The future is bright for the young Cavs

The potential littered across the Cleveland Cavaliers roster allows for hope in an apocalyptic post-LeBron world.

The future is bright for the Cleveland Cavaliers.

Sometimes coaches get lucky with a once-in-a-lifetime basketball player. They’ll take advantage of their star’s strengths on the court while doing their best surround them with talent capable of filling out whatever flaws he may have.

The most recent example of this? The Golden State Warriors with Stephen Curry.

They drafted Stephen Curry 7th overall in the 2009 draft (too soon, Minnesota?). Here we are nine years later debating if he’s the greatest shooter the NBA has ever seen… which he isn’t– that would be Ray Allen, and Steph is behind him in the second spot.  

Over the next four years, they’d take Klay Thompson at 11 in 2011 and acquire Draymond Green via trade in the 2013 draft, where he was selected 35th overall. This team was stacked with loads of talent going into the 2013-2014 season, but their first-round exit to the Clippers proved that they were in need of change.

They fired Mark Jackson and hired Steve Kerr, one of the league’s most elite spot-up shooters of all time.

In case you just started following basketball, I’ll say it for everyone, including those in the back: they got the change they were looking for, and then some.

Oh, and they also won their first championship in 40 years.

Five years later, Thompson is among the league’s best two-way players. Draymond Green is the standard for an NBA defender, having made the All-Defensive team the last four seasons (first-team ‘15, ‘16, ‘17).

So yeah, they did alright in the 2013-14 offseason.

The Warriors set the standard for rebuilding a team in the modern NBA by drafting players, allowing them to display their strengths in games and then work on their weaknesses outside of competition.

Of course, they now have the West locked up for the next five years after this summer but, hey, let’s move on to why you’re here.

Eventually, there will have to be another team that steps up to the plate and ends Golden State’s pure dominance sometime in the next five years.

There’s a chance it could be Philly, chance it could be Boston.

But there’s also a question as well: why not Cleveland?

The Cavaliers have the tools to make noise over these next few seasons, and it could only be a couple of years before we potentially see them climb up in the East.

Let’s begin with the most important piece in this puzzle: the Cavs’ first big move of the summer came when they drafted Collin Sexton with the 8th overall in the 2018 NBA Draft.

The “Young Bull” has the highest motor of this entire rookie class and will look to improve in every way he can.

Going back to the Warriors and their stars, Sexton is the player who must be surrounded by other talents.

For those of you who don’t watch college basketball, this is the guy that nearly led Alabama to a comeback when the Crimson Tide had to play 3-on-5.

Aside from Sexton, second-year small forward Cedi Osman looked good in the Summer League this year. Really good.

His averages of 20.0 points, 8.0 rebounds and 4.5 assists per game were a preview of what the 23-year-old Turk has in his bag.

Luckily for him, the departures of LeBron James and Jeff Green means more playing time. Unluckily for him, he won’t be playing with the greatest of all-time (@ me on Twitter if you think I’m wrong).

Furthermore, players acquired on the trade deadline this past season — George Hill, Rodney Hood, Larry Nance, Jr. and Jordan Clarkson — will all play significant roles this year.

As Dan Gilinsky wrote last month, Hill, 32, should take on the role of mentoring the young Sexton. His veteran experience and perimeter shooting ability are both positives for Cleveland’s backcourt.

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Restricted free agent Rodney Hood has question marks, none bigger than how he will bounce back after having a very rough first season wearing the Wine and Gold uniform. I’m looking forward to watching him sprout into the player he was in Utah, where he averaged 16.8 points per game before being traded.

Nance Jr. is a freak athlete and we can all agree on that. What he’s able to translate that athleticism into will be the more important story.

In order to maximize his potential, he’ll have to get comfortable with jumpers inside the 15-foot range and, on the other end, become a better low-post defender.

In addition, you can call me crazy, delusional or whatever but Kevin Love will get back to the 20-point double-double guy he was before he had to share the ball with Kyrie Irving and LeBron.

For the first time in a long time, he will be able to play his natural power forward position, where he can score from virtually any spot on the floor.

Whether it be a pick-and-pop three or a one-dribble post fadeaway, K-Love is 29-years-old and can, and will, perform at an All-Star level this season.

Last but not least, I can’t stress how important Tristan Thompson will be as the starting center this year.

Thompson’s addiction to grabbing offensive rebounds doesn’t look like it’ll be slowing down as he will enter this season as a 27-year-old. Furthermore, I’m also excited to see him blossom into a better defender this year, seeing as he will be the defensive anchor for this offensive-minded team.

When looking at the roster top-to-bottom, there are many holes to fill, none bigger than that of The King.

However, these 2018 Cleveland Cavaliers have plenty of potential, proven players, and far more talent than many have given them credit for.

*All stats gathered from basketball.realgm.com