Fansided

10 most dysfunctional NBA franchises

By John Buhler

Mar 9, 2016; Sacramento, CA, USA; Sacramento Kings center DeMarcus Cousins (15) reacts to a call with the referee during the second quarter of the game against the Cleveland Cavaliers at Sleep Train Arena. The Cleveland Cavaliers defeated the Sacramento Kings 120-111. Mandatory Credit: Ed Szczepanski-USA TODAY Sports
Mar 9, 2016; Sacramento, CA, USA; Sacramento Kings center DeMarcus Cousins (15) reacts to a call with the referee during the second quarter of the game against the Cleveland Cavaliers at Sleep Train Arena. The Cleveland Cavaliers defeated the Sacramento Kings 120-111. Mandatory Credit: Ed Szczepanski-USA TODAY Sports /
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May 23, 2016; Toronto, Ontario, CAN; Cleveland Cavaliers forward LeBron James (23) gestures in the fourth quarter of a 105-99 loss to Toronto Raptors in game four of the Eastern conference finals of the NBA Playoffs at Air Canada Centre. Mandatory Credit: Dan Hamilton-USA TODAY Sports
May 23, 2016; Toronto, Ontario, CAN; Cleveland Cavaliers forward LeBron James (23) gestures in the fourth quarter of a 105-99 loss to Toronto Raptors in game four of the Eastern conference finals of the NBA Playoffs at Air Canada Centre. Mandatory Credit: Dan Hamilton-USA TODAY Sports /

156. . East. Central. Cleveland Cavaliers. 5. player

Although the Cleveland Cavaliers are certainly good enough to win the 2016 NBA Finals, they are also easily one of the most dysfunctional organizations in the NBA. The Cavaliers are able to mask their obvious dysfunctional behavior for one simple reason: They have LeBron James and you don’t!

James is not only carrying this basketball team, but is carrying the entire Northeast region of Ohio. When he left Cleveland the first time to join Dwyane Wade and Chris Bosh in Miami, the region fell into disarray, burning the Chosen Son’s jerseys and becoming a 30-win basketball team overnight.

Cleveland toiled in irrelevance in James’ four-year stint with the Heat. The best decision the organization made in his extended absence was to draft Duke point guard Kyrie Irving No. 1 overall in the 2011 NBA Draft. However, he was easily the unanimous No. 1 overall pick that even the most dysfunctional of organizations would have taken first.

Cleveland won the NBA Draft Lottery twice more before James returned: wasting 2013’s pick on Anthony Bennett and trading away Andrew Wiggins’ draft rights to the Minnesota Timberwolves for the great, but frustrating Kevin Love in 2014. One has to seriously question what general manager David Griffin was thinking those two drafts.

Firing a head coach that won over 70% of his games in David Blatt was unprecedented. No team had ever axed a head coach mid-season despite being in first place. It’s a testament to how impulsive and reactionary the basketball culture is in Cleveland.

With a passive aggressive superstar in James, a hands-on, but impulsive owner in Daniel Gilbert, a general manager that doesn’t draft well in Griffin, and a fan base whose city is hopelessly championship starved, this melting pot of hyper dysfunction is the ultimate result.

Can Cleveland win an NBA Finals with James on the team? Absolutely, but the current culture in pace in the Cavaliers organization won’t breed long-term success. James clearly knows this and when the burden of carrying an entire region becomes too cumbersome yet again, he’ll leave Northeast Ohio and the Cavaliers will easily be 25 wins worse the following season.

Next: 4. Los Angeles Lakers

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