All The King's Men

Never has a man's silence said so much. LeBron James left Orlando last night answering what is sure to be a neverending slate of questions with nothing more than loud footsteps and quiet posturing. Who can blame him? Some things are best left unsaid. LeBron wasn't ready to answer questions about what could be his final year in Cleveland this upcoming season. He wasn't ready to explain why Orlando's magic transformed King James and his Knights of the Round into court jesters. He wasn't ready to point fingers. He wasn't ready to go the Kobe route.

The sad state of affairs in the NBA these days is that in order for a team to excel, it must come by the most discourteous of means. Dwight Howard's Magic finally were able to get over the hump and reach the Finals, but only after Superboy(Sorry, Dwight, there's one Superman in Orlando, and he goes by The Diesel.) ripped his coach in a post game news conference following a loss in the Celtics series. Kobe Bryant has got the Lakers back in the Finals for the 2nd straight year, but only after he demanded a trade, ripped his GM and teammates and cried on the top of his lungs for more help. King James, however, chose to be the nobel knight and opted to fall on his sword. He didn't use last night as the golden oppurtunity to bemoan for an infusion of talent around him. He didn't rip Coach Mike Brown for his inability to defend Orlando's three point marksmen. He didn't call out his teammates who magically disappeared in big spots throughout the entire series. He didn't give a reaction to having squandered all the overwhelming publicity sponsers and the NBA were floating over a LeBron vs. Kobe NBA Finals. Instead, LeBron's silent waltz to the airport left one loud statement: I'm staying in Cleveland.

For all of LeBron's career goals of being a global superstar, LeBron has to know that there is one thing out there that trumps all of the fame and fortune: Bringing a championship to Cleveland. He gave his all against the Spurs a few years but fell short thanks to a lame supporting cast and inexperience and he gave the performance of his life this year but fell short because of....wait for it.....a lame supporting cast and inexperience. It would be hard LeBron to come home to Cleveland years from now having chased the money and the fame and won titles in a big city like New York or Los Angeles. While getting upset by the Magic is a disappointment to The Chosen One, it will only fuel his drive to be better next year and the year after that and the year after that to win that elusive ring. Michael Jordan spent the entire late 80's getting denied that brass ring by superior teams in Detroit and Boston before taking over the 90's. After falling to Boston last year, Kobe spent the entire offseason doing whatever it took to get his team back to the Finals, and time will tell whether that hard work paid off. LeBron isn't ready to let early disappointment and the allure of big money ruin the oppurtunity to become an icon where it matters to him most: Home.

Of course, the fact remains that even LeBron needs help, so here's some things for LeBron and the guy who probably is sweating more than anyone after this series, GM Danny Ferry, to address over the coming months.

1. Inside Game: It goes without saying that the Cavs' big men range from mediocre to significantly declined. Longtime center Zydrunas Ilgauskas proved that the name "Big Z" stood for "Big Zero". With an aging body ravaged over the year by injuries, Big Z looked stiff and inefficient on both ends of the court settling for hard fouls on defense and mid-range shots on offense. Anderson Varajao proved why he's better coming off the bench. The frenetic pace that became his calling card eventually came to screeching halt as his increased minutes wore him out down the stretch. Ben Wallace died a long time ago and his corpse occassionally made cameos but he was largely used as a rotting cadaver hoping to at least impede Dwight Howard enough to either force him to the line or get a bad shot. Same went for Joe Smith and Lorenzen Wright. The good news for King James is that Smith and Wright are free agents and Z and Varajao could join them if they choose to excercise that option. Wallace, on the other hand, in mulling retirement and, with one year left on his deal, would seem like a long shot to return anyway.

The solution to the Cavs' problems inside lie in Phoenix. The Cavs flirted with the idea of bringing in Shaq at the deadline but were rebuffed when Phoenix wouldn't take back Wallace's contract. The bigger fish in the desert would appear to be Amare Stoudemire, who was shopped fervishly during the deadline but eventually had eye surgery that made him almost as immovable as Big Ben's corpse. With Wallace's expiring deal and a bevy of young guards, the Cavs could try to lure Amare to join forces with King James, offering the type of inside-outside combo that could get them over the snide. If James could win 66 games with this band of stiffs, imagine what he could do with an actual living human being in the front court? Exploring Shaq again isn't a bad idea either. He had a solid year last year in Phoenix despite being on the decline since leaving L.A. in 2005. Shaq's large body can at least presumably keep a big man like Dwight Howard or Kevin Garnett from having their way in the paint and, on offense, Shaq has proven he can produce when he feels he's involved enough. The downside with acquiring Amare or Shaq is that they are free agents at the end of next season, when James can opt out of his contract. That would leave Cleveland with the tough task of retaining James AND going back to the drawing board in the case of Shaq(who would theoretically retire) or having hand out another max contract in the case of Stoudemire. Other available big men would be Denver's Chris "Birdman" Anderson, or the Clips' Marcus Camby. An interesting situation if the Cavs would happen to lose the entire frontcourt could be reuniting James with former teammate Carlos Boozer, who's a free agent this summer.

2. Pick a guard, any guard: Kobe needed Shaq. Jordan needed Pippen. Magic needed Kareem or Worthy. Cleveland can't possibly expect to become a champion with a troika of undersized, shoot-first point guards. Eliminating one or two(or maybe even all three) from the trio of Mo Williams, Delonte West, and Boobie Gibson would seem to be the smart route since you essentially have three players(as well as a fourth in seldom-used off-guard Sasha Pavlovic) who all bring the same thing to the table. If Cleveland can use a couple of these guys along with one of their rotting big men to lure in a big fish like Stoudemire or Camby or even a solid # 2 like Michael Redd or Rudy Gay, it could serve them well. LeBron can't be both the facilitator AND the scorer. He needs someone who can take some of the load off. The perfect scenario would be to move some of their surplus at guard to bring in a pass-first point, a solid spot-up shooter at the two and an active force on the boards. It's not an impossible task. If the Cavs can make a move for Stoudemire, they might be able to dial up the cost-cutting Hornets in order to acquire sweet-shooting Rasual Butler(or Butler and Tyson Chandler in a bigger deal). As for the point, there are guys like T.J. Ford(whom the Pacers might shop in exchange for, say, Varajao) or, if they're completely desperate...they can try to resuscitate the lifeless body of free agent point guard Jason Kidd.

3. Get younger: A cheaper option that has been utilized for years by teams like San Antonio and Detroit would be to find some gems in the draft. One guy who could be ripe for the picking when Cleveland goes on the clock is energetic North Carolina big man Tyler Hansborough. While Psycho T is really a softer version of Varajao, he'll at least come cheaper than the long-lost third Lopez brother. If the Cavs can move Varajao in a deal for any one of the previously mentioned targets and then replace him with a proven winner like Hansborough, the team could benefit not only by improving the overall talent but by saving pennies to put toward the eventual huge contract coming to the King in 2010. The Celtics were able to find Rajon Rondo in the 2nd round, and he's now a top 5 point guard. The Spurs stole Manu Ginobli and Tony Parker late. The Pistons discovered Tayshaun Prince. Every draft has a couple of guys who fall to winning teams and produce......much like Carlos Boozer did in Cleveland a few years ago.

4. Brown Out: Mike Brown is a solid coach who has worked wonders with a team that is a walking one-man show, but it might be time for a change. Byron Scott took the Nets to two NBA Finals, but inevitably wore out his welcome. Same for Avery Johnson and Don Nelson in Dallas. Same for Rick Carlisle in Detroit. Players don't accept schemes and speeches as much as they rally around results and rings. Boston assistant Tom Thibodeau is a defensive-minded coach who has helped his team finish in the Top 10 in team defense 15 times. He was a part of the '99 Knicks team that went to the Finals and won a title with Boston last year. After a disappointing series in which the Cavs were routinely gashed by open 3s and lack of aggression inside, the Cavs might be better served to be led by a man with championship pedigree and defensive know-how.
Brown isn't solely to blame for the Cavs' playoff exit, but better coaches have been dismissed for less.

The fact of the matter is this, players like LeBron James come once a generation and the city of Cleveland will continue to starve for a championship if they don't push for an army fit for a King. This season, we all witnessed greatness, but how long before we become witnesses to a weary King silently marching away from his countrymen for the very last time?

--Dave