A trade won’t fix the dysfunctional Cleveland Cavaliers

What you see is what you get, and that’s exactly how it has been when you watch the Cleveland Cavaliers. Their internal conflict and trade rumors has translated into very poor basketball on the court.

Unfortunately, the Cleveland Cavaliers are in their biggest rut since LeBron James’ return in 2014. The team is struggling mightily, and it seems to only get worse between the internal issues and blow-out losses.

On Tuesday Jason Lloyd of The Athletic reported that LeBron had a heated exchange with two executives in a recent team meeting. On top of that, the relationship between LeBron and the Cleveland Cavaliers Owner, Dan Gilbert, is non-existent.

Furthermore, when you consider all of the internal issues and throw trade rumors into the mix, it doesn’t make for such a pleasant situation to be in as a player.

That said, at this point, a trade won’t fix this team. The organization is much too dysfunctional. Let’s take a quick look at some of their defensive stats to prove the point. They are in the bottom five teams in opponent’s effective field goal percentage and defensive rating. Not to mention, an NBA champion hasn’t been outside the top 15 in defensive rating since the Lakers, who had a prime Kobe and prime Shaq leading their charge.

More from King James Gospel

• 3 possible starting lineups for Cleveland Cavaliers in 2023-24
• The Cavaliers may have snagged a hidden gem in Craig Porter Jr.
• 4 players the Cavaliers should pursue in 2024 free agency
• 6 players Cavaliers might replace Jarrett Allen with by the trade deadline
• This stat is one to keep an eye on for Cavaliers’ Max Strus in years ahead

That means, if this team is somehow to be fixed, these rumors– however true — must cease.

Even if there is truth to the rumors about Gilbert being satisfied with having one championship, the fans aren’t and most assuredly, the players aren’t. Cleveland has a once in a generation player on their team in LeBron, and it doesn’t seem like Gilbert sees that or even cares.

Bottom line, if you have LeBron on your team, your mindset should be in “win-now” mode. And, to be quite frank, Dan Gilbert seems to be content,  which isn’t an option when you have LeBron James.

So no, trades won’t fix the Cleveland Cavaliers. In fact, the drama throughout the organization may not be fixable at this point.

Of course, it would ease the mind of the front office if LeBron committed to staying, but that’s not the case. The fact of the matter is, he probably doesn’t know what he’s doing in free agency yet. However, as the days go on, most would argue he may be on his way out of Cleveland.

Ultimately, all fans can do now is hope for a miracle trade that can take this team to another level. Maybe with some team success, the dysfunction begins to fade.

Must Read: Cleveland Cavaliers: Jeremy Lamb could be the steal of trade SZN

Otherwise, fans will have to continue to watch Cleveland’s dysfunctional play.