2011 Cavs: Up in the Air

by Jeff Laboon

May 22, 2003. The day the Cleveland Cavaliers seemingly changed forever.
The Cavs finished with an abysmal 17-65 record, but the phenom LeBron James. James was an Ohio boy. Born and raised in Akron, OH, which is about 40 miles north of Cleveland, James revived basketball the franchise. In his fourth season, James led the Cavs to their first Eastern Conference Championship before the San Antonio Spurs swept the Cavs in four games. Cleveland has finished in at least second place in the conference since the 2004-05 season.

July 8, 2010. The day reality set in for the Cleveland Cavaliers. LeBron James announces that he will sign with the Miami Heat ("I'm taking my talents to South Beach"). Just like that the Cleveland lost its hero. At only 25-years-old, James was the best player in franchise history. He is franchise's all-time leading scorer with 15,261 points. He is second in assists with 3,810. He is even fourth in total rebounds with 3,861.

May 30, 1986. The day the Pittsburgh Pirates seemingly changed forever.
The Pittsburgh Pirates drafted Barry Bonds sixth overall in the 1985 MLB Entry Player Draft. Bonds made his debut for the Pirates on May 30, 1986. In Bonds' fifth season, the Pirates finished 95-67, winning the National League East. Two more division titles followed before heartbreak.

October 14, 1992. The day reality set in for the Pittsburgh Pirates. In the ninth inning of Game 7 of the National League Championship Series, the Pirates led the Atlanta Braves 2-0. Pirates' ace Doug Drabek loaded the bases with Ron Gant coming to the plate. Then-Pirates manager Jim Leyland pulled replaced Drabek with Stan Belinda. Gant lined out with a sacrifice fly. Belinda walked the next batter to once again load the bases and forced a pop fly for the second out.

Francisco Cabrera came to the plate with the based loaded and two outs. Cabrera hit a line drive to left fielder Barry Bonds, scoring the tying run. Bonds threw home hoping to catch Sid Bream at the plate and force extra innings, but the throw was slightly off and umpire John McSherry ruled Bream safe at the plate. This heartbreaking loss was the last game Bonds and Drabek played with the Pirates. This loss started years of futility for the Pirates.

There is no sense in criticizing James right now. He made the decision that he felt was best for him and his family. EP won't pretend to understand what was going through his mind at the time.

But James did not leave Cleveland alone. Including James, four of the thirteen players of the Cavs' postseason roster signed with different teams this offseason – Zydrunas Ilgauskas with Miami, Shaquille O'Neal with Boston, and Delonte West with Boston. The Cavs total payroll at the end of 2009-10 season reached over $80 million. The payroll at the start of the 2010-11 season will be approximately $51 million.

Three of the team's starting rotation will be back with Mo Williams, Anthony Parker, and Antawn Jamison returning and JJ Hickson and Anderson Varejao both logged substantial playing time during the regular season. But what will the response be without the best player in franchise history?

Jamario Moon will likely take James' starting spot for the Cavs to start this season. Moon averaged 17.2 minutes and 4.9 points per game. James averaged 39.0 and 29.7. Can Moon fill this void?

Varejao started seven games last season. How will he react to starting all season?

Few outside of Cleveland expect the Cavs to do anything this season.

Bonds and Drabek made the decision to leave the Pirates because they felt it was best for them.

But, like James, they did not leave Pittsburgh alone. Including Bonds and Drabek, the Pirates lost four everyday fielders and two starting pitchers from the 1991-92 roster. Those starting spots were filled with bench players from the '91-92 team. Half of the starting fielders were gone from an NLCS team that was one out away from the NL Pennant.

The Pirates have not fielded a winning team since. Eighteen consecutive losing seasons have tormented Pirates' fans since losing their superstar outfielder and staff ace. The Pirates finished last in the division nine times and lost 100 or more games twice in this 18 year range. The franchise was even in jeopardy of leaving the city in the late 1990s because of low attendance and poor facilities. Despite the beautiful PNC Park, attendance numbers remain towards the bottom of the league.

The obstacle facing the Cleveland Cavaliers this season will be showing fans that the front office is dedicated to maintaining a winning culture. The timing of James' decision made that hard this offseason, but how the team confronts the trade deadline and the 2011 NBA Draft will speak volumes to the franchise's future success.

The Cavs did find a good man for the job. New head coach Byron Scott has nine years of experience as head coach and he has a record of 352-355 in the regular season. Scott served during rebuilding years for the New Jersey Nets and New Orleans Hornets before turning both franchises into playoff teams.

Scott's success will be limited to the tools new general manager Chris Grant provides him. Grant joined the Cavs in 2005 and turned down the Atlanta GM gig in 2008 to stay with the Cavs.

The combination of Scott, Grant, the nine returning players, and four new acquisitions hold the future of Cleveland basketball in their hands. This group of players determines LeBron James' legacy in Cleveland. Bonds and Drabek are remembered as the stars of the last good team in Pittsburgh Pirates' history. The loss of Bonds and Drabek signaled the end of the Pirates' brief NL East dynasty and ushered years of losing.

LeBron James took his talents to Miami, but the Cavs organization needs to make sure that he did not take the franchise's winning culture with him.