The Decision 2.0

Still haven't seen the details on the deal (I was assuming max rising over 7 years?  Sure, why not make the longest deal possible) but Lebron James is definitely heading back to Cleveland.  In the end, even the pundits were proven right.

I still had my doubts right up til the end.  That Lebron would use other teams or even his own as bargaining chips for the chattering media seemed reasonable to me; but the fact that he would use the Cavs that way didn't jive with my way of thinking.  In that sense, it seems inevitable that he went back to Cleveland but it never seemed inevitable to me.  4 years ago, after Decision 1.0 I thought that they'd play out their 4 years deals, Wade would re-up, Lebron would go back to Cleveland and Boash would go the Lakers, and right up to their thumping at the hands of the Spurs I guess I still believed that model.  The big 3 had a pretty sweet deal in Miami and only if Melo went to the Bulls could their possibly be any challenger in the East (no way Kevin Love just gets dumped and there's no other way to get him to the East).  They had at least one more trip the Finals waiting for them (or maybe two...three...six).  I figured Lebron and Bosh (and Melo) would re-up on 1-year deals and we'd do this all again next year.

The sticking point, it seems, was money.  Lebron wants to maximize his earning power (I don't blame him) and that basically left the Cavs as the true option rather than the Heat.  And those were the only two teams he was considering, the idea that he would go to the Clippers or Lakers or Mavs is ludicrous; Miami couldn't give him and Bosh (who wants to maximize his earning power (and I don't blame him either)) the big money, so Cleveland was the natural choice.

Now do the Cavs make the next big move and go for Kevin Love?  Looks to me like Wiggins, Bennet and Thompson lines up perfectly salary-wise (though I reckon both teams would prefer Waiters to Thompson).  I don't really see the need to do that deal though.  I'd just as soon see Lebron with Wiggins and Bennet and Thompson/Waiters as Love.  In basketball it is better to have one really good guy to 2-3 kinda good guys, I get that.  But you still need to fill out your roster and 3 reasonably priced up and coming youngsters isn't bad to have either.  And with Lebron and Kyrie already in place, I'd be inclined to keep the youngsters, let them develop and ride Lebron right back to the Finals.  I'd just hold on to Wiggins, show him old vids of Scottie Pippen and say, 'Do this!'.  If the Cavs could get Love without giving up Wiggins (say, Bennet, Waiters, Thompson, #1 picks 2015, 2018 and a boatload of #2 picks), I'd say do it but I don't see that as an option.  With Lebron and Kyrie signed long term, Wiggins still on a rookie deal, the Cavs can afford to give up those future picks (they already unloaded 2016 with Jarret Jack).  That said, I don't think they need Love; the team they have right now will easily get out of the East and really that's all you can prepare for, so I wouldn't monkey with this team.  Let them grow together and let the necessary adjustments present themselves.

Do the Cavs bring in Mike Miller or Ray Allen?  They could, I think they're affordable.  But with Kyrie, Wiggins, Lebron and Waiters I don't see a lot of shots for Allen.  Miller gives them some size and defensive toughness on top of a little 3 point shooting, so I think he fits a little better.  But I don't think he makes and breaks the season or anything.  Another of Lebron's soldiers, apparently, is Anderson Varejao, is he off the table as a trade asset?  Does that make Thompson or Bennet more trade-able?  Again, I think the roster they've got as of this moment is good enough to win the east.  A little augmenting is nice but I think the big pieces are in place.

And are the Cavs now #1 in the East?  If Bosh goes to Houston and Melo stays in New York, then absolutely they are.  The Heat are guaranteed to be a shell of what they've been the last 4 years (and with Wade re-upping for, let's say 2yrs/$40m, they're a over-priced shell, at that), the Knicks can really only be Melo and nothing else, the Bulls will theoretically be better, the Raptors are nice but not overpowering, the Pacers are what they are (namely second best), the Magic and Sixers are a coupla years away from being anything challenging, the Wizards and Hornets are nice coming teams but they're not gonna overtake a Lebron-Kyrie-Wiggins squad. Only the Hawks strike me as a team that still has some moves to make to get better.  So barring major injury, I'll take the Cavs coming out of the East next year.  With or without Kevin Love.