The Cavaliers' season and future were defined by General Manager Danny Ferry's blockbuster deal at the trading deadline that added Wally Szczerbiak, Ben Wallace, Joe Smith and Delonte West.
Several factors forced Ferry to break up a team that went to the NBA Finals the year before, including the team's inconsistent play and Larry Hughes' demand to be traded. Also, LeBron James was dissatisfied that no moves had been made to upgrade the roster.
Shortly after the 11-player, three-team trade, Ferry told the media he made the deal because the previous roster was not good enough to win a championship.
"I thought we had a very good team," Ferry said in February. "But I do believe if we have a chance to make ourselves better we should try. Was it a risk in doing so? Yes, it was a risk. But we're going to have to make some decisions that have some risk in them if we want to continue to build and grow."
The Cavs were 22-19 after the trade, including a 7-6 mark in the playoffs. At best, the trade was a wash. The Cavs' interior defense improved and they had more depth, but an already weak perimeter defense became weaker and issues with the offense did not go away.
James was not pleased with last year's off-season but chances are he'll get satisfaction this time. When James spoke about the team's need to improve following the loss to the Boston Celtics in Game 7 of the Eastern Conference semifinals, Ferry was in the back of the room. Since the February trades did not make the Cavs a championship team, Ferry will look to continue to improve the roster with more trades.
After the NBA Draft on June 26, the Cavs will have to make decisions on restricted free agents Daniel Gibson and West. Since they are short on point guards, the team more than likely will retain both.
The Cavs cannot look to free agency for improvement because they are about $26 million over the cap. The Cavs have two exceptions (a $5.5 million midlevel exception and the $1.8 million biannual exception) but the draft, free agency and cap exceptions are not nearly enough to fix what ails this team.
The Cavs can improve the most with a change in offensive philosophy. The so-called hockey assist, which was to promote more movement and reward players for making the initial pass that led to the traditional assist, looked good in theory, but the Cavs would often fall back into the stand-and-stare offense. That's when James would bounce the air out of the ball at the top of the key as the other four players stood and watched.
How would things have changed if the Cavs had acquired a point guard like Mike Bibby? Was he to dribble upcourt, pass to James and go stand in a corner while James decided to shoot, drive or pass once he was double-teamed? Since James is the team's best finisher, he should not be the primary distributor.
An offense led by a point guard who can break down defenders off the dribble would create easier baskets for James. An offense where James could occasionally set up on the block would provide additional scoring. An offense that includes more than one pass would also improve on what the Cavs did with the ball this past season.
It will take more than a few reinforcements for the Cavs to improve next season. They also have to revamp an offense that appears to be a remnant of the NBA before the shot clock.
