With the return of LeBron James and the trade for Kevin Love, the Cavaliers look to be title contenders for the foreseeable future.
Last year, the Cleveland Cavaliers ended up with the top pick for the second straight season, but that was only the second best thing to happen to them this summer. With LeBron James back, the Cavs have the best outlook of any lottery team of last year, and it would be a huge disappointment if they don’t win a championship in the near future.
Coaching – 24/25
Before any of the madness of LeBron’s return, the Cavs made a surprise move in the coaching department with the hiring of David Blatt, a fantastic European coach who has yet to be a head coach in the NBA. Blatt is known for being an innovator and a good leader and seems to be a great fit to coach a team looking for a new start. Blatt is a huge step up over Mike Brown and the biggest challenge he will have to face is simply getting used to coaching at the NBA level.
Free Agency & Trades – 25/25
How can this not be a perfect score? Cleveland had the best offseason of any team since the Heat in 2010, signing the best player in the game today and trading for a top ten player in Kevin Love. They then filled in the gaps in their roster by signing veteran Shawn Marion, along with LeBron’s former Miami teammates Mike Miller and James Jones; moves that shifted the direction of this franchise.
Draft – 24/25
With the first pick, the Cavaliers selected Andrew Wiggins, possibly the player with the most potential in the draft. Soon after drafting him, the team decided to include him in the trade to Minnesota for Kevin Love. This area gets such a high score for a couple of reasons. First, their draft selections the past two seasons facilitated the trade for a top ten NBA player in his prime. The high draft pick also factored into getting LeBron, giving them a huge asset in an already loaded draft and made them a more desirable team with a higher ceiling.
Current Player Core – 25/25
LeBron James. Kevin Love. Kyrie Irving. Those three players are at or at a higher level than Miami’s big three last season that went all the way to the NBA finals. Instead of a washed up Wade there’s Kyrie Irving entering his prime with a great leader in LeBron to mentor him. In Kevin Love Cleveland has arguably the best power forward in the league, despite being unproven in the playoffs. This Cleveland team doesn’t just have a better big three, but are also better down the lineup with the likes of Dion Waiters, Anderson Varejao, Shawn Marion, and Tristan Thompson. They may not be completely ready to win immediately, but this is a core that can compete at a very high level for the remainder of LeBron’s prime.
Franchise Overlook – 98/100
Winning championships matter. This is a team built to win championships. Their overall future rating of 98 shows the potential and probability of this team to win. Unlike other lottery teams, this one can win soon. With the LeBron move, Love trade, Irving extension, and several moves to add depth, the Cleveland Cavaliers have the brightest future of any lottery teams of last year. Don’t expect them to be in the lottery next year, this team is ready to win.
Add The Sports Daily to your Google News Feed!
