Rome was not built in one day, and the modern success of the Cleveland Cavaliers is no different.
To get to the top of the Eastern Conference without LeBron James, the Cavaliers have made savvy moves and risky decisions in the hopes that it will pay off and build a title contender. As the Cavs approach All-Star break with a 42-10 record, it is hard to argue that those trials and maneuvers have not worked in Cleveland's favor.
The thanks for these successes, and blame for the failures, are never going to rest solely on one individual or one move. After last season, the Cavs moved on from J.B. Bickerstaff at head coach and quickly demonstrated the league's best offense after years of a middling efficiency. While this change can be linked to Bickerstaff's offensive systems, Evan Mobley's confidence, Darius Garland's health and many other factors are at play.
Looking back at how the cornerstones and foundations were built, though, the Cavaliers have more gratitude to offer to somebody who may never receive a warm welcome in Northeast Ohio after a short-lived, bitter rivalry in the late 2010's. As much as Cavs fans would hate to give any credit to a former arch nemesis, a two-time champion and Cleveland rival helped form this modern era of Cavs greatness.
The Cavaliers can thank Kevin Durant for this season
Kevin Durant has never played for the Cleveland Cavaliers. Barring this universe merging with another parallel one, he never will. But, his influence across the NBA has indirectly caused the Cavaliers' rise to power in the league.
Before Durant joined the Phoenix Suns and after he won two Finals MVPs with the Golden State Warriors, the star forward joined forces with former Cavalier Kyrie Irving on the Brooklyn Nets to form what was expected to be a powerhouse super team. While this pairing never achieved a trip to the Finals, they set shockwaves throughout the NBA that are still affecting the Association today. Kyrie's eventual departure to the Dallas Mavericks pushed their timeline forward and may have contributed to the worst trade in NBA history, sending Luka Doncic to the Los Angeles Lakers.
Beyond that, though, Durant's influence has helped shape this Cavs team. As many have already learned, Cavaliers head coach Kenny Atkinson saw his first opportunity as a head coach with the Nets before KD and Kai came to town. Atkinson brought a young, unproven Nets team to the playoffs with guard D'Angelo Russell at the center. He introduced a unique playstyle and built a reputation as a player development mastermind, but he had not shown a talent to win in the playoffs.
During this time, Atkinson witnessed Jarrett Allen and Caris LeVert enter the league as their first professional coach. Allen and LeVert became integral pieces of Atkinson's system, helping achieve that playoff berth. Shortly after, though, the power shift to add two veteran All-Stars changed the franchise's dynamics and drastically altered Allen's and LeVert's opportunities.
Locker room disconnect
Not long after Durant and Irving arrived, Atkinson was out the door. In a deep dive by The Athletic, sources said that Atkinson lost a connection with his players and could never build one with Durant or Irving.
"To be clear, a directive from Irving or Durant was not given to fire Atkinson. Marks and his front office are leaders of the franchise... However, enough information had been gathered prior to that, and even Atkinson, sources said, started to understand he had lost his most critical players."Shams Charania & Alex Schiffer
In total, Atkinson coached the Nets for 62 games after Durant and Irving joined forces, finishing with a record of 28-34. The season prior, he had earned a 42-40 record but lost key contributors to that system.
Atkinson's lone season with KD and Irving was wrought with problems. Injuries plagued the stars, chemistry was never established and the star duo clearly wanted a different coach. So, Atkinson left and joined the Los Angeles Clippers as an assistant for one year before joining the Golden State Warriors and learning under Steve Kerr. With GSW, Atkinson helped lead the Warriors to the 2022 Finals win and considered those three seasons a "graduate school" in NBA offense before joining the Cavs.
While Durant and Irving were not explicitly responsible for Atkinson's firing, coaching the duo was a death sentence for coaches. After Atkinson, Hall of Fame point guard Steve Nash took a shot at it and has never attempted coaching since. One of the greatest masterminds of NBA offense and strategy left coaching behind after a short tenure with Durant and Kyrie. That says something.
Beyond coaching, Durant's Brooklyn era gave the Cavaliers a pillar of their new generation when he recruited a former teammate to the mess that was the Nets.
Brooklyn sold low, and the Cavaliers took their chance
Though now it is hard to imagine Jarrett Allen in any jersey other than the Wine and Gold in any trade other than a massive blockbuster deal, he joined the Cavaliers as an afterthought from Brooklyn. In 2019, the Brooklyn Nets traded for All-Star James Harden in a massive multi-team deal that altered the futures of every franchise involved.
As for the Cavaliers, they were a last-minute addition to the trade, sending Dante Exum, a 2022 first-round pick via the Milwaukee Bucks and a future second-round pick in exchange for Allen and Taurean Prince. While Prince never fit in well, Allen quickly established the Cavaliers as a premier defensive team, setting the tone for the franchise's future.
The Nets traded Allen for next to nothing; however, he had been a focal point of their young core before the Durant-Irving-Harden debacle. The first two Brooklyn stars wanted to form their team with their players. That included the complementary pieces. One player in particular caused major strife between the stars and the preexisting members.
In part, Atkinson was fired because of his preference for Allen over veteran big man DeAndre Jordan, friend of Kyrie and Durant. As Bleacher Report noted, the trio had made a pact to play with one another three years prior, and they seemingly intended to be in the starting unit together, too.
This made Allen expendable, especially once his mentor Atkinson was out the door. The Cavaliers swooped in, stealing the future All-Star center for themselves. It was Allen's team-first, winning mentality that launched the Cavs back from a bottom-tier rebuilding team to a playoff contender.
Once the Cavaliers paired Allen with Evan Mobley, Cleveland set a new standard for NBA defenses. While many doubted the possibility of playing two big men together, looking to the modern day and many teams have embraced and replicated what the Cavs have done.
It's important to repeat that Durant's influence alone did not create this Cavaliers team. But, his Brooklyn Nets years were toxic, destructive and disappointing. Durant will never be less than an all-time great talent. Many will question much about him, especially off the court, and many of those questions are valid.
What is certain, though, is that two cornerstones of the Cleveland Cavaliers only became the forces they are today because of Durant's drama-filled arrival in Brooklyn. This is not even mentioning Caris LeVert, who was also in the Harden trade. His departue from the Nets not only eventually led to years with the Cavaliers, but also helped him diagnose a cancerous tumor due to the physicals he underwent from the deal with the Indiana Pacers.
The butterfly effect is an underrated yet mesmerizing part of NBA history. If Atkinson had never left the Nets, he may have never joined the Warriors to learn his offensive genius that has been deployed in Cleveland. Allen would have never become a Cavalier. In the most confusing way possible, a second Finals championship banner hanging in Rocket Mortgage FieldHouse will in some way be thanks to the efforts of Kevin Durant. Maybe that failed Brooklyn Nets team will lead to a title. Just in a different city.