For all the tumult the departure of erstwhile top dog LeBron James created, the Cavaliers had no choice but to reaffirm their commitment to lone remaining All-Star Kevin Love. With Quicken Loans Arena undergoing a costly $140-million upgrade and such notables as the Celtics, Raptors, and Sixers slated to contend at the top, they had to show all and sundry that they weren’t in any mood to go the rebuilding route, hence their designation of a cornerstone moving forward.
No doubt, the Cavaliers explored all available avenues prior to re-upping with Love; they would have been remiss in their duties if they didn’t at least go through the motions. That said, it wouldn’t have taken them long to point to the move they made as their best option post-James. To begin with, his stock had been falling since he was acquired from the Timberwolves in 2014, and not simply because he was asked to take on a supporting role. More importantly, his propensity to be injured effectively placed an asterisk on his contributions. Since being drafted fifth overall in 2008, he has never had a regular season in which played the full 82 games; last year and the year before, he saw action in only 59 and 60, respectively.
It bears noting that Love does hold no small measure of trade value, with the likes of the Blazers, the Heat, and the Hornets inquiring about him at various points throughout the Cavaliers’ tumultuous 2017-2018 campaign. He could have pressured them for a change of address, especially when, in the middle of January, he became the subject of a contentious locker-room meeting, during which he was called to task for his decision to leave the bench with a game in progress. That he didn’t, and that the top brass of the wine and gold are now all in with him, speaks volumes of their relationship.
Perhaps the Cavaliers would have been better off blowing everything up and starting from scratch. Then again, perhaps they would have been consigning themselves to an indefinite period at the bottom of the standings. In any case, they’ve made their choice, and given Love’s unique skill set, rookie Collin Sexton’s revelatory performance in Summer League, and the rest of the roster’s determination to show that the new James-less dispensation isn’t as hopeless as projected, they may yet raise eyebrows and prove that a great team is better than a team of great players.
Anthony L. Cuaycong has been writing Courtside since BusinessWorld introduced a Sports section in 1994.
LeBron James of the Los Angeles Lakers attends a quarterfinal game of the 2018 NBA Summer League between the Lakers and the Detroit Pistons at the Thomas & Mack Center on July 15 in Las Vegas, Nevada. — AFP
