Keeping LeBron in the Land means winning a ring

“Win the ring and keep the King”. That should be the Cleveland Cavaliers motto next season as they continue their trek through a whirlwind offseason and try to keep LeBron James in the Land.

LeBron James and the Cleveland Cavaliers are indeed in a peculiar place.

After losing to the Golden State Warriors for the second time in three years, Dan Gilbert’s vision of the Cavs’ championship chances with the roster they constructed over those seasons was obviously different from what he told reporters immediately after the Cavs lost to the Golden State Warriors in Game 5 of the 2017 NBA Finals.

Per cleveland.com‘s Joe Vardon:

"“I feel good about our talent, our personnel, coaching staff, everything”"

After meeting with former general manager David Griffin, news broke that Griffin and the Cavs had parted ways in part because of a difference in vision.

Basketball insiders like Sam Amico of AmicoHoops noted that Griffin was completely against trading for 10-time All-Star Carmelo Anthony, whose reputation had taken a hit since he hit Broadway. Though it wasn’t necessarily a considered reason they would part ways with Griffin, it’s worth noting that the Cavs’ have been in constant pursuit of Anthony in recent weeks.

Initially, the Cavs were targeting Paul George and Jimmy Butler with trades centered around the Phoenix Suns and the fourth overall pick in the NBA Draft and Kevin Love, according to cleveland.com‘s Joe Vardon. However, the Indiana Pacers and Chicago Bulls reluctance to trade their star players to an Eastern Conference competitor led to the Cavs getting led on a wild goose chase for players they were ultimately unlikely to ever get.

Unless they moved Kyrie Irving that is.

In addition, around this time Phil Jackson was flying off the handle and put Kristaps Porzingis on trade block. As a result, those teams looking for a versatile, sharpshooting power forward like Love, focused on the younger prospect in Porzingis. When Jackson parted ways with the Knicks and Porzingis was no longer on the trade block, the draft had ended and Butler had been traded to the Minnesota Timberwolves. George was traded to the Oklahoma City Thunder soon after.

That left just one star All-Star caliber forward for the Cleveland Cavaliers to acquire.

As Irving told Sports Illustrated’s Maggie Gray, the Cavs are in a “peculiar place“. They have been this entire offseason. As a result of Love’s low trade value, a trade that couldn’t even net them Anthony straight-up if they wanted to, Irving’s name was linked to the Suns.

After hearing that Irving first requested a trade before the draft, it gives credence to the idea that the Cavaliers and the Suns had discussed a trade scenario where Irving ended up in Phoenix while Eric Bledsoe and George were traded to the Cleveland Cavaliers.

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In retrospect, LeBron James may wish that he didn’t reject that trade.

In any case, the Cavs’ willingness to move Love and Irving, shows that Gilbert wasn’t content standing pat.

Maybe he had a change of heart. Maybe Gilbert is just really good at poker. However, he certainly swung for the fences and struck out on both George and Butler. He’s now trying to hit a home run with a trade that not only lands Anthony in Cleveland but another All-Star.

With Love as the centerpiece of the trade, the Cavs’ options were limited. They likely had more options if they included Tristan Thompson in a deal.

So many variables. So much uncertainty.

Luckily, with Irving requesting a trade, everything has simplified itself.

Irving has a preferred list of four teams, according to ESPN’s Chris Haynes. One of those teams is Anthony’s New York Knicks. Irving’s trade value is high enough for the Cavs to loop in point guard Eric Bledsoe and center Tyson Chandler from the Suns. The Suns would want Frank Ntilikina from the Knicks, who is expendable with Irving’s arrival but can’t be traded until August 4th.

There’s a lot of salary involved in the deal, so either Love or Thompson will be moved with Channing Frye in the transaction.

However, it’s more likely to be Love, who could very well play fourth fiddle on a team with James, Anthony and Bledsoe.

Not enough talk about how devastating a combo James and Anthony could be at the forward spots. Particularly in the pick-and-roll.

Go under on Anthony and you’ve made a mistake. Go over the screen and leave James with a lane to run straight at the rim and you’ve made a mistake. Go under on James and he’s comfortably knocking down outside jumpers or giving it back to Anthony to shooting. Go over and he’s running past the defender who’ll be on his hip or hitting a rolling Anthony, who could unleash a solid floater in the pick-and-roll.

Bledsoe is nearly as effective a player as Irving on offense in most play types, save for in isolation and off screens. More importantly, Bledsoe is a better defender than Irving in isolation; he’s in the 48th percentile in defending isolation’s while Irving is in the 16th percentile.

Irving’s defense often drew the ire of Cavs fans throughout the regular season and playoffs. With Bledsoe’s defensive effort, that won’t be a problem. With Thompson in the lineup and the work Anthony has put in over the summer, the Cavs would have an athletic lineup full of versatile defenders no matter if J.R. Smith or Derrick Rose starts at shooting guard.

Rose is considering signing with the Cavs.

While he’s not though of as an athlete or defender because his explosion isn’t what it was when he was at his peak. However, he was a vastly superior defender to Irving last season and he’s still athletic enough to get to the rim 6.7 times per game and shoot 55.7 percent 0-3 feet away from the rim.

These are factors that will intrigue James, a brilliant basketball mind.

With the increased dynamism of a new Big Three, the Cleveland Cavaliers may actually have a better chance to defeat the Golden State Warriors than they’ve had over the past couple of seasons. With that, defeating the Warriors in the Finals is the best way to keep James in Cleveland.

Why?

Because winning, for people like James, is addictive.

Because it’s hard to leave a team after you’ve won a championship and James likes to defend his NBA titles.

Of course, Anthony could choose to opt out after next season. However, he could choose to stay with James for the same reason.

The writing would seem to be on the wall as far as James’ impending departure from the Land. Yet, that’s simply one possibility. The Cleveland Cavaliers’ best pitch to James next summer will come with the work they put into the regular season and postseason next year.

Win the ring and keep the King. It’s really as simple as that.

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