Opinion: No matter the outcome, Cavs can claim they had a plan this season

The Cleveland Cavaliers don’t have to have a plan that’s set in stone this season.

This upcoming basketball season will be the most intriguing campaign over the last five years for the Cleveland Cavaliers.

Fresh off LeBron James’ departure to Los Angeles, the once-feared Eastern Conference foe has some looking in the mirror to do before opening night’s tip-off.

Cleveland appeared to be ready for a complete rebuild after selecting Alabama point guard Collin Sexton with the eighth overall selection in the 2018 NBA Draft.

That plan got a little murky with Kevin Love inking a four-year, $120 million extension with the Wine and Gold back in July.

If you take a look at the Cavs’ roster ahead of the regular season, you’d probably be confused as to what exactly the plan in place truly is. Everything from proven vets to first and second-year players decorates the roster and it leaves a lot of wiggle room.

Here’s the thing: The Cavs don’t have to necessarily have an idea of what they want to do.

No one knows what to expect from this bunch, which means general manager Koby Altman and company can follow whatever route this season takes his team and go from there.

It sounds funny at first but it’s true.

Three-fourths of America already believes that the Cavs are in a heap of trouble against not only the true contenders of the NBA but also the middle-of-the-road teams that Northeast Ohioans haven’t had to associate with since the 2013-14 season.

Consequently, if Cleveland were to only muster up 20-25 wins, is anyone going to be that flabbergasted?

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Right now, head coach Tyronn Lue has Sexton and Cedi Osman to work with as his building blocks of the future.

This will be the first time Lue will actually have an opportunity as a head coach to mold younger players and shape them for promising NBA careers, something totally different from when the King was in town. Gauging off of Lue’s previous comments regarding the new year, mentoring the new fellas on the block might be the challenge he takes the most pride in.

“It’s not about wins and losses. It’s about wins and lessons,” Lue told reporters at the Cavaliers’ Media Day. With Osman and Sexton leading the charge for this new unit, that statement holds a lot of weight and leaves a lot of interpretation left to be made. It shows that the Cavs aren’t even exactly sure in what they expect this team to become by the end of April.

“Start from what we had and build from that,” Lue also mentioned on Monday. Soundbites like that make one wonder what the exact direction the team is looking to go in this season.

Because of course, it isn’t cut and dry with the Cavs. It never is, even following the exit of LeBron.

The Cavs have the obvious All-Star in Love. After that, it gets tough to sort out who really belongs on this squad.

Kyle Korver, George Hill, and Channing Frye could all prove to be pretty useful.

Korver’s impact already was put on display when watching Summer League play.

It was apparent that Cedi Osman had studied and put into effect the shooting technique Korver has used to reach the upper echelon of shooting greats. Osman’s shot looked pure and that has to be attributed to, if only even a bit, Korver’s mentoring.

Hill and Frye will help even out their respective positions and offer some guidance to the younger guys on the roster. Both players have been through grueling playoff runs and definitely possess a lot of knowledge that can only be good to pass on to the next wave.

However, there is one veteran with a curious case.

It was a June to forget for J.R. Smith, as he’s been remembered all summer for his awful blunder in Game 1 of the 2018 NBA Finals. With a decline on the defensive end rearing its ugly head for most of last season whilst facing the reality of an aging shooter, how much does Smith really give this team?

The better question to ask is why should he be trusted with quality minutes over the likes of Rodney Hood and Jordan Clarkson?

Once again, is the Cavs’ main objective developing the youth or winning basketball games at an efficient rate?

Time will ultimately tell what it is exactly the Cavs are planning on doing for the 2018-19 season. Until then, they get to stay away from the spotlight and handle their business.

But whenever the season does end, the front office can flash a grin and tell everyone it was Stage 1 of their “Life After LeBron” blueprint.

Nobody will ever truly know.