the unwritten deal with LBJ I am sure. LBJ wanted to make DG pay and he did, likely to the detriment of both Gilbert’s pocketbook and LBJ’s and cavs chances on the bball court.
But yeah, Gilbert has made many hiring and firing errors over the years. Griffin wasn’t perfect, but he was pretty competent for the most part.
Yeah… I’m sure Gilbert’s pocketbook is really hurting with all the traffic having Lebron sent to his casino. Stop with the conspiracy theories. Gilbert was the owner, he made his choice to do what it took to get Lebron and keep him for 4 years and he also made a lot of the choices that led to Lebron leaving again. He also could have told Lebron that he was going to hire the best basketball minds he could find, let them make the decisions and build a championship team and leave Lebron to make his choice.
Yep. And if he did that LBJ likely may have bolted after year one, or may not have come at all. So what? So no championship.
Or Lebron would say that it sounds nice that Gilbert will be leaving the basketball decisions to the basketball people and signed a longterm deal. Who knows. (Probably not because of the financials).
What the hell does him liking Trump have to do with anything? I can just play off that statement and say we know LeBron is a flaming liberal so we know he’s perfect for Looney Los Angeles.
LeBron is gone. Okay, cool, whatever. I’m upset but at the same time I’m relieved to not have to worry about the “LeBroness” of it all. My only wishes are A) That Lue turns out to be a good coach, B) Love gets traded to whomever he wishes, C) Sexton, Cedi and Zz develop into solid NBA players. I won’t root for the Lakers but I will root for anyone who can take out GS. I’m actually excited about the summer league and the player development that will hopefully take place. We need Mark Price in some type of office/coaching… Read more »
+1!
I am also kind of tired of the constant “LOL Cavs are terrible and can’t do anything for Lebron” takes. The main reason for that is Lebron. To ignore why the Cavs were (and still are) in such a crappy position is infuriating.
Any headline or article that says “Lebron leaves Cavs because he had no talent around him” really should say “Lebron helps ruin Cavs roster, then bolts.
Yes and no.
At the end of the day, the front office and coaching staff were the last ones to sign off on talent acquisition. They did a horrible job of it.
Yes, LeBron had an immense amount of say but it was up to the organization to make the decisions.
I believe that most of the smart NBA media or who I at least consider smart have covered/acknowledged this…Lowe, Russillo, Nate Duncan, Haralabos.
If Lebron stayed and the Cavs signed Mcgee and Lance, they would be crucified for it. Lakers ceiling currently is 45 wins and a first round exit.
Yeah, but Magic sold Lebron on a plan and vision, and Lebron trusted him to deliver. Lebron just never trusted Gilbert, and honestly Gilbert never had an organizational vision to sell Lebron anyway. Do you think Gilbert ever could have gone into a meeting with Lebron and said, I’m have or am going to hire the best basketball minds for the front office and I’m going to trust them to make decisions with an eye toward competing for a championship? Clearly, he couldn’t because otherwise he wouldn’t have let Griff go because he was the best basketball and organizational mind… Read more »
I think your premise ignores the situation Lebron entered into when he came back. The Cavs had a superstar and plans to get another. They had Griffin. They signed Blatt and signed Lue (to the largest contract for an assistant coach I believe). That was ten times a better plan than the Lakers could possibly offer right now. They have young players that have not proven anything yet (Kyrie was already an All-Star, as was Love). Yet, Lebron still signed a shorter deal. Don’t you think the Cavs would have had a better long term deal if Lebron signs for… Read more »
You’re looking at the situation in hindsight. Griffin was a rookie GM, Blatt was a rookie coach, Lue had his interviews for head coaching positions and nobody was ready to hire him, Kyrie was still super young, they traded for Love after Lebron signed and Lebron had zero trust in Gilbert. Not to mention, Lebron was at a different point in his career. He was squarely in the middle of his prime then, whereas now… realistically he’s not going to be as good in 2 years, so a longer deal makes more sense from a financial standpoint. The only way… Read more »
How am I looking at it in hindsight? If I was looking at it in hindsight, I would have said that Kyrie and Love were injury prone, Blatt had an issue with managing player egos, and Griffin was sometimes good sometimes not. You can’t say in one breath they should not have gotten rid of Griffin because Lebron trusted him and then say that Lebron didn’t trust him enough to sign long term in the next breath. The way you are looking at it is disingenuous. To say Blatt was a first year coach is to ignore the fact that… Read more »
Of course I can contrast Griffin and Lebron’s relationship in 2014 vs. 2017. They’d probably never met in 2014, and by 2017, they’d already won a championship and gone to the finals 3 times and had a solid working relationship. Lebron never had any confidence in Blatt. He pretty much made that clear from day 1. Lue had a great reputation, but in the end he was just an assistant. I don’t see how that makes any difference. And Kyrie was a definitely budding young star, but he had a reputation as a ball hog and defensive sieve. And the… Read more »
Amazing salesman, or just manager of the best team in the city LeBron and his family wanted to live in?
Magic is an amazing salesman? Haven’t the Lakers struck out in free agency every year he’s been there until LeBron wanted to move to the city his family wanted to live in?
Magic has only been in charge of the Lakers for about a year. The guy has been a successful business man outside of basketball as well. Put a guy in a room with Dan Gilbert and then Magic Johnson. Trust me, they’re going with Magic Johnson all things considered.
So, Dan Gilbert is a bad businessman now? Look I don’t like Dan Gilbert, but the one thing you can’t say about him is that he doesn’t know how to run a business.
You can debate semantics all you want, but the fact is that Magic speaks Lebron’s language better than Dan Gilbert, and that’s part of the pitch in this case.
And he has the benefit of not having any past baggage with Lebron. That helps.
I think I misread your post. I thought you were saying that Magic Johnson would be able to talk to Lebron because he is a businessman.
I won’t ask for it, but I would love to see one headline or article that says “Lebron James has no faith in David Griffin to pull off trade for Kevin Love, still signs with Cavs”. Or an article that says “Lebron has no confidence in David Blatt, has no faith in Cavs front office, Cavs in terrible position to sign Lebron, Lebron still signs”. You won’t find one, because it was not true at the time. Yes the Lakers have enough space to sign another star, but the Cavs ALREADY had a star on their roster and the Love… Read more »
First of all, Brian Windhorst, Jason Lloyd and every Cavs beat writer has written or said at some point over the last 4 years that Lebron never really forgave Dan Gilbert, and that the peace they made before Lebron came back was tenuous at best. Lebron produced an entire segment on Uninterrupted basically so he could just toss it out there that his mom and wife said he shouldn’t forgive Gilbert. You could go to ESPN right now and watch Windhorst say that the difference in the contract lengths is pretty much the difference between how much he trusts Magic… Read more »
One last thing to add on this. Even if you just look from Lebron’s personal perspective, this year is a completely different situation to 2014. When he came back to Cleveland in 2014, he was dealing with a bunch of knee and back problems. If you put any stock in what Brian Windhorst says, he was legitimately worried that the back problems might cut short his peak, and he was desperate to win a ring in Cleveland — for himself and the city — before he retired. So at the time, it made sense to do what he could to… Read more »
That line of reasoning falls apart when Lebron never helped the Cavs recruit free agents and tacitly required the Cavs to sign Clutch players to long term deals at above market prices. If there was such a sense of urgency, then he would have been trying to help the Cavs. Not saying he had to, just saying that if he was worried about his window, he would have been all in. Also, with Kyrie locked up for the future and the prospect of getting Love, which was basically all but done, he had basically the same type of team that… Read more »
That’s part inaccurate and part inaccurate conspiracy theory. Lebron never had any marquee free agents to recruit. The Cavs were ALWAYS capped out. He recruited where he could, though. He recruited Kevin Love to stay. He tried to get Ray Allen in 2015. He got DWade to sign here for the minimum. He told Dan Gilbert not to trade Kyrie and to let him try to work it out. A few reports had him reaching out to Paul George last year. He didn’t require the Cavs to sign JR or Tristan at above market prices. JR and Tristan just had… Read more »
I mean, seriously. I’m so tired of this Lebron/Klutch clients conspiracy theory. It’s so dumb. You think if the Cavs would have told Lebron we can either overpay Tristan or get Jimmy Butler or Deandre Jordan or something, he would have required them to pay Tristan? What do you think is going to piss Lebron off more… the front office signing a shitty deal that costs him a championship or not signing one of his friend’s clients?
To be fair, he does always toes the line and says that his job is to play at the top of his game and trust the front office to make the right moves, but with Griffin, he also publicly campaigned for him to get a new deal and then put out a post basically saying that even though Gilbert was too dumb to appreciate him, Lebron did.
Great job on the podcast. Agree with everything that was said.
I liked the podcast. I had the same reaction as others – was thankful that we got a championship and did not have too much angst. But like someone said in the podcast, once I saw that it was for four years, that kind of rubbed me the wrong way. It just made me remember that for most of LeBron’s time in Cleveland, though watching him play basketball was pure joy, the constant pressure he put on the team and the raised stakes that went along with that, and the constant change, made following this team so exhausting. It will… Read more »
Like Windhorst said, the contracts with the Cavs had nothing to do with Cleveland and everything to do with Dan Gilbert. And honestly, he was right. Everything basically went downhill after he let Griffin, the best basketball mind outside of Lebron in the organization, walk and then proceeded to **** up the whole team. Jeanie Buss, Magic and Rob Pelinka are very respected around the league for a lot of reasons, and once Griff and Kyrie were gone, Lebron didn’t really have anybody left on the team that he felt like he could trust from an operations or on-court perspective.… Read more »
That is a convenient line re: the contracts. I am not saying it is true or not, but it is suspicious that it comes out after the fact. I can’t agree on the whole four year deal stuff. The fact is that Lebron never signed for four years and he never gave the Cavs the type of leverage that he is giving L.A. That caused the Cavs to make a lot of win-now moves, and a lot of boom-or-bust moves (as they discussed in the podcast). He consistently hamstrung the Cavs front office with the threat, and the threat of… Read more »
Lebron isn’t precognitive. I’m sure he meant what he said at the time, but the way things turned with them letting go of Griff after he’d gained Lebron’s trust and then Kyrie wanting out, it wasn’t right for him anymore. The only Lebron-fueled move that I think was questionable is Wiggins for Love because that was the domino that set everything else off by hamstrinigng their cap flexibility going forward with 3 max-level contracts on the books. If they don’t make that move, they aren’t forced to re-sign Tristan the next year and they also aren’t on the clock to… Read more »
Cavs could *really* use a smart, forward thinking FO/ Ownership right now…they can be smart and pocket assets the next couple of years and try to rebuild from a new foundation, or they can try to be competitive and wallow in mediocrity for the foreseeable future. I’ll wait to see what happens, but I’m not optimistic.
I am for the former. I worry DG may never be able to be completely hands off with regards to personnel. He doesn’t have a good hiring record and by all accounts meddles. Has never been a good recipe for long term success at an elite level in the nba. DG needs to change in that regard.
Excited for LeBron Lance experiment! Truly excited to have a team to watch grow into a contender. It may be a long road but the mercenary games that come with LeBron were taxing. Hopefully the Cavs blow it up and send all the vets to contending teams, then we can tank and fertilize some talent!
If they’re keeping Ty Lue, we should definitely be able to get a high enough pick to keep it away from the Hawks because… he’s just not a very good coach. Plus we get to watch a whole season of Cedi (who I actually feel bad for because the dude clearly loved playing with Lebron, but Lue didn’t give him a shot in the playoffs). And teams looking to duck the luxury tax or get under the cap in 2020 or contenders looking to get some veteran help down the stretch will almost definitely be willing to part with a… Read more »
For the 3rd time, I failed to buy a LeBron jersey. Never owned one ever. But I think I’ll get a Sexton one now. Exciting to wear one tbh because I’d standout more because no one knows who Collin is yet.
Now Koby has a lot of unloading to do, which probably will happen mostly on February.
Sucks to be right. This is all about the James family and his post-NBA life.
I expect this will be a tough year. Cavs are in a bit better shape than last time but I can’t see them making the playoffs, so that would suggest tanking so they can keep their draft pick. At least I know I can count on my CtB brothers for insight and companionship.
KLove has played his heart out for us, and deserves to be celebrated if he stays or best wishes and a good situation if we trade him.
GO CAVS!
LeBron leaves then there was a terrorist plot averted in Cleveland. Fun times!
Lebron dragging this shithole team to the finals this year was one of the most amazing things I’ve ever seen in the NBA. He doesn’t owe anyone anything. The man and the professional he is, kudos to him for becoming who he is -especially considering where he came from. Well wishes and a salute to him, hoping the best for both sides, he and the Cavs.
There is only one thing I dread about following the Cavs now- and that’s Ty Lue. This guy will drive me nuts.
If we can get rid of him and land a really solid coach (I’d even try Blatt again), I would be very excited to watch our young guys develop (Sexton, Cedi, Nance, Zizic).
GO CAVS!
It’ll be interesting to see what Lue does now that LeBron is gone. It wouldn’t surprise me to see him turn into an actual coach who tries to develop players. It’s hard to do that when you’re a coach of LeBron James. Not a knock on LeBron, but our team just went from four straight NBA Finals to now being in full rebuild mode. Who knows what type of coach Lue will be during a rebuild.
This is true, Lue should probably be given another fair assessment in this entirely new era with drastically different circumstances. I appreciate your point and agree to see it through.
Won’t work. Even if there is a real coach in there somewhere, the younger players who watched him pander to Lebron the last 3 years won’t take too well to a sudden “tough love” approach.
That said, if they fired Lue tomorrow, I wouldn’t care at all.
It would surprise me.
For better or worse, I’m certain Lue is here at least one more year.
Ettore Messina
DG isn’t paying another coach to sit and collect a paycheck now that he doesn’t have to.
so far (even dan gilbert )—classy / positive reaction from Cleveland fans —-stay that way !!—-god luck and thank you LeBron—–ctb/ cavs forever—am really excited for summer league to start—-to see what we can start to rebuild with —does billy preston now become a good chance to make the squad
Yep. A much better reaction. I always hated the comic sans letter because of the damage it did to the cavs reputation and for the light it put Cleveland/NE Ohio fandom in. Always better to take the higher road in that kind of situation in my opinion. Or at least be a little subtle with your disgust.
Looking forward to Kevin Love turning into Antawn Jamison
Not exactly sure what you mean.
Obviously the Kyrie trade didn’t work out the way we wanted it to. But I think it gets lost that Kyrie didn’t even play in the playoffs this year. If he had made the trade demand and the Cavs didn’t trade him, how many of us would be excoriating the front office for not moving him while he still had value?
I think the real shame of the Kyrie trade is that it was done under the crushing pressure of LeBron’s decision season looming. I think Kyrie would have left Cleveland at the end of his deal either way, but in a world where he and LeBron don’t have a falling out, or even in a world where LeBron never came back to CLE, I feel like we would have been more diligent and gotten more value out of the Kyrie trade than we ultimately did. I get that it didn’t help throwing inexperienced Koby Altman into that lion’s den, but… Read more »
Yeah, we traded a young superstar for an unprotected draft pick. It was a colossal miss and absolute panic move. We should have held onto Kyrie and traded him when we wanted to trade him instead of throwing away a rare talent for a draft pick.
It was a fun run. It hurts today but sports should help us escape our personal troubles, not add to them.
#CAVS4LIFE
I had a feeling all along Lebron would go to LA as I think its more than a basketball decision. I also think he couldn’t do much more with Cleveland and I’m sure what Gilbert did with Griffin and the Kyrie situation was probably the icing that told him to leave. Cavs have an interesting roster and I just wonder if they will decide to keep Lue as coach and go find somebody up and coming who can develop these young guys and rebuild them quickly. I don’t see a 2010-2011 type of team IF they are coached well. I… Read more »
I think the Griffin decision was the 1st domino to fall that brought us here. Cavs and Lakers had about the same legacy ramifications for him, and the Lakers are a bit closer, but the Cavs also would probably have been able to get some roster flexibility after this year. But letting Griff go was just a hallmark move of poor organizational management and it removed the best basketball mind from the organization, and a guy Lebron trusted to make smart moves. Look, to his credit, Gilbert is willing to spend, and I don’t think Koby Altman is a bad… Read more »
Some thoughts swirling in my head… 1) I can’t blame LeBron for not re-signing with the Cavs: clown coach, clown teammates, little hope for future improvement, and Dan Gilbert (I can’t tell if he’s a clown or not, I agree with Tom that he spends the big $$$ and what more do you want, but he also let Griffin go for no apparent reason). 2) LeBron has been a terrible GM. I think that narrative is way overplayed – LeBron’s moves as GM include encouraging the team to give TT and JR slight overpays, that’s about it. LeBron has NEVER… Read more »
6) And i’m annoyed that the national media clowns like Bill Simmons are now vindicated in their prediction that LeBron would inevitably go to LA, for the obvious fact that any big star must leave backwater flyover towns like Cleveland for real cities like LA. I hate that narrative. I love my hometown and wanted hometown loyalty to win over LeBron too. But they were right, and the glowing paragraph about hometown love in the 2014 Jenkins essay now seems rather hollow. 7) And it’s the dumb Lakers. I would’ve rooted for LeBron for just about any other team (just… Read more »
7) Same sentiments about the Lakers, and the Celts and Warriors.
1 Championship is all he needs there and he’s locked in at least 2nd goat. I think he already is imo. 1 championship while continuing to grow his business outside, very doable. I guess 2 at max.
1-7 are exactly my same sentiments about everything. We got a championship. I was always a cavs fan first, and Lebron second. So the championship was key. I really don’t care at all he left and am actually somewhat relieved as I don’t think this team was improving enough to win again in the next few years. The four year deal is very aggravating since he didn’t do the cavs and cavs fans the same courtesy, but whatever. I find LA to be my least favorite California city I have visited out of San Francisco, San Diego, and LA. Also… Read more »
Seattle, SF, or Portland
hey fam – Ive really enjoyed this team and more importantly this community, so i regret to say it – but I’m done. this just kind of vindicated the point for me that this isn’t for the fans, it is in the end a game played by millionaires owned by billionaires. i felt lebron might change the narrative but in the end he did what was best for him, which is consistent with what ive seen from this league. i cant say that i fault him per se, i just had hoped for more. so im not gonna be loyal… Read more »
Sorry to hear it. I’ll still watch the nba because its basketball played at the highest level, and because I love this team/community of fans. Cycling is a fun hobby.
Stick around, happy hour is about to start.
You already look lean in your picture, but training for and running marathons is like a part time job. It’s my main “hobby” along with travel in retirement. It will be hard for me too to watch the Cavs with Ty Lue still on the bench. I will probably take an early season hiatus and then inevitably start watching again.
good hobby: gardening.
Jason, hope you pop in and out during Dark Years 2.0. We’re gonna have fun here, of that I’m sure.
Glory days ain’t over Jason we will have more. As for me Im already envisioning watching us win titles with my future children and I rooting. I wish to pass this fandom for generations.
As for hobbies, maybe try watching the Browns more?
I think you will eventually stick around Jason. Nothing quite like the CtB community.
Home brewing is addictive and rewarding. Making stuff is fun. Making beer when you get decent at it is even better.
Thanks for jumping in the booth. I haven’t listened yet, but I know it will help.
Was hoping you guys were in the booth!!