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| Let's get to work. |
For three years, the Cleveland
Cavaliers have been trying to placate their fanbase with talk of cap
flexibility and stockpiled draft assets. The wins weren't coming, but the
future was bright, according to the brass.
Now that the 2013 NBA Draft has
ended with another unorthodox selection by GM Chris Grant, it's safe to assume that fans no longer want to hear
vague boardroom-speak about what could be. Nor does anyone want to see, cute as it was, another private plane full of ironic bowtie-wearing Cleveland
icons jetting to New York
City for the draft lottery. Those days are
done, and to their credit, the franchise's decision-makers seem to understand
that playtime is over.
The weeks leading up to the draft
were filled with stories about the Cavs trying to cash in their much-discussed
assets for some tangible results on the court. Impressive names like Kevin Love
and LaMarcus Aldridge were bandied
about as game-changing chips Cleveland
could get for the No. 1 selection. Grant was unable to pull a move off, but the
sense of urgency from the franchise should at least be appreciated, even if
Grant was overvaluing a pick that not even he seemed to want.
It's 24 hours after the draft, and Cleveland is still
stocked with unproven youth, Kyrie Irving aside. The team currently has six
players—Irving, Dion Waiters, Tristan Thompson, Tyler Zeller. Anthony Bennett
and Sergey Karasev —who were picked in the top 19 in the last three years. Like
it or not, these are the horses the team is running with, but that doesn't mean
it can't add to the stable.
And the Cavs must find a way to add
veteran talent to the mix. Building through the draft is a smart route to take
in a market that's not going to draw glamour free agents (including the purple sky unicorn pipe dream FA that
some quarters erroneously believe is a possibility), so if the Cavs are right on
Bennett, Karasev and their past first-rounders, that talent will be buffered by
free agents and savvy trades. (Mind, this scenario takes place in a perfect
world where the Cleveland Fan glass is always half-full with really good whiskey
and Mesa didn't
shake off Sandy Alomar.)
However, to use a Mark Shapiro BS
business-speak term, there's "volatility" in counting on 19-year-olds
to develop into a core that will take you deep into the playoffs. Superstar-laden teams have dominated the championship ranks, a situation that the
new CBA may somewhat cull. The Cavs
have a budding star in Irving ,
but the franchise has a task ahead that seems almost insurmountable. It's not
only going to need three of its six draft picks of the last few seasons to
develop at an exponential pace, it must also find a way to grab a solid veteran
or two to perfectly compliment the youngins. And I'm not talking about CJ
Miles.
In other words, Grant and friends
need to be that potent combination of very good and very lucky. There's doubt
on the first score and luck is something not exactly associated with Cleveland sports. Still,
a playoff push must begin in 2013, even if that means an 8th-seed spanking by Team
Collusion. Cavs fans have had enough talk - it is time for action, or Grant could
be peddling his talk of assets and flexibility somewhere else next summer.