Quote:
Originally Posted by BGMaverick9
I have a hard time believing they're going to be able to work a trade for a supporting player. Plus I don't think they're just a small piece away from the title. They have coaching issues and very little creativity on the offensive end of the court. They mismanaged their use of Jamison and that's gotta fall on the staff. Williams is going to be incredibly inconsistent as a player and you can't have that from a starter with a thin supporting cast and championship aspirations. A tough defensive team (Boston) pretty much locked everyone else down and LeBron wasn't going to be able to do it himself. He didn't have a consistent second option by his side...they're not that close because they can't beat the fellow elite teams in a series.
I just don't see how they're THAT close, they luck into being close just because they're in the East. It's tougher opposition but Dallas has to be relatively close to Cleveland in terms of guaranteed title chances.
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I don't necessarily disagree with anything you're saying, but I'm just not sure Lebron sees it that way. You can argue whether or not they're one piece away from a title, but their dominance of the regular season would certainly suggest that they are (at least in Lebron's mind.) I'm not necessarily saying that Cleveland is his best shot at a title, but I could see the Cavs wooing him into staying much more easily than I could see another team convincing him otherwise.
As far as players being used incorrectly, that's an easy fix. Brown is obviously gone and then it's just a matter of finding a coach that Lebron likes(doesn't really matter if he's the best coach or not, just as long as Lebron thinks he is.)
Even if they can't trade for an ideal supporting star, I really think just a
decent trade would be enough to convince him to stay.
You also have to take the big picture of the conference into consideration. You mentioned that they can't beat a fellow elite team. The thing is, who are the other elite teams in the East? Boston and Orlando, and that's it. How much longer is Boston going to be in the title picture? They're pretty damn old. Orlando is a very good team, but they hardly seem like an impassable roadblock to the title (the way, say, the Lakers are in the West.)
The bottom line is that it doesn't matter what any of us think about Cleveland's championship aspirations. The only thing that matters is what Lebron thinks. There's no obvious, clear-cut path to the championship, so Lebron is taking a pretty big risk anywhere he goes.
I hope you're right though. I hope his view of the Cavs' situation is as pessimistic as yours. Because if it is, then it pretty much comes down to Chicago and Dallas, and as I've said all throughout, I like Dallas' chances.