The Cleveland Cavaliers have had a resurgence this past season following the departure of LeBron James back in 2018. This season was the first time they secured a winning season without James since the 1997-98 season.
Unfortunately, they went from a game behind the top seed with two All-Stars and multiple players receiving All-Defensive team consideration to being eliminated by the Hawks in the second game of the Play-In tournament.
The Cleveland Cavaliers should avoid making big trades that cost a lot of pieces to get done, they should instead focus on making smaller deals to improve.
Injuries played a large role in that fall from glory that the Cavs faced throughout the season as they lost multiple key players for large chunks of the season. This includes Collin Sexton, Ricky Rubio, Jarrett Allen, and Evan Mobley, just to name a few.
Now there have been suggestions of the Cavaliers looking to potentially make a big trade for a top guard in the league such as Bradley Beal or Zach LaVine. Some fans even expect them to reunite with King James himself.
Personally, I don’t think that is the direction best suited for this particular team, here’s why.
The Cavaliers played their best basketball this season with the ball primarily going through Darius Garland’s hands. Bringing in another ball dominant guard to a roster that already has questions revolving around Collin Sexton’s fit may not be the best move.
To further bash on the idea of Cleveland potentially trading for a star guard this offseason, the names being thrown out there just don’t fit the defensive focus that the Cavs had this past season. Stars also carry a lot of financial burden that could be better utilized by paying Garland, Mobley, and Allen later down the line.
LaVine, Beal, and James are all great players, but I don’t believe they are best suited for the Cavaliers current roster construction. The Cavs would be much better off focusing on smaller moves that make subtle, but important improvements. Here are three smaller moves that will make a difference.
#1: Bring back Ricky Rubio at a discounted price
The Cavaliers hot start to the season was largely due to the stellar play from veteran point guard Ricky Rubio bringing stability of offense and still being a good defensive piece for the Cavs backcourt. It was his injury that eventually caused the downward spiral that the team faced in the second half of the season.
The Cavaliers lack any offensive consistency on their current roster outside of Kevin Love and Darius Garland. The first of which saw some dwindling minutes toward the end of the season for some reason.
Rubio would add incredible playmaking off the bench for the Cavs, something they tried to replicate after his injury by adding Rajon Rondo, but he just was not the same. Rubio is a better scorer than Rondo, largely due to the fact that he is a bit younger and has a slightly better jumper (still nothing to write home about though).
He may not be the best shooter in the league, but Rubio is incredibly self-aware of when he isn’t hitting shots and will focus more on getting teammates involved while also finding ways to get easier looks for when he does need to shoot the ball. Something Rondo didn’t really do with the Cavs. Ricky Rubio would also bring mentorship for Garland, again, as they are similar players in playstyle, if he were better at scoring at least.
Rubio would likely be willing to take a veteran minimum deal as he is aging with a major injury in recent memory as he tore his ACL this season shortly before being included in the Caris LeVert trade. He also is unlikely to be ready to start the season. Once he is on the court, however, he would be a major asset for the Cavs.
#2: Sign a creative assistant coach for offense
J.B. Bickerstaff is undoubtably a great defensive-minded head coach. He helped lead the Cavaliers to a top defense in the league despite various injuries to their best defensive players.
One major issue he has though, he’s not a great coach when it comes to creating a gameplan for scoring the ball. Most of the season, his main plan was ‘give the ball to Garland and see what he does with it.’ Very similar to what Atlanta runs with Trae Young.
While this style of play works well in the regular season and can see limited success against poor teams in the playoffs, this typically does not work against any halfway well-put-together team in the postseason.
The Cavaliers could do what the Warriors have done with Steve Kerr and complement his strength with somebody who is great at the exact opposite. Kerr creates the offense for the Warriors, Mike Brown creates the defense. The Cavs could follow that blueprint with Bickerstaff creating the defensive schemes, and an incredibly creative assistant coach creates the offense.
There are a few assistant coaches in the league that are extremely creative when creating an offense, many of which are relatively accessible for the Cavs. Two examples come to mind immediately: Steve Clifford and Mike D’Antoni of the Brooklyn Nets.
Both coaches have run good offenses in the past, with D’Antoni the architect of the “7 Seconds or Less” Phoenix Suns and the Houston Rockets team that threatened to win titles just a few years ago. Clifford never had great scorers on teams he led outside of Kemba Walker so while his schemes worked at times, they struggled to score due to lack of superstar talent.
Both coaches could be brought on for relatively smaller contracts as assistants to coach Bickerstaff, although it’s possible they pass up on the opportunity. Other coaches that fit this bill are Luke Walton and Kenny Atkinson; both are former head coaches for teams that struggled to win at times and saw definite success on offense but had struggles defensively.
Either coach would fit, but there are also many others who could fit the bill. Finding the right coaching staff would help this team reach its potential.
#3: The Cavaliers need a backup big man
When Jarrett Allen suffered a fractured finger, the Cavaliers struggled mightily as they had nobody who could really step up for him. Mobley attempted but also missed a few games in this span, leaving a vast void in the frontcourt.
Finding a solid role player to back up Allen will be an important priority for the Cavaliers during free agency this year. Luckily for them, there are plenty of good rotational centers entering free agency this year, including a handful that have played in Cleveland before.
My top targets for them would be JaVale McGee, Greg Monroe, and Frank Kaminsky, all of which have experience playing a decent role on playoff teams.
JaVale McGee just finished the one of the best seasons of his career at the ripe old age of 34. McGee has had an interesting career, being made fun of by Shaquille O’Neal on Shaqtin a Fool for years before emerging as an elite role player in Golden State. McGee has won three titles in four years and this past summer has added an Olympic gold medal to his resume; any team looking to contend should look to add him.
Greg Monroe bounced around this season before finding a home in Minnesota to end the season, he stepped up and played a good role for them in the playoffs, even providing them with some of their best minutes of the series against Memphis.
Frank Kaminsky has been a solid role player his entire career. He provides decent spacing on the floor, can post up in the paint, and he’s even a decent playmaker from the post. He added stability to the Phoenix Suns in a year they needed it most
in the 2019-20 season Kaminsky added a defensive presence in the paint that Deandre Ayton did not yet have and combined with Rubio and Cam Johnson to give the Suns consistency around Devin Booker to make a playoff push that nobody expected, going 8-0 in the bubble.
Any of those pieces would be ideal for the Cavs who would only be looking for a guy to give Allen a break. Other solid options include Isaiah Hartenstein, Serge Ibaka, and Dwight Howard, all of which have their pros and cons. These aren’t even taking into account the upcoming NBA Draft in June. The options are limitless.
The Cavaliers have a lot of potential with their current roster as is. They do not need to make a blockbuster trade to win a championship. They only need a few good signings to make it all work.