What do the Cavs do Now?

[Jameis1of1]

The Cavs as-is are never going to be the Warriors imho ... the better team basically always beats the best player with an inferior team in a 7 game series.

However, never underestimate LeBron the GM!

The most obvious trade would be a simple swap of Kevin Love for Paul George.

However, if I were the Cavs I would consider offering Tristan, Kay Felder and their first round pick for Paul George as George holds all the cards and could force the Pacers to accept that deal if he wants to play at least one year in Cleveland and in an NBA Finals.

If the Cavs complete the latter trade they would match-up extremely well with the Warriors and most likely be favored in such a Finals series:

PG: Kyrie - Steph = push
SG: JR Smith - Klay = GSW
SF: Paul George - Durant = GSW
PF: LeBron - Draymond = CAVS (massive edge)
C: Love - Zaza = CAVS (massive edge)

[Jameis1of1]

Heck, LeBron could even go crazy dictator and pull off a wild 4 team trade like so:

Cavs Trade: Kyrie, Love, Tristan, Shumpert, Frye, Tavares, Felder and a first round pick
Cavs Receive: Paul George, Carmelo Anthony, Chris Paul and Deandre Jordan
Why: CP3/PG13/Melo/LeBron/Deandre would be the best starting 5 "on paper" in NBA history!

Pacers Trade: Paul George
Pacers Receive: Kevin Love
Why: Three years of Love instead of just one year of Paul George.

Clippers Trade: Chris Paul, Deandre Jordan and Wes Johnson
Clippers Receive: Kyrie Irving and Tristan Thompson
Why: Kyrie has a lot more years left than CP3 who could bolt anyways and leave them with nothing so exchanging Jordan & Wes for TT to get Kyrie makes a lot of sense.

Knicks Trade: Carmelo Anthony
Knicks Receive: Cavs #1 pick, Iman Shumpert, Kay Felder, Eddy Tavares, Wes Johnson and Channing Frye
Why: Phil wants to dump Melo and getting a #1 pick, 3 young players and a couple of veterans is a pretty good return for the 33 year old pariah

CAVS.JPG

[jordan23]

They need another superstar to compete with GS, or Lebron needs to jump ship again to possibly the Spurs.

[Jameis1of1]

They need another superstar to compete with GS, or Lebron needs to jump ship again to possibly the Spurs.

The Spurs? I doubt that ... LeBron and Kawhi would be an insane duo but I don't think LeBron and Pop could co-exist, at least not until LeBron is well past his prime and in a secondary role.

The consensus seems to be that LeBron will sign with the Lakers in the summer of 2018 ... but ... I don't see why he would want to play in the West. He owns the East and can probably make the next four straight Finals at least which would give him TWICE as many conference titles as Jordan ... that's a lot better for his legacy than playing in the West and never even making it to the Finals again.

Honestly, I could see LeBron joining the Celtics before I could see him joining the Lakers or Spurs ... the Celtics are LOADED with players and future picks and if LeBron could orchestrate Jimmy Butler signing with the Celtics and Fultz shows a ton of promise as a rookie, I could see a Fultz/Bradley/Butler/LeBron/Horford starting 5 dominating the East and maybe even besting the Warriors.

I just think LeBron is smart enough to always put himself in position to make the Finals, so I really do believe he will stay in the East ... though I do think he could play for Pop and the Spurs as an older player and maybe even retire as a Laker.

I mean, I wouldn't even put it past LeBron to play into his mid 40s and sign a one year deal with a top contender each year around the all-star break so he's only playing half the year and always playing for a top contender ... LeBron is the Kingpin of the NBA and on an intellectual level (at least in regards to hoops and team building) that we've never seen before.

[rjabreu88]

I definitely agree that I don't see him going to the west. Why have to play the Warriors a round or 2 earlier when you can play them in the finals? True, Lakers would probably be most likely out West cuz Hollywood and big market etc. But really is it that big of a deal to have to fly to Hollywood for your extracurriculars from any other city?

I really miss the old days where superstars didn't bounce around a lot and tried to do whatever they could for their teams for years and only left towards the tail end. Shout out to Kobe, Magic, Bird, Duncan, Dirk, Stockton, Reggie for being 1 team players and all those that put in 10+ years before leaving like Malone, Iverson, KG. That's just off the top of my head I'm sure I missed many.

I think its most likely he stays and tries to orchestrate trades and FA signings to bring another superstar to him.

[palantri]

I don't see Bron jumping ship- he has so much vested in the City of Cleveland that leaving again would not benefit him- unless management stops trying to be competitive. What do I see for this offseason?

Richard Jefferson retires. The two Jones's are released/not resigned. The money freed up gives them very little to work with, but it may allow some sort of offer to be made. I could see Love being traded, if Paul George can be brought in instead. A solid center backup option is mandatory or the team won't be able to compete with the west...

[pwaldo]

Maybe it is just me but I don't the Cavs getting better with a swap of Love for Paul George. And honestly I don't see the Cavs being able to add anybody else to make them better than the Warriors (if the Warriors don't suffer any injuries that is).

[Jameis1of1]

Maybe it is just me but I don't the Cavs getting better with a swap of Love for Paul George. And honestly I don't see the Cavs being able to add anybody else to make them better than the Warriors (if the Warriors don't suffer any injuries that is).

I believe swapping Love for PG13 would make the Cavs better ... but ... not better than the Warriors.

However, the media is full of goofballs who run with false narratives and many times don't understand trade dynamics. There is no reason the Cavs should have to trade Love to get PG13 ... PG13 holds all the cards and can force his way out of Indiana quite easily. I wouldn't be shocked to see something like a Tristan Thompson + #1 pick for PG13 go down or even a Tristan + Kay Felder + Tavares + 2n round pick for G13 go down.

The Pacers are in a tough spot with PG13 ... he seems to obviously want out and can just leave them with NOTHING next summer if they don't trade him by the upcoming trade deadline ... and he can also tell every team (Celtics, Lakers, Clippers, etc) that would trade for him that he will NOT sign a long-term extension with them and all they'd get is a 1 year rental ... that would kill the market and could force Indiana to accept what Cleveland offers.

And, a Kyrie/Smith/PG13/LeBron/Love squad can beat the Warriors imho ...

[bakemeister52]

Don't see LeBron in Boston! Don't see Kevin Love staying! I think he wants to stay in Cleveland, before going to the Lakers to retire. Pops wouldn't want him in San Antonio. I hope Jimmy Butler goes to the Celtics. This is a hard one since I don't really like LeBron and really like the Warriors, especially with Durant.

[jordan23]

I really miss the old days where superstars didn't bounce around a lot and tried to do whatever they could for their teams for years and only left towards the tail end. Shout out to Kobe, Magic, Bird, Duncan, Dirk, Stockton, Reggie for being 1 team players and all those that put in 10+ years before leaving like Malone, Iverson, KG. That's just off the top of my head I'm sure I missed many

Back when superstars actually played like superstars each and every game of the season. Players actually played with their heart and with a lot of passion for the game.