Hope is not lost in Cleveland

[Eric_Suede]

Richard Jefferson isn't Lebron James, but he isn't chopped liver either. All the Cavs need to do is sign Jefferson and they are, relatively, close to where they were last year. Not the 1st seed, but probably 4th, 5th or 6th.

If they give Scott time and make good use of draft picks and expiring contracts to build talent I think they'll be okay...on the court. OTOH, getting fans back in the stands is likely to be their biggest problem. If they can't do that, no matter what happens on the court, the franchise is doomed in Cleveland.

That's why I keep making the suggestion from the beginning of this thread. Bring in Allen Iverson, Again not suggesting mortgaging their future but he can be had pretty cheap. Bring some "Drama" back to cleveland. They need a character there. Bring him in as the 2 , bring in RJ and a good vets that would thrive in the "running system" Byron scott likes to run, I seriously think AI would thrive there. We know That's RJ's things soo. worth a shot. AI isn't as big as Lebron but trust me it'll sell many tickets. which is definitely what cleveland needs right now. So much was invested in Lebron it's frightening. Right now the team needs someone to sell tickets.

[Celtics4ever]

I think CLE will sign AI.   He has some fading star power and is better than their guards even older than dirt for a speed based NBA player.

[nickagneta]

I think some of you people are seriously devaluing what Lebron meant to this team. This is a player that scored 30 points per game for Cleveland while assisting and creating at the very least another 20 points per game.

He was personally responsible for HALF their offense.

And he was a 1st team All-Defense defender that compensated for a lot of the poor defense that was being played at the center and PG positions.

Without LeBron and adding retreads like AI and Richard Jefferson and Arenas and T-Mac and such this team isn't even close to 8th seed.

Cleveland fans aren't stupid. They are going to know that AI and TMac are just ownerships way of bringing in a name to keep season ticket sales up. That isn't going to keep those season ticket renewals happening. Only real future building will.

They did the right thing. They got like five picks and a great trade exception. Save that trade exception and pick up someone at the trade deadline for nothing. Then use the picks wisely and dump the bad contracts. If the lockout goes a whole year Cleveland can look to rebuild around whoever they wisely pick up at the deadline with the trade exception, future picks and the cap space that will make them players in the 2013 off season that could see Howard, Williams, Paul, and a huge group of franchise transforming players available for them to make them an instant winner.

[Yakmanev]

Regardless of what Cleveland does to their roster I don't think selling tickets is going to be a problem.

I think the fans fill the arena every night just to send LeBron a message. I don't really know how to word that message..."we're a  team before an egomaniac, fanbase" or something... shirimasen.

[GreenFaith1819]

Interesting thread - I liked the suggestion from Cman about CLE somehow getting Big Al. He would pair nicely upfront with Varejao.

I wouldn't count them out of the playoffs..I can see them somehow getting a team together, and pulling off an 8th seed....

Can you imagine the bedlam if they somehow played MIA in the 1st round? Sure - they'd get beat, but can you imagine the CLE crowd when MIA came to town?

Raucous!