But nobody was offering anything close to Cleveland's deal....
Great deal for the Cavs. Not good, GREAT. And the Cavs still have a lot of assets left to make other deals. You know, deals to fill out the bench, get a rim protector, etc.
The pressure is always on in professional sports.
So, you'd rather be mediocre?
Yep, that's a pretty good recipe for success. Hope and pray for overachievement. Wait until next year ... and next year ... and next year....
I'd also probably include #4 if Rose is healthy. That will be a fantastic Eastern Conference Finals IMO if both teams are at fulll strength.
I disagree, but I don't think they got as much as LJB (possibly) thinks either in terms of leverage. They only got 1 first rounder, the talk had been Wiggins, Bennett, possibly Thompson, and at least 2 first rounders. So I think Cleveland didn't give up as much (especially since it is a protected first rounder) as some thought they would have to, but they did end up having to give up Wiggins. So, in a sense, both teams win if Love stays long term.
The defense concerns me as well, but I think both Kyrie and Waiters have the potential to be plus defenders. The problem is they've never been forced to play it. Byron Scott's system was, um, defense challenged. ANd while Mike Brown is a defensive coach, that team was a mess and clearly wasn't buying anything he was selling. He was essentially a lame-duck coach by the first of January. A guy like LeBron is almost a player coach and word is the Blatt is a helluva teacher. I don't think it's a stretch to expect that they can improve in that area.
I hope you're right
I'll disagree here. They didn't become the New York Yankees. They got a "homegrown" talent to "come back home", locked up another "homegrown" guy, and used other assets that they drafted to acquire a third star. They're now the Miami Heat, without the collusion, without the fan hate, and with a better supporting cast. This is a perfect storm that I never would have thought possible. They have one of the most talented rosters in all of pro sports, with the best player in the world, and most of it is young to boot. If this doesn't set up a several year long run that includes multiple titles it will be a massive flop. I'll take that pressure. It will be much more fun than it was the first time LeBronie was here and hoping each offseason that they could patch the holes that were holding them back. It'll be much more fun than hoping that Wiggins can become more than a good defender. Each year, they should be a prohibitive favorite in the East, and with the Spurs getting older, possibly a favorite to win it all. Next summer could shift the balance of power depending on what Durantula does, but for the time being, this is the hottest thing going in the NBA. For seven years (or at least the last four years he was here), the Cavs were LeBron and a cast of decent players that had some pretty good chemistry during the regular season. Then they were a punching bag for four years. Now, they're an elite team overnight. I'll take that over celebrating Andrew Bynum's corpse signing on and flaming out after six weeks. It's gonna be a blast.
Dave Blatt...man, I don't know how much he knew when he took the job...but talk about walking into a situation. Sheesh. If he's 2/3 of the coach he's reputed to be, look out. If the Heat can win two titles in four years with Erik freaking Spoelstra as their coach, Blatt should do just fine.
I'm on record as saying I didn't want Wiggins to be part of this deal. Not happy about that part of it.
BUT ... the Cavaliers just became the best team in the NBA, so I can get over it.
