Miscommunication at heart of Cleveland Cavaliers’ problems — and it could cost them ultimate price

The Cleveland Cavaliers have some big issues to resolve internally as their team continues to descend. Miscommunication within the franchise is at the heart.

The Cleveland Cavaliers needed their come-to-Jesus meeting that seemed to lead everyone to point the finger at Kevin Love. That meeting seemingly only highlighted problems that had gone on with the team for some time.

The Cavaliers are not quite the Cavaliers. Not the team that has been to the Finals three straight years and was still the runaway favorite to make a fourth. Cleveland has had its January swoons before, but this still feels a bit different.

The Cavaliers had fallen to the worst defense in the league — they are now 28th, giving up 109.7 points per 100 possessions. This was a problem much deeper than mere finger pointing at Kevin Love.

And, as all things with the Cavaliers, all eyes are on LeBron James and his future. That ever-looming option year James has successfully tacked onto each of his contracts with the Cavaliers. His departure is seemingly always imminent with every slip-up and mistake the Cavaliers make.

Right now it seems like they have made a lot.

Why Cleveland is struggling on the court is not too much of a mystery. The team’s lack of athleticism has hurt them. James has helped many of those players that built up the Cavaliers get paid, putting the team in a bit of a salary cap bind.

The Cavaliers are still desperately trying to add talent and be involved in seemingly every trade rumor. They have already apparently lost out on Blake Griffin — if they ever had a chance. The question is whether they will get in on DeAndre Jordan. And if that would even matter.

Because ultimately the ones making the decisions to improve the Cavaliers and fix things are at the root of many of the team’s problems.

According to Ken Berger of Bleacher/Report, many of Cleveland’s fissures date back to the decision not to renew David Griffin’s contract and changing general managers at such a critical time for the franchise. A source told Berger that players-only meeting where the fingers pointed so much at Kevin Love, the team’s culture has players reaching their breaking point:

"“This was not as much about Kevin Love as it was a bunch of players reaching their breaking point with a culture that was increasingly difficult to be a part of,” a person familiar with the organizational dynamics told B/R."

Cleveland has had issues maintaining stability. Owner Dan Gilbert has never renewed the contract of any of his front office executives. He let David Griffin walk and promoted Koby Altman to take the ball and running.

The truth is Griffin was working on several deals at the time to try to “save” the Cavaliers. This before the team decided to trade Kyrie Irving. Griffin was working on ways either to save that relationship and put out the fires that were brimming or to move on. Much of that halted when he left.

And the team itself did not learn of Griffin’s departure until it hit the media.

The poor communication has trickled its way down to the roster. The team was never quite sure why Derrick Rose left the team or that Kevin Love had left the bench with an illness recently. It seems everyone’s proclivity on the team is to point fingers and no one has much understanding of what is really going on. Even within their own locker room.

The Cavaliers still have those championship aspirations. That is what happens when LeBron James is on the roster. The team is still the runaway favorite.

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But the Cavaliers continue to struggle. And they still seem not to have fixed their issues that have led to this crisis.