preface
"The king is far away, and the knights are guarding the four sides!"
Since LeBron was drafted by the Cavaliers in 2003, the Cavaliers have never made the playoffs when the team didn't have him. However, everything has changed this season, although there is no James, but the Cavaliers of the James era are back, and this season the Cavaliers are in fourth place in the East with a record of 35 wins and 23 losses, only 2.5 wins from the first place in the East, and are expected to enter the playoffs for the first time after the James era. Now that the Cavaliers are a strong team again, the Kings on the West Coast don't have to worry about Cleveland!
Lessons from the past, layout in advance
In 2010, when James first left the Cleveland Cavaliers, it was a big blow to the Cavaliers, when all Cavaliers fans, including the team's management, did not expect LeBron to leave the team in the summer. So they did not prepare for LeBron's departure in advance, so in the four years after James's departure, the Cavaliers were blocked out of the playoffs every year, and got three signings in four years, although James eventually returned, but the impact on the team in recent years was still great, from the first in the league to the first to the last. This contrast stimulated cavaliers fans, so since James' second return, the Cavaliers have been ready to leave him.
The 2017-2018 cavaliers were in turmoil, the team sat on luxurious content, but the record was very average, when James also asked the team to take out the team's only lottery lotto sign no. 8 to trade for reinforcement, but the Cavaliers never moved this sign, but stayed until the end of the season. Although in the end James led the Cavaliers to the Finals, but regrettably missed the championship, James also chose to leave Los Angeles in the summer to join the Lakers, but this time the Cavaliers did not stagnate like the first time, but operated.
They selected the first ring of the reconstruction, Sykeston, through the eighth pick, while sending away some veterans such as Tristan Thompson and JR. Leaving Luck with the only high salary, the following year they finally selected the team's core Garland, this year they selected another Mobley who is expected to become a Duncan-level forward, and in the trading market, the management is also actively operating, first in exchange for Allen, and then for LeVert, thus forming the Cavaliers' strongest lineup, that is, the current lineup.
I have to say that in fact, the management of Altman is still quite expected, although his predecessor Griffin built the team's championship lineup, but after winning the championship gave a lot of garbage contracts, which is also the reason why the Cavaliers can not further improve. And Altman is not only a series of excellent operations in the trading market to save the team, but also the draft vision is quite unique, in the past, the Cavaliers management was reduced to a laughing stock because of the selection of Bennett, and now the Cavaliers management represented by Altman has selected cornerstone-level players for two consecutive years and has become a leader in the industry. The Cavaliers' outstanding results today are the result of the management learning lessons and the early layout.
There are too many good cards and unlimited potential
In just two seasons, the Cavaliers have completely completed the rebuild, and there are too many good cards in their current lineup, young players like Garland and Allen are cornerstone players, and Allen was selected for the All-Star team, but he signed a very cost-effective contract, which is still quite rare in today's league. After the expiration of Lefour's contract, you can also renew Garland with a high salary, and At the same time, Love can also re-sign with a relatively low salary, their front line has LeVert, Osman, Markkanen, Okoro and other high-quality players, now the Cavaliers are too many good cards, and the team's ceiling is also on Garland and others, if they can become superstars, the Cavaliers will take off like the Warriors in 2015.
At the same time, this year's selection of Mobley is also quite noteworthy, he has sat at the top of the best rookie list this season, and it is likely to win the award of best rookie, and once he gets this award, he is also the cavaliers player who has won this award for the first time after James. Being able to compare with James shows that Mobley still has something unique, such as his defensive ability, especially the assistant defense is the top in history, the real can be from the first position to the fifth position, which is still very rare in today's NBA, and Mobley's technology is very delicate, now a good hand projection, many people think he can become a player like Duncan, if this is really the case, then the Cavaliers have made a lot of money.
Welcome back to the Emperor of Kecheng?
Since the All-Star Game will be held in Cleveland this season, pictures of the All-Star team have been hung on the iconic building in Cleveland, with James's photo in the middle, and the Cavaliers' home DJ also took this photo, and also posted it on his social media, indicating that James is back in the Cavaliers. LeBron also forwarded his movements, saying that anything is possible, and there seems to be a sign that LeBron is considering returning to the Cavaliers again.
Now that his contract with the Lakers is two years away, James will be approaching 40 years old when it expires, will he still be back to the Cavaliers at that time? There is definitely this possibility, returning to the place where their dreams began to retire is also a beginning and an end, and at the same time completing the retirement tour, the Cavaliers can also sell some tickets, if you can win the championship it would be perfect. In fact, James should have made plans early, and now the Lakers are hopeless to strengthen even next season because of the Westbrook contract, and it is even more impossible to win the championship, the Cavaliers salary structure is reasonable, the players are very capable of playing, the lack of is a superstar like James, and it is also a good choice to return to the championship early.
epilogue
Since James left the Cavaliers, there has been a lot of time without shouting the slogan of "Cavaliers Championship", and now that the Cavaliers are back, if the old Zhan can also return, I believe that this slogan will soon become a reality!