The summer of 2003 for the Cleveland Cavaliers organization can be described as "The Summer of Hope" with the unprecedented excitement and fervor created by LeBron James. But, it will take more than the messianic aura of James for the Cavaliers to become championship contenders. There must be a series of astute and savvy moves by the front office in order to accomplish this goal and this article is the analysis of the first moves of the LeBron James era.

Even the staunchest critics of Cavaliers GM Jim Paxson will have to admit that the much maligned decision maker has had his best offseason as GM since ascending to that position in 1999. Paxson always states you build the team through "the draft, free agency and trades" so let's look at the moves.

The Coach: The Cavaliers seemingly fell into the right coach for this mix of players in Paul Silas after firing John Lucas midseason and letting Keith Smart substitute teach the rest of the season. After an odd and failed courtshipiof former Knicks coach Jeff Van Gundy who I felt wouldn't have been the greatest fit with his iron fist micromanaging style the Cavaliers landed Silas who is known for being a player's coach with a stern hand. The inmates don't run his asylum. He has a reputation for working well with young players and getting the most out of players. Elden Campbell, Eddie Jones, Eddie Robinson, Jamal Mashburn, Baron Davis, Jamaal Magliore, David Wesley are some of the players who've gotten better under Silas' tutelage. One of the most attractive elements about Silas was his ability to keep his Hornets teams together through trying times. The Hornets remained a playoff team through injuries, Derrick Coleman, a player death and the franchise moving. No coach in recent memory has gone through as much as Silas did with the Hornets. Silas has won championships as a player something foreign to everyone active in the Cavaliers organization from top to bottom. His success as a player and coach gives the Cavaliers a credibility they haven't had since Lenny Wilkens. That credibility and ability to relate to players is exactly what this still very young Cavaliers group will need.

The Draft: The no brainers of no brainers was LeBron James with the first pick of the draft. No player in the universe was a better fit for a team and city than the kid from Akron. His impact is already being felt off the court and it is only a matter of time it is felt on the court. When he wasn't jetting around the country James showed the skills and noise in the summer leagues that had NBA scouts drooling for 2 years until fatigue and matchup zones slowed him at the end. Clocking in at 6'8 245lbs with 6.7% body fat James more than held his own against former college players and young NBA pros. He made plays in transition, halfcourt, moved well without the ball, posted up and displayed leadership skills. His jumpshot is shakier than DeSagana Diop on a tricycle and remains the biggest weakness in his game. When fatigue sets in his shot mechanics go awry. He also has no clue about what it takes to play NBA defense but neither does any rookie let alone one out of high school. Silas wants to hand James the keys to the H2 at PG but will likely see time at all the perimeter positions.

James was so much of a no brainer that all the scrutiny and debate came with the 2nd round pick of Jason Kapono from UCLA. Paxson stated before the draft that the Cavaliers wouldn't be taking a developmental player in the 2nd round with James already in tow and that they would be looking for shooters. They settled on the 6'8 Kapono after working out such shooters as Kyle Korver from Creighton and Carl English from Hawaii. The talking radio heads and fans blasted the pick knocking Kapono's athleticism and making Luke Walton the 2nd coming of Larry Bird. The Ca=aliers considered taking Walton but Kapono's shooting ability trumped Walto='s passing ability and last name. Kapono had an up and down summer league at best. He was tentative at times and didn't shoot the three well. The coaching staff want Kapono to quicken his release against NBA caliber competition since he doesn't really elevate on his shot and NBA defenders can run him off his shot. The Cavaliers aren't counting on Kapono for this year but feel that he will develop into an Eric Piatkowski-like shooter off the bench and signed him to a 2 year guaranteed contract. 

Trades: The Cavaliers made only one trade this summer since Silas wants to give all the players a clean slate and see what he has to work with. One player that was expendable was Jumaine Jones who didn't want to return to the Cavaliers in free agency so the Cavaliers manufactured a sign and trade that sent Jones to the Boston Celtics for PG JR. Bremer, C Bruno Sundav, a 2nd round pick and a 1.6M trade exception. The trade was a no lose proposition for the Cavaliers. In turn for a player for they had no use for the Cavaliers got a combo guard in the former Cleveland Hts High grad JR. Bremer who can shoot the three and defend. Bremer went undrafted out of St. Bonaventure and wound up not only making the Celtics roster but starting later in the season. Bremer was made expendable by the regime change in Boston and the numbers game with the Celtics roster. Bremer is expected in Cleveland to play both guard spots and give the Cavaliers a 3 point presence on the perimeter which they absolutely need. One could speculate that even though Paxson stated the need for a 3rd PG before acquiring Bremer he will provide insurance for or even battle DaJuan Wagner for playing time being that Wagner is still hampered by the knee that ending his rookie season early. The 7'2 Bruno Sundov was a throw in on the trade. Sundov, originally from Croatia, came into the league at 18 with the Dallas Mavericks and has sat the bench for 3 teams in 5 years playing only 76 games. The thin jumpshooting center may not make the roster or he may be used as contract filler in a later trade. The 2nd round pick and trade exception are just gravy.

Free Agency: GM Jim Paxson made the two biggest free agent signings of his tenure in inking both PG Kevin Ollie and SF Ira Newble to 5 year deals for 14.5 million splitting the team's MLE (Mid Level Exception) 5 year deals for two role players scratched the heads of talk show hosts and listeners in Cleveland who either didn't know who the players were or didn't understand the length of the deals. The signings make sense when you look into the circumstances and reasoning behind them.

The Cavaliers had a plan that entailed splitting their MLE on 2 role players who know they are role players, will being a defensive mindset, good work ethic and some elements of leadership to the young Cavaliers core. They didn't want veterans who were near the end of the careers like a Kenny Anderson or Darrel Armstrong. Newble and Ollie are 28 and 30 respectively and will be able to grow along wiih the young core.

Kevin Ollie: Ollie had a 4 year 10.5 million offer on the table from the Milwaukee Bucks in order to get him the Cavaliers had to go up in years to 5. They were not going to go up in money per year which wouldn't have allowed them to split the MLE. The Cavaliers were looking for certain characteristics in a PG. They wanted someone who could defend, run a team, have enough size to play with DaJuan Wagner and toughness. They wanted Eric Snow but they couldn't get him so they got the PG in free agency whose attributes were closest to Eric Snow and that was Kevin Ollie. According to Paxson it came down to Ollie and Antonio Daniels and Ollie's ability to run a team and not turn the ball over rightly won out. Ollie has been praised for his toughness, character and professionalism in his many NBA stops three characteristics the Cavaliers lacked last year.

Ira Newble: Newble had a 4 year offer at the MLE from Memphis and again in order to get their guy the Cavaliers had to go up in years to 5. Newble is another self made player whose calling card is defense. Newble can defend both wing positions and has even guarded PGs at various times in Atlanta. Surprisingly, Newble for a defensive player Newble is a decent midrange shooter almost 50% his 2 years in Atlanta. What opportunities Newble did receive outside of Glenn Robinson, Jason Terry and Shareef Abdur-Rahim he made the most of them. Also, Newble greatly improved his 3point shooting going from 1-7 in 01-02 to 32-84 in 02-03 a big jump albeit from 42 to 73 games. Defense and 3 point shooting alone will get him a lot of minutes on the floor. Paxson believes Newble is a somewhat rare NBA late bloomer who is getting better in his late 20s similar to a Mario Elie. Newble is the kind of ho-hum free agent acquisition that could really pay off in a few years a la Bruce Bowen for the San Antonio Spurs.

Miscellaneous: After August 1st the Cavaliers have the window until October 31st to negotiate contract extensions with players in the option year of their rookie contracts namely Darius Miles and Chris Mihm. Don't bet on either getting an extension or the Cavaliers entertaining any negotiations. Both players are really fighting for their futures with the team. Both have had disappointing tenures with the Cavaliers. Chris Mihm after being the 7th pick in the 2000 draft has battled some injuries but for the most part is looking like Vladimir Stepania than the player Paxson called "the most polished center in the draft." Three years later the Cavaliers don't believe he is a starter anymore and his now 3rd coach in Paul Silas still doesn't know if Mihm is a PF or C in the NBA.

Many of the national media thought the 02-03 season would be a breakout year for Darius Miles after being traded for Andre Miller. I never thought that but Miles had his worst year as a pro after not properly rehabbing his knee after summer arthroscopic surgery and he came to camp out of shape and subsequently his athleticism was hampered and his lack of basketball skills and fundamentals were exposed with more minutes and greater responsibilities. Miles was often lethargic, soft and played without confidence last year. After a summer of conditioning and courtwork with basketball guru trainer to the stars Tim Grover in Chicago Miles supposedly has a renewed vigor and desire along with a completely healthy body. Add to that a budding friendship and chemistry with LeBron James Miles is now poised to have a rebound year. Personally, I will have to see more than what I saw this summer. I saw a healthy and more active Miles still lacking the same fundamentals and skills that made him a disappointment last year.

The Cavaliers also have to make a decision before October 31st whether to pick up the 4th year option on C DeSegana Diop. There is said to be some debate within the Cavaliers organization whether to pick up Diop's option. Not doing so would make Diop an unrestricted free agent after next year pretty much sealing his fate as a Cavalier. NBA teams pick up the rookie option on player's they plan on keeping. Diop, drafted as insurance (as was Chris Mihm for that matter) for All Star Center Zydrunas Ilgauskas when there was concern he wouldn't ever play again, has made or little or no progress after being drafted 8th out of Oak Hill Academy HS in the much heralded High School big man crop of 2001. Having lost a reported 50lbs from his draft night frame of 335lbs and overcoming a series of injuries his rookie year including a foot fracture Diop is nowhere near the "All Star by his 3rd year" prediction by former Cavaliers head coach John Lucas nor is he close to challenging Ilgauskas for his starting position this year as Lucas predicted early last season. Diop's 3rd year in summer league in which he should have done some damage and showed off improvements in his game offered no optimism. He shot 27% for the summer lower than even his first year in the summer leagues, didn't rebound well and continued to be a foul machine against the same competition that detractors of LeBron James dismiss when he excels against them.

Lastly, this summer there has been some discussion as to whether the Cavaliers could have a Gilbert Arenas with PF Carlos Boozer. After sliding into the 2nd round of the 2002 Draft Boozer had an excellent rookie season showing a real toughness and maturity that led him along with putting up multiple doubles by season's end to being named to the NBA All Rookie 2nd team. In one of Jim Paxson's rare savvy moves he signed Boozer to a 2 year guaranteed with a team option for a 3rd year enabling the Cavaliers to attain his Bird Free Agent rights and pay him more than any other team. Contrary to popular belief the Cavaliers cannot give Boozer a contract extension now or during the season and the most they could pay him next summer if they decided not to pick up his option would be the average NBA salary or the MLE.

All in all with just over 6 weeks until the Cavaliers are going strong again, this has been if nothing else the most active and exciting offseason in recent memory. We'll have to wait and see as to how it translates onto the court.

 

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