Disappointing Easy Feeling
2014-01-30
Every year there are teams that disappoint.
Sometimes it’s because of injuries. Last year’s Philadelphia 76ers organization thought they’d built themselves something (marginally to very) competitive, until Andrew Bynum’s knees said otherwise. This year, injuries to Derrick Rose and, to a lesser extent, Russell Westbrook have altered what NBA fans thought they were in for when they re-upped for the 2013-14 season.
Sometimes it’s because of off the court issues. In 2010, Gilbert Arenas, fresh off a season lost to injury and only a year removed from signing a massive $111 million six-year contract with the Wizards, was suspended, along with Javaris Crittenton, for the remainder of the season for bringing handguns into the team’s locker room. The suspensions caused the Wizards to officially write off the rest of what had already been a disappointing season. It was already disappointing because the team had just traded the sixth pick in the 2009 draft for Mike Miller and Randy Foye (rather than have a chance to select Steph Curry … which, don’t worry, the T-Wolves didn’t take advantage of either) to make a (final?) run at playoff success with their Arenas / Antawn Jamison core. Arenas still scored (over 22 points a game) that year, but his efficiency had been eviscerated. In 2010, Wizards fans saw a team who no longer could function on a winning level, then they saw the suspensions, then they saw the team trade Jamison to the Cavs for Zydrunas Ilgauskas (only to, then, see the Cavs get Ilgauskus back … and watch Jamison get torched by Kevin Garnett … and – well, you know the story) and they finished in full-blown tear down mode and a 26-56 record.
Sometimes it’s because of on court issues. In 2004-05, the Indiana Pacers rode the “Malice at the Palace” from a legitimate shot at the championship to 128 total games suspended for Ron Artest, Stephen Jackson and Jermaine O’Neal. That team was still able to ride Reggie Miller’s final league go-around to 44 wins and a playoff spot, but was never again (until now, anyway) the threat to win it all that it was when 04-05 tipped off.
And sometimes teams just aren’t as good as NBA fans and pundits alike thought (or hoped) they would be. This year’s Pistons, for example, have yet to figure out how their collection of disparate pieces can work. Right now (surprise!) they don’t. And, of course, this year’s Cavaliers, for many of the same reasons.
It’s rare for disappointing teams to be young teams. Usually, the teams that disappoint the most are the ones with players who, to some degree, have given NBA viewers some body of work on which to project their inflated expectations. The Cavaliers, though, have no featured player with an established body of superior work.
What’s more, the Cavaliers are treading on dangerous ground right now, because teams, whether cursed with injury, suspension or an erroneous approximation of their players’ collected abilities, rarely go from disappointing to good, if that disappointment stretches to cover an entire season.
Teams can go from bad to good much easier than they can go from disappointing to good. The 2012-13 Portland Trailblazers were bad. They weren’t horrible, but they certainly weren’t very good. They had a competitive starting five, but no bench to hold leads when the starters sat. See, they weren’t disappointing. They were bad for a clear, discernable reason. You fix that reason, as the team did in this off-season, and you can make the jump from bad to good or, in the Blazers’s case this year, to very good.
Of course, the Cavs have plenty of clear, discernable reasons for being bad. They lack, among other things, toughness (both mental and physical) and rim protection. The question is, though, are these things that can be fixed by off-season moves or are they weaknesses endemic to this collection of players as a whole? If it’s the former, you could argue that some tinkering with the roster could prevent the length or severity of stretches where the team seems unable to score or defend. If it’s the latter, well…
Here’s the eventual trajectory for all of the disappointing teams I mentioned before.
The Sixers used the 2013 NBA Draft to officially bury the dream and began one of the more drastic roster overhauls in recent memory.
The Bulls’ management seems okay with cutting their losses and using a loaded 2014 draft to help them once Rose is back to full strength. Their coach and players, however, still haven’t come around to that point of view.
The Wizards traded Jamison and found Orlando willing to take on Arenas’s contract (they later amnestied him). The Wizards were rewarded for their awfulness by getting the number one pick in the 2010 draft and, subsequently, John Wall. This season’s Wizards are by no means world beaters, but they’ve finally started to show some improvement and lurch toward .500 and respectability.
The Pacers saw Miller retire and could never fully repair things with Artest. Theirs was a several season cycle that led, eventually, to several trades and, more eventually, a sufficient rebuild.
The point is that disappointment leads to change — usually massive, roster-clearing change — sooner rather than later and rarely fosters the type of patience that many still champion we all take as we attempt to digest this particular incarnation of the Cavs. However, there isn’t much precedent for the way in which this Cavs team is disappointing: a group of good, talented young guys sprinkled with some veterans, two of whom are borderline all-star players, all centered around a player predicted by many to become one of the league’s brightest young stars. This is not generally a recipe for disappointment and certainly not a recipe for a complete tear down, as was the case with disappointments in the past. But the disappointment remains and the Cavs have made feeling that disappointment easier and easier. Not even an Anthony Bennett breakout-ish performance against the Pelicans on Tuesday night was any balm.
Nearly half the season still remains, sure. But with each successive loss, the word that’s used more often than “bad” is “disappointing.” In Minnesota, another team of young, talented nearly-stars has yet to break through in an even more difficult conference and, in Minnesota, some have already talked about trading Kevin Love as the only thing certain to break the cycle of disappointment (by increasing it to an intolerable degree?).
None of that bodes well for the immediate future of the Cavalier franchise.
Give me coach Pop and I give you a functioning team at the highest level. We have bunch young players who are not being led properly. Compare the current Bulls roster to the Cavs and you you’ll get the picture. CG have had a great ride so far and a lot of Question mark on draft and free agents. I give him credit for Bynum trade. I’am sad and disappointed . Go Cavs
Can’t wait for Dion apologist KJ to rip C:TB writers for criticizing a bad team… But… But… my small sample size shows how Dion was better than Lilliard for 1 minute in December.
I can’t handle this anymore.
Dan Gilbert: Hey Chris?
Chris Grant: Yes Mr. Gilbert?
Dan Gilbert: Sell, Sell, Sell.
At this point I might start cutting myself so that others can see the pain the Cavs are putting me through. Pathetic effort. I wouldn’t be against them firing Grant and Brown, and Gilbert paying George Karl whatever he wants.
Seen enough. Fire everybody. Trade everybody.
Well this is horrific.
Hey guys, I just wanna let you know I think we can watch the game online tonight free… NBA TNT Overtime says it gives multiple angles on live stream. Cavs Knicks is the game for tonight. Doesn’t look like the crap League Pass Broadband is though. I haven’t heard of it until tonight. http://www.nba.com/tntovertime/index.html
There is and old axiom in the NBA, “Young player get coaches fired.” With this in mind why are you surprised at this team? Young players all think they are the next star in the NBA, they are all inconstant, they can’t play defense and never think that they are the reason a team is losing. When you look at this team, do you seen any of these problems? That is why you always saw Larry Brown trading young talent for veterans. Vets want to stay in the League, they understand that stardom is not promised, they understand you are… Read more »
KJ, how am I a troll? Anyways, you said that, “Noel helps us less than Bennett cuz he hasn’t played a minute.” By that logic, we could literally put any player in the Cavs roster and they would help us more than Noel. Bennett is hurting us, dude, not helping. Noel could at least help much more in the future instead of Bennett hurting us now. We need to think in the immediate term and build for the future.
I hate playing the redraft game, because it’s moot, but you cannot possibly argue to me that Jonas and Thomas Robinson wouldn’t be as formidable as Dion/TT. I know, I know, you’re laughing at my for the Thomas Robinson bit, but he’s been incredibly efficient in limited minutes for Portland. He’s actually rebounding at a similar rate to Tristan, and his PER is HIGHER despite playing WAY fewer minutes/performing with a lower usage. More over, though, I just see those two as being a FAR better pair than TT/Dion. Additionally this would’ve freed up last year’s pick for Oladipo, whose… Read more »
Not even sure why you’re comparing Oladipo to Waiters, when we were comparing Oladipo to Bennett, KJ. Don’t bait and switch your argument. In the alternate universe where the Cavs draft Oladipo, they never sign Jack, Waiters is the backup point guard, and Oladipo is the starting or backup two guard. Do I think that back-court rotation is better than the one they have now? Yes. In two years, it’s significantly better. My point about a replacement player vs. Bennett is this: the Cavs could have sifted through a collection of D-League call-ups to be better than Bennett is right… Read more »
The only time Oladipo has REALLY impressed me was against us. A couple of nights ago Smiersma REALLY impressed me too.
MCW on the other hand . . . but nobody was picking him#1.
This is an excellent back and forth.
I loved Bennett. Every single GM had him in the top 10, almost every one had him in the top 5 or 6. Nobody knows what happened to him. I do blame MB the organization some (how did they let him stay 20 lbs overweight?) Nobody has performed like a top pick (yet).
I love all these 20-20 hindsight people that feel like geniuses for slammiing him.
I meant to say “below 30 wins,” by the way. They actually only went below 35 wins ONCE.
@blip, you’re a troll and wrong but since you can’t grasp what I am saying, let me say it more clearly: Noel helps us less than Bennett cuz he hasn’t played a minute. Olidiapo is a less efficient Dion. How much could that possibly have helped us? Sheesh… Oh and Bennett was not an “awful” choice. I heard the same shite about TT and how great Jonas and Faried were. Meanwhile, with still a ton of improvement left, TT is second in the conference in double-doubles. Dion is better than Olidipo at the same age and is unquestionably better than… Read more »
KJ –
First, Indiana never sagged below during their “down years.” – http://www.landofbasketball.com/teams/records_indiana_pacers.htm
The bulk of Indy’s roster comes from a VERY short period of time. Hibbert, the second-longest standing member of the Pacers (after Granger) was drafted in 08. By 2010-2011 the Pacers were already back in the playoffs. That’s a three year gap. The Cavs DID blow it up, in 2010, when they tanked HARD. The Pacers never once tanked. They just drafted well, got rid of misshapen pieces, and built a team that made sense.
Great article, these are not easy or fun questions to think about.
I hate the notion of saying Kyrie is untouchable, “OMG how would we survive without a player who has led us to winning 1 out of every 3 games”
My vote would be to trade Andy and I say this as his #1 fan. His value is high, he is healthy and it would allow Zeller and Bennett to play more. As terrible as this season is, perhaps finding out a little more about these guys will help inform offseason decisions.
Kyrie hate is getting flat out ridiculous.
There’s and equation for it: Stretches of good + stretches of bad = disappointing + perplexing.
Sorry for doubles, but the lineup I wanna see isn’t every night. Just a fantasy to make this downhill swing better.
I’m officially ready to hit the panic button til it’s broken. If I were CG, the only players I definitely keep are Deng, Delly, Waiters, Andy and Zeller. They seem most bought into their role. Maybe I’m just a Delly fanboy too, but everyone’s fair game, even Kyrie. Dion’s on the edge of that list but has kept himself in by not focusing on himself so much, while improving his game. I believe this has been a bust, and the only way CG keeps his job is because he hasn’t made a jump ship impossible (Lakers, NY now with no… Read more »
It’s pretty evident to 99.9% of NBA watchers that Bennett was an awful choice. If you are actually arguing in favor of Bennett versus Noel or Oladipo I think all hope is lost for you.
@nate, Noel wasn’t healthy and is not healthy. You write as if oblivious to this fact. Oladipo is the same age as Fion and less efficient. This is what I mean! How are those pucks making the Cavs better at all? They are not.
Pretty sure none of the possible GM’s/presidents you mention have won a Champioship, so, there’s that…
Indy proves our point, not Mallory’s! At no point did Indy “blow it up!” They waited patiently for guys like Hibbert and Stephenson to get better and made decent but hardly major, trades.
@ Nate Smith “The other possibility that needs to be addressed is that Kyrie is the wrong superstar, and that if he’s going to walk, trade him in the summer, pick up a guy in the draft that can be a franchise centerpiece, and move on. ” Since you mentioned trading Kyrie, I wonder how Greg Monroe would fit on the Cavs. Not saying a striaght up, one-for-one trade. The Cavs would be getting the short end of the stick there. But as the foundation of a trade. I’m sure the Pistons would definitely listen. But like Kyrie, Monroe seemed… Read more »
An average replacement NBA player would be light years ahead of Bennett, so we’d be in a much better boat. I think Noel will be a really good player, and I love the way Philly is handling him. Like i said in last year’s draft process, young players with a knee injury often come back as much better offensive players because all they can do during parts of their rehab is shoot. I would have taken Oladipo, as I’ve said several times before, but I would have been ok with Noel. He wasn’t a dumpster fire and he filled a… Read more »
Btw, Indy has done it in a way the Cavs can completely emulate. But again, Indy was awfully patient and had players buy into the system. Again, just sayin…
Also when do I get to mock all the draft experts on here who rip Grant’s picks when they themselves went crazy on how we needed to move up to get MKG? Hmm? Or draft Barnes who was just ripped a few days ago in his local paper for being terrible and how his playoff performance was a mirage? Eh?
So, Nate, I’m guessing you would have drafted Noel? Who has not played a minute so far and as such, would not be helping the Cavs at all? In other words, the team would be in the same place as we are now. Hard to make the axe against Bennett that way…
Jack has been a severe disappointment.
So, who do you want to run the franchise? What moves could be made to improve the team?
I can’t help but think back to how awful it was in Portland last season. Yeah, just sayin…it’s called experience…
I’m already deeply concerned. I was concerned when the Cavs hired Mike Brown. I was concerned when they drafted Anthony Bennett. I was concerned when they brought in Earl Clark. The only moves I endorsed were Sergey Karasev, and Jarrett Jack. Now to be fair on Jack, I didn’t want them to pay him as much as they are for as long as they are, but one has to overpay to get free agents to come to Cleveland. In retrospect, Dellavedova may have been their only good move in 2013, so yeah. Concern: deep. I keep hammering home that the… Read more »
Nate – I completely agree with you there. I’ve long said the Thunder were the exception, not the rule. In addition, I agree that Chris Grant has been a mixed bag, and “blowing it up” is a tough option. But, while I’m not advocating trading every single piece, I think there needs to be a serious internal conversation about the type of team being designed, because, at least to me, the current incarnation doesn’t really make a ton of sense. My last question is: at what point do you all become deeply concerned? If the Cavs draft another top-5 player… Read more »
To throw one last word in – does someone really want to challenge the assessment that this team is bad? Did anyone really expect that Cavs to be downright BAD this year? Do you really think, given the number of high draft picks, play time (for growth), and FA signings this off season, there is justification for being this bad? Last year when the Cavs sputtered out of the gate, the storyline came about that the Cavs were bad because of the bench. Once the bench got good, we were told, the winning would start. What’s the word now? This… Read more »
Mallory, The Thunder and the LeBron Cavs were the exceptions, not the rule to player development. They’re still ridiculously young. We’ve all been spoiled. That is not to say that Grant hasn’t made his mistakes and that the Irving thing isn’t a mess (it is), but staying the course right now is much less destructive than doing the wrong thing.
Nate: The two option path isn’t really meant to be an ultimatum, but some dramatic changes need to (and will) occur for real improvement to happen. Seriously – the Cavs have one more win than the Kings. Just let that simmer for a moment.
KJ, are you really advocating trading Kyrie Irving, who currently leads the team in PER, just got voted into his second all star game, is essentially the only name-brand player on the Cavs, and is 21 years of age, but keeping Dion Waiters, who is currently performing at below-replacement levels and is seen by many as a locker-room issue and a difficult project to coach? People: For all the clamoring that I sound like a broken record, I hear an awful lot of “just tank this year, and next year we’ll be good.” I have no issue with that sentiment… Read more »
I don’t agree that there are only two options. The team is still very young, but some new decision makers should be brought in/consulted.
Let me rephrase that to: I disagree with Mallory.
Btw, @mallory, your comment about Kyrie at least being able to score reminds me of a Barkley quote: “the easiest thing in the world is to score a lot on a bad team.” Just sayin…
Agree with Nupe:
Who is disappointed? Whoever thought the Cavs would be good this year. Major wishful thinking. There is no possibility of getting it together this season. Time to work for next year.
Finally, I appreciate the work the CtB gang does in making this happen. I assume Mallory is being sarcastic, and not totally clueless.
@Mallory doubles down on his typical panic. His comment about trading Dion for a young spot-up shooter is either hilarious or sad.
Having said that, you have to look to trade Kyrie if he is gonna be a malcontent. I think we could build something with our remaining players plus some more picks this summer. Kyrie is not a winner like Rose, LBJ, etc clearly were by their 3rd year. He’s basically a guard version of Bosh when he was with Toronto. Great numbers but zero leadership and few wins. He is complimentary piece…
Mallory & Nate posts sum it all up at the moment. Wow.
As I was saying – right now, there are exactly two options in Cleveland. Win NOW, or blow it up. There are just too many deep-rooted issues for either.
I’d be OK with a panic trade, as long as it made SOME sense. By that I mean moving TT for better fitting big men, or moving Dion for a good, young spot-up shooter.
http://espn.go.com/sportsnation/chat/_/id/49933 Tim (Los Angeles) How hot are the collective seats of Chris Grant and Mike Brown? And who do you think the Cavs are most likely to target at the deadline? Chad Ford (1:05 PM) Virtually every GM in the league believes that Grant will be gone this summer if things don’t get turned around this season. He doesn’t have much time. The thinking is that there’s no way Dan Gilbert is going to let him make another lottery pick if that’s the direction the Cavs end up heading. Grant’s goal (via his owner) is to get this team competitive… Read more »
See, this is exactly what I’m talking about. EVERY team in the NBA is one superstar away from competing. But, frankly, some competitors don’t have superstars. For example, why is Phoenix continuing to win? Likewise, do you really think Aldridge is a superstar? Is anyone currently playing for Atlanta a top tier player? What about Toronto? Chicago? Kyrie Irving is an ALL STAR STARTER. His PER sits at 20.28 (and quickly improving from the LOWS at seasons start) and puts him at 30th in the NBA, just behind Lowery and Milsap. Cavalier issues run FAR deeper than Kyrie not being… Read more »
Anderson Varejao would start at Center on every championship contender other than Indiana.
Sometimes the difference between disappointing team and a bad one is simply who you ask. I think Grant and Gilbert and Cavs Nation are disappointed because we drank Gilberts Kool-Aid and really felt like we had/have a playoff caliber team. So many hopes were put into Kyries continued improvement, Dions improvement, TT/TZ becoming truly solid, a healthy Andy along with images of what we would get out of Bynum. Sprinkle in a little bit of Jack and OMG, we are a mid level playoff team in the poor east. Oh yea, and the #1 overall pick too! I don’t think… Read more »
I don’t know why you’d trade away TZ we all got a bad taste in our mouths because we sent him out to start in all those games in his rookie season and he struggled. We all know it takes some 7 footers a long ass time to develop he’s shown improvement this season. I say you get rid of the players who are regressing, we all know what player that is.
The team is just so inconsistent. They’ll look great one night – and win 3 / 5 on a tough West coast trip. And all they have to do is win a few home games and they’ll be back in the playoff mix. And they go 1-5 at home? It just doesn’t even make sense.
Some days they pass so well, move the ball around – and create offense. And then the next day it’s like they completely forgot what they did the day before.
Absolutely great stuff, Robert. Was on my way to writing something very similar, examining similarly constructed teams of disappoint. Glad you beat me to the punch. It’s tough to stomach the last three years, knowing what we now know about the current Cavs. One of the most consistent comment trends I’ve seen on C:tB is the championing of individual performances in what are otherwise pretty dismal losses. I understand the need to find a positive in the vastness of negativity, but at some point the TEAM must be held accountable. To put this season into perspective, the Kings sit exactly… Read more »
The problem starts with your team leaders, If they focus on themselves (i.e. brand name, points, record deals, movies) there is no way to turn it around. It’s hard to get a team to focus on winning if it’s star is not. …Yes, this means you Uncle Drew. I’m not sure you can build a championship team around a point guard but I know that this one is far from a cornerstone to a championship. In addition TT is a role player or a clean up guy at best. You need to find a post player or a scoring 3… Read more »