USA TODAY International Edition
LeBron energized after Cavs’ turbulent summer
CLEVELAND The tumult that shrouded the Cleveland Cavaliers after their NBA Finals loss to the Golden State Warriors has faded. But not disappeared.
The Cavs weathered a front office makeover, mild frustration from LeBron James and a trade request from Kyrie Irving.
But James entered training camp happy, thrilled to reunite with good friend and former teammate Dwyane Wade. “It’s kind of like when you start school and you walk into the classroom and you’re not quite sure who your classmates are, and when you walk in there and one of your best friends is in there, you’re like, ‘Oh, yeah, this is going to be fun. It’s going to be a good class.’ That’s the type of feeling I got,” James said of Wade.
NBA school officially starts Tuesday, with the Cavs taking on the Boston Celtics and Irving in appointment viewing. This not only is a rematch of last season’s Eastern Conference finals but also the return of Irving — now a Celtic — after no longer wanting to play for the Cavs and alongside James.
The Celtics also added Gordon Hayward and should be, along with the Washington Wizards, Cleveland’s biggest threat for the Eastern Conference title.
The Cavs remain in great position to return to the NBA Finals for the fourth consecutive season (Golden State-Cleveland round four, anyone?), and James, on track to become the youngest and just seventh NBA player to score 30,000 points, could do something unheard of in today’s game — play in eight consecutive Finals, joining a handful of Celtics who did it five decades ago.
And, James, who missed most of preseason with a sprained left ankle, can become a free agent, raising the possibility he could again leave the Cavs. Everything that happens this season will be analyzed and overanalyzed under the guise of what it means for James’ future.
Acknowledging nothing has changed his mind that Cleveland is the team with which he wants to retire, he will evaluate his future after this season. So until then, a happy student makes for a productive student, and Wade has provided James with a renewed motivation, the kind that can propel the Cavs back to the Finals and lead James to a fifth MVP.
“The opportunity I have to lead a franchise once again and take guys to measures that they haven’t been before and hopefully I can try to take myself to places I haven’t been before and that’s why I’ve been training as much as I have over the last three months,” James said. “So I’m just enjoying life. This is a wonderful time.”
In a league that moves fast, the Cavs converted that summer chaos into relative calm. New general manager Koby Altman deserves credit for assembling this roster with limited salary cap flexibility. He re-signed Kyle Korver and brought in Derrick Rose, Jeff Green and Wade on minimum deals.
But his most significant move just two months into the job was navigating Irving’s trade request. He acquired Thomas, Jae Crowder, Ante Zizic, a 2018 first-round pick and a 2020 second-round pick for Irving.
The Cavs have depth, more than perhaps any of their teams since James returned three seasons ago: James, Rose, Wade, Korver, Thomas, Crowder, Green, Kevin Love, Tristan Thompson, J.R. Smith, Iman Shumpert, Channing Frye and Jose Calderon.
“Obviously, there will be some things that will happen throughout the season that you can’t worry about or you can’t affect, but the things that we can control, we should be in pretty good position,” James said.
Wade, who has won three NBA titles, two of them with James while they were with the Miami Heat, said, “This team right here from top to bottom is one of the most talented teams I’ve been on.”
With depth come issues, such as who starts and who plays how many minutes. Just five can start and there are only so many minutes in a game.
Tension but not necessarily turmoil still exists. Would the Cavs have it any other way? Wade’s arrival pushed shooting guard J.R. Smith to the bench, and Smith isn’t thrilled. Thompson, who started 78 games last season, will also begin the season as a reserve.
But no matter what combinations Lue finds, James will be part of most of them. After a player-led minicamp in Santa Barbara, Calif., James arrived for preseason training in great shape and in a great mood.
Certainly, Wade’s decision to join him played a role in that happiness.
But it just wasn’t a reunion with Wade that has James inspired. Perhaps Irving’s departure had something to do with it. Part of it was just rediscovering the joy of the game — unencumbered from the pressures of winning another title.
His sons, LeBron Jr. and Bryce, helped James approach this season with renewed enthusiasm.
“What got me excited about the game of basketball is being with my sons this summer and watching their AAU games,” James said. “You probably saw a couple videos where I was not a nice dad during those games. But the basketball jones and the basketball fever was put back in me early in July. It’s crazy to say that my 12-year-old and my 10-yearold can inspire me and they did, and their teammates inspired me to get in the gym.”
He called it one of the best offseasons of his career.
“I always get better throughout the offseason,” James said. “I always work on my game or work on my body throughout the offseason. Something was different. Something was just different throughout the offseason. I’m not here to talk about it, because that’s not what I do. I’ll put it out on the floor.”