Cavs must learn from recent history and get worse before they get better

For many in the Association, you have to tear it down before you build it back up when a star leaves, as is the case for the Cleveland Cavaliers sans LeBron James.

Fans of the Cleveland Cavaliers have to be anything but surprised, as their Mr. Everything did all he could and more to keep what was a less-than-spectacular roster still alive all the way to the NBA Finals.

James is a now a Los Angeles Laker, and I wish all the best of luck to him in the near future. From a Cleveland perspective, now the approach should be about seeing what kind of talent they have in their youth, and doing what they can to acquire draft picks for the next two seasons.

Keith Smith of RealGM broke down how if Cleveland’s picks the next two seasons reside in the top ten, they will have the rights to those selections (whereas if they are 11 or up, they go to the Atlanta Hawks from a Kyle Korver trade in 2017). If Cleveland does go with a rebuilding approach, then the Hawks would acquire Cleveland’s second-round selections in 2021 and 2022.

To me, that makes deciding whether or not to compete for an Eastern Conference playoff birth a clear decision.

DON’T BE IN NBA PURGATORY, CAVS.

Cleveland had the correct approach back after Decision 1.0, as they lucked into getting three number one overall picks in a four-year span and eventually drafted star point guard Kyrie Irving and then dealt another number one overall pick in wing Andrew Wiggins to the Minnesota Timberwolves for big Kevin Love.

For the Cavs to have their needed rebirth, 2018 first-round pick Collin Sexton has to become the primary catalyst in their offense and Love must be traded for the best possible offer, especially of the future pick variety.

This transition period will allow the Cavs’ front office to see what kind of coaching staff (namely head man Tyronn Lue) they truly have, without the strong influence of James on the roster. It will also enable general manager Koby Altman to grow the roster more organically, via the draft, the G-League and perhaps a few savvy free agent signings to help the youngsters.

Now that does not mean Altman and company should just deal Love to the first offer. The Cavaliers, and particularly Sexton, should have some more time to work with the more freed up Love without the high usage of James.

More from Cavs Analysis

• The Cavaliers may have snagged a hidden gem in Craig Porter Jr.
• This stat is one to keep an eye on for Cavaliers’ Max Strus in years ahead
• Projecting how much Cavs’ 3 two-way signings might play this season
• 4 Cavaliers looking to make a name for themselves in training camp
• Mitchell’s numbers getting trimmed a bit wouldn’t be bad thing for Cavaliers

Now is that going to mean we see another installation of Minnesota Love? That seems pretty far-fetched to me, given the grocery-list of injuries he’s has had throughout his career.

That being said, the veteran big has proven time and time again that when healthy, he is one of the best inside-out offensive talents in the league. Lue needs some more time to figure out how to implement that talent post-James.

According to Bleacher Report’s Greg Swartz, “he (Love) averaged 27.4 points and 14.9 rebounds with a usage rate of 30.4 percent per 36 minutes when James was on the bench past season.”

That proves that Love is obviously not chopped liver and when surrounded by some perimeter ability (a la Sexton, perhaps Kyle Korver, Jordan Clarkson, a (potentially) returning Rodney Hood, along with Larry Nance Jr.’s presence at the rim), he can fill it up via post-ups, more spot-ups and create from the mid-post area for himself and others.

Nonetheless, the Cavaliers can’t get too carried away with feeling the Love, if you will.

Objectively speaking, Cleveland is not exactly the most attractive free agent destination in the Association. Taking that into account, the Cavs (namely Altman) must be smooth operators throughout next season, and strike when the Love iron is at its hottest.

In addition, the squad must entertain all offers involving their veteran trade pieces: that being salary dump candidates Tristan Thompson, the uber-inefficient J.R. Smith, the aging but still effective Korver, the prone to overshooting Clarkson, and injury-prone floor general George Hill.

As KJG’s Quenton Albertie demonstrated in a recent piece, Cleveland must value the likely smaller contract and youth of Hood over keeping Love, and potentially create more cap room to have for a first option next year.

"“With Hood and Love on the roster, their keeping the first-round pick is possible but unlikely.It’s almost counterintuitive but if the Cavaliers want to be successful in the long-run, they have to make sacrifices in the short-term.Trading Love for cap relief would lead to a worse season record but net them a trade exception they can use on a big-named player, the cap space to sign a max player next summer and at least one first-round pick.”"

Moreover, given how promising Sexton’s pick-and-roll and isolation ability is, particularly matched up with Nance as a roller and Hood’s potential as a corner and cutting threat, this needs to be a reconstructed offensive game plan based on youth and a faster pace.

Younger teams generally play better when they get out and run and with older veterans still on the roster for the entirety of the season, that could mean more injury problems and a bogged down pace that is not conducive to Lue (who has repeatedly expressed how he wants more pace) having success.

As Nathan Beighle of KJG has noted, the Cavs should let Love’s trade value increase as the season progresses, and then trade him (and likely others) when picks from possible contenders (such as the Boston Celtics, Philadelphia 76ers, Toronto Raptors and Milwaukee Bucks) become available as teams are looking for a scoring boost and veteran presence for the playoff push. Be patient, Cavs.

NBA purgatory just delays the rebuild, and Cleveland must let an infusion of youth and athleticism take over.

The vets had their run, and after a few months of mentoring the youngsters, the trade tickers must be active.

Related Story: Why Nance Jr. is a foundational piece for the Cavs

Acquiring draft picks is the necessary step to building this franchise back up and potentially getting marquee pieces down the road with increased cap room.