| | By Eric Karabell
ESPN.com
For more years than they can probably count, the Cavaliers and their fans had to deal with Michael Jordan. Just ask Craig Ehlo. The Bulls were the dominant team in the NBA and its Central Division and the Cavaliers, despite seven straight winning seasons in the '90s and six playoff berths in that span, never won anything.
|  | | The Cavs were happy to get Andre Miller, but thrilled with his production and maturity. |
But the Cavaliers may have gotten some revenge for the Bulls beatings on draft night in June. Armed with the No. 8 pick in the draft, and desperate for just one thing, a big man with two healthy feet to work beside Shawn Kemp, the Bulls chose the top center in the draft with the seventh pick in Chris Mihm. However, they dealt him to Cleveland for No. 8 pick Jamal Crawford and cash. It was a stunning trade that had the fans watching the draft at Gund Arena acting as if the team had just won the title. Combine the Mihm acquisition with a trade the team made earlier this offseason and the Cavs are thinking playoffs again. And with no MJ around, maybe more.
With that in mind, we present our fifth offseason team spotlight, the Cleveland Cavaliers. We have our opinions, which are below, and we have your opinions, which you can get by clicking to the right.
Why the Cavs were 32-50: Before finishing with a 7-16 run, the Cavs were in the running for the final playoff berth in the East. But the way this team underachieved, it didn't deserve it. Kemp again did yeoman's work in the paint, but he's not a center, and it took its toll. In Seattle, Kemp was annually one of the league most accurate shooters, but in Cleveland, he hasn't been. Kemp's field goal percentage was a brutal .418 this past season, which helped him to his worst scoring average since 1992-93. But when you're playing out of position because the team's center is always hurt, it catches up to you.
Zydrunas Ilgauskas played all of the 1997-98 season in Cleveland, averaging 13.9 points and 8.8 rebounds. These numbers are important. It's all we have to go on. Ilgauskas sat out all of the season before that, managed to play five games two years ago, and missed all of last season with continuing foot problems. The issue: Those feet keep breaking. One after the other and back again. Doctors are dumbfounded. The Cavaliers are getting tired of it.
Now with 7-footer Mihm, who averaged 17.7 points and 10.5 rebounds a game as a junior at Texas and is a legitimate shot blocker, the Cavs have insurance in the middle. And even if Cavs fans can't say Mihm fills Ilgauskas' shoes, we expect those shoes to be healthy ones. Who knows, Crawford may turn into a stud for the Bulls at the point, but Cleveland's all set at that position for the next decade with the savvy Andre Miller, who is so plain (or, if you prefer, mature) that he was the only guy not dunking in the rookie All-Star game (for which he was booed). But make no mistake, Miller definitely did the job in that rookie game and for Cleveland.
So yes, the loss of Ilgauskas did have that big an effect on the Cavs, who weren't a top-five team in the conference to start with. There were some good things, from the emergence of Miller over Brevin Knight to the since-departed Bob Sura breaking out to newcomer Lamond Murray scoring 15.9 points a night, but not enough. Wesley Person had his worst season. First-round pick Trajan Langdon played in only 10 games. The transition from old coach Mike Fratello to new one Randy Wittman was slow. And take your center out of the equation and make Kemp the only person capable of getting a rebound on the team, and a 50-loss season makes sense.
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Current projected top 6
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PG
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Andre Miller
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SG
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Wesley Person
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SF
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Lamond Murray
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PF
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Shawn Kemp
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C
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Chris Mihm
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6th
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Trajan Langdon
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Team MVP: Miller. His numbers as a starter would rank him among the elite point guards in the league, and over an entire season, he would have gotten a lot of Rookie of the Year votes. Team LVP: Person and Cedric Henderson were expected to play major minutes. Person (9.2 points per) had his worst year, and Henderson and his .396 field goal percentage became unplayable. Surprise! One good, one bad. Kemp had never shot even close to that poorly in his career. That's the bad. Meanwhile, we knew Miller was mature beyond his years, but not this much. Up and comer: Miller will still get better and might be a 15-point, 10-assist, 5-rebound guy right now, but Langdon also has plenty of upside. The Cavs expect him to beat out Person for the starting shooting guard spot and show off his range and Duke schooling. And finally, there's Mihm, who by his mere presence on the court and not the operating table is welcomed.
What they need: If Mihm's the real deal, which is to say he can give the Cavs at least 12 points, eight or nine rebounds, a few blocks, an intimidating presence and keep himself reasonable foul-free, the Cavs are set up front. If Ilgauskas ever comes back, the team has greater depth. The three-way trade in June that sent the pricey Sura packing and brought in Robert Traylor and J.R. Reid also gives the frontcourt more beef. But note to all Cleveland-area buffets: Behemoths Kemp and Tractor Traylor are a dangerous combination not only on the court.
Kemp remains one of the top power forwards in the league and Murray is a solid scorer at the three-spot. Miller and Knight are quality point guards. The Cavs may have a problem at shooting guard if Person doesn't come back strong and Langdon doesn't emerge, but it's a lot easier to find a shooting guard than a center. There's plenty of depth here and four of the five starting spots appear set.
What the plan is: Danny Ferry, who believe it or not has actually been a Cavalier since 1990 (seems like forever to Cavs fans, doesn't it?), is a free agent. If they can get him back cheap enough, he'll probably return. Other than that, the Cavaliers don't figure to be players in the free agent wars. The plan is basically to figure out who starts at shooting guard, with the other player as the sixth man, and try to get healthy. There are no real expectations for Ilgauskas to return, though he is signed for a few more years and his presence would allow Mihm to take his time matching up with guys like Patrick Ewing and Dikembe Mutombo. The rest of the frontcourt looks nice, with Traylor and Reid joining holdovers Mark Bryant and
Andrew DeClercq as capable big men. And remember, Traylor does have a, pardon the pun, huge upside.
The Cavs are clearly in the market to move Knight, a ballhawk on defense and solid passer who just doesn't have an outside shot and is on the wrong side of 6-feet tall. Posting Knight up is a breeze. Miller is clearly the starter. The Cavs seem to have this infatuation with a guy even smaller than Knight, the diminutive Earl Boykins, who is much more affordable as a backup, and at 5-5 isn't any more a liablility than Knight. The Cavaliers tried to deal Knight before last season, knowing they had Miller, but instead signed him to an outrageous long-term deal. Can you say Derek Fisher?
Direction heading: We don't want to act like we're too high on the Cavs since, after all, they are the Cavs, but the future does look pretty bright. You have a center who could be pretty good and a point guard who is real good and a number of other good pieces, led by a 20 and 10 guy at power forward. If Mihm does his job, the Cavs should be a playoff team. Maybe we'll start seeing Drew Carey out at the Gund.
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