LeBron is going to need more help next season
By JAKE GLAVIES, jglavies@reviewonline.comThe scene marker has cracked down to signal the close of the Cleveland Cavaliers’ season.
There will be no return trip to the finals. No improbable run through the playoffs. Just the bad taste of going toe-to-toe with the best team in the NBA and coming up five points short in a 97-92 loss to the Boston Celtics in Game 7 of the Eastern Conference semifinals.
Others may have played with more consistency throughout the series, but there is no doubt that one player upheld his part of the bargain when it counted most. Though he started off the second round series by suffering through the worst dry spell of his career, LeBron James came through in the clutch. His game-high 45 points in Game 7brought the Cavs to the doorstep of knocking off the highly touted Celtics, but his supporting cast couldn’t ring the bell.
Just one other Cav scored in double figures in the closing game — Delonte West with 15. Only two other’s matched James’ work on the glass, grabbing five rebounds or more — Zydrunas Ilgauskas with five and Joe Smith with a team-high six. And in the assists category, the royal one stood alone with a team-leading six in the losing effort.
As the saying goes, a rolling stone gathers no moss and with the season freshly in the books, it’s time to start planning for the future and I’m not talking about 401ks or mutual funds.
The looming question heading into next season will undoubtedly be: who will help LeBron get that elusive first ring? Though the front office pulled the trigger on the biggest mid-season trade of the year, the four players that were brought in are second tier help at best.
Of the bunch, West did managed to make a solid impression. But his 11.4 points-per-game in the Celtics series - with a high of 21 points in games three and five - and 3.4 assists were serviceable, but not enough to get the squad over the hump. Of course Ilgauskas did his part knocking down mid-range jumpers and working to pick up anyone’s misses.
But that’s where the help ends.
When the numbers are crunched, James’ 26.7 points, 6.4 rebounds and 7.6 assists provided the best single-series performance of this year’s playoffs.
The only thing his gaudy stats weren’t good enough to do was elevate everyone around him.
Without a second scoring option to consistently chip in 18 to 20 points a game, while dishing off five assists, the Cavs won’t be deep enough to be legitimate title contenders. Now with the season over, the front office personnel can get back to tinkering with the line-up.
But with little money to play with, what changes can be made before tip off next year?
Cleveland currently ranks fourth in the league in overall payroll, with a player note of $81 million— only the Denver Nuggets, $81.5 million, New York Knicks, $88 million and Dallas Mavericks, $105 million rank higher. Though the squad’s number will drop to $74,806,862 next season, money is still in tight demand.
The Cavs’ lone expiring contract this summer rests with Devin Brown’s $1.2 million tag. Daniel Gibson, West and Dwayne Jones may also leave the team via unrestricted free agency.
The combined 2007-08 season salaries of Brown, Gibson, West and Jones — $4,447,825 — are mere chump change in regard to what the top tier free agents will demand.
Allen Iverson and Gilbert Arenas will be the top names on the open market once the season ends. With his 2007-08 salary ranking third in the league at $20,109,375, the Denver Nuggets’ shooting guard is far out of the Cavs reach. His early termination clause may also keep him from reaching the market this summer. As for Arenas, his $12,800,000 tag also puts him in a free agent class far out of the Cavs reach.
A total drop of $6,317,066 should allow the squad to bring in someone to help. Possible names within Cleveland’s reach include Chris Duhon, Eddie House and Matt Barnes; although none will be an improvement over anyone currently on the roster.
The squad’s lone hope is that general manager Danny Ferry can pull off another block-buster trade next season.
With $28.6 million in expiring contracts next year, unloading a few hefty salaries could make the Cavs instant favorites to make a championship run.
But only time will tell if Ferry and the rest of the Cavs’ front office will pull the trigger to bring in some major help for their star.
If they don’t make a move soon though, they may find themselves losing more than just games as James can opt out of his contract after the 2009-10 season.
(Jake Glavies is a sports writer for The Review. He can be reached at jglavies@reviewonline.com)
