King James Gospel
Fansided

The Cavaliers are preparing for life after LeBron James

By Da'Reon Sevanell

OAKLAND, CA - JUNE 04: (L-R) Vice Chairman of the Cleveland Cavaliers Nate Forbes and Cavaliers owner Dan Gilbert attend Game 2 of the 2017 NBA Finals at ORACLE Arena on June 4, 2017 in Oakland, California. NOTE TO USER: User expressly acknowledges and agrees that, by downloading and or using this photograph, User is consenting to the terms and conditions of the Getty Images License Agreement. (Photo by Ezra Shaw/Getty Images)
OAKLAND, CA - JUNE 04: (L-R) Vice Chairman of the Cleveland Cavaliers Nate Forbes and Cavaliers owner Dan Gilbert attend Game 2 of the 2017 NBA Finals at ORACLE Arena on June 4, 2017 in Oakland, California. NOTE TO USER: User expressly acknowledges and agrees that, by downloading and or using this photograph, User is consenting to the terms and conditions of the Getty Images License Agreement. (Photo by Ezra Shaw/Getty Images) /
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OAKLAND, CA – JUNE 15: The Golden State Warriors celebrates with fans after winning the 2017 NBA Championship during a parade on June 15, 2017 in Oakland, CA. NOTE TO USER: User expressly acknowledges and agrees that, by downloading and/or using this Photograph, user is consenting to the terms and conditions of the Getty Images License Agreement. Mandatory Copyright Notice: Copyright 2017 NBAE (Photo by Jack Arent/NBAE via Getty Images)
OAKLAND, CA – JUNE 15: The Golden State Warriors celebrates with fans after winning the 2017 NBA Championship during a parade on June 15, 2017 in Oakland, CA. NOTE TO USER: User expressly acknowledges and agrees that, by downloading and/or using this Photograph, user is consenting to the terms and conditions of the Getty Images License Agreement. Mandatory Copyright Notice: Copyright 2017 NBAE (Photo by Jack Arent/NBAE via Getty Images) /

The Golden State Warriors

The Cleveland Cavaliers this past season had the highest payroll in the NBA. This payroll means nothing if you are winning championships or expected to continue winning championships. LeBron’s return to Cleveland instantly catapulted the Cavaliers from lottery darlings to championship contenders.

The core of LeBron, Kyrie and Kevin Love was supposed to be a younger version of what LeBron had in Miami. The Cavaliers were set up to contend for years and win several championships. Surely, Golden State was a rival with extraordinary talent, but the Cavaliers’ legendary come back from 3-1 down showed that they could be beaten. The Cavaliers just needed to tweak their team and they could take down the Warriors again.

Cleveland Cavaliers
Cleveland Cavaliers /

Cleveland Cavaliers

Even if the teams alternated championships, it didn’t matter as the Cavaliers would have several rings along the way. This was the thinking before Kevin Durant joined the Warriors, but all that changed the minute his signature dried, and he became a Warrior. The Warriors boasted the top ranked offence and the second ranked defence in the league this past season. Contrast this with the Cavaliers who had the fourth ranked offence and the twentieth ranked defence. The Cavaliers outscored their opponents by 3.1 points compared to the Warriors who outscored their opponents by 11.6 points per game. Kevin Durant is the reigning finals MVP and from the looks of it, this is just the beginning for him. To make things more disheartening for the rest of the league, the Warriors had one of, if not the best off-season so far. The Cavaliers cannot compete with this Warriors team.

LeBron James had a season for the ages and still his performance was a feather to the soles of the giant’s feet. Averages of 32.8 points, 7.8 assists and 9.1 rebounds merely tickled the giant. These averages represent the sum total of LeBron’s playoff performance and shows just how much of a tier he was on this past playoffs. Regardless of his established playoff excellence, LeBron could not find a way to help the Cavaliers overcome the Warriors. LeBron James, the best player in the NBA, as long as he is in a Cavaliers jersey is going to struggle to lead his team past these present Warriors.

What sense does it make for Cavaliers ownership to continue diving into the luxury tax for an eastern conference bully who is destined to lose to the western conference champion. The best move at this time is to continue with what you have in this LeBron’s last year and hope for some epic upset of the Warriors. If this should occur, maybe LeBron might decide to give it all one more year. If not, it was a great run while it lasted, the Cavaliers for four years had the best player in the game but the Warriors have the best team in the league, if not in the history of the league.

LeBron James and the Cavaliers just cannot compete with that team. Cavaliers ownership having surveyed the league must have decided the best move for the team is to let LeBron walk and are thus ensuring that it happens.