2014-15 NBA Season Preview: Cleveland Cavaliers
Welcome to theScore's preview of the 2014-15 Cleveland Cavaliers. Visit our preseason hub for previews of all 30 NBA teams.
Cleveland Cavaliers
2013-14
| Record | Division | East | Playoffs |
|---|---|---|---|
| 33-49 | 3rd | 10th | N/A |
The Cavaliers entered the 2013-14 season with playoff aspirations, and they had the talent to contend for a postseason berth in a terrible Eastern Conference, but years of mismanagement came to a head as the Cavs stumbled through another lost season.
Kyrie Irving seemed to regress a bit, Irving and Dion Waiters reportedly clashed, Anthony Bennett struggled through one of the worst seasons a No. 1 pick has ever had, general manager Chris Grant was fired in February, and Mike Brown was fired by the Cavs in May for the second time in four years.
To make matters worse, Brown had only completed one year of a ridiculous five-year, $20 million contract, and over the course of the season the Cavs forfeited a handful of draft picks to trade for the expiring contracts of Luol Deng and Spencer Hawes, who walked as free agents in July.
What made Cavs fans particularly frustrated was that the team remained on the periphery of the playoff race for much of the season, but could never find the consistency to make a meaningful run.
Offseason Roundup
How quickly that frustrating season was forgotten, though.
After four years in the basketball wilderness, the Cavaliers instantly returned to relevancy upon LeBron James' decision to return home, which came with an inspirational, heartfelt letter detailing his love for northeast Ohio.
Of course, just weeks prior to that, the Cavs selected Andrew Wiggins with the No. 1 overall pick after stunningly winning the draft lottery for the third time in four years. Wiggins, along with 2013 No. 1 pick Anthony Bennett, was then traded to Minnesota for Kevin Love in August.
Just months removed from facing a disheartening rebuild before their initial rebuild had even gotten off the ground, the Cavs suddenly boasted three All-Stars, including the best player on the planet, were the hottest ticket in the league again, and were the odds-on favorite to win the 2015 championship.
The Cavs also hired David Blatt to be the team's new head coach after a long history of success in Europe (most recently with Maccabi Tel Aviv), and removed the interim tag from new GM David Griffin.
Additions
PF Lou Amundson (free agency)
C Brendan Haywood (trade)
F LeBron James (free agency)
SG James Jones (free agency)
C Alex Kirk (free agency)
PF Kevin Love (trade)
SF Shawn Marion (free agency)
F Mike Miller (free agency)
Departures
PF Anthony Bennett (trade)
SF Luol Deng (free agency)
SG Carrick Felix (trade)
SF Alonzo Gee (trade)
C Spencer Hawes (free agency)
SG Scotty Hopson (trade)
PG Jarrett Jack (trade)
SG Sergey Karasev (trade)
G C.J. Miles (free agency)
C Tyler Zeller (trade)
2014 Draft
G/F Andrew Wiggins (1st round, 1st overall, traded to Minnesota)
SG Joe Harris (2nd round, 33rd overall)
PF Dwight Powell (2nd round, 45th overall)
Landing Wiggins, even before LeBron James' decision to return, was a boon for the franchise and would have helped boost the aforementioned Cavs rebuild. Wiggins also would have been a fine young running mate beside LeBron James, but the 19-year-old can't realistically be expected to produce at Kevin Love's current level for at least the next few years.
By trading Wiggins' superstar potential for an in-his-prime superstar, the Cavs turned the No. 1 pick into Kevin Love, in addition to coming out of the vaunted 2014 draft with Harris and Powell.
Powell was then included in the trade with Boston that netted Keith Bogans' non-guaranteed contract, which was subsequently flipped to create a useful trade exception.
Harris, a career 40 percent 3-point shooter in four years at Virginia, will add even more shooting and floor stretching ability to a new-look Cavs team that already boasts a plethora of it. But that surplus also means the second rounder will be hard pressed to find any meaningful minutes.
Starting 5
- PG Kyrie Irving
- SG Dion Waiters
- SF LeBron James
- PF Kevin Love
- C Anderson Varejao
Breakout Player: Dion Waiters
Waiters has been a volume scorer over his first two NBA seasons, but he's also been a volume chucker, averaging 17 field goal attempts per 36 minutes despite a poor effective field goal percentage of 46.7.
Waiters can get to the rim with the best of them, but he often settles for long two's and all around bad shots.
The thing is, whether the 22-year-old is starting or coming off the bench, he has the potential to score in bunches and from various spots on the floor. He just has to become a more disciplined scorer.
Going from the Cavs' No. 2 option behind only Kyrie Irving to the team's No. 4 option behind James, Irving and Love should foster that discipline, as will playing with James in general.
If Waiters can become the type of scorer who wisely picks his spots - and if he can continue to knock down threes at the clip he did last season (36.8 percent) while being the fourth option in an incredibly spaced out offense - the third-year guard could shine for the new look Cavs.
Keep an eye on Matthew Dellavedova as well. The Australian point guard quietly put together a solid rookie season off the bench, and should look even better surrounded by a wealth of new talent.
Season Expectations
Championship or bust might be harsh considering the Heat didn't win the title in their first year of The Big Three era, but certainly the Cavaliers will be operating under the expectations of: Finals or bust.
The Bulls will give them a run for their money in the East if Derrick Rose is healthy, but the Cavs have a top-10 superstar and another All-Star surrounding the best player on the planet, and they play in a weak conference.
They very well could win it all in their first season together, but they should win the Eastern Conference regardless.
1 to Follow on Social Media
LeBron James is the easy response, but it's also the right one.
King James announced his decision to return on social media, makes waves with virtually every tweet and instagram post, and is a pretty open and accessible presence on social media considering his overwhelming fame.
He also takes shots at himself on twitter and shows respect to legends like the Cosbys, so you know he's the one Cavalier to follow.