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By Alex Kuhn
Sports Editor 

Hear me out...Remodeling the Cleveland Cavaliers

 

June 11, 2016

Courtesy MGN

One of my favorite movies is the wildly underrated "A Most Violent Year." During one point in the film protagonist Abel Morales is asked why he keeps pushing so hard for a property deal while there are so many negatives surrounding him like being investigated by the district attorney, threats against him and his family and rival competitors. Morales calmly responds with this line, "When it feels scary to jump, that is exactly when you jump, otherwise you end up staying in the same place your whole life, and that I can't do."

Life is about taking risk whether that's purchasing your first house or writing a column about what the Cleveland Cavaliers need to do in the offseason when Game 4 is nine hours from starting. Remember it's about risk.

The Cav's 30-point throttling of the Warriors in Game 3 was impressive, it was expected they would get at least one against the W's, although not by that great of a margin. Kyrie Irving and JR Smith were hitting shots, LeBron had his first great game of the series and one of their two defensive liabilities was out with a concussion.

While it seemed every ESPN talking head was trying to push the narrative that this is a series now, the truth is the Cavs are still outmatched and the Warriors bounce back is coming. Stephen Curry and Klay Thompson will get it going just like they did in the last series against OKC. The Cavs defense has not been shutting those two down. There are playing poorly that's the truth of the matter, go back and watch how many uncontested or half-hearted contested shots the Splash Brother missed. It's quite shocking, just like 'Winter is coming' on 'Game of Thrones' the Splash Bros annihilation of the Cavs is near.

After LeBron and Co. fall to the Warriors once again, there will be big changes coming that will turn this NBA offseason from boring, Kevin Durant sweepstakes aren't happening, to chaotically fun. General manger LeBron James will have big moves to make, we can stop pretending he's not the one pulling the strings.

Kevin Love is a goner, since his time in Cleveland he's gone from a top 15 player to a terrific role player. There are plenty of potential landing spots for Love, Boston and either LA teams are the popular destinations in the NBA rumor mill. Why the Cleveland and Love pairing didn't work is the fault of both parties. Having been 'the guy' in Minnesota, Love had a hard time accepting the third banana role and making the sacrifices necessary. And the Cavs never really found a way to properly use his talents, which led to, if Love isn't hitting shots get him off the floor, because he sure isn't rebounding or playing anything resembling defense.

The next move for LeBron, and this one will take stones, is trading Kyrie Irving. His Game 3 performance had people excited again, his stock may not hit any higher, so it's time to sell, sell, sell! Irving is only 24 and giving up on a player that young is usually a cardinal sin of GM's but LeBron is no longer in his prime and the clock is ticking. Irving is a prolific scorer who can score in bunches but that's his entire game. He's a 1, point guard, who doesn't pass or setup his teammates and cares as much about defense as Bernie Sanders cares about a comb.

The Cavs best team is their worst team against the Warriors. There's nowhere to hide Irving and Love on defense and it comes as no surprise that Golden State runs those two through endless pick and rolls. The sad part, this Cleveland team was constructed with the sole purpose of beating the Warriors and it looks like they've fallen even further behind.

The mistake most teams make against the W's is trying to out small ball them. You're not going to take down the kings by attacking them at their strength. It's insane, it would be like if Richard Dreyfuss tried taking down Jaws by jumping in the water covered in chum with only his fist as weapons.

Beating Golden State you need to go big, like OKC, and slow the pace, like San Antonio did. When they go to the SBDS (Small Ball Death Squad) you need to punish them on the offensive glass, sure, you risk giving up transition 3s or layups, but that's a risk you need to take. Slowing the pace limits their possessions and by running methodical offensive sets you can wear them down.

LeBron needs another ring to cement his legacy in the top 5 of NBA players. Packaging Love and Irving for upgrades on defense will get him closer to that ring. Memphis could be close to blowing things up so a swap for Marc Gasol, Mike Conley (It would have to be a sign and trade) and player x who makes the salary cap work, would be very interesting. Or if LeBron was serious about teaming with Chris Paul and Carmelo Anthony this could be his best shot to do so before all of their championship windows are slammed shut. Making moves this big is risky and could result in egg on the face of LeBron but remember when it's scariest to jump, that is exactly the moment you jump.

 
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