The Cavaliers Are Probably Screwed

The year was 2010.

After another non-championship year, basketball superstar LeBron James had a huge decision to make.

Should he stay with his hometown Cleveland Cavaliers and be The Man?

Or should he take his talents to South Beach to be the leader of an NBA super-team?

We all know how that went down.

Four years and two championships later, James yet again faced a life- and league-altering decision. This time, he decided to leave the shores of South Beach to return home to the Cavaliers.

Of course, LeBron made sure the Cavs had a supporting cast this time around before committing to a return.

The Cavaliers v2.0 had a bunch of bumps along the road, but James delivered on his championship promise. For the first time since 1964, the city of Cleveland was home to a champion. 

Realizing they had to do more than reload, the Golden State Warriors responded by signing arguably the second-best player in the league in Kevin Durant. Suffice to say that this Dubs edition is looking unbeatable for the near term.

Since falling out of the 2017 Finals in a disappointing five-game fashion, life in the Cavs-land keeps getting worse.

Firstly, the team’s reported deal for Paul George fell through when the Indiana Pacers GM backed out at the last minute.

Secondly, on a random Friday afternoon, ESPN broke the stunning story that Kyrie Irving wants out of Cleveland. Any hopes of reconciliation seem rather bleak at this moment.

However, the third major piece of news shows how badly screwed the Cavaliers might be.

According to Adrian Wojnarowski, Cleveland's operating under the assumption that LeBron will not be back after this season.  

In the article, Woj says the club will try their best to bring him back, but the lack of commitment to the team on James’s part to acquire supporting talent is telling.

We still have a full years’ worth of time between then and now, so Cavs management will have plenty of time to show LeBron they're dedicated to doing whatever it takes to win.

But this time around, LeBron has Dan Gilbert's idiocy on full blast as his Get Outta Cleveland Free card.

Losing James will likely be the end of the Cavaliers as a contender. In a worst-case scenario, they deal Kyrie before the season for package centered around Eric Bledsoe.

Then, after being eliminated either before or in the Finals, LeBron decides to take his talents elsewhere for the second time.

This would leave Cleveland with Bledsoe, Tristian Thompson, JR Smith, and Kevin Love. The club would likely look to move those dudes for assets, but it’s gonna be hard when arguably your most valuable asset in Love is unwanted.

If that's not a bleak future, what is?

Other than being the Brooklyn Nets.