Is this the prelude to another exit from Cleveland?
It appears that the quiet offseason of the Cleveland Cavaliers hasn’t only upset it’s devout fanbase but also may have frustrated the heartbeat of their franchise; LeBron James.
According to Jeff Zillgitt of USA Today James is becoming increasingly concerned with how the offseason has panned out for the Cavs.
“Expecting an aggressive offseason approach that would close the gap on the champion Golden State Warriors, James soon found his anticipation and optimism diminished after Cavaliers owner Dan Gilbert dismantled the front office, declining days before the draft and free agency to bring back general manager David Griffin and vice president of basketball operations Trent Redden.
“Gilbert’s decision left the Cavs without the franchise’s top two front-office execs at a critical time, and it left James frustrated and concerned about the team’s ability to put together a roster that can better compete with Golden State, the person with direct knowledge of James’ thinking told USA Today Sports.
Further exacerbating James’ frustration is the Cavs were close to making a deal for then-Chicago Bulls All-Star Jimmy Butler the day Gilbert decided to mutually part ways with Griffin and Redden, two people familiar with negotiations told USA TODAY Sports. They requested anonymity because they were not authorized to speak publicly on the negotiations.”
With so many NBA teams loading up to take a crack at dethroning the Golden State Warriors, the Cavs have mostly stayed put.
Cleveland has been tied to the likes of Paul George and even Carmelo Anthony but those talks went nowhere as George landed in Oklahoma City and Anthony seems destined to land with the Rockets in Houston.
With George’s addition to the Oklahoma City Thunder, Jimmy Butler headed to the Minnesota Timberwolves, Chris Paul traded to the Houston Rockets and with the Boston Celtics signing Gordon Heyward in free agency, the Cavs have struggled to find any way to improve their roster.
The Eastern Conference remains weak in comparison to the Western Conference, but the Cavaliers may not even be considered a Top 3 team once the NBA season is officially underway.
The Cavs have been willing to trade Kevin Love in an effort to bring in more talent to compliment James and Kyrie Irving, but even those efforts have been thwarted and/or slow to develop.